District Administration - September 2012 - (Page 28)

AdministratorProfile Superintendent JoShua powell, MontgoMery County (Ky.) publiC SChoolS Turning Around Kentucky he resounding cry from Joshua Powell supporters, the Kentucky superintendent who in six years turned two underperforming districts into successful ones, is that his method “actually works.” His first job as superintendent was at Cloverport Independent where led the district from 165th out of 174 state rankings to 10th in three years. In 2008, Powell accepted his second superintendent job at Union County Public Schools where he replicated his efforts, leading the district from 161st to 52nd in three years. Powell was named Administrator of the Year in 2007 and 2009 by the Kentucky Association of School Administrators—the only superintendent to earn this accolade twice. His reputation as a turnaround expert, including his model for success that combines rigorous assessment with entreaties to staff to be nice to each other and to focus on students, landed him in Montgomery County in 2011. In the last year, he’s been helping the district to achieve the same success as his previous districts. “We’re trying to be the model for all of Kentucky,” he says of Montgomery County, which was ranked 132nd out of 174 districts when he arrived. “My desire to improve public education in Kentucky By Jennifer E. Chase This turnaround expert has used formative assessment (and common sense) to raise achievement in three districts in six years. T In June 2012, Powell welcomed a surprise visit from students on their way home from a community summer camp. and the nation is unparalleled. In the United States, we are in a desperate situation and the fix for our future is, and has always been, public education. My role, as I see it, is to invalidate all of the excuses so that our children get what they truly deserve—the American dream.” Step 1: Turnaround needs a roadmap At the core of Montgomery County’s turnaround—and of Powell’s turnaround approach in general—is Powell’s District Formative Assessment Initiative. It calls for creating a Department of Student Achievement, weekly formative assessments to ensure that kids master what they’re taught (and that teachers are teaching standards-based lesson plans), and probably most important, a timely analysis of data. Powell hired Lisa Stone to be the district’s director of school improvement, a position he created to oversee the district’s academic achievement. Stone molds teaching strategies, increases professional development opportunities for teach- ers, and supports the general activities of the initiative. In the five years that she has worked with Powell—before Montgomery she was a consultant at Union County—she has marveled at what she calls his “unwavering, laserlike focus on doing what is necessary to increase student achievement.” Says Stone: “If you’re doing what you should be doing for kids, he makes sure you have the tools you need to do your job.” Step 2: Turnaround needs leaders Powell recently earned his Ph.D. and cites his dissertation on workplace incivility as the key focus of his leadership and turnaround success. “Employee civility is synonymous with culture. Reducing incivil behaviors among employees has a profound impact on culture and, most importantly, performance. I’ve kind of made my living in cleaning up employee behavior. Noting the incivility he’s seen among his staffs, as well as a pattern of educators forgetting that what’s best for the students should be at the heart District Administration Joshua Powell Superintendent, Montgomery County (Ky.) Public Schools Age: 37 Salary: $140,000 Tenure: 1 year (7 total) Students: 4,600 Staff and faculty: 670 Dropout rate: 1.31 percent District size: 26,500 county residents Per-child expenditure: $8,087 Web site: www.montgomery.k12.ky.us 28 September 2012 http://www.montgomery.k12.ky.us

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2012

District Administration - September/October 2012
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Product Focus
Resistance to High-Stakes Testing Spreads
Postgraduation for Special Needs Students
Rick & Becky DuFour
CIo News
Getting the Best ROI in Technology
Shaping a Digital Decade
Professional Opinion
Professional Opinion
Online Edge
Going Mobile
New Products
New Directions

District Administration - September 2012