Defense of the Status Quo

I agree wholeheartedly with Johnny Winston’s comments that were reported in the Isthmus article on the upcoming board evaluation of the performance of Superintendent Rainwater. The article by Jason Shepard says:

Winston . . . cites Rainwater's reluctance to take risks to solve educational problems: “If we have an issue related to student achievement, I’d like the superintendent to say, ‘You know what? It’s not working right now, and I’d like us to try something different.’ I’d like Art to lead the charge on that.” Winston would also like Rainwater to "be more critical of the organization" as a means of self-improvement.

Unfortunately, I often sense that the school board itself cannot admit that a policy or program of the administration, board, or district might be less than ideal. Nor can the board say let's "try something different." As an example, the video of the discussion of Carol Carstensen's suggestion that the board seek an independent analysis of the district's business services operations starts with a strong defense of the business services operations. Board members offered a wide variety of opinions during the long discussion, and ended without any agreement on assessing the status quo in business services.

I too would like to see the school board be more critical of the organization as a means of improving the academic success of the district's students.

Posted by Ed Blume at September 25, 2005 8:29 PM
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