Roles and Responsibilities

Thursday, July 09, 2009

The web page for the CPS Board identifies key areas of responsibility.  Below, I have quoted each item from the list, and provided my own notes.  See for yourself how the platform matches prescribed responsibilities for the Board of Education!

1.  Establish educational goals.

Cincinnati Public School’s teaching staff brings a variety of strengths to the table.  Each school should design a curriculum strategically mapped to match the character of the student body.  Towards this end, every teacher should engage an in-depth survey of teaching philosophy, so placements can be made based on matching interests with needs on a building-by-building basis.

Schools need to move beyond mission statements merely, publishing documents linking overall visions with peer-reviewed articles that make a case for any instructional models adopted.  The strengths of successful schools should be imitated, while struggling schools must reject the status-quo thinking of traditionalism that fails too many students.

2.  Initiate and adopt policies.

There should be a review process of building principals based on best-practices and community input.  Principals should be measured against the degree to which they meet the needs of their respective school communities.  The review process should not be punitive, but constructive—an opportunity to provide guidance to our top school leaders in moving their teachers and students ahead.

3.  Consider and pass upon the recommendations of the superintendent in the appointment or dismissal of certificated employees, salary schedules, or other personnel regulations, courses of study, selection of textbooks, or other matters pertaining to the welfare of the schools.

We need to pay more attention to the implementation of new courses of study and textbooks.  Too often, textbook publishers offer apparently easy solutions to difficult problems, and they offer their own alleged “research” to help make the sale.  However, these kinds of purchasing decisions should not be based on sales pitches from for-profit book publishers and their in house data.  Too often, these packages don’t deliver as we might hope, but once stuck with the expenditure it may be tempting to keep the implementation of a bad program.

Peer reviewed research should accompany any new vision for school improvement, and a shift to innovative best practices is more important than the convenience of pre-packaged programs.

4.  Select a superintendent.

A superintendent should place a higher value on students than their own personal benefit.  A good superintendent would be willing to cut his or her own salary and staff if it means saving, for example, a good art teacher.

5.  Provide for the preparation and adoption of the annual budget.

If non-union contracts save money up front compared to union contracts, does that make fiscal sense?  What about allegations that non-union contractors performed sub-standard workmanship, and that additional maintenance costs have come back around to haunt the district long term?  Budgetary decisions should not be based on political ideology, but on actuality.  That’s why I have asked board members, candidates, union leaders, and area media to help me address the rumors about substandard workmanship in the new buildings.

6.  Provide by the exercise of its taxing power the funds to finance the operation of the schools.

The district needs to mount a campaign of openness and transparency to restore the public trust in the financial outlook of the district.

7.  Make rules and regulations for the operation of the schools.

Too often, anti-bullying efforts in school districts are relegated to occasional pull-out programs and maybe a guest speaker.  As part of daily operations, schools need user-friendly reporting mechanisms to let students report threatening acts of misconduct—such as email, texting, and so forth. 

Additionally, the district should partner with the City of Cincinnati and area media to create a system for honoring those students who exhibit some form of excellence.  It is easier to report misconduct than excellence, so schools need to streamline the recognition of good things happening in the district—and we should all call on the City and local media to participate in this community-building project.

8.  Appraise the effectiveness with which the schools are achieving the educational goals.

Principals are the point person for each school building.  The board should, whenever possible and appropriate, collaborate with principals in mapping strategic plans to improve the educational program.  Ultimately, these principals should be held accountable for meeting these collaborated goals.

9.  Solicit and weigh public opinion as it affects the schools, and inform the public concerning the progress and needs of the schools.

There should be no secret meetings regarding the public business of the schools.  We should never see in the media stories about the district trying to hide information—such as the name of applicants for superintendent.

10. Evaluate the performance of the superintendent on an annual basis; and, evaluate the performance of the treasurer on an annual basis.

We should welcome community input regarding the public rubric against which these performances are evaluated.