Chatting with the Chancellors

Tonight I had the privilege of attending a program titled, "Can the New York City School System Serve as a Model for DC?" I was initially leery about attending - was it worth my time to brave the rainy rush hour traffic to attend a presentation where I'd have to pass through a metal detector to hear more eduspeak?

Absolutely.

The discussion with New York Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was the best presentation on K-12 education I have heard in a long while. I've lived in DC, Maryland, and NYC, and moved to Maryland because of the schools. DC and NY may have more educational challenges, and, like MoCo, their educational leadership certainly has its share of detractors.

With the exception of the metal detectors, Bell HS is like your average MoCo school - no soap in the bathrooms, posters on the wall. The auditorium looked like Blair's.

But - the first noticeable difference was that the audience wasn't packed with school staff members with matching notebooks. Listening to the folks around me, I heard a variety of voices - some were in the educational world, others were members of the organizations sponsoring the talks, while others, like me, were somewhat tangentially related.

Second - no canned presentation by Ms. Rhee or Mr. Klein. The moderator, an educational consultant, opened up discussions with a few questions to the panelists, and both responded - without power points or notes.

Then the presentation was opened up for questions from the floor. Not the fill in your index card and we'll select the ones we think are appropriate variety of questions, prescreened or planted, but actual questions from the floor. Anyone who wanted to ask a question simply got on line and waited their turn.

So - what is my takeaway from tonight's talk?

We may have a school system that has fewer challenges than these districts, but what NY and DC have and what we lack in MoCo is a focus on the kids in the schools.

Here are some of the more memorable discussions from my notes. I wish I had a tape recorder, or could type faster, or a larger piece of paper on which to scribble, but here goes. Apologies in advance for any transcriptional or misquotes.

Mr. Klein talked about organizations that don't insist on accountability fall into disrepair and are nonperforming; accountability must be at every level with transparency. He also mentioned trimming the bureaucracy - if a position doesn't contribute to the kids, get rid of the position and move the money back to the schools. His goal is not a great school system but a system comprised of great schools.

From Ms. Rhee - the main resource is time. Three necessary elements of a strong program are human capital, choice, and a better infrastructure as measured by accurate data and good decision making. Mr. Klein added that mayoral control is also essential. Does this mean they welcome oversight?

Ms. Rhee also discussed that it was not merely enough to have programs like IB or Montessori unless these programs were implemented with fidelity. No "mini" or sounds like programs are on her agenda - do the real thing so parents and students get what is advertised.

Both stated that the status quo is probably their biggest obstacle in improving the school system and getting the students to minimal competency to meet the challenges of the future.

Ms. Rhee and Mr. Klein actually go and sit down with teachers and students. Genuine, authentic conversations, on a regular basis, sometimes with the press in the room, but not with the intent of a soundbite for the next day's paper.

And, at the end of the program, when the moderator wanted to cut short the questions to give the speakers time for closing thoughts, Mr. Klein cut in to say that he'd rather continue with the questions, since the folks had stood on line very patiently.

Wow.

Tangible results in the DC and NY City schools may not be apparent for a few years because change takes time. However, if I were sitting on a panel selecting a new superintendent for my kids school district, I would select the applicant who actually sits down and talks with kids on a regular basis.

This event was also covered on the Washington Post's Blog D.C. Wire: Rhee and Klein Talk Reform