At the helm of some of the most spectacularly underachieving districts when it comes to standardized test results, you'll have the opportunity to lead only the most desperate parents and teachers.
First, though, you'll have to decide what kind of superintendent you want to be.
You can struggle to reach the children, improve educational standards, and show grace under fire as the easiest scapegoat for anything that goes wrong. Or, if you can tell desperate people what they want to hear, you can get a quick pay bump and cause so much strife that no one will blame you when you run for the next juicy gig, severance package in hand.
To help you decide which type of administrator you are, we've developed this step-by-step guide based on the work of Kansas City, Missouri, School Superintendent Anthony Amato.
Here's the situation in which Amato finds himself. After only a year in power, he has earned a reputation as an arrogant manager. School board members are almost evenly divided as to whether they want him to continue in the job. One agency that provides after-school programs is considering filing a lawsuit for nearly $1.2 million that it claims the district owes it for services. And the teachers union claims that 22 administrators — at least 11 of whom were hired by Amato himself — have either resigned or been fired from their positions.
Amato says he's making tough but necessary decisions to get rid of ineffective teaching programs. He says the number of staff turnovers cited by the teacher's union is false. And he says he's steadfastly refusing to bend to political pressure from groups that are more concerned with their own welfare than with the students'.
What's going on here? To provide some perspective, we have consulted Susan Eaton, a Harvard professor who spent three years researching a school district in Hartford, Connecticut — where Amato was superintendent in the early part of this decade. Eaton's research on urban education culminated in The Children in Room 4E: American Education on Trial, published this past January by Algonquin Books.
"It's this weird type of super, almost a specific breed, that has sprung up on the urban schools' circuit," Eaton tells us. "There are people who go into impossible jobs and get blamed for everything. Most of the time, the things they get blamed for aren't the fault of the teachers or themselves but [are] just larger social problems no one can handle by themselves. They do the best they can for a few years and move on.
"Then there are people who exploit the situation for their own gain. They go in, and they know what to say because they know everyone is desperate for a hero. They get their high salary, and they go."
This guide can work for you. Let's begin.
Step 1: Find a Desperate District
Since a 12-year stint — the longest of his career — as superintendent of New York City Community School District No. 6, Anthony Amato has repeatedly found himself in problem school districts. Not that New York City was great. There, teachers deal with some of the nation's highest rates of poverty, crime and drug use and face many students whose first language isn't English. He left New York in 1999 and proceeded to spend three and a half years in Hartford, which was dead last in the state's standardized testing evaluations when he arrived. (Hartford was second-highest among urban districts by the end of his time there.) He left there in 2002 and went to New Orleans, where he stayed for less than three years. That district's test scores were dismal, too, but its finances were even worse.
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my thoughts on why education is failing the nation and the people who are that nation.
#1. I believe our nation needs an informed citizenry, people who not only can read or consume information, but people equipped to discern fact from fiction and truth from half-truths, lies and misinformation. Education, on the national level, is failing to address this need as curriculum is limited to �core� subjects of literacy (reading) and numeracy (math). Why drop social sciences, biological and earth sciences arts and physical education? Reading and computing open doors or thought and analysis, but without the information supplied by science and history and knowledge about how things work, people have only the skills of reading words without meaning and numbers without purpose.
#2. Education needs to be delivered in a participatory manner with �teacher� and �student� engaging in meaningful discussion/dialogue where inquiry, research and reflection provide meaningful input into the interaction. Education, on the national level is force feeding information to students as teacher lectures and administers multiple choice tests to assess �learning/achievement� of student. Where is democracy being served in this type of classroom experience? People need to communicate one-to-one, small groups and large assembles. Schools need to united people as a body and not only as a collection of individuals.
#3. Outside of school, students are living in communities and neighborhoods that reflect a different reality than that presented by most teachers in the classroom. Relevance of K-12 public education to the �real world� of our young people is another area that, on the national level, is failing to address. Students, even disadvantaged, know more about technology and use or take advantage of technology more than their teachers. Schools receive technology that is obsolete even as it is installed in the classroom. Teachers, a majority, have a rudimentary working knowledge of technology and the applications that are useful to learning. Students� views of society are based on their experiences at home while schools� view is that of the dominant culture.
#4. Life is more than �going to college�. Education, on the national level, is failing to connect with the external natural, social, economic and political elements of the environment beyond the fence surrounding the school. Partnerships, internships and apprentice programs need expanded dramatically and in a thoughtful and timely manner. Schools need to be perceived as a critically connected piece of society and not as a brooding house where people are raised to maintain the status quo. Compare US schools to those of Japan and other �developed� countries�.schools and the community need to take down the fences separating the two.
PS..People like Amato and the gal in Washington D.C. schools don't have what it takes to REALLY solve this problem. They only "shake things up". Anybody can do that....and for less money.
my thoughts on why education is failing the nation and the people who are that nation. #1. I believe our nation needs an informed citizenry, people who not only can read or consume information, but people equipped to discern fact from fiction and truth from half-truths, lies and misinformation. Education, on the national level, is failing to address this need as curriculum is limited to “core” subjects of literacy (reading) and numeracy (math). Why drop social sciences, biological and earth sciences arts and physical education? Reading and computing open doors or thought and analysis, but without the information supplied by science and history and knowledge about how things work, people have only the skills of reading words without meaning and numbers without purpose. #2. Education needs to be delivered in a participatory manner with “teacher” and “student” engaging in meaningful discussion/dialogue where inquiry, research and reflection provide meaningful input into the interaction. Education, on the national level is force feeding information to students as teacher lectures and administers multiple choice tests to assess “learning/achievement” of student. Where is democracy being served in this type of classroom experience? People need to communicate one-to-one, small groups and large assembles. Schools need to united people as a body and not only as a collection of individuals. #3. Outside of school, students are living in communities and neighborhoods that reflect a different reality than that presented by most teachers in the classroom. Relevance of K-12 public education to the “real world” of our young people is another area that, on the national level, is failing to address. Students, even disadvantaged, know more about technology and use or take advantage of technology more than their teachers. Schools receive technology that is obsolete even as it is installed in the classroom. Teachers, a majority, have a rudimentary working knowledge of technology and the applications that are useful to learning. Students’ views of society are based on their experiences at home while schools’ view is that of the dominant culture. #4. Life is more than “going to college”. Education, on the national level, is failing to connect with the external natural, social, economic and political elements of the environment beyond the fence surrounding the school. Partnerships, internships and apprentice programs need expanded dramatically and in a thoughtful and timely manner. Schools need to be perceived as a critically connected piece of society and not as a brooding house where people are raised to maintain the status quo. Compare US schools to those of Japan and other “developed” countries….schools and the community need to take down the fences separating the two. PS..People like Amato and the gal in Washington D.C. schools don't have what it takes to REALLY solve this problem. They only "shake things up". Anybody can do that....and for less money.
Amato is nuts.We have no more money. he wasted 12 million % on SFA and now hes has SLC's.Oh lord can someone please help us. at least one parents can help us.
Websites:
savesusd.com
youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl
We need information and is there any parents that can contact us. this man is nuts, Anthony Amato and he is adopteing different programs. he didnt follows rules and codes.He treats women like dirt.
PLease help us
savesusd.com
youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl
We really need your help in Stockton.
please anything you can do will help us. we want amato out soo bad.
Is it true that the ladies in kansas city wanted to kill him and he had to wear protective clothing because he told the news that this month.That the mother gave him death threats.
Please help us.
savesusd.com
youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl
and other news channels like 19 & 10
please kansas help us at our website
savesusd.com
please help us. even any parent that can help us.
we are in chaos.
youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl
Amato is nuts.We have no more money. he wasted 12 million % on SFA and now hes has SLC's.Oh lord can someone please help us. at least one parents can help us. Websites: savesusd.com youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl
We need information and is there any parents that can contact us. this man is nuts, Anthony Amato and he is adopteing different programs. he didnt follows rules and codes.He treats women like dirt. PLease help us savesusd.com youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl
We really need your help in Stockton. please anything you can do will help us. we want amato out soo bad. Is it true that the ladies in kansas city wanted to kill him and he had to wear protective clothing because he told the news that this month.That the mother gave him death threats. Please help us. savesusd.com youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl and other news channels like 19 & 10
please kansas help us at our website savesusd.com please help us. even any parent that can help us. we are in chaos. youtube.com/user/kidrobotgirl
Mr. Amato did not, I repeat did not do a good job in New Orleans. True, the person who had the insight to see that Mr. Amato was not a good fit for New Orleans Public Schools is under indictment for a crime. She was absolutely correct in reqesting Mr. Amato's resignation. Mr. Amato has no people skills, loves to thrust Success for All down your throat with inadequate, minimal training and the expectation that it will work immediately. The exact "MO" Mr. Amato had in Connecticut and New Orleans is the same one he seems to have in Kansas, from my reading. New Orleans was also desperate for change and got hoodwinked and Bambosiled by Mr. Amato. We should have done much more research into Mr. Amato's back ground before casting the 4-3 vote in his favor. Teacher and school adminstrators alike, disliked him and feared for their jobs due to Mr. Amato's disregard to an ideas except his own. Good Riddance, Antony "Little Napoleon" Amato.
Mr. Amato did not, I repeat did not do a good job in New Orleans. True, the person who had the insight to see that Mr. Amato was not a good fit for New Orleans Public Schools is under indictment for a crime. She was absolutely correct in reqesting Mr. Amato's resignation. Mr. Amato has no people skills, loves to thrust Success for All down your throat with inadequate, minimal training and the expectation that it will work immediately. The exact "MO" Mr. Amato had in Connecticut and New Orleans is the same one he seems to have in Kansas, from my reading. New Orleans was also desperate for change and got hoodwinked and Bambosiled by Mr. Amato. We should have done much more research into Mr. Amato's back ground before casting the 4-3 vote in his favor. Teacher and school adminstrators alike, disliked him and feared for their jobs due to Mr. Amato's disregard to an ideas except his own. Good Riddance, Antony "Little Napoleon" Amato.
Cheryl Atkinson must have learned from Amato: she's off to Lorain, Ohio following the "steps to success" listed in your article. Bloggers there (Word of Mouth http://thewomblog.com/) are rallying the community to get involved. Amato has some interesting associates. No wonder the latest HR hiree turned in his resignation!
Cheryl Atkinson must have learned from Amato: she's off to Lorain, Ohio following the "steps to success" listed in your article. Bloggers there (Word of Mouth http://thewomblog.com/) are rallying the community to get involved. Amato has some interesting associates. No wonder the latest HR hiree turned in his resignation!
I don't think company or organization could be at ease or lethargicly grow accustomed to getting a paycheck at a rate of 1.2 million per year for what - about 45 - elementary after school programs. That's less than 27,000 per school! I wonder what the district is spending without LINC? I wonder how much Mr. Smith's Boys and Girls Clubs are getting per site for just the summer? I wonder what LINC and the district could have accomplished toghether rather than LINC trying to work what must have been a hostile environment.
I don't think company or organization could be at ease or lethargicly grow accustomed to getting a paycheck at a rate of 1.2 million per year for what - about 45 - elementary after school programs. That's less than 27,000 per school! I wonder what the district is spending without LINC? I wonder how much Mr. Smith's Boys and Girls Clubs are getting per site for just the summer? I wonder what LINC and the district could have accomplished toghether rather than LINC trying to work what must have been a hostile environment.
What you don't know is the truth...Mr. Amato was welcomed into the district with the blessing of LINC because he stated that he was a true believer in COMMUNITY SCHOOLS which is what LINC facilitates. In October, he was provided with the information (that Dave Smith knew all along because they, B&G Clubs, too were a part of it) of what all LINC sites provided as a support of the KCMSD and turned his back on the recreational and educational components that are offered to our children. This included reading, math, science and fitness enrichments that the teachers can not fit into thier busy day. The 21st Century Learning Centers also provided extra tutoring for my child in reading and math which I'm sure assisted with test scores raising. Yes, Power HOUR/SES pulled children away from the LINC program but LINC staff supported the district's demand even without the total understanding to us families and that is where the "movie watching" took place. How sad this day is that Mr. Amoto is still fueling a fire when LINC did what they had to do and part company. It's business. I would rather pay for eyes on supervision and true interaction with my child knowing as a working parent that my child is safe at a LINC site rather than the KCMSD's "free babysitting service" using tired, burned out district employees. I wish nothing but the BEST to LINC as they move forward into other districts. KUDOS!
THE LINC PROGRAM MAY NOT BE FOR EVERY SCHOOL YOUR RIGHT BUT IT DOESNT MEAN TAKE IT OUT ON ALL THE PROGRAMS, MAYBE SOME REORGANIZATION ON LINC'S PART WOULD HAVE HELPED. IF THERES A PROBLEM AT ONE OR TWO SITES TAKE A LOKK AT THE PROBLEM AND TRY TO FIX IT. NOT ALL LINC COORDINATORS OR STAFF DRESSES OR ACTS UNPROFESSIONAL, BUT THE WAY YOU MAKE IT SOUND ALL OF LINC IS BAD AND YOU ARE GLAD THEY WERE REMOVED. YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE SOME OTHER SITES AND SEE THE GREAT PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES THAT ARE OFFERED BY LINC. SORRY FOR THE BAD EXPERINCE BUT DONT TAKE OUT ALL OF THE POSITIVE PORGRAMS THAT LINC HAS DONE. GREAT JOB LINC TEAM, WE WILL KEEP ON DOING WHAT WE DO BEST, CARING ABOUT OUR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES IN OTHER SCHOOLS. GOOD JOB!!!!!
THE LINC PROGRAM MAY NOT BE FOR EVERY SCHOOL YOUR RIGHT BUT IT DOESNT MEAN TAKE IT OUT ON ALL THE PROGRAMS, MAYBE SOME REORGANIZATION ON LINC'S PART WOULD HAVE HELPED. IF THERES A PROBLEM AT ONE OR TWO SITES TAKE A LOKK AT THE PROBLEM AND TRY TO FIX IT. NOT ALL LINC COORDINATORS OR STAFF DRESSES OR ACTS UNPROFESSIONAL, BUT THE WAY YOU MAKE IT SOUND ALL OF LINC IS BAD AND YOU ARE GLAD THEY WERE REMOVED. YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE SOME OTHER SITES AND SEE THE GREAT PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES THAT ARE OFFERED BY LINC. SORRY FOR THE BAD EXPERINCE BUT DONT TAKE OUT ALL OF THE POSITIVE PORGRAMS THAT LINC HAS DONE. GREAT JOB LINC TEAM, WE WILL KEEP ON DOING WHAT WE DO BEST, CARING ABOUT OUR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES IN OTHER SCHOOLS. GOOD JOB!!!!!
I feel that Mr. Amato has tried to do his job but in the process has taken out a lot of programs that benefit the CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES. The program that was MOST IMPORTANT was the LINC PROGRAM. LINC has provided a NUMEROUS AMOUNT OF RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS FOR OUR CHIDREN AND FAMILIES SINCE 1999. BECAUSE LINC has LEFT, THE SCHOOLS FEEL EMPTY AND THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ARE LOST WITH OUT THE PORGRAM. The PROMISES HE MADE TO THE FAMILIES WERE LIES, HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING BUT CAUSE TROUBLE. If there needed to be cuts in the budget dont take out the programs that are working FIND OTHER WAYS TO FIX THE PROBLEMS. I FEEL THAT THIS HAS BEEN A NEGATIVE OUTCOME AND I FEEL THAT THE PARTENERSHIP WITH LINC HAS BEEN BROKEN AND TORN APART ALL DO TO LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON MR. AMATOS AND THE SCHOOL BOARDS COMMUNICATION PROCESS. THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION ON THE DISTRICTS AND AMATOS PART HAVE TURNED THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIVES UPSIDE DOWN. I HOPE THAT IN THE NEAR FUTURE THEY CAN FIND A PERSON WHO CARES ABOUT THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM NOT YOU.
What you don't know is the truth...Mr. Amato was welcomed into the district with the blessing of LINC because he stated that he was a true believer in COMMUNITY SCHOOLS which is what LINC facilitates. In October, he was provided with the information (that Dave Smith knew all along because they, B&G Clubs, too were a part of it) of what all LINC sites provided as a support of the KCMSD and turned his back on the recreational and educational components that are offered to our children. This included reading, math, science and fitness enrichments that the teachers can not fit into thier busy day. The 21st Century Learning Centers also provided extra tutoring for my child in reading and math which I'm sure assisted with test scores raising. Yes, Power HOUR/SES pulled children away from the LINC program but LINC staff supported the district's demand even without the total understanding to us families and that is where the "movie watching" took place. How sad this day is that Mr. Amoto is still fueling a fire when LINC did what they had to do and part company. It's business. I would rather pay for eyes on supervision and true interaction with my child knowing as a working parent that my child is safe at a LINC site rather than the KCMSD's "free babysitting service" using tired, burned out district employees. I wish nothing but the BEST to LINC as they move forward into other districts. KUDOS!
THE LINC PROGRAM MAY NOT BE FOR EVERY SCHOOL YOUR RIGHT BUT IT DOESNT MEAN TAKE IT OUT ON ALL THE PROGRAMS, MAYBE SOME REORGANIZATION ON LINC'S PART WOULD HAVE HELPED. IF THERES A PROBLEM AT ONE OR TWO SITES TAKE A LOKK AT THE PROBLEM AND TRY TO FIX IT. NOT ALL LINC COORDINATORS OR STAFF DRESSES OR ACTS UNPROFESSIONAL, BUT THE WAY YOU MAKE IT SOUND ALL OF LINC IS BAD AND YOU ARE GLAD THEY WERE REMOVED. YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE SOME OTHER SITES AND SEE THE GREAT PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES THAT ARE OFFERED BY LINC. SORRY FOR THE BAD EXPERINCE BUT DONT TAKE OUT ALL OF THE POSITIVE PORGRAMS THAT LINC HAS DONE. GREAT JOB LINC TEAM, WE WILL KEEP ON DOING WHAT WE DO BEST, CARING ABOUT OUR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES IN OTHER SCHOOLS. GOOD JOB!!!!!
THE LINC PROGRAM MAY NOT BE FOR EVERY SCHOOL YOUR RIGHT BUT IT DOESNT MEAN TAKE IT OUT ON ALL THE PROGRAMS, MAYBE SOME REORGANIZATION ON LINC'S PART WOULD HAVE HELPED. IF THERES A PROBLEM AT ONE OR TWO SITES TAKE A LOKK AT THE PROBLEM AND TRY TO FIX IT. NOT ALL LINC COORDINATORS OR STAFF DRESSES OR ACTS UNPROFESSIONAL, BUT THE WAY YOU MAKE IT SOUND ALL OF LINC IS BAD AND YOU ARE GLAD THEY WERE REMOVED. YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE SOME OTHER SITES AND SEE THE GREAT PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES THAT ARE OFFERED BY LINC. SORRY FOR THE BAD EXPERINCE BUT DONT TAKE OUT ALL OF THE POSITIVE PORGRAMS THAT LINC HAS DONE. GREAT JOB LINC TEAM, WE WILL KEEP ON DOING WHAT WE DO BEST, CARING ABOUT OUR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES IN OTHER SCHOOLS. GOOD JOB!!!!!
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