LETTERS - Letter to the Editor

School Administrator, August, 2001

Two Views of Competition

My superintendent forwards copies of articles from The School Administrator to the district's administrative team so I was fortunate to read Joseph Cirasuolo's guest column ("A Sinking Feeling About Competition," April 2001).

As a newcomer to the administrative field, I have struggled uncomfortably with the idea of competition--something I never subscribed to in the classroom. I watch as parents and parent groups demand answers relating to student achievement and yet the student as an individual is never discussed. I have read letters to the editor in the local newspaper that reinforce the overwhelming feeling of entitlement and high socioeconomic status.

When discussing with parents their child's performance in school, I constantly remind them of the importance of happiness and fulfillment in the child's life. Unfortunately, many parents are more worried about their 6th-grader attending an Ivy League college and not having to be with "those" children at the state colleges.

I realize my vision is not shared by all, but I am happy to know that professionals such as Cirasuolo will validate my beliefs.

GERARD DALTON

Assistant Principal

Chester Township School District

Joseph Cirasuolo reasserts the age-old position that competition by its nature produces winners and losers and that this will send thousands of children into a hopeless future--something he likens to a slam dunk to failure. He should watch less college basketball and more golf.

Chester, N.J.

The two sports are so different, yet both employ feverish competition. During "March Madness," we in North Carolina watch the drama with great interest as teams fall by the wayside throughout the NCAA basketball tournament. In Chapel Hill, we don't wring our hands when our student athletes go through the experience of trying and losing. Losses can build character and strength when they're paired with capable teaching.

In golf, players try their best to win but do so against a golf course. Little strategy is focused on one's playing partner. What matters to golfers in the end is their score against the course, not where their thumbs rest on the grip.

Competing against a standard is an achievable model in America's public educational system. Rather than trying to pit schools against each other, states can and should compete to get percentages of their students to given standards of achievement. It is the only thing that makes the game fair and enticing for the students and teachers.

JEAN BOLDUC

Columnist

Chapel Hill Herald

Data-Driven Decisions

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Congratulations on an excellent April issue on data-driven decision making. You have highlighted an essential subject for school administrators to effectively oversee the performance of their students and school districts. The article on scenario planning complements the entire process of making data-driven decisions.

I want to assure my former administrative colleagues that we have a number of high-quality products they can use for school improvement and we are prepared to assist them with data-driven decisions to improve their schools.

PAUL KIMMELMAN

Special Adviser to the Executive Director

North Central Regional Education Laboratory

I found Theodore Creighton's article ("Data Analysis in School Administrators' Hands: An Oxymoron?") in the April issue to be excellent. I've also had the opportunity to read his book, Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making.

Nap Naperville, Ill.

Public schools in New York state, under the leadership of Commissioner Richard Mills, are being urged to use data-driven decision making. I am confident that Creighton's work will make a significant contribution by serving as an important resource in establishing best practices in this field.

TED SMITH

Specialist, Office of Data Anal Analysis and Program Evaluation

Questar III BOCES

Missed Point in Review

Castleton, N.Y.

In his April 2001 review of Redesigning America's Schools: A Systems Approach to Improvement, which I co-authored, Jerry Horgen's main criticism focused on the specialized terms used to describe the methodology we created to redesign entire school systems.

I can understand his concern. We worked hard to minimize the use of specialized language. Nevertheless, at times we had to use these terms, which come from the field of systems improvement. However, the book contains a lot more plain English than jargon.

The change management and change leadership methodology we describe in the book is really innovative and cutting-edge. It is a collection of powerful and effective tools for redesigning entire organizations that have been used successfully for more than 40 years.

School administrators already are using some of the methods successfully. The superintendent in Franklin, Tenn., redesigned her entire system using ideas similar to those we described. School leaders in Marysville, Wash., Tempe, Ariz., and Albuquerque, N.M., also are applying our methods.

Horgen stated we don't offer solutions to problems confronted by educational leaders. That was by design. All the literature on improving organizations says that people working inside organizations need to create their own solutions. We do not prescribe solutions but offer a methodology to help educators come up with their own.