The other day, Jon wrote a piece about the Achievement School District (ASD) adjusting its timetable for engaging families and community members in neighborhoods where they may be taking over schools. Whereas the ASD has in the past waited to announce its “short list” of schools until the Fall, after TCAP scores are released, they will now begin that process in the Spring.
This will give parents and communities more time to understand the situation and have their voices heard. It will allow more authentic dialogue compared to the current process, which has seemed to many as too rushed. And it will allow schools to respond with improvement plans over the summer.
This is an important story because it demonstrates how parents, neighborhood leaders, and elected officials can hold a district accountable. It shows, too, how one district (here, SCS) can hold another district (here, the ASD) accountable.
I applaud the ASD for listening to concerns and making this change.
But the ASD is not the only district that needs to make some changes with how it engages families and communities around failing schools. Shelby County Schools (SCS) has room to improve here as well.
One of the most frequent reactions to the ASD takeover process is shock. Parents and community members don’t seem to know how schools are performing and are, therefore, shocked when told their school is eligible for takeover because it’s in the bottom-5% in the state. That’s a lot to process.
No wonder folks are so mad! To be told that your school is failing, when you think it is doing okay, is like a slap in the face. Anger is justified.
Yet, I can’t help thinking: Why are parents and communities so surprised by the schools the ASD selects? Why are they in the dark about how their schools are doing?
Here’s where we need parents, neighborhood leaders, elected officials, and the ASD to hold SCS accountable. The ASD shouldn’t be the ones breaking the news that these schools are failing. These schools are run by SCS – it’s their job to get out into the community to discuss how these schools are performing AND how to make them better. No one should be surprised to find out that their school is failing.
Community engagement is critically important – in general, but especially in Priority Schools. Both the ASD and SCS have room for improvement. The recent change by the ASD is a good first step, but we also need to see more. It’s time to see some changes from SCS as well.
James Aycock is currently the Director of Scholar Support at Grizzlies Prep, an all-boys public charter middle school located in downtown Memphis. He previously served as the founding Special Education Coordinator with Tennessee’s Achievement School District, after several years as a special educator and baseball coach for Memphis City Schools.
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It seems this article is very one sided. If you remember correctly I have been strongly advocating for more accountability on both sides. ASD is listening to the community now. SCS is listening to the community now . We now have a superintendent that is trying to do what is right by all kids. So, before you begin to bash SCS and say what we need to do , look at the facts . We are pumping up community engagement . We are focusing on priority schools . We asked ASD for more info about what schools they are interested in. Yes, we must all do better . No, we are not where we need to be. Yes, both ASD and SCS need to work together and do what’s best for the children and parents in this district. But, please don’t continue to lie about a situation that you know isn’t true. The truth is several elected officials , community leaders, Pastors and parents started to question this process. We begin to demand accountability on both parts. ASD agreed because they knew the process and how they were doing things was demoralizing the schools. Superintendent Hopskin is holding everyone accountable for the education of SCS kids. In closing both school systems have a lot of work to do. And I know for a fact SCS is doing the work to make our school system better!!!
I meant to say Superintendent Hopson.
Stephanie,
This was not intended to be an attack on SCS, but rather a follow-up to the previous piece about the ASD. Jon wrote that piece about changes the ASD is making in response to being held accountable by the community. This piece was a call for the community to hold SCS accountable as well.
SCS is doing a lot of things right. For example, the I-Zone has by far outperformed the ASD.
However, it is a major problem when parents and teachers don’t know that their schools are failing until the ASD shows up. That’s the problem I was addressing here.