New superintendent, old story
The Daily Howler expounds today on two recurring syndromes: enthusiastic, too-glowing-to-live-up-to accolades for new superintendents stepping into the top role in challenging school districts, and education reporters who parrot inaccurate statistics and information without checking.
Today's topic is John Deasy, moving from the top spot in the Santa Monica-Malibu school district to run Prince George's County schools in Maryland. Deasy is moving from a small, largely white and wealthy district to a huge, heavily disadvantaged minority district. When the Washington Post ran a flattering story about Deasy's candidacy for the job, it misleadingly quoted statistics for Santa Monica-Malibu schools that included adult students. Those statistics inflated both the size of the school district (from 12,500 to 14,000 students) and the percentage of disadvantaged nonwhite students (because adult students tend to be from hard-knock lives). That inaccuracy may have lessened the impression that Deasy is underwhelmingly qualified to run a high-poverty, 133,000-student district.
Howler nicks the Post for its mild, unconcerned correction of the misinformation in its Feb. 23 profile of Deasy.
I posted last October about a chapter of Jonathan Kozol's book "The Shame of the Nation" that addresses "the high set of expectations that attach themselves to changes in the topmost personnel." The public and the press tend to make new superindents the toast of the town, predicting that true reform has arrived. When it doesn't happen, the thumping begins.
Let's see what happens to Deasy. Sorry not to give him the benefit of the doubt, but this syndrome sounds pretty familiar.
— Caroline
Today's topic is John Deasy, moving from the top spot in the Santa Monica-Malibu school district to run Prince George's County schools in Maryland. Deasy is moving from a small, largely white and wealthy district to a huge, heavily disadvantaged minority district. When the Washington Post ran a flattering story about Deasy's candidacy for the job, it misleadingly quoted statistics for Santa Monica-Malibu schools that included adult students. Those statistics inflated both the size of the school district (from 12,500 to 14,000 students) and the percentage of disadvantaged nonwhite students (because adult students tend to be from hard-knock lives). That inaccuracy may have lessened the impression that Deasy is underwhelmingly qualified to run a high-poverty, 133,000-student district.
Howler nicks the Post for its mild, unconcerned correction of the misinformation in its Feb. 23 profile of Deasy.
I posted last October about a chapter of Jonathan Kozol's book "The Shame of the Nation" that addresses "the high set of expectations that attach themselves to changes in the topmost personnel." The public and the press tend to make new superindents the toast of the town, predicting that true reform has arrived. When it doesn't happen, the thumping begins.
Let's see what happens to Deasy. Sorry not to give him the benefit of the doubt, but this syndrome sounds pretty familiar.
— Caroline
posted by caroline @ 7:14 PM
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