Glimmer of Hope from Spearman's Interview

It's no secret that SC Superintendent-elect Molly Spearman was not my choice to head the Education Department. Being director of the state Association of School Administrators suggests too cozy a relationship with the edublob.

However, Spearman's recent remarks about the importance of principals show an unexpected perspicacity. She pointed out that "in order to keep great teachers in schools, you first have to have a great principal." Amen to that! Anyone who's ever taught in a classroom will strongly second that notion.

Ah, but as usual, the devil is in the details: what makes a great principal? It's not advanced degrees or bureaucratic bootlicking.

Newspaper Lacks Vital Statistic on CCSD Teacher Survey

It's encouraging to hear that teachers at only four schools in the Charleston County School District fear retaliation from their principals for disagreeing or bringing up problems. According to reporter Amanda Kerr, over 70 percent of teachers surveyed saw a positive school climate.

Kerr reported that over 1,000 teachers responded to the anonymous survey. She forgot to ask how many teachers the district employs.

Did even half of Charleston County's teachers respond?

Do you suppose the percent participating can make a difference in the results? I do.

Shock & Awe in CCSD: Close Burke; Put in 2nd Mt. Pleasant HS

It's brilliant! Whoever came up with this outside-of-the-box idea should be running the Charleston County School District instead of Nancy McGinley!

Over the last 40 or so years, Burke High/Middle School has become a buzzword for failure. In hindsight, the die was cast when the powers-that-be determined under consolidation that the white High School of Charleston would close, and the black Burke High would take both black and white students, a tactic destroying any loyalty that white parents as graduates of the former would have for the new school district. Burke not only became the lone high school on the peninsula; it retained its name and loyal following. Probably this agreement was worked out between the fed's attorney, Gregg Meyers(later an influential member of the CCSD School Board), and the NAACP.

Superintendent McGinley's box of tricks that she learned at the Broad Institute have failed her and failed her. No one has confidence that Burke can become an integrated school under the present circumstances. By petitioning the constituent board for transfers, droves of parents have made the choice to send their children to high schools that have the advanced and career programs that all students deserve. As a result, about half of eligible students living on the peninsula attend Burke. It's easy to accuse these parents of racism, but the cause is one of district mismanagement after a stupid initial decision.

No one has confidence that Burke can even retain its recent standing as "average," a rating based largely on better record keeping and last-minute cramming. Other signs point towards the inevitable downward slide. The current principal, Maurice Cannon, does not sound as though he is a solution but actually part of the problem. His perception that Burke's students do not pay attention in class nor do their work because they don't like some of their teachers is asinine. The school clearly lacks good leadership; we all know who controls that variable: Superintendent McGinley.

When you have Arthur Lawrence, a Burke graduate and long-time community supporter of Burke, calling for the shut-down of the school, you know the situation has reached a nadir. Lawrence wants to close Burke and all its programs and take the overflow from Mt. Pleasant's overcrowded Wando High School into the building as a new Mt. Pleasant High School while the district builds the new facility for Mt. Pleasant. Why, look! That means that "Burke" will have an integrated student body and the programs that are impossible to sustain under the present structure.

Now, the NAACP won't like this because Dot Scott doesn't want an integrated high school; she clearly wants a de facto black high school on the peninsula. Of course, she lives in West Ashley.

Mason Prep Leads in English Education, Too

Pleased to see that the independent schools association has recognized the Kreutner brothers' contributions to Charleston-area education, one for leading Mason Prep, where he has taught for 24 years, and one for heading the new University School of the Lowcountry.

Never having had the pleasure of meeting either, over my years of teaching high school English, I developed a healthy respect for Mason Prep's language arts program. It's not much of an exaggeration to state that I never encountered a Mason Prep graduate who didn't know grammar backwards and forwards, and never met a student from any other local school, public or private, who did (although two or three came close).

Perhaps you may think grammar knowledge "old-school," but I defy anyone to teach students ignorant of grammar how to punctuate properly (another lost art, I suppose!).

Congrats to both!

Priority Schools in Charleston County: McGinley Blames Teachers

"Priority" schools, by definition of the state Board of Education are South Carolina's lowest-performing, high-poverty schools. Being named a Priority School is not a compliment; in fact, that sobriquet is reserved for the lowest performing five percent. Only 26 schools statewide are on the list, and five of them are in the Charleston County School District. Richland County has none; Greenville County has only two. Think about that for a moment.

Not too long ago, such schools would be taken over by the state, but state takeovers in the past, such as in Allendale-Fairfax. have not been terribly productive. Now such schools must offer parents the option of transferring to higher-performing schools or intensive free tutoring.

North Charleston's Lambs Elementary featured in a local story states that it is getting poorer every year, a claim based presumably on applications for free and reduced meals. Since this is its second year on the list, perhaps more non-poverty students than poor students have taken the transfer option. Lambs previously drew more students from the military base, but where are they living now? What percentage are bused in from other neighborhood districts? As usual, asking questions regarding details of its decline never occurs to the reporter.

Principal Jamalar Logan took over the school in the middle of last year, but the reporter doesn't ask why. Logan was originally made principal in November 2011 but then had been shifted elsewhere. Perhaps, as in so many of CCSD's poorly-performing schools, Lambs has been the victim of revolving door principals. Certainly Superintendent McGinley and her associate Jim Winbush weren't going to volunteer that information to Mick Zais, especially since both are part of the administration they claim responsible.

In her remarks McGinley seemed to blame lower scores on the higher percentage of Hispanic students; however, that would make sense if the lower scores were in the language arts area. Instead, math and science are the areas of concern. The reporter also forgot to ask if any teachers had left or not had their contracts renewed and if any new teachers were inexperienced.  In addition, since the school will be using a "new math curriculum," would it not be of interest to find out what it is, what has been dropped, and what are perceived as the weaknesses of the old curriculum? And if teachers weren't focused enough on teaching math, whose fault was that?

Despite the reporter's years of reporting on CCSD, she still has little curiosity beyond what the superintendent tells her.

Charter High's Home Run with Middleton

Congratulations to the Charter School for Math and Science! It has wisely chosen Juanita Middleton, a long-time Charleston educator, for its new principal. Middleton as a principal has earned high marks in the past from both parents and teachers, most notably at North Charleston High School in its recovery efforts.

A strong, experienced principal who knows the county and can consolidate CSMS's successes on the academic front while keeping its diverse student body, the best integrated in all of Charleston County, should send shivers down CCSD Superintendent McGinley's spine.

Unfairness:CCSD Principal Versus Teacher Bonuses

Three-year contracts for principals at North Charleston and Burke High Schools do make sense. However, who is really on the front line at these schools? Whose daily efforts will make or break these schools' performances in their attempts to become "average"?

The principals are receiving tens of thousands of dollars extra per year for leading these at-risk schools. Are such bonuses paid to the teachers who agree to teach there? If the schools meet the goals (set by administration) over the three-year contract period, why do the principals, not the teachers, get the bonuses? Why wouldn't sharing be fair?

This is educrat-think at its worst.

Murky Hiring at Northwoods Middle Not Encouraging

Perhaps Dan Conner really will be an effective principal for Northwoods Middle; however. Charleston County School Superintendent Nancy McGinley has some 'splaining to do.

• If Conner was such an effective principal at Stall High School for four years, why did he leave, and why did Stall just make the list of lowest performing schools in the state?
• Why did Conner feel the pull to become a principal in Iowa? Why was his tenure there so stormy?
• Are jobs as principal in middle and high schools really so interchangeable?
• Why was Conner  named interim at Garrett when he came back from Iowa (presumably with his tail between  his legs), and why is Garrett's popular band director now out of a job?
• Why wasn't Northwoods Middle allowed some consistency by keeping on its interim instead of naming Conner in August, just at the beginning of the school year?

Does this situation sound like mismanagement to you?

Principal Tic-Tac-Toe in CCSD

Why has Dan Conner been principal of three schools since 2009, the latest being his appointment to Northwoods Middle?

Thinking Outside the Box on Stall and Greg Mathis

Sadly, both Stall High School and Greg Mathis Charter are on the list of Palmetto Priority Schools, those South Carolina schools that are failing so badly that the state has taken a special interest in them. The Charleston County School District now has nine out of the 35 schools on the list. Is that the most of any school district in the state? Probably.

The administration and boards of trustees of CCSD have brought us to this sorry place over many decades of problems. No one has any reason to believe that somehow Charleston County lacks the resources that other districts have to be successful. Perhaps we go to the top of the list in our excellent facilities, but we go to the bottom in academics.

The upcoming school board election is another chance to fix the problem by electing trustees that actually know how the district works and can hold administration accountable.

Principals at Stall and Greg Mathis have their hands full, but tweaking the lessons taught by teachers, as one suggests, is not the answer. Greg Mathis is a charter school; therefore, why should its charter be renewed if it is failing? Stall has a beautiful new state-of-the-art building. Now, if Superintendent McGinley allows its administrators and teachers to use experience and common sense to address its problems, perhaps they will arrive at solutions that state "experts" couldn't possibly imagine. One might be to throw out edublob thinking.

Burke's and NCHS's Failures McGinley's Fault

Regardless of her credentials from the Broad Institute (or maybe because of them), Superintendent Nancy McGinley of the Charleston County School District simply does not know what to do with Burke and North Charleston High Schools. If it weren't for NCLB, she wouldn't even care. As it is, that embarrassing time has rolled around once again: the threat of a state takeover.

Incompetence can be defined as tinkering with the edges of a poorly-understood problem and calling that success. Thus, in her latest statements McGinley points out how she has cut the number of failing schools in the district. True, by closing them. What does that prove?

Back in mid-June, McGinley gushed in an op-ed about how these two schools were really "dream-making 'opportunity centers."" She complains of the short-sightedness of those who think schools with unconscionably high dropout rates should be labeled as "at risk" or "failing." After all, she points out, some students do achieve and graduate!

Later in the month, NAACP vice-president Joe Darby echoed this drivel in a similar op-ed. He and the NAACP should be ashamed of themselves.

McGinley has had plenty of time to turn around these high schools; obviously she doesn't know how. If it weren't for CCSD Board members who follow her in lockstep, the Board would have voted her out of her position long ago. 

The person most responsible for the poor performances of both schools is the Superintendent. Prior to reaching that position, she was chief academic officer. Once named superintendent, she has appointed the district supervisors and the principals. They are her responsibility and she has blown it.

Whether the state takes over the schools, a private organization such as KIPP is called in, or these schools go charter, McGinley has shown she should not be trusted with the education of the students in and headed for these schools.

But of course Wando, Buist, and the Academic Magnet continue to do well. Apparently that is all McGinley supporters care about.

Playing with Principals in North Charleston

• A principal-selection committee for North Charleston High School, made up of CCSD district and school employees, interviewed applicants with no experience as principals and selected one of them as a finalist.


• Some interviewees seemed to have seen the committee's questions in advance.


• Poor, overworked Superintendent McGinley has taken on "an associate superintendent's job"to speak to employees and supervisors of the remaining finalists.


• NCHS has had seven principals in the last 10 years. No wonder.

Principal Proposals Drive CCSD Opponents Together

My husband's retired British army uncle had a favorite saying about himself: "I'm so far right that I meet myself coming around the other side."

So maybe that is what occurred recently in the Charleston County School District when the superintendent proposed moving principals at Burke and North Charleston High Schools. Suddenly, constituents who frequently find themselves on opposite sides of her plans now find agreement on that one. And they're not for it, either. How else to explain agreement between Dot Scott and Elizabeth Kandrac? Joseph Darby and Mary Ann Taylor?

Shakespeare said it first: politics makes strange bedfellows.

We may have just witnessed the first act of Superintendent McGinley's removal.

Do the Principal Shuffle in CCSD

From one failing school to another: Principal Benton of Burke High School will become interim principal of North Charleston High for the next year only while a nationwide search for the perfect principal occurs.

How many principals has North Charleston High School endured in the last six years?

Maybe the "principal shuffle" is part of the problem. Or should I say the superintendent, since she's the one shuffling them?

75 Calhoun at Fault; Not CCSD Principals

Are they too protective of their jobs to say so?

Why should CCSD's high school principals track the movements of students who graduated from their feeder middle schools so that they can calculate graduation rates? This information should be supplied by the district administration. They are the ones who know who was in CCSD eighth grades!

Still, it is remarkable that only one-third of students from feeder schools for West Ashley actually graduate from that high school.

Funny. That was about the graduation rate for St. Andrews 50 years ago when school attendance was not required.

Churning Principals in CCSD

So what gives? Why will one out of five principals be new to the job in the Charleston County School District this fall? Check out Tuesday's list at 12 New School Leaders Hired for yourself.

Statistics that would be of interest include how many resigned "for personal reasons," since "switching schools" within the district must have been instigated by the district itself. Also of interest would be the cost of "hiring bonuses" for those heading low-achieving schools.

Most Board members found their rubber stamps to validate the Superintendent's selections. What justified ignoring, as member Kandrac put it, "a bad reference," "an incomplete application," and the committee's top choice?

It couldn't be nepotism. Maybe it's politics.

Burns Not CCSD Initiative

In the misleading leads department: "The academic failure of Edmund A. Burns Elementary in North Charleston has persisted for so long that Charleston County school leaders plan to fundamentally change the school this fall." [See Burns Elementary to Be Reconstituted This Fall in Monday's on-line edition.]

Call rewrite!

What the lead should say: "The academic failure of Edmund A. Burns Elementary in North Charleston has persisted for so long that guidelines under No Child Left Behind have forced Charleston County school leaders to fundamentally change the school this fall."

So far, changes that Superintendent McGinley has seen as the most effective include assigning four different principals during the past five years.

Well, that should have done it.

Discipline for Dummies:It's the Principal

In its yearly survey the Charleston Teacher Alliance (what passes for a teachers' organization in these parts) found considerable dismay over discipline problems in some schools. [See Discipline Problems Still an Issue in Sunday's P&C.]

Pointing out that teachers always want more discipline (!), CCSD Superintendent Nancy McGinley was quick to voice her rebuttal. Her tough response to the complaints was to send emails:

"McGinley planned to e-mail all of the principals of schools where more than 70 percent of teachers cited problems with the way their school handles discipline. She said she was doing so to ensure that the principals were aware of their concerns."

Well, that should be effective!

All of these emailed principals are serving at the pleasure of the superintendent. Where does the buck stop?

Surprise! Expectations for Students Make a Difference

What every teacher knows:

Without order and discipline in a school, academics suffer. So Ken Burger's column in Thursday's P&C on the turn-around at Haut Gap on Johns Island surprises only in its common-sense approach. See Order Is a Product of Expectation.

Burger touts Haut Gap as a magnet school (although statistics would prove it). And a new school building may be just the opportunity to shake off old stereotypes of poor academics and daily mayhem. (Haut Gap was originally built in the 1950s during segregation to show that black schools could be "separate but equal.")

The magnet program and new building are just the icing. What really makes the cake and drives any school's improvement is a good principal. Principal Paul Padron and Ed White, his "PBIS instructional coach" (i.e., head disciplinarian) are to be commended, as well as the rest of the staff who are making a difference in the lives of students who aren't always expected to succeed.

We can't count on all students' having interested, involved, and caring parents--even if each child deserves them!

CCSD's Principle of Constant Principal Turnover

The other shoe dropped on the disappearance of Burns Elementary's third principal in three years: see Domino Effect in Tuesday's P&C.

According to the article, "Before schools dismissed for winter break, officials named Beth McCraw, principal of Burns Elementary School, as the principal on special assignment to oversee the splitting of Midland Park. Deborah Smith, an assistant principal at Drayton Hall Elementary School, was named interim principal for Burns."

Now, McCraw may be just the person for this new assignment; however, Stall's move onto a new campus and the resulting "domino effect" should have been foreseen for months. Why must Burns Elementary give up yet another stabilizing force at a school that, according to one parent, "has had 5 assistant principals, a whole new office staff, and 50% or more turnover."

That's a question that deserves an answer.