Tidbits: Community Forum, Superintendent Job Ad, and Obama on Education

A reminder that a Community Forum for the superintendent search which will be held Tuesday, 7pm November 10 at City Hall in the Community Room.

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An ad for Norwalk Public Schools Superintendent position has been posted to the job board of the American Association of School Administrators. You can see the posting here. 

Among the list of qualifications: "Prior successful Central Office experience is a must." At last week's meeting between the CABE search consultants and Norwalk parents there was some discussion about how necessary it really was for the candidate to have central office experience.  That thread was continued in comments to the story that I posted about the meeting.

More discussion on this topic is needed. By explicitly putting the requirement out there are we limiting good candidates that might otherwise apply?

Here is a list of the qualifications listed in the job description:

The Norwalk Board of Education seeks a dynamic, innovative and confident leader who can make a difference by developing a conscious strategy for continuous improvement which will build the Norwalk Public Schools into an exemplary district.  All candidates must possess or meet Connecticut certification requirements as a school superintendent.  Strong emphasis will be placed on the following qualifications and attributes:

• A passion for public education and an ability to embrace the opportunities and challenges of educating a diverse population.

• An ability to foster a positive culture that contributes to the success of all students and cultivates a professional learning community focused on outcomes.

• A proponent of public engagement who welcomes input and involvement from staff, parents, students and the community when making educational decisions that impact all stakeholders.

• An ability to articulate a coherent and inspirational vision for how the community can come together to address its challenges.

• Strategic planning experience that demonstrates an ability to reconcile and respond to student needs, program requirements, equity and fiscal responsibility.

• A participatory management style that fosters a climate of collaboration and united purpose. 

• Experience in implementing research-based "best practices" and data-driven decision making to assess programming strategies and enhance organizational capacity for improvement.

• An outstanding and visible communicator who welcomes interaction with all members of the school community and community at large.

• Prior successful Central Office experience is a must. Experience in an urban school district of similar demographics considered a plus.

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President Obama gave a speech last week in Madison, Wisconsin at the James C. Wright Middle School titled "Strengthening America's Education System" in which he highlighted is Administration's Race to the Top program.

Near the end of his speech he veered off topic and related a small story about he motivated his own children to perform well in school. He reminded me that as much as I want to push my children to do well in their studies, what I really want to do is instill a love of learning so that they can motivate  themselves to learn. 

You can see a video of Obama's speech archived at CSPAN. The part referenced above begins 24:07. (Move to that point if you don't want to see the whole speech).

Here's a transcript if you don't want to watch:

In our own household, with all the privileges and opportunities that we have, look, there are times when kids slack off. There are times when they would rather be watching TV or playing a computer game than hitting the books. And part of our job as parents, Michelle and my job, is not just to tell our kids what to do, but to start instilling in them a sense that they want to do it for themselves.

So Malia came home the other day and she had gotten a 73 on her science test. Now she's a 6th grader. There was a time a couple years ago when she came home with like an 80-something and she said I did pretty well, and I said, no, no, no. I said our goal is 90 percent and up. So, here's the interesting thing. She started internalizing that, so she came and she was depressed - got a 73. And I said well what happened: 'Well the teacher, the study guide didn't match up with what was on the test.' So what's your idea here? 'Well, I'm gonna start, I've got to read the whole chapter. I'm gonna change how I study, how I approach it.' 

So she came home yesterday and she got a 95. But here's the point. She said, 'I just like having knowledge.' That's what she said. And what was happening was she had started wanting it more than us. Once you get to that point, our kids are on their way. But the only way they get to that point is if we're helping them get to that point. So it's going to take that kind of effort from parents to set a high bar in the household. Don't just expect teachers to set a high bar; you've got to start setting a high bar in the household.