Tag: leadership
We must end the Test-and-Die era, part 2: “Why do people think I’m a school shooter? What have I done to deserve this.”
The Saturday after the Douglas shooting, I listened to a recording of school resource sheriff’s deputy interrogating a Polk County 11th grader with autism. The interrogation occurred in the child’s own house the previous Thursday night after the shooting. It was accompanied by a search that found nothing. Prior to this year, this child has no hint of a school…
A battle for the leadership culture and soul of the Polk School District, part 1: the Tenoroc/GJ investigations reveal comprehensive, catastrophic leadership failure
In the last seven years, the Polk School District has twice investigated multiple allegations of sexual harassment against current Tenoroc High School Principal Jason Looney. To my knowledge, all of the players are different in the two investigations except Jason Looney. He is the common element. The first was at George Jenkins High School in 2010. The second is at…
Power, sex, and leadership: an urgent policy need
Since June, I’ve become aware of three personnel decisions or relationships tainted by allegations of favoritism or mistreatment tied to undisclosed consensual sexual relationships. I’ve been made aware by the public or close stakeholders who provided detailed accusations. I make no claims about the truth of the allegations — only their existence and detail. One of three has already resolved…
The truth about Hunt’s mailer: two open lies, three fuzzy falsehoods, and a revelation of character
Adversity reveals character. Over the last six months, I’ve used deeply researched, substantive critiques to hold Hunt Berryman to account for his performance as a School Board member and leader. I beat him by 10 percentage points in August’s primary race. I won 90 percent of precincts across the county. Hunt has responded to this adversity by adopting many of…
We. Are. Winning. But we still need your help.
Tuesday night at the Farm Bureau political forum and dinner, my incumbent opponent actually said this: “I will fight for teachers.” Really. A declarative sentence. I’m willing to bet those words have never before come out of his mouth. I’ve certainly never heard anything close to that from him. I welcome him to the fight. But it’s quite the evolution….
The new needs friends: an optimistic note to supporters and skeptics
This is my favorite sequence from the Disney movie — Ratatouille. The all-powerful food critic, Anton Ego, confronting himself after a life-changing meal cooked by a rat. It’s one of my favorite scenes in any movie, ever. Here’s the key quote: “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over…
Of LEAD money, teacher retention, and how new voices can shape a new district culture
Polk School District budget director Jason Pitts did not intend to accuse teachers of widespread theft of the state’s Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program. Thus far, I have failed to convince him to say that himself publicly, which was my goal in writing about this. (More on that in a moment.) But after talking to him Monday, I think I…
My sympathies and expectations for Polk’s district administrators
Recently, I was approached by a long-time Polk School District administrator. She’s a functional leader, not an organizational leader. She and her staff work daily with schools. And she was upset with the relentless focus from virtually all candidates on the shortcomings of Bartow leadership. It’s wearing her down, she said. She didn’t really disagree with our core critique of…
