Not so fast I say.....(Did you really think I would take ANY other position?)
We are in a whole NEW educational enviroment. The rules are changing, money is not going to be available, COMMON CORE is weakening and questions of STAMINA, RESILIENCY, and dare I say AGE.
One only has to look back at the recent pathetic defense of public education presented at the hearing on whether to allow for the expansion of KIPP from K -4. It was not so much that they had better answers just a willingness, an eagerness, to address questions. LPS was weak to non-existent.
Given the state and political climate LPS cannot afford to have a leader who is unwilling or unable to tackle the multitude of problems facing us. Therefore I think it imperative that we take the opportunity to open up the super's contract and post it to seek the best available person out there. I am sure the $212,000 compensation package would attract national attention.
Realistically I think my calls will fall on deaf ears, I just wanted to get this out there now so that someday when everybody sees how right I was I'll have an awesome THROWBACK THURSDAY piece.
The school committee voting to renew Dr. Latham's contract, rather than post the position, will come as no surprise. It will be all the same members voting, so why should we expect a different outcome this time? The majority of the school committee will disregard the lawsuits brought against LPS and the resignations of valuable principals and other staff due to the actions of Dr. Latham. They will pretend the NSS issue we are facing was not her or anyone else's fault and it just miraculously happened. They will dismiss her unprofessional, inappropriate, and vindictive behavior and actions. They will forget about the laws being violated by the school department and complaints filed which have led to an investigation by the OCR and resulted in a resolution agreement. Instead, they will focus on the district moving out of level 4 status, which only happened because the two level 4 schools received millions in additional funding, resources, and services. In the meantime, how many other schools in the district dropped a level or more? I am not saying Dr. Latham has not done good things for our schools, students and district. However, I feel LPS desperately needs new leadership to move our schools and students forward. We need an inspiring, charismatic leader with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills. A leader who welcomes and values the involvement of parents and the community, as well as the ideas and suggestions by teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and others who have direct contact and relationships with the students. A leader who can handle and respond to criticism in an appropriate and professional manner and one that thinks outside the box. I do not feel Dr. Latham is that leader.
ReplyDeleteI have heard some talk about only extending the contract a year or two. Just wait until they start with this year's budget and feel the expanded KIPP effect. There will be NO money!
DeleteUnless the vote is to extend the contract for a specific time period (which should not be more than a year) without the possibility of it being renewed at the end of the extension, it is the same as renewing it and the school committee is just trying to appease or confuse the public by using a different term.
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