That cream puff I had for breakfast today was so sweet that it nearly made me sick. [See Q&A with Charleston County Schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley.] By itself it would have been fairly sweet, but then I just had to have a second helping! [See McGinley Lets Waves Carry Stress Away.] Maybe I should save the P & C for dessert after dinner.
When you think about it, however, perhaps surfing is a fitting metaphor for McGinley's leadership in CCSD during her first (and maybe last) year as superintendent. She's here for the ride. Her "leadership" takes the form of scouting CCSD to see which wave is the strongest (that would be the five-person tag team of Meyers to Douglas to Jordan to Hampton-Green to--usually--Moody), then applying the latest appropriate educational jargon (and sometimes Broad Foundation solutions) to whatever issue is at hand. There's no doubt she means it when she says that she wants to make CCSD an excellent district; that's her career on the line as well.
Under the waves, it seems, a possible rip current is brewing. What happens if, for example, voters replace Douglas with Kandrac and Hampton-Green with Stewart? Of course, that's why she negotiated a three-year contract. Election day will tell, but if McGinley's supporters are elected, prepare yourself for the closure of more than one elementary school in District 20 and continued prevarication over Buist.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
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4 comments:
She's surfing alright. She's surfing employees and school leadership too. Why is it that so many downtown principals have been sent packing...again. And it's not just Ms. Moore at Sanders-Clyde, who may have had her own issues. Now that she's gone, so is the investigation about those issues. Of much greater concern is the loss of others who were true advocates for their schools and the downtown communities they served.
You can add to this list of lost talent the name of William Dixon at James Simons. He's gone to North Carolina after McGinley moved him to Stono Park, saving it as a surprise last May and then saying it was a "better fit". A better fit for whom? Word from McGinley is that Mr. Dixon's wife was also going to be let go from Angel Oak in December. So why should they stick around? They were too polite to speak about it, but there supporters at James Simons and downtown aren't letting this go without comment.
Then there is Diane Ross who resigned from Memminger...after the school year was over without even a chance to have a formal transition with her staff. Her "official" letter says she wanted to be closer to her home. This is only a partial explanation for her transfer to Goodwin. As late as last spring Diane Ross was looking forward to the discussions on making Memminger a partial magnet. She's now out of this picture. What gives?
Then there is Wanda Sheets just starting her 4th year as principal at Charleston Progressive. She not only has to be on the receiving end as McGinley dumps CCSD's administrative and legal problems on Charleston Progressive, but now the word is that Ms. Sheets is being transferred by Dr. McGinley in December.
Yeah, right Nancy, downtown parents are so looking forward to your positive changes for District 20. The trouble with this is all we get is change. We never get consistency or continuity we can count on.
One interesting rumor also going around is about the real reason Randy Bynum left after only a year as CCSD's Chief Academic Officer. He reportedly started standing up for these principals and began speaking out against McGinley's constant moving and undercutting the leadership at so many schools.
Just how many principals has Nancy McGinley appointed, removed and replaced in the last 15 months? Maybe we can look forward to something positive with McGinley's commitment to constant, if aimless, change downtown. Maybe Benton at Burke will be out soon, too.
The last straw for Bynum was his refusal to tow the company line on James Island Charter High School. He told the superintendent that her attempt to shut down one of the few high schools in our county with an absolute rating of Good or better was illegal; because it was.
McGinley's anti charter prejudice was in full display in Diette's latest puff piece. Asked if she supports charter schools, McGinely says she supports "school choice." Later she expresses "concerns" about the charter funding model.
So, in other words, if she was honest, she would have said, "No, I I don't support charter schools because ...."
But she didn't because charter schools are so popular among parents and other voters that she can't afford to admit to how hard she is working to kill them all.
This is what I like about this blog. It's so difficult to find out what's really going on. If this is true about Bynum, then how many others are being crushed under McGinley? I read some of the same things between the lines in the expanded interview, but I'm not sure many people have read it at all since it was on line and not in print.
I participated on one of the school's magnet teams. I cannot believe McGinley would have these principals on go the process for nothing. I feel like I wasted my time and can believe nothing that comes out of her mouth any more. I was told a long time ago that the plan was to make the downtown schools more white. I guess removing strong minority principals is just the start.
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