Nashville parents oppose state’s move to replace principals
The Tennessee Sate Department of Education (TDE) has run into opposition from parents over its decision to replace principals at some of Nashville’s schools, says a Tennessean news report. TDE intervened in the operations of the city’s schools after the system wide failure to meet testing requirements. Parent Advisory Council (PAC) members met with TDE’s director of accountability, Connie Smith, demanding more say in such actions. Ms. Smith spelled out her plan for PAC. “Some were popular principals, some were great disciplinarians,” she said. “But you have to have order in a school and you have to have academics.” She added, “When you have four or five years where you're leaving kids behind, you ought to do the professional thing and remove yourself rather than have the state take you out. We want kid-centric principals, not egocentric.” Ms. Smith also pointed out that the staffing decisions were based on data patterns, test scores, constituency surveys, and teacher feedback. One parent, David Waters, claims many parents felt disenfranchised because they weren't included in the principal-selection process. “A lot of us are former educators and there are those of us that have an interest in having a say in this,” he said. According to Ms. Smith, because the state viewed the process as an intervention, it could not be as collaborative as she would have liked. However, she insists parents will play a larger role in future decisions. She urged patience in the process, which she said would not “have everything fixed by Christmas.”
Source: Tennessean, 7/18/08, By Matt Medved
[Editor’s Note: Earlier this month the Tennessean reported that Nashville, which had run afoul of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) after missing some goals four consecutive years, had been subject to state intervention. The state is scheduled to release in August school district standings under NCLB, which will indicate if TDE’s interventions have paid off. If the district improves, the state's oversight will continue at least another year until progress is ensured. If test scores fail to improve, the district moves a step closer to a complete state takeover. At the time, Richard Tennent, chairman of Nashville’s PAC, expressed optimism about the reorganization of curriculum and instruction. “Returning the focus to academics, that's good,” he said. “This seems to be designed to hopefully get positive results, and I like that. Connie Smith very much impressed me that she's not here to take over the district and is very interested in parental involvement.” To view the news story, see below.]
Source: Tennessean, 7/11/08, By Natalia Mielczarek