District Administration - September 2010 - (Page 50)

Working Hard in the Big Easy the state of the schools in New Orleans. “Even though it means taking away some of the control he may have, he’s willing to do that.” Vallas, who seeks out high-quality charter operators but generally leaves them alone to run their day-to-day business, sees the competition as one piece of the reform puzzle. In the schools under his direct control, Vallas has implemented a longer school day and year (students are in class about a third longer than state law mandates), he has given principals the power to hire and fire teachers, and he has pushed data-driven instruction, including regular benchmark testing. Vallas says he now sees an influx of potential teachers. About 10 teachers are applying for each job; the district had about 140 vacancies to fill as of May 2010 due to retirements, transfers to other schools, and two new campuses that needed to be staffed. Hundreds of young teachers from top teacher colleges had been recruited and about half the district’s teachers come from nontraditional routes such as Teach for America. Before Katrina, 37 percent of the city’s schools were deemed academically acceptable by the state. Now the number is up to 58 percent, according to Recovery District spokesman Ken Jones. High schools are a trouble spot, as they are in many districts. Recently released state test scores show that 31 percent of Recovery District high school students failed the English test and 34 percent failed math. In the high schools run by the Orleans Parish School Board, the failure rates were 9 percent for English and 12 percent for math. “We need to see stronger academic growth among our high schools,” Vallas acknowledges. “We’ve had growth in each of our three years, but we need to see more.” But Banneker Elementary School, like most schools in the recovery district, has seen solid gains during Vallas’ tenure, according to Ken Jones, communica50 September 2010 Vallas visits Haiti after the earthquake last January, to help rebuild. He plans to transition out of New Orleans in the next year to continue the rebuilding there. tions director. Banneker’s test scores have improved by 22 percentage points since the 2006-2007 school year, the first full school year post-Katrina, he adds. Impatient for Change As both visionary and worker bee, Vallas doesn’t sleep much. His closest allies and advisers lovingly and uniformly describe the 57-year-old as “impatient” and “demanding.” “He wants results, and he wants them yesterday,” says Kevin Guitterrez, his deputy superintendent. “That’s demanding, yes, but I think all of us agree that’s the right demand. We feel the pressure, but it’s not a pressure that turns us off. It’s a pressure that inspires us.” Guitterrez remembers Vallas calling just a few minutes after the New Orleans Saints had won the Super Bowl last February. “And it wasn’t to say, ‘How ’bout them Saints?’” he says, explaining that Vallas wanted to discuss a school problem. Pastorek, who speaks to Vallas daily, describes him as “a much bigger risk taker than the average manager.” “He’s the kind of guy that would rather try to do 10 things, knowing that some won’t be successful,” Pastorek explains. “He is an impatient person, impatient for change and the success of kids.” Pastorek notes the personal sacrifice Vallas has made being in New Orleans. Vallas’ wife, Sharon, a former police officer, has remained in Chicago with two of their three sons; their youngest is in high school in New Orleans. Every couple of months, Vallas, who is terrified of flying, makes the 15-hour drive home. But last winter, he braved the plane ride and consulted in Haiti—pro bono, he says—to help the country rebuild after the deadly earthquake that hit in January 2010. And he plans to “transition out” of New Orleans in a year to continue that work, he stated in a video interview. “I’ll continue to try to find things that are broken,” says Vallas, “and try to fix them.” DA Ericka Mellon is a K12 education reporter for the Houston Chronicle. District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2010

District Administration - September 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Inside the Law
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
A Salary Recession for School Administrators?
Working Hard in the Big Easy
School Safety Gets the Ax
Keeping Schools Safe during Challenging times
Google and Microsoft Go to School
A Bull Market for Financial Literacy
Problem/ Solution
Tech Disruptions
Student Counsel
Product Focus
New Products
Superintendent’s Insights

District Administration - September 2010