One of the most important trait needed in the hiring of a new school Superintendent would be accountability to the Teachers of Duval County.
The Superintendent and School Boards members remind me of the chateau generals of World War I. Generals that formulated tactics from on high ensconced inside their comfortable villas and chateaus while the captains (Principals), Lieutenants (Asst. Principals) and Sergeants (Teachers) dealt with the daily minefields and barbed wire of No Man’s land (F Schools). They have little idea of what really goes on in the classrooms in Duval County Schools beyond dog and pony shows in Potemkin villages. Or what their chateau bound (School Board Building) tactics mean to the teachers who daily wade into educational combat or educational triage ala M.A.S.H. (Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals).
Below are three initial startup remedies for the new Superintendent and School Board Members to follow in comprehending and understand many of the problems so specific to our schools in Duval County.
1. The Superintendent should be required to work four days each month assigned to teach or work as a House Administrator (Asst. Principal). It must not be announced what school he/she is assigned to beforehand. The school and subject selection should be drawn out of a hat and kept secret.
2. Each School Board member will be assigned to teach or work as a House Administrator (Asst. Principal) for one week every 3 months at a randomly chosen school. The subject selection and school will randomly be drawn out of a hat and kept secret.
3. Any School Board Member or Superintendent should be required to obtain Florida Classroom Teaching Certification before being allowed to become Superintendent or being allowed to be seated on the School Board.
This “walking a mile in our Moccasins” will go a long way in Superintendent and School Board understanding of the real problems that Duval County Schools face.
Tom Altee
Geography 7
Southside Middle School
34 Year Classroom Teacher
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