AN ADVICE SAMPLER FOR NEW DPS CHIEF BENNET

Date: Saturday, July 2, 2005

Michael Bennet starts his new job as superintendent of Denver Public Schools with many advantages, and freedom from the debilitating baggage of K-12 orthodoxy is surely one of them.

But his first priority has to be choosing a chief academic officer, and if he gets that choice wrong, nothing else he does right will make any difference in the end. So I thought I might usefully solicit some advice on his behalf, and pass it along. Better I should be presumptuous now than say "I told you so" later.

With apologies to everybody who sent me great stuff I won't have room for (but will pass along), here are some things people told me.

Chester Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, says, "This field is awash in jargon, self-proclaimed experts, unwarranted claims, strong feelings and lots and lots of snake oil peddlers. Many non-educator superintendents have stumbled because they trusted the wrong folks to guide them."

Wayne Bishop, professor of mathematics at California State University at Los Angeles says that this is where nontraditional types get in trouble. Alan Bersin in San Diego is a nice example, he said, or Joel Klein, who as Mayor Michael Bloomberg's choice for chancellor of New York City Schools, hired Diana Lam.

Bersin, who left his position Thursday, wrote an article summarizing what he'd learned; educational pioneer Siegfried Engelmann explains how Bersin squandered his opportunity (read both at //educationation.org/blog/?p=98). As to Lam, Sol Stern in City Journal explains how she dumped a passably successful reading curriculum in favor of whole language (go to www.city-journal.org and search for lam stern).

Sandra Stotsky, former senior associate commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education, suggested that the basic qualification should be at least a master's degree in science or mathematics (and not in education). "The two critical subjects in K-12 now being dumbed down beyond belief are math and science, and the only kind of person who can understand what their content should be is someone well-versed in that content."

And as to math, Bastiaan Braams of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Emory University looked into Denver's math curriculum and found the district is using Everyday Mathematics in grade school, Connected Mathematics in middle school, and Cognitive Tutor and Interactive Mathematics Program in high school. "I regard IMP as the most degenerate of all mathematics programs; Connected Mathematics as awful, and Everyday Mathematics as bad. Do you know if these are still system-wide mandates?"

Why yes, apparently they are. Has math performance in Denver improved since they were adopted? Not so's you'd notice. These curriculums are all creatures of the so-called standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; anyone who supports them, says Barry Garelick, deserves "a drop kick through the door."

Erich Martel of Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., suggests asking candidates to describe "some of the fads and popular beliefs" associated with teaching reading and mathematics. Excellent advice. In the education wars, one person's fads are another's "best practices." You want to call things by their right names.

Mike McKeown of the Medical School at Brown University supplied a long list of bons mots, of which I've chosen a few that are amusing to the casual reader. But each one is a reference to a deadly serious battle. Abraham Lincoln ran through a lot of ineffectual generals before he found U.S. Grant. A new superintendent probably gets only one chance.

McKeown says: "If he suggests Balanced Literacy, thank him for his time and then leave. This is code for Whole Language.

"If his idol is Tony Alvarado, or if he is Tony Alvarado, leave by the nearest exit.

"If he says 'Of course we teach phonics,' he means that he doesn't believe in teaching phonics. Escort him to his plane.

"If he says 'Of course we teach basic skills,' he means that kids will be calculator-addicted and never master addition, subtraction, multiplication or especially division.

"If he says things like 'We must free children from the tyranny of computation so all children can master algebra and higher order thinking skills,' drive a wooden stake through his heart.

"If he holds his fingers in the sign of the cross at the mention of E.D. Hirsch Jr., suggest that there may be better positions for him elsewhere.

"If he has a masters degree and a doctorate from a reputable ed school, assume that if his lips are moving he is lying.

"If a candidate favorably mentions the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards, or anything from the National Council of Teachers of English, he is not worth your time to interview.

"If a candidate prefers 'portfolio assessment' and other 'authentic assessments' over well crafted standardized tests, you should back away slowly and don't take your eyes off the candidate."

And McKeown concludes, "Alan Bersin and Bloomberg/Klein failed in their first major decisions. They chose someone who was esteemed by those who brought education to this fix and gave them carte blanche. Don't rush this decision. Become knowledgeable yourself. Talk to people who are outside the circle of usual suspects. After all, they are suspects."

Good luck, Michael.