The Jacksonville Public Education Fund misses the point

I will be honest, I don’t really know too much about the Jacksonville Public Education Fund. I know they like to put mentors in schools and where I think mentors are great when looking at all our needs they are kind of low on the list and I know Cleve Warren is on the superintendent envision committee but that’s about it. I will include a link at the bottom.

They came out with a list of superintendent qualities today and to be honest again I found it a bit disapointing but at the same time I know it is typical of these types of processes especially here in Jacksonville.

Here is their list.

• Focus on academic achievement and commit to data-driven decision-making.
• Look for a candidate willing to embark upon true collaboration with the community.
• Prioritize the selection of a superintendent with a proven track record in addressing the needs of low-performing schools.
• Place a high value on finding a leader attuned to the needs of diverse communities.
• Hire someone who understands the political nature of an urban district.

Maybe I am not smart enough but a lot of that either seems painfully obvious or like a bit of mumbo jumbo, accept for the collaboration part. If is the envision committee is any indication, when Nancy Broner said, it is so nice to see all of you again, collaboration means with the JPEF and the other who’s who in the city who got us into this hole to begin with.

The main problem is the JPEF and others envisioning the superintendent use this flowery language and refuse to address the issues.

Why won’t somebody say, we need a superintendent that demands an attendance and a tardy policy. We don’t have one now.

We need a superintendent who believes in teaching the trades, skills and arts in our schools because not everybody is going to go to college and we should both be okay with and plan for their needs.

We need a superintendent who believes in student accountability and we’re getting rid of grade recovery except for those students who missed a lot of days legitimately and for students who tried very hard but just needed a bit more and we’re not going to stuff kids into our A.P. classes any more to improve the district’s numbers.

I want a superintendent who believes in rigor so know more social promotions and discipline so we’re going to come up with legitimate consequences for bad behavior.

I want a super who understands a lot of our kids live in poverty and puts programs in place to lessen its effects. (http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2012/04/only-62-miles-separates-jackson-high.html)

I want a super who promotes administrators because of ability not because of who they know and if one fails we’re not going to promote them out or pass them around the district.

How about a superintendent who beleives in supporting the teachers because they know if teachers are miserable they won't do as good as a job as they could, you know that would be a good quality too.

Ugh, unless we are teaching brain surgery, this is not brain surgery.

http://www.jaxpef.org/Home.aspx