District Administration - September 2011 - (Page 80)

A S A 20-SOmethIng, Anthony “tony” Smith had fulfilled one dream: playing professional football for the green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. next up, he thought, was law school. But a former mentor who had worked with him and other studentathletes at his alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley, intervened. “She said, ‘I don’t know why you don’t this see, tony. You’re a teacher,’” recalls Smith, who used to help his Cal teammates with schoolwork. Smith never became a classroom teacher, but his background in sports– where he learned the power of teamwork and high expectations–comes in handy as he leads the Oakland Unified School District, a long-troubled system in one of California’s most impoverished, violent cities. Smith took the helm of Oakland Unified in July 2009 as its first permanent, locally appointed leader in six years. The district had been under state control due to serious financial problems. “I never thought I was going to be a superintendent,” says Smith, 44. “It was never a career aspiration. however, it’s just an incredible opportunity to live the goals and values I have.” Oakland Unified has been losing students to the streets for years. The district’s graduation rate is 61 percent overall and is even worse for black males (45 percent), according to data from 2008-2009, the most recent year available. Roughly seven of 10 students in the district come from low-income families. For Smith, the work to improve Oakland’s schools—and the city itself—is personal. he has spent most of his life in the area, and as a kid, the odds were against him, the son of teenage parents who split around the time he learned to walk. he believes all students, regardless of their upbringing, can achieve because he did. But he doesn’t believe the solution lies in classrooms alone. Smith has strived for the last two years to start turning Oakland Unified into a 80 September 2011 Smith Tackles Oakland Unified Anthony “Tony” Smith takes on the “awesome responsibility” of leading the Oakland (Calif.) Unified School District. BY eRICkA mellOn Anthony “tony” smith Superintendent Tony Smith played football for his alma mater, UC Berkeley, and professionally with the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. superintendent Oakland (Calif.) Unified School District Age: 44 salary: $265,000 schools: 97 traditional schools 31 charter schools 32 child development centers students: 45,269 (including charter schools and preschool); 38,540 without charters students qualifying for free or reducedprice lunch: 71% Web site: www.ousd.k12.ca.us District Administration full-service community school district, where schools, city agencies, businesses and nonprofits partner to address the physical, mental and overall well-being of students and their families. “There’s just no reason why every child in Oakland shouldn’t graduate from high school,” Smith says. “It’s an http://www.ousd.k12.ca.us

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2011

District Administration - September 2011
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Tech Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Conversations
They Work Hard for the Money
The Road to Rigor
District-Charter Collaborations on the Rise
Designing Safe Facilities
Tony Smith Tackles Oakland
Product Focus
New Products
Research Center
Crisis Response
Going Mobile
Professional Opinion
Student Counsel

District Administration - September 2011

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