LETTERS - Letter to the Editor

School Administrator, Jan, 2001

Defending the Dentist Analogy

I was a little puzzled and hurt by Thomas Guskey's guest column ("The Wrong-headedness of the 'Best Dentist' Analogy," October 2000) taking me to task for my column in the June issue. I was hurt by the inference that folks like me don't care about children and are not part of the solution. I was puzzled because Guskey absolutely understood the analogy but missed the point.

Of course, dentists should be judged on fixing the cavities, not the raw numbers of how many cavities their patients have, just as educators should be judged on where the children start and where they get to (given adequate resources). What the professor may not understand is that South Carolina and many other states are using absolute scores (raw averages of standardized test scores) to rate schools and teachers apart from any other criteria. That same single score will be used to fail children in grade.

Unfortunately, the protagonist in my parody was right when he suggested that raising concerns of this sort gets one labeled a whiner, a complainer, a stonewaller or worse.

The dentist obviously struck a nerve ... and that was the point of the parody.

JOHN TAYLOR

Superintendent,

Lancaster County Schools,

Lancaster, S.C.

Fitzwater's Reinforcement

Ivan Fitzwater's article, "Subordinates Matter: A Test of Leadership Effectiveness" (September 2000), suggests that administrators possess "the mind of a manager and the soul of a leader." His vision of a school district where colleagues contribute 100 percent of their professional talents is central to achieving organizational goals.

Having recently accepted the superintendency of a district with an $8.1 million deficit and a tax anticipatory note in excess of $17 million, I expected that my commitment to excellence in public education would be tested. Immediately, I conducted a community survey. The results demonstrated that the credibility of the board and the administration was at an all-time low. Staff morale, because of a salary freeze and lack of community confidence, had been affected.

We set priorities for providing a high-caliber education, abolished 150 positions and began work to reduce our budget deficit by $4.5 million. We solicited input widely and shared concise reports about our progress, setting the stage for recovery.

As suggested by Fitzwater, I scheduled time each day to visit classrooms in our 17 schools. Subsequently, through individual recognition memos or schoolwide staff correspondence, we highlighted successful teaching strategies and renewed confidence among the staff and the community. There's a spirit of enthusiasm and collaboration I'd not seen previously during 27 years as a superintendent.

Fitzwater's advice about "giving up the office" is on target. His thoughts reinforce the importance of superintendents being out and about.

ROBERT WINTER

Superintendent,

Glynn County Schools,

Brunswick, Ga.

Value of Service Coverage

The lead article by Terry Pickeral and Judy Bray ("Service Learning in an Age of Standards") and others in your August issue are extremely timely and relevant to the impact and future of service learning in education.

I agree with Pickeral and Bray in their assessment of standards as the vehicle to improve the integration of service and curriculum and that "demonstrating success on academic standards has to become a top priority for service learning."

Educational policymakers need to understand that the use of standards-based practices is designed to raise the academic bar for all students K-12 in all subject areas. It requires educators to re-examine their instructional practices and work collaboratively with parents, administrators and community members to design learning and instructional opportunities that will enable students to meet the benchmarks identified in the standards adopted by school districts.

As such, standards should not be seen as checklists of items to be learned, but levels of academic achievement that can be met by all students through innovative practices designed with the outcome in mind. By linking service learning to academic content standards, students will be able to meet the desired outcomes through a process that is meaningful and effective over long periods of time.

I applaud your efforts in bringing this information to the attention of administrators by committing an entire edition of your journal to this worthwhile cause.

MICHELLE HERCZOG

Project Coordinator, Service Learning/Civic Education, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Downey, Calif.

Followership Advice

I hope that school leaders took the opportunity to read Stephen Kleinsmith's and Sheri Evert-Rogers' article ("The Art of Followership," September 2000).

For the past 15 years, I worked in a position in a local school district that required a lot of followership. I was required to concentrate on supporting the common goals of the school district, being a team player, always demonstrating a high work ethic, projecting optimism, being a good listener and publicly supporting the decisions made by the district leadership.