Earlier this week, Cleveland Schools CEO Eugene Sanders announced his intentions to resign. Sanders retirement came as a surprise to many throughout the city. Just six months ago he announced a wide scale school transformation plan, calling it the most important work of his career. While the district has asserted its intentions to continue moving forward with the plan, its success is without a doubt in question.
Cleveland, like many other cities with failing schools, is struggling to keep students and attract high-quality teachers. Bold reform is needed. But can it be achieved without sustainable leadership?
The D.C. public schools face a similar challenge. This past November, school Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Mayor Adrian Fenty suffered an electoral defeat that has put the city’s education transformation plan in jeopardy. While Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray has promised to continue those reforms, there is still a sense of uncertainty about the future. The challenges facing Americas education system are too daunting for inconsistent leadership. School chiefs need time to implement their plans. And elected officials need to think creatively about how they hire superintendents. Even more importantly, superintendents must implement succession planning into their human capital strategies. All of these factors are critical to ensure school effectiveness.
It is my hope that Cleveland community leaders will do their due diligence to ensure our next schools chief has the commitment and the vision to turn around Cleveland’s schools. With a 54% graduation rate, one of the lowest in the nation, we need more than a plan…we need a movement.
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