Command and Control Management at APS

It's a general rule of thumb now in businesses that a command and control managerial style from the top down is not the best approach - especially for a large business. Instead, you should hire the best people to operate each business unit and then hold them accountable for performance (i.e. failure to deliver leads to job loss).

Unfortunately, it looks like Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is about to go the command and control route:

If the rest of the new superintendent's plans come to pass, the district's central office will have more control over everything from the number of custodians a school gets to the type of reading curricula it may use. And on Wednesday, the board approved a new policy that requires “all major technology related projects” to be approved by the superintendent.

“Site-based management, and APS does a lot of site-based management, is not efficient,” said Winston Brooks, who served his first official day last week as the district's new superintendent.

Some longtime principals say the added authority they've enjoyed under site-based management has paid dividends for their schools.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't have a problem with Superintendent Brooks dismantling a layer of management by doing away with the cluster system. Nor, do I find his commitment to cutting unnecessary costs troubling. However, I've been in around school systems enough as a parent, as a teacher and as an educational partner to know that high performance schools occur because of creativity and commitment at the classroom, administrative and local community level.

Superintendent Brooks recent actions seem to indicate that he believes otherwise. If that's the case, it's going to be business as usual at APS - new edicts and directions without improvements in student performance.

It's What Isn't Stated

Take a look at the Albuquerque Journal today, and you're going to come across an article on the unemployability of students (subscription) that that states:

Seventeen percent of the Albuquerque Public Schools freshmen who took a test to measure workplace skills fell into the "unemployable" category in reading and math.

However, as alarming as that may be, it is really this statement that of the most concern:

WorkKeys, she said, helps give them an idea so they can plan accordingly.

Mary Ann Landry, the district's vocational education director, said APS scores rose slightly when some of the schools retested students as upperclassmen. However, the district did not provide complete data on those results.

Whoa! After a couple of more years of an APS education, the scores only "rose slightly." That's not good. And, what's with not providing complete data. If we want to continue to successfully draw businesses to New Mexico, this is a situation that has to be dealt with immediately, and the school district needs to be more forthcoming with data results.

Education Failures Continue to Increase

It's that time year again. The time when the No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress Reports comes out. Again, our schools are failing to deliver on improvement promises made by everyone from Governor Bill Richardson on down.

Two years ago, I went on a rant about the lack of a sense of urgency on the part of our education administrators and Governor appointees regarding the lack of progress. Then last year, I pointed out that the news had gone from bad to worse with more than 54% of schools failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress.

And guess what, this year we've fallen even further with more than 58% of the schools failing to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress. How much worse, can this get before we decide continuing along the same path year after year is just not working?

The spin coming from Governor Richardson's appointee (subscription) is nothing less than nauseating:

Statewide, more than 58 percent of New Mexico's schools didn't make adequate yearly progress. That figure is up slightly from 54.1 percent last year.

But state Education Secretary Veronica Garcia pointed out Friday that some schools found themselves on the failing list even though they met or exceeded proficiency standards in reading and math. Garcia pointed out 13 schools labeled as failing, even though they met proficiency targets for all students. Among those schools were Montessori of the Rio Grande and Twenty-First Century, both of Albuquerque.

"To label a school as failing— not making AYP for missing, for example, participation rate in one subgroup— and labeling the whole school as failing is very misleading to everyone," Garcia said. She said while the spirit behind the law is admirable, its implementation can be unfair.

Political Spin 101 is to reframe the issue to shift focus from your failures. If you reclassify those 13 schools the Education Secretary is referencing does that paint a prettier picture? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it would still mean that more than 50% of our schools are failing to meet Adequate Yearly Progress. No matter how you slice it or dice it, this is unacceptable.

And, what does APS have to say about their continued failure:

APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta said the district will scrutinize the designations carefully to ensure their accuracy.

"We are going to go page by page, school by school, category by category," Armenta said.

Oh yeah, that's the problem. The reports aren't accurate. Glad to see you've got your focus in the right place. Speaking of having things in the right place. Don't you think it is odd that APS has a news section on their front page, but fails to provide notification the latest Adequate Yearly Progress Reports have been released.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that APS, as a district, is failing for at least the second year in a row. Now, I'm not a big fan of breaking up the district because research doesn't demonstrate that will change much of anything. However, the time has come to revisit school choice options. Our government is failing, and it is time to give the responsibility of educating our children back to parents.

Putting You Money Where Your Mouth Is

Dr. Beth Everitt is going to "retire" from APS (read: look for another job) when her contract is over next June. And, surprise, surprise, Mayor Marty Chavez has inserted his two cents about the necessary qualifications of the next Superintendent (subscription):

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez weighed in with his opinion Monday.

"We have a school district that's in a crisis," he said. "It's going to require somebody who's not afraid to make enemies, including on the board."

The Mayor has been a big proponent of the City taking a controlling interest in the school district. Something I think is pointless. However, here's an idea... Why doesn't the Mayor apply for the job? You know, put his money where his mouth is.

Dr. Everitt is leaving in June 2008, The Mayor is termed out in October of 2009. Instead of trying to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor against Lt. Governor Diane Dennish, a race he is bound to lose, he could campaign hard to be hired as the next Superintendent. It would be a big pay raise, and he could prove that his ideas for running the district are the way to go.

What do you say, Marty?

APS Sues Volunteers

This article (subscription) in today's Journal is very troubling:

For years, Albuquerque students in the band Mariachi San Jose entertained audiences at festivals and competitions across the region.

Now, Albuquerque Public Schools is fighting a group of parent volunteers in court over money raised to support the group and for the right to use the name "Mariachi San Jose."

At issue is whether Mariachi San Jose is a school program or an independent community program.

APS filed a lawsuit against some of the group's parent volunteers last month. Attempts to resolve the dispute through a court mediator failed Tuesday, according to parents and school officials.

The relationship between APS and the volunteers soured last summer, and everyone agrees that students have suffered the most.

It wasn't that long ago that Governor Bill Richardson was on his soap box talking about the need for government to get involved in promoting parental involvement. Now, APS is again in the spotlight for going out of its way to DISCOURAGE parental involvement.

Think about this, you have the state's largest school district, a district with boatloads of taxpayer money, suing parents, who are in all likelihood taxpayers, to keep them from being involved. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. And it only gets worse:

Forming another mariachi group is fine, APS says, but there's no question that Mariachi San Jose is a school-based group because it started at East San Jose.

Since when does a school fight for ownership rights? Isn't the school's purpose to serve the community? So what if the parents started the program at the school? Parents starting a program at a school is a good thing. Does APS really want to discourage this type of initiative by SEIZING a successful volunteer driven programs? It's not like there is any inappropriate behavior occurring:

But [APS deputy superintendent Tom] Savage said a recent audit of the group's activity fund at East San Jose didn't uncover any accounting problems.

Theses actions by APS are sending the wrong message to all volunteers who contribute their time to programs throughout the district that benefit our students. I strongly encourage you to let APS know that suing volunteers is not the answer to improving student achievement. Ask the Superintendent, Dr. Beth Everitt, to stop this nonsense. You might also consider contacting the APS Board.