District Administration - September 2011 - (Page 83)

on his ﬁrst superintendent’s job—with no direct district experience—in 2004. “ is is really personal for me,” Smith says. “I just know for a fact what a huge difference people make. What you expect, you get. ere were lots of people who dismissed me and saw what I presented as, which was sometimes a disaﬀected and upset kid. But there were plenty of other people who saw what I could be and supported me. ere are so many young people that are craving that sense of connectedness.” Smith’s work with schools began when he served as director of the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools from 1997 to 2001. e nonproﬁt, an outgrowth of Ted Sizer’s reform group the Coalition of Essential Schools, provided technical assistance to districts to promote equity in education. Smith then took a similar job with the Emeryville Citywide Initiative, working with the city and other partners to improve the Emery Uniﬁed School District. As the state was preparing to relinquish control of Emery Uniﬁed in 2004, Smith was helping develop a proﬁle for the district’s next superintendent. “I was facilitat- ing the process, and a community member said, ‘If you believed in us, you would be our superintendent,’” Smith recalls. “I said all the reasons why that was not such a good idea. ey really didn’t buy that. I said, ‘Well, I’ll go home and talk to my wife.’ And after a lot of soul searching, I In nearby San Francisco, Superintendent Carlos Garcia was searching for a second-in-command. He had heard about Smith’s comprehensive reform eﬀorts and his passion for giving all students equal opportunities. Smith, happy in Emeryville, initially turned down the job oﬀer, but “He’s taken a strong stand around the importance of social, emotional and physical health.” —Carlos Garcia, superintendent, San Francisco Uniﬁed School District put my hat in the ring.’” Smith landed the job in July 2004 and served three years. In Emeryville, Smith honed his belief that student achievement couldn’t be improved by focusing only on eﬀective teaching. He formed a partnership with Merritt College so the university students studying nursing and social work could provide services to the district’s children. “If you only locate the ﬁx in one place,” Smith said, referring to a schools-only reform model, “then you’re probably not going to accomplish much over the long haul that’s sustainable.” the two ﬁnally came up with a title Smith could accept: deputy superintendent for instruction, innovation and social justice. In October 2007, Smith started the new position and was the architect of San Francisco Uniﬁed’s strategic plan, coining the phrase “the predictive power of demographics,” Garcia recalls. Garcia explains that he and Smith agreed that closing the achievement gap hinged on overcoming institutional racism and classism that continued to plague poor, black and Latino students. “He’s a gentle giant,” Garcia says www.DistrictAdministration.com September 2011 83 http://www.worthavegroup.com/education http://www.worthavegroup.com/education http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

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