Superintendent - State of the Schools Address 2007State of the Schools Address
January 25, 2007
Dr. Stephen C. Jones
Starting a Revolution in Public Education: Building Community Support for World-Class Schools
(Video Link) ¦ (PDF file)
Thank you, Mr. Bishop. And thanks to each of you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us tonight. It’s become a tradition for the Superintendent to offer a State of the Schools Address that highlights not only our accomplishments over the past year, but also shares our vision for an exciting future.
As I prepared my remarks, I thought it especially appropriate that this address takes place just a few weeks after our celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and just before we begin African American History Month… appropriate because I am going to speak to you tonight about our dream for the future… and appropriate because, like some historical African American figures, I’m going to advocate some revolutionary ideas.
Some of what I share tonight might be a bit unsettling. But I think it’s something we need to discuss. As we talk about changing institutions, there is a tendency to become pessimistic. But I submit to you tonight that we cannot afford to lose our ability to dream. We cannot lose our ability to articulate our aspirations.
For too long we have tolerated mediocrity and hopelessness in public education. For too long we have accepted excuses for why some children cannot perform. We have been happy because an individual teacher or single school found a way to succeed with “those kids.”
Consider Sam. As a kindergartner, he often fought with his classmates. Sam rarely spoke up in class or interacted positively with others. Even during recess he would sit idle as others played.
But first grade teacher Sharyn Kauffman made a difference in his life. Ms. Kauffman could head off the negative interactions… and she got him hooked on books.
Now Sam looks forward to ordering books through school and reading. According to Sam’s mother, Annette Wise, Sam’s favorite area of any store is now the book and magazine section. If he disappears, she knows just where to look.
Currently Sam is in second grade at Willard Model School and his principal Maritsa Alger says he continues to do well and still loves to read. Sam, his mother, his teacher, and his principal are here with us this evening. Let’s give them a round of applause.
I also would like to introduce you to Jonah. This young man has a variety of illnesses that cause pain, memory loss and extreme fatigue. As a result, one of his teachers was not sure Jonah could make it in her course. Fortunately for Jonah, Charlotte Ambrose agreed to work with him.
Then, another obstacle cropped up. Because of his medical challenges, Jonah had to stay home for nearly four months. But Ms. Ambrose and Jonah’s homebound teacher Rosa Ross continued to help him. Because of their hard work, Jonah earned a “B” in a history class that had been deemed “too difficult” for him.
Due to another bout of illness, Jonah and his mother aren’t able to be here tonight. But, his teachers and his former principal, Cassandra Goodwyn of Lafayette-Winona Middle School, are with us. Please join me in a round of applause for their success!
Ladies and Gentlemen: Regardless of skin color or special need, “those kids” are OUR kids… Those kids are MY kids. I accept responsibility for each of them.
My question for you is this: Are you willing to accept responsibility for every child in the city of Norfolk?
I’m not talking about just the children in your family. I’m not just talking about the children in your neighborhood. I’m talking about ALL the children in ALL the schools… EVERY SINGLE CHILD… the poor kids… the rich kids… the brown kids… the white kids… the boys… the girls… all of them.
These kids are MY kids.
Are they yours?
In the wake of No Child Left Behind, many people ask: How can our current public education system ensure the success of every student. The frightening answer is that it CAN’T.
I believe our response to this challenge will determine our future as a city. I agree with former Secretary of Education Rod Paige that public education is THE critical civil rights issue of the 21st century.
Paige contends in a 2004 Wall Street Journal editorial: “If a child is denied a quality education, his future is dimmed by ignorance, indifference, callousness, and disregard.”
A recent report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce entitled Tough Choices or Tough Times highlights the need for our revolutionary approach. It laments that whereas for most of the 20th century the United States had the best-educated workforce in the world, that’s no longer true. Over the past 30 years, one country after another has surpassed us in the number of people entering the workforce with the equivalent of a high school diploma. And, unfortunately, many more countries are on the verge of passing us.
The report continues to explain that more and more American workers at every skill level are in direct competition with workers across the globe. Those of you who have read Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat know that our students will not be in competition just with students in Hampton Roads or the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our graduates will be in competition with graduates from Bang-Galore to Beijing.
The new commission recommends ten quite radical steps to create a brand new educational system. I don’t have the power or influence to make those things happen, but I know that our educators agree with many of the tenets of the report. For example:
Recruiting the best and brightest to become teachers… and offering the kind of salaries that will attract them...
Frontloading success by investing in early childhood education...
Providing a larger share of resources to those most in need to help students overcome early learning obstacles...
Making efficient use of allocated resources, and the list goes on…
While it might take a while for the “radical” ideas put forth in this report to gain acceptance, we are ready to move forward now with our own revolution here in Norfolk and our journey tracks a parallel path… a journey that also mirrors the one being charted by our City officials. Their steady leadership has spawned a host of beneficial changes in Norfolk. And we know that the public schools can be a vital accelerator of that renaissance.
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a Norfolk with world-class schools. Now imagine a Norfolk housing market where people aggressively pursue homes because they want their kids in those schools. Imagine a city that businesses choose because of the quality of life it offers their employees and their employee’s children… A remarkable vision, isn’t it?
If we are revolutionary, we can bring about that profound change for Norfolk.
The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce predicts that in order to capture a premium in world markets — in order to pay high wages in a world economy — a country must maintain a technological lead and tap a “deep vein of creativity.”
The report explains: “This is a world in which a very high level of preparation in reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, science, literature, history, and the arts will be an indispensable foundation for everything that comes after for most members of the workforce. It is a world in which comfort with ideas and abstractions is the passport to a good job... in which creativity and innovation are the keys to the good life... in which high levels of education – a very different kind of education than most of us have had – are going to be the only security there is.”
Ladies and Gentlemen: This is “powerful literacy” — the type of education we have committed to providing for ALL our students. We have pledged to maximize every child’s potential to both analyze and synthesize… to be creative and innovative… to function as part of a team and adapt quickly to change.
We have declared that we will become world-class by the year 2010. We have enlisted ourselves in support of a single vision:
a vision where powerfully literate students use disparate information to generate new knowledge... where they employ “habits of the mind” to overcome new challenges…
a vision where gender, race, and ethnicity aren’t predictive of an academic outcome…
a vision where we see dramatically increased performance on SAT, PSAT, and ACT tests making our students more competitive in the higher education market…
a vision where our students are prepared to enter challenging and emerging fields such as computer simulation and biochemistry.
We have thrown away the old paradigm and built a new one. We are assuming individual responsibility for every child. And, we are attempting to focus the hearts and minds of every community member on the message that “ALL truly does mean ALL.”
Now, that’s quite an adaptive challenge… An adaptive challenge is one that requires us to change our attitudes… our hearts… our minds. There is no quick, technical fix. In their book Leadership on the Line, authors Martin Linsky and Ronald Heifetz explain: “Leadership would be a safe undertaking if your organizations and communities only faced problems for which they already knew the solutions.”
The authors refer to these challenges as “technical problems” because we already have the knowledge necessary to make an easy, structural or procedural change. But they also identify a different type of problem — a harder problem — the adaptive challenge. These obstacles require experiments, new discoveries, and adjustments from numerous places within the organization or community. There is no expert guidance or simple solution available.
Heifetz and Linsky continue: “Without learning new ways – changing attitudes, values, and behaviors – people cannot make the adaptive leap necessary to thrive in the new environment…. People cannot see at the beginning of the adaptive process that the new situation will be any better than the current condition.”
Ladies and Gentlemen: We face a tremendous adaptive challenge. There is a well-meaning but insidious belief that “this is as good as it gets.” People are thrilled because we won the Broad Prize. People are pleased that more of our students are performing at higher levels.
But… there is a secret belief in our communities… and sometimes a not-so-secret belief… that “ALL means ALL” is a nice thing to say, but it can’t become a reality.
A while back I had a meeting with some influential leaders. When I told them we wanted every student to complete an Advanced Placement course or its equivalent and to be fluent in another language before graduation, their jaws dropped. They didn’t reply verbally, but their expressions said it all. Their faces said quite clearly: “Every kid? There’s no way!”
That reaction puzzles me. I am absolutely certain that each person in that meeting wanted that accomplishment for their own children… In fact, they had probably done everything possible to ensure their children got the necessary experiences along the way. So, why not do the same for allchildren?
I know that my three grandchildren will have those benefits... I know that my wife and I did everything we could to ensure that our son took higher level math in high school… even though he didn’t like it and even though it wasn’t one of his natural gifts. We pushed because we knew he needed it.
If my son can do it, why not every child? If it’s good enough for my grandchildren or grandchildren born to wealth and privilege, why not every child? Folks, this isn’t wishful thinking. We KNOW success is possible.
At Oakwood Elementary, one hundred percent… you heard me… one hundred percent of the fifth graders passed the writing AND math Standards of Learning tests. In third grade, every single student passed the science and history SOLs. That’s a perfect pass rate on four tests! Let’s give Oakwood a round of applause!
But that’s not all… one hundred percent of Dreamkeepers’ third graders and one hundred percent of Poplar Hall’s third graders passed the History SOL… one hundred percent of Dreamkeepers’ fourth graders passed the English and math SOLs… one hundred percent of Ingleside’s fifth graders, one hundred percent of Taylor’s fifth graders, and one hundred percent of Willoughby’s fifth graders passed the writing SOLs. Let’s give those schools a round of applause too.
Folks, this is exciting… but we can take this success to scale... Look at these middle school and end-of-course SOL tests where we also have 100 percent pass rates… This is NOT as good as it gets. [PAUSE]
There’s an old adage that says you can’t be a prophet in your own land. That may be true, but I’m certainly going to try. You might have read a few editorials about us recently in the Virginian Pilot. We may never get the respect we believe we deserve in the media. But it’s more important to me that each of you in the community understands our commitment.
I will say it now unequivocally: We are committed to every single student. Not one should drop out... Not one should be left behind... We are not satisfied with our performance. We are not finished… not by a long shot.
After all, there is still much to be accomplished. Our data clearly demonstrates that we have much work to do to increase graduation rates. We must find meaningful and effective alternative education solutions for those of our students who have difficulty in the traditional school environment. We must continue to enhance our special education support and improve performance. And, we must do more to identify gifted education students and truly challenge their abilities.
The awards we have earned… the national accolades we have attracted do not mean we are perfect. Rather, they recognize the incredible progress we have made in beating the odds. Our achievement gaps have closed significantly. Student performance has increased dramatically. We can see light at the end of the tunnel. So let’s give credit where it’s due… Some urban school systems find themselves in tunnels so dark and so deep that not only can’t they see light, they can’t tell which direction is out.
An editorial ran a few months earlier entitled “Straight Talk on Norfolk Schools.” The editorial declaimed, “The issue is not whether the goal of world-class schools is worthy, but whether it is wise, given all the remedial work that still must be done in the classroom and in the neighborhoods. “Is it realistic for Norfolk to attempt to raise the ceiling on achievement while at the same time shoring up the floor? And what will be done to ensure the bottom is not sacrificed in the pursuit of the top?”
Ladies and Gentlemen: I think it is eminently reasonable for us to reach for world-class status while we remediate... We’ve been doing it for the last eight years with great success! At the same time that we have been closing achievement gaps between groups, performance for all students has increased. Look at the trend results in third and fifth grade math. As the gaps narrow between sets of scores, the overall achievement levels of both groups continues to rise!
And, these aren’t isolated examples. It’s a documented fact: In Norfolk Public Schools, success for one group of students has not come at the expense of another… and we are not about to let that start happening now.
I did find one item I could agree with in that editorial. It’s in the next few lines: “A world-class school system can’t be obtained without a world-class budget, and Norfolk doesn’t have one. To be credible school and city leaders must acknowledge that shortcoming and forecast how much it will cost to remedy.”
I agree. Resources will be a key factor in our success. For that reason, I will be putting forth a budget request that allows us to make progress… not tread water. I will be working with City leaders to find a sustainable, long-term approach that allows us to address overdue maintenance and renovation projects.
We can do great things… We can ensure every child is a success... But making that happen is a matter of will for this community. In my opinion, it is the greatest, most important question facing us as a City.
Make no mistake, our city leaders have been faithful partners in this endeavor. They believe in strong public education. But in fairness to them, they cannot effectively plan for the long term unless we tell them what we truly need. And our city leaders need to hear from you as well. City Council cannot make the tough choices to do what is necessary to fully fund our needs unless they know it is a high priority for the community.
We will continue to pressure the State to pay its fair share of expenses, but if we truly are to do what is right for our children, we cannot wait. To take our success to scale… to ensure our strategic plan is a success… we need more support and more resources. We need a sustained and predictable revenue stream — one that doesn’t pit books against bricks.
We know there is no “silver bullet” for fixing public education, but silver IS required. We must maintain our competitiveness in teacher compensation and recognition. We are completing a pay and classification study and must be prepared to pay our employees a fair wage based on prevailing market figures.
And what if we want more for our children?
If we want every child to complete Algebra I by the end of eighth grade, we need highly qualified Math teachers... But, they are hard to come by.
If we want every child to complete at least one Advanced Placement or equivalent course prior to graduation, we need to train more teachers and increase the rigor of our curriculum... We need support courses and more enrichment opportunities.
If we want every child to fluently speak another language by graduation, we need to hire more language teachers and begin instruction in elementary school.
All these things sound great, right? Higher level math… AP courses… mastery of another language other than English… Aren’t these all things you would want for your child… or grandchild... or niece or nephew?
Then why as a city would we not want these things for every single child?
Ladies and Gentlemen: THOSE KIDS ARE MY KIDS.
Are you ready to say it? This is revolutionary thinking.
Tonight, I am asking you to support a significant, long-term investment in public education... If you are a parent, the value of investing in public education is obvious…it can ensure that your child is not limited when it comes to choosing a career path or a college education. It’s the difference between a graduate flipping burgers or flipping a coin to determine which Ivy League university he or she will attend.
If you are a community member or business leader, the return on investment may not be as clear. But if ever there was a case of “pay me now or pay me later,” this is it. I heard a startling fact recently... I was told that planners make projections for how many prison beds will be needed by looking at the numbers of students not reading on grade level by Grade 3. Investing in world-class public schools can keep that number low.
If you want your business to prosper…If you want to preserve your home values… If you want social justice… invest in our schools.
If you want to ensure that our graduates become the next generation of compassionate citizens… If you want to ensure they are capable leaders… invest in Norfolk Public Schools.
Clearly, quality public education benefits you whether you have children in school or not.
Now, the Pilot editorial is quick to point to our recent middle school math scores and other difficulties as reasons to aim lower. But I’m talking to you tonight about investing... and any reputable financial planner will tell you to invest for the long-term.
Short term fluctuations can be expected. The same can be said for public education. After all, kids are not widgets. We cannot machine them to precise specifications and tolerances. There will be variations and occasional set backs. But the true predictor of success is our long-term performance.
Let me share our “prospectus” with you…
I’ll start with our short-term performance:
Elementary school Standards of Learning pass rates exceeded state benchmarks for all subjects and reflected one-year gains in eight of nine subjects
Middle school SOL pass rates exceeded state benchmarks for seven of nine courses and reflected one-year gains in three of five subjects.
High School and End-of-course SOL pass rates exceeded state benchmarks for nine of 12 subjects and reflected one-year gains in four subjects.
Graduates of the class of 2006 earned more than $18 million in scholarships... in part because of the Broad Foundation and ACCESS support...
And…Discipline, crime and violent incidents accounted for less than 3% of the student population and showed an overall decline for the last five years.
Now let’s talk about the long-term… Over the last five years:
Grade 3 writing and science score pass rates increased over 19 percent
Grade 5 math and grade 8 pass rates increased over 23 percent
Grade 3 history pass rates increased over 26 percent
End-of-course Virginia and U.S. history pass rates increased over 27 percent, and
Grade 5 history pass rates increased over 28 percent
As a result of this type of performance the year prior, Norfolk earned the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2005… an award recognizing our tremendous accomplishments and our commitment to continue striving for excellence. Broad officials confided in us that had Norfolk been eligible for consideration again in 2006, the race would have been too close to call.
Additionally, this year our School Board was selected by the National School Boards Association and the Council of Urban Boards of Education as the best urban school board in the nation…
Folks, this is an impressive track record… one that clearly demonstrates we are worthy of significant investment. You would be hard pressed to find a better return on your dollar. We are a proven, responsible steward of public funds and we continue to hold ourselves accountable for improved results.
We are taking advantage of strategic partnerships to further our goals. The Norfolk Education Foundation formed to help the school system build private support and funds for our schools. We are working closely with the Norfolk Foundation to launch further initiatives to decrease the number of dropouts and increase our graduation rate… an effort that would look not only at school factors but community influences as well.
We are building stronger ties with Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Regent University, Tidewater Community College, and Virginia Wesleyan College to leverage the educational opportunities available to our students and to build a stronger cohort of teacher candidates available for hire in our schools.
Further, we will implement performance contracts that will enable us to save utilities and maintenance monies over time. And we are completing Phase 2 of a facilities study that will allow us to better prioritize and address our capital maintenance and improvement needs.
We know no hidden pot of money exists in the city coffers. But we are willing to explore every avenue… take advantage of every partnership available… to help us move forward in our journey to achieving world-class status.
Are you willing to support us? Are you willing to think revolutionary thoughts?
We are witnessing the “perfect storm” here in Norfolk. We have a solid, attainable vision for world-class status. We have exceptional leadership in our classrooms and on our Board. We have built momentum in improving academic achievement for all students.
World-class public schools are possible… but we can’t delay without further risk of losing ground. The community must make a vocal and sustained commitment to excellence in public education.
Success is possible. Consider the example of a European country that could be considered richer in human resources than natural resources. Ireland is now the second wealthiest country in the European Union after Luxemborg. Its per capita gross domestic product is higher than other “powerhouses” such as Britain, France, and Germany.
This wasn’t a lucky accident. Ireland’s economic resurgence in the 90’s came as a result of targeted investments in education since the 60’s. And, what was the result of those investments? Nine out of 10 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies…16 of the 20 top medical device development companies… and seven of the 10 top software designers have operations in Ireland. The country has become a “knowledge economy.”
Norfolk can become a “knowledge economy” too.
I’ll leave you tonight with some thoughts from a revolutionary... Frederick Douglass. In an 1857 speech he said: “Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions.... have been born of earnest struggle…. If there is no struggle there is no progress.
“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground... They want rain without thunder and lightening... They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.
“This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle.”
Ladies and Gentlemen: Our struggle lies ahead… a struggle to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers… a struggle to change attitudes and spread the belief that this is NOT as good as it gets.
The journey will not be easy, but success is possible.
Ladies & Gentlemen: Those kids are MY kids!
I hope that you are ready to say it too... I hope that you are ready to claim all of Norfolk’s children as your own...
The revolution has begun… Its fate is in your hands.
We need your advocacy... and we need your support. We can become a world-class school system by the year 2010 with your help... IF... you are willing to claim ALL Norfolk’s children as your own...
Good night and thank you for your attention.
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