By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… When Mr. Dwight Jones was hired as the Superintendent of Clark County School District (CCSD), he vowed to turn around what he considered a dysfunctional district. Mr. Jones rode into Vegas bringing his faithful friend and Colorado companion Ken Turner along with him. He had the aim of driving the bad guys out and establishing an educational nirvana in Clark County. For a mere $750,000 over three years, Mr. Turner devoted himself to this ill-fated adventure.
One of this duo’s more hyped reforms was the moving of principals and teachers who they considered inadequate to successful schools. They then took teachers and principals they considered superstars and moved them to unsuccessful schools. By doing so, they hoped to improve the education for students at each school.
No one ever explained how moving inadequate teachers and principals to successful schools would be a benefit to anyone. While there was a great deal of hype at the beginning, the results were never released to the public. I, for one, would be interested in seeing the results of the move on the successful schools as well as the unsuccessful ones.
But Mr. Jones commitment went well beyond the boundaries of a few schools. He had pledged to turn the entire district around.
When I got the news last week that Dwight Jones had thrown in the towel, my thoughts went to the Boxcar Willie song, “Give Me Forty Acres”. I took the liberty to change a few lyrics to make it fit our local situation.
He was headin’ into Sin City
In a big, long diesel truck.
It was his first trip to Vegas,
He was having all bad luck.
The district was going the wrong
direction
Down a one-way street in town,
And this is what Mr. Jones said
When the police chased him
down.
Give me forty acres
And I’ll turn this rig around.
Give me forty acres
It’s the easiest way I’ve found.
Some guys can turn it on a dime
Or turn it right downtown,
But I need forty acres
To turn this rig around.
Before resigning, Mr. Jones has asked the School Board to abandon The School Performance Framework (SPF) program, which was his main effort to turn the district around. While he has long touted this reform during his two years reign, he has now indicated that it is obsolete. The program directly conflicts with the state’s assessment system, which is the only one the Federal Department of Education will recognize. This renders the costly two-year effort completely worthless.
When he finally found where to
unload,
He had a dreadful shock.
His trailer pointed toward the
road
And his cab right to the dock.
And, as he looked around him, Through the tears he made this
sound:
Well, give me forty acres
And I’ll turn this rig around.
Give me forty acres,
It’s the easiest way I’ve found.
Some guys can turn it on a dime
Or turn it right downtown,
But I need forty acres
To turn this rig around.
The results of the Jones-Turner reform efforts include an all-time high in class sizes. The average elementary and middle school class sizes are at 34 students. The high school classes have grown to an average of 38 students per class
When he finally got unloaded
He was glad to leave the town.
He was very, very happy,
Goin’ back to Alabam’.
When up ahead he saw a sign
That said: “You’re Northward-
bound.
He said:“Give me forty acres
And I’ll turn this rig around.
Give me forty acres,
It’s the easiest way I’ve found.
Some guys can turn it on a dime
Or turn it right downtown,
But I need forty acres
To turn this rig around.
Teachers left the district at nearly double the normal rate last year as teacher salaries and benefits came under attack. Teachers won arbitration that year but looking at the handwriting on the wall, those who could sought employment elsewhere.
Stand by for this year. The teachers lost arbitration and some teachers lost as much as $400 dollars a month in salary. All teachers are paying more for insurance and if the Republicans in the State Legislature have their way, teachers will lose a major portion of their retirement. If last year was any indication, there could be a mass exodus of teachers in May and there is little to offer for replacements.
“He was driving down the right
lane,
When ahead he saw a sign.
He had to make a left turn,
But he cannot get in line.
Now the tears came streaming
down his cheeks
And everybody heard him yell:
Give me forty acres
And I’ll turn this rig around.
Give me forty acres,
It’s the easiest way I’ve found.
Some guys can turn it on a dime Or turn it right downtown,
But I need forty acres
To turn this rig around.
A few years ago, educators in Las Vegas were making jokes about the dismal state of education in Mississippi. Nevada is now the new Mississippi.
Mr. Jones is the first district superintendent to lose a campaign to increase property taxes for education. The district sought $669 million for school improvements and it was rejected by a 66 percent negative vote. A recent audit report indicated that the balance of all district funds shrank by 28 percent in the fiscal year of 2011-12.
Now if you can turn it on a dime
Or turn it way downtown,
But I need forty acres
To turn this rig around.
Yeah, it takes me forty acres,
To turn this thing around.
Better make that fifty acres.
Well, maybe I can turn when I get
to Kansas.
Better make that Texas.
I wish Mr. Jones and his mother the best. I can only hope he is more effective in Texas than he was here.
As the CCSD School Board of Trustees seek a new superintendent, one would hope they would remember this simple fact: No system, no reform, no program will be successful without the support of the classroom teacher.
I find it curious that a business that has the highest degree of educated employees at its base also has the highest number of supervisors for those employees.
Here is a reform for you: hire competent teachers, make sure they have what they need, and then get out of their way!
Thought of the week… To a degree shared by only a few other occupations…public education rests on…the skill and virtue of the people at the bottom of the institutional pyramid.
– Tracy Kidder
