Former Hamilton County leaders assisting Metro Schools as reorganization continues

Central Office should be better aligned and streamlined to be a support to the classrooms/schools. Everyone is committed to working together to move our system forward and to increase academic achievement among all subgroups.
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Former Hamilton County leaders assisting Metro Schools as reorganization continues
By Amy Griffith, agriffith@nashvillecitypaper
Posted: Friday, June 20, 2008 1:28 am
Still struggling to meet federal No Child Left Behind mandates, Metro Schools has enlisted the help of two retired school reform leaders who were instrumental in turning around Hamilton County’s failing school system a decade ago.The state Department of Education, which is overseeing reorganization of Metro Nashville Public Schools’ staffing as a result of the district’s status in NCLB “corrective action,” has hired Sheila Young and Warren Hill to work as consultants for the district.Young said Thursday she and Hill are working to pass along lessons found to be effective in Chattanooga, as well as in urban districts across the United States. Young said there are some parallels, demographically, between Nashville and Hamilton County schools. The districts in both areas are working to meet the needs of urban and suburban populations. A key difference between changes occurring in Nashville and those taking place in Hamilton County, Young said, is the impact of federal No Child Left Behind legislation.“The situation in Nashville is perhaps more urgent,” Young said. Reform in Hamilton County schools was aided with the help of outside advisers, including Harvard University scholars. Young and Hill indicated Thursday that Hamilton County’s outside support drifted away from the district as schools improved, and that they hope to play a similar role for MNPS.When large-scale reforms in Hamilton County schools were prompted in the late 1990s and early 2000s, NCLB was still taking shape. Now, however, NCLB has been in place for years, and MNPS has repeatedly failed to meet certain NCLB benchmarks. A concept at the core of what Young and Hill are working on is integration of student and school performance data throughout the district. Principals should be able to determine a school’s classroom strengths and weaknesses “at the click of a button,” Young said.“It’s changing the culture of how you look at data,” Young said. “The goal is that no child fails, gets an ‘F,’ because of learning gaps that have occurred.”DOE and MNPS officials have, in the last week-and-a half, rebuilt all offices falling under curriculum and instruction. That includes, roughly, almost everything that affects what happens in the classroom. The effort is considered a “fresh start” for these departments, though district employees are not required to reapply for jobs with MNPS.Young said that both she and Hill were “advocates” for the recent state-prompted restructuring of MNPS’s central office. The first announced change as a result of that restructuring was splitting up the district’s former Teaching and Learning office into three divisions, each led by an assistant superintendent specializing in certain grade levels.The reorganization of MNPS, once completed, will stay in place for a six-month trial period. Salaries of affected employees will be frozen for that time. Young said she sees her role, and that of Hill as well, as a “coach” for the district — fitting in with the coaching model that state officials hope to reinforce at MNPS, in which administrators coach principals, who coach teachers, whose efforts reach the students.“Our goal is to go back to being retired,” Young said.Awaiting detailsMany with a vested interest in public education — ranging from elected Board of Education members to advocates to parents — are eagerly waiting to learn the complete details of the state DOE-prompted reorganization of MNPS offices.Other areas of change could include special education and professional development, two areas the state’s Connie Smith has repeatedly asked the district to improve.With school officials from all agencies working to make changes in time for improvements when school starts this August, close watchers of public education are wondering who specifically will be making decisions when students return to the classroom.Erin Richardson, director of the Legal Advocacy Projectfor the Arc of Davidson County, said members of the disability advocacy community are eager to learn about any organizational changes to the special education department, and are supportive of state changes to enhance professional development and improve differentiated instruction.“Those of us who are heavily invested in education in Metro Nashville are wanting to understand what these changes are looking like,” Richardson said. “I am hopeful that information will be forthcoming very soon. … We have seven weeks before school starts, and I think there’s concern in the community. On the one hand, I think we have hopeful optimism that these changes the state is putting into place are going to be beneficial. On the other hand, the clock is ticking, and we are concerned that these changes may not have been fully implemented and effective by the time the school year begins.”School board members, too, are waiting to learn of the changes. While Smith met with each board member earlier this spring to discuss some of the changes, much of the restructuring has taken place only recently.Steve Glover, who publicly asked Smith last week whether this new plan will be what it takes to get the district out of corrective action, said he’s “looking forward” to seeing the changes.“I support the moves I’m aware of. I’m anxious to see the whole picture,” Glover said.Board member Karen Johnson, when asked whether there are questions in the community as to who is currently in charge at MNPS, said there is a “misconception” that the entire reorganization is being completed by the state. In reality, Johnson said, it is a collaborative process. The state has not taken charge, Johnson said — rather, the DOE has made a large number of recommendations MNPS has decided to implement.“It’s not about being territorial. It’s about making the right decisions that are going to impact student success,” Johnson said. “I think we have a very positive relationship. I think dialogue is welcomed on both sides. … The central office should not be an ivory tower. The central office should be a support system to the schools.”