LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Wednesday, July 14, 1999; Page M04
The Prince George's Extra recently
asked readers to tell Iris T. Metts,
the new school superintendent, what
issues she should tackle.
A Teacher's Suggestions
As a teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, I would like to offer the following thoughts for your consideration.
1. Perception becomes reality.
For you to succeed, you must quickly stem the torrent of teachers leaving Prince George's. Teachers must believe that you will make a difference. They want to be certain that their concerns are being heard. I, therefore, suggest that you set a regular process of meeting with groups of teachers. This does not have to be a formal arrangement. You could, once a month, offer to have breakfast/lunch with a randomly selected/invited group of about 10 teachers to hear their concerns and share their ideas, with no other administrators present.
2. Follow-up and explain.
You will not be able to accomplish all you want to. Nor will you be able to meet all of the concerns people will raise with you. But when people have taken the time to communicate with you, it is important that they have a response, even if that response is "no" with an explanation. I have found in my teaching that when I explain what I am doing to my students, they will trust me more, even if they don't completely understand the explanation. My sense is that we, as teachers, would appreciate the respect demonstrated by this approach.
3. Keep the good experience.
You have a large number of talented individuals either already eligible for retirement, or quickly achieving that status. The loss of a large number of these people could seriously injure the system and your best efforts to stabilize and improve it. Quickly move to identify those people, solicit input about those who really produce and are really valuable and communicate with them to find out how you can persuade them to remain a part of the system. Here I note my own school, one of the best high schools in the nation, should probably get your attention. Our [top administrator], Gerald Boarman, has an outstanding track record. He will be very attractive to other districts and would be eligible to take his pension by the end of the next year. Surely there must be some way of either keeping him at Roosevelt or finding some other role that would draw on his experience of success. Also, if he leaves, can you retain the core of senior teachers eligible for retirement? Should, perhaps, you seek their input as you consider a replacement for Boarman whenever he chooses to leave? In fact, should there be more of a community role in the selection of educational leaders, one that includes in some way all of the stake holders--teachers, other staff, parents, students? Can this be done in a way that increases community commitment to the schools without giving any group a veto power over
decisions that are properly yours?
4. Focus and support.
In your interview, you acknowledge that when you set up the magnet schools in Christina, Del., you perhaps went with too many. Likewise, many of the things former superindentent Jerome Clark tried were of themselves good ideas, but the number exceeded the resources and the managerial ability to support them. I have no problem with trying things that don't work: As educators, we should encourage our children to explore pathways that don't always pan out. But in a crisis situation, one must marshal resources more carefully. Further, the community is willing to devote more resources to the schools, but only if those resources are used wisely. Attempting too many things at once is like churning a stock market account: Most of the money goes for fees and not for productive uses. Also, new initiatives require commitment of staff. That staff wants to know that the efforts they put forth on behalf of new initiatives are being fully supported by the central administration. If not, staff unwillingness to commit can by itself lead to the failure of any initiative, even one with which they agree.
I wish you well. I look forward to your first year as the superintendent.
-- Kenneth Bernstein
Bernstein is a social studies teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. He also has taught at Kettering Middle School.
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