Dear Board of Education,
First, I am concerned about the time that is being allocated to this search. Your outreach on social media says the board “will” hire a search firm. What is the timeframe allotted for a true search or will this be a non-competitive contract? Are you planning to utilize the prior search firm? When will the decision about which firm to hire be made? You have indicated you want this to be a comprehensive and inclusive search. This information would be a good place to start.
That said, I do have a wish list for a new superintendent.
1. Integrity and honesty. The very first characteristics you need to screen for are integrity and honesty. We need leadership that models the highest standards for staff and students and then lives up to them.
2. Willingness to learn from mistakes. The system talks about a growth mindset for kids, but not enough about how important it is for its leaders to be willing to try, fail, and learn from those failures. But to do this well, leaders need to be willing to admit when they’ve fallen short and be willing to learn from that experience. Our next superintendent needs the courage to stand up and say, “This went poorly. Here is what we have learned and will do differently moving forward.”
3. An outsider. At this point, Montgomery County Public Schools will not be best served by an internal candidate.
4. Fiscal prudence. With budgets tightening and a lack of inclination by the county executive and County Council to raise taxes again after last year’s significant increase, we need a superintendent who understands education budgeting and is willing to stop funding what isn’t working in order to maximize funds for essential programs and services.
5. Commitment to open data. Our next superintendent should not only model honesty but must be willing to openly share data behind decisions (even if the data doesn’t make the superintendent look good).
6. Ability to build coalitions. The new superintendent will have an uphill battle to genuinely engage interested community members, associations, and state and local elected officials. They must be humble, gracious, and willing to work collaboratively to move forward what is best for MCPS students, teachers and families.
7. Commitment to all students. The next superintendent should be dedicated to working toward what is best for all students, using open data about inequitable opportunities and outcomes to tailor approaches. This also means attention must be paid to bias and hate speech and crimes directed at all groups.
8. An unwavering commitment to student and staff safety. Our next superintendent should affirm the importance of the health, well-being, and safety of students, even if that means the school system needs to admit mistakes or change processes. For too long, MCPS superintendents have protected the system and themselves at the expense of further traumatizing students who have been victimized. We have seen the backlash to this in the form of large settlements; my hope is that we find a superintendent whose commitment to student safety prevents these kinds of issues from occurring at all.
9. An understanding of federal and state regulations and a commitment to compliance. I have been shocked and disappointed at the culture at MCPS that seems to believe that the system should be an exception to the various rules that have been made by state and federal government regulators. From the outrageous lack of compliance with Title IX seen in the Beidleman scandal, to the very real lapses in special education in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to the troubling lack of connection between the Division of Food and Nutrition Services and its determinations of food need and how that connects to Title I, there is a real issue around compliance and cooperation with federal programs. That needs to stop and we need to be implementing these with integrity.
MCPS is at a pivotal moment in the court of public opinion. This Board of Education must implement a national search process that takes community input, especially that of the three staff associations (Montgomery County Education Association, Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals and Service Employees International Union), into account.
I hope that MCPS looks at the example of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which hired Randy Clarke as its general manager. His transparency, evident commitment to the transit system, efforts to connect with staff and unions, stellar public communication skills, and willingness to admit when mistakes are made has contributed to a new day at WMATA. The Board of Education has an opportunity to hire someone who can do that for MCPS.
Brigid Howe is an MCPS parent and alumna of Watkins Mill High School who lives in Wheaton. Her son is in seventh grade at Odessa Shannon Middle School in Silver Spring.