Recommendations from the Community on the …Recommendations from the Community on the Qualifications for Portland’s New Superintendent Final Report to the Portland Public Schools

Recommendations from the Community

on the Qualifications for Portland’s New Superintendent

Final Report to the Portland Public Schools Board of Education

Leadership Advisory Committee

October 22, 2001

Leadership Advisory Committee – Final Report October 22, 2001 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS Leadership Advisory Committee Final Report to the Portland Public Schools District Board of Education October 22, 2001 Letter to the Portland School Board from the Committee ............................................................Page 2 PART I ..........Background: Portland Public Schools ..................................................................Page 5 PART II .........National Trends.....................................................................................................Page 7 PART III .......Consulting the Community...................................................................................Page 9 PART IV .......Conclusions.........................................................................................................Page 14 PART V ........Recommendations...............................................................................................Page 18 APPENDIX ...Groups contacted and meeting notes ..................................................................Page 21


Leadership Advisory Committee Final Report to the Portland School District Board of Directors October 22, 2001 To Members of the Portland School Board: We see opportunity. The Portland Public Schools Board of Education asked the Leadership Advisory Committee to reach out to school district employees, parents, students and community members, and to listen to their opinions and expectations of the new superintendent. We are excited by what we heard. We find a community still very involved in its schools and still very invested in their wellbeing. We see a strong commitment to the vision and objectives of the district’s Strategic Plan. We find signs of important progress – such as student performance in reading and mathematics improving faster at all grade levels than in most other big-city school districts. We hear optimism and hope for the future. But opportunity will disappear if challenges are not confronted. Throughout these same conversations, we also hear that Portland schools face challenges like never before and the choice of the next superintendent will weigh heavily on the district’s future success. After nearly a decade of superintendents with mixed accomplishments and short tenure and a school board widely perceived as dysfunctional, Portland now sounds wiser and more focused. Many are disturbed – and some are angry – about the poor achievement levels of low-income children, children of color, and children from non-English-speaking families. Problems in the district are more visible, resources are scarcer, and expectations are higher. Parents, teachers, administrators and the community at large believe that the district lacks clear guidance, firm leadership and system-wide strategies for improving achievement for all students. They want to be more involved and better respected. There is a sense that time is running out. No one the committee heard from believes these challenges are insurmountable. However, to seize the opportunity that is possible, Portland’s current school board members have signaled their intent and commitment to confront these concerns – beginning by hiring a superintendent with the skills and knowledge to meet the unique needs of Portland and effectively lead district staff and community members. To inform this search for the right superintendent, the school board asked the Leadership Advisory Committee to consult with community members and employees from throughout the district, recommend what qualifications the new superintendent should have, and offer advice based on what it heard. The committee spent the summer meeting with the Portland community. Over the course of four months, the committee consulted with many individuals and organizations in small group meetings. These meetings were diverse, including school district staff; teachers; parents; students; principals; local business and community leaders; advocates for Latino/Hispanic, Asian-American, and African-American communities; school site council members; government leaders; and everyday citizens. By “Portland community,” the committee means the diverse range of stakeholders we talked to both inside and outside the school district. Committee members did not always hear the same things from


everyone. There remain disagreements about how issues need to be tackled and in what order – especially when it comes to issues of improving teaching and learning for all students. But we also heard common themes, common frustrations, and common agreement about which issues are most pressing. Portland wants a leader for its schools who is truly a leader – a “chief executive” who can clearly see the obstacles and opportunities facing the district, who can develop a plan of action for implementing the district’s Strategic Plan, and who can rally and engage students, staff, and community members to move forward. We want a leader with a proven track record inspiring and leading change in a complex, decentralized organization. The problems facing Portland are both substantive and systemic; our leader must assess the situation, propose a viable plan of action, and sustain an effort to improve. Our committee also heard a common-sense recognition that one person cannot do it all – the multiple skills and knowledge needed to lead Portland schools require a “superhuman” who does not exist. Portlanders want the strongest leader we can find, but recognize that whoever is hired must have the ability to assemble a senior leadership team as well as develop other strong leaders throughout the district. The new superintendent will need to draw from existing strengths and confront weaknesses in the organization. Because we think leadership skills are so important now, the majority of Portlanders we spoke with are open to a superintendent who doesn’t have an educational background – as long as that person is able to compensate by identifying a strong instructional leader for the district. While knowledge and experience confronting issues like those Portland now faces is desired, what we really want is a leader who is intelligent, seeks wise counsel, and is decisive – regardless of experience on specific issues. In our consultations with community members and district staff, the committee was reminded how Portland is becoming a more culturally and ethnically diverse city. Students from all over the world are enrolling in Portland schools, presenting new challenges surrounding language, communication, and instruction. Responding to and managing this increasing diversity effectively is another key priority for the next superintendent. Our committee concluded – and we heard in our meetings – that the right persons can address Portland’s challenges and take advantage of its strengths. More than ever before, Portland needs a leader who can offer action and engage stakeholders, who can propose a plan for success, and who has the experience and strength of will to make it happen. That is the superintendent the school board should hire. The school board should specifically charge that person with the latitude and authority they need. Whether the new superintendent will be successful – regardless of qualifications – will depend on whether the school board allows him or her to be successful. The committee believes the board needs to set clear goals and priorities, focus on policymaking, and hold the superintendent accountable for making progress. Our conversations with so many Portlanders also revealed that the responsibility for addressing all these challenges doesn’t just sit with the school board and the new superintendent it hires. The responsibility also must lie with all of us. Committee members have seen just how many demands and expectations are being made of the district, especially in a time of funding cuts. And while it’s true the school district does not always harness community resources well, everyone seems to have a different issue that demands attention from the superintendent. Individually, each of these issues seems valid; collectively, they are suffocating.


We encourage the school board and the new superintendent to work harder to enlist the help of various stakeholders throughout Portland – business and organizational leaders, educators, parents, government leaders, and groups representing communities of color. At the same time, as a community, we must give the new superintendent a chance to set priorities, ask how each of us can help, and keep all of our eyes on the ultimate prize: ensuring every student in this district graduates with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Members of the Leadership Advisory Committee David Knowles, Chair Development Manager – Shiels Obletz Johnsen Marc Abrams Member – Portland School Board Scott Bailey Past President – Community and Parents for Public Schools Marie Dahlstrom Staff Assistant to Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz Patty Farrell Senior Vice President – KVO Public Relations and Board Member – Portland Schools Foundation Kevin Fuller Executive Director – The Bridge Builders, Board Member – Portland Schools Foundation, and Manager – The Oregonian in Education Marianne Koch Visiting Associate Professor of Management – Oregon Health & Science University and Academic Consultant – Cenquest

Lolenzo Poe, Co-Chair Member – Portland School Board Donald McClave President and Chief Executive Officer – Portland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Ann Nice Vice President – Portland Association of Teachers Taro O’Sullivan Communications and Community Outreach Consultant – Paradigm Consulting Services Patricia Thompson Principal – Madison High School Felicia Trader Former Executive Director – Portland Development Commission James Williams Student Body President – Lincoln High School and Student Representative (2000-01) – Portland School Board


PART 1/Background: Portland Schools Portland’s demographics are changing – perhaps faster than many recognize Beyond the familiar issues facing any large school district –managing a tight budget well, strategically allocating resources, and taking steps to boost student learning and address the low achievement of some students – Portland’s schools also face unique demographic changes and challenges in the students and families they serve. The Leadership Advisory Committee heard that the district is increasingly diverse, this trend will continue, and the implications are important as Portland searches for a new superintendent. With more than 54,000 students, Portland Public Schools is the largest urban school district in the Northwest – largest in the state and topping even Seattle. As in other big cities, about one-fifth of Portland households are parents of school-age children. However, unlike nearly any other large city, about 85 percent of school-aged children still attend Portland’s public schools. Its schools also benefit from the uniquely strong support of city and county governments. Local government agencies have pitched in to provide extra support services to students, fill gaps in the district budget, and build public support for district initiatives. The non-profit Portland Schools Foundation has been a driving force for engaging parents and the community in key issues facing Portland schools; it has brought new resources and significant funding to support improvement efforts districtwide and at individual schools. Portland students today are different from those 10 years ago – or even two years ago – as the city has become more diverse. Now, students come from every part of the globe, representing a richness of different lifestyles, languages, and cultures. Families of Portland students speak more than 70 languages. Eight percent of students are learning English as a second language. Many efforts – for example, Salir Adelante, the needs assessment conducted by the Latino Network for Multnomah County – are underway to better understand these changes and their implications. Major demographic groups, according to Portland Public Schools, include: • European American = 64% • African American = 16% • Asian American = 9% • Latino/Hispanic = 9% • American Indian = 2% • Low-income/students receiving free or reduced-cost lunch = 40% • Special education = 12% • Talented and gifted = 10% None of these numbers are static. First, overall student enrollment in the district is likely to decline (see chart on next page) – primarily because Portland, like the rest of the nation, is aging. Fewer children are being born and there are fewer households with children in Portland. Some families are moving to other school districts because of relatively expensive city housing costs. While the district’s actual enrollment numbers will vary from year to year, demographers project an overall decline for at least the next decade. Declining enrollment creates new pressures on resources – as fewer students mean fewer funds. The new superintendent will be challenged to manage declining resources effectively and think creatively in this environment.

L

Enrollm ent for Portland Public Schoolsby Grade Level: 1990-2000

10000

11000

12000

13000

14000

15000

16000

17000

1990-01

1991-92

1992-93

1993-94

1994-95

1995-96

1996-97

1997-98

1998-99

1999-00

GradesK-2

Grades3-5

Grades6-8

Grades9-12

Scd Tsnb

Source: Population Research Center at Portland State University, The Path Ahead: Future Enrollments in Portland Public Schools (June 26, 2000)

eadership Advisory Committee – Final Report October 22, 2001 6

econd, Portland’s non-white population is growing and all groups are becoming more diverse (see hart below). International migration into Portland is growing so fast that it is slowing the overall eclines in student enrollment. More students from all over the world are entering Portland’s schools.

his second change also impacts the leadership now needed in Portland schools. It means the uperintendent must be skilled at operating in a diverse community with different cultures and different eeds. It also means the superintendent must be effective at helping students from different ackgrounds achieve.

Source: Population Research Center at Portland State University, Changing Times, Changing Enrollments: How Recent Demographic Trends are Affecting Enrollments in Portland Public Schools (June 26, 2000)

N um ber of A rriving Im m igrantsPortland Public Schools A rea: 1990-2000

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000


PART II/National trends: How successful urban school districts choose the right superintendent To provide background and help frame its discussions about necessary qualifications for the new superintendent, the Leadership Advisory Committee analyzed leadership trends in other urban school districts and sought advice about what conditions might help superintendents succeed. Its research was based on interviews with national experts and a review of news articles. Today, the average tenure of an urban superintendent is 2.5 years – well under the six- or seven-year average for leaders in other school districts. This constant turnover means school-level reforms in urban districts are rarely deep or lasting – the superintendent leaves before new policies take hold. Urban school districts are successful, the committee found, when superintendents are effective and lasting changes agents. Hiring an able superintendent requires the community to pay attention to the following issues: • Political leadership is essential. Today, urban school district leaders must pay attention to politics and ensure broad community support (and pressure) for their programs if they are to sustain changes. Experts told the committee there is no institution more political than an urban school district, with inherent tension among an elected school board, teachers union, community advocacy groups, and long-time central office staff. School board and community members need to recognize this reality up-front – and recognize it takes special skills to navigate successfully. Change never comes easily. When the going gets tough, a less politically savvy leader gets mowed over. In San Diego, experts point to the ability of the non-educator superintendent (Alan Bersin) to “buy” political capital from the community to support reform even as his instructional deputy (Anthony Alvarado) “spends” political capital to change practice within the district, step on toes, and insist on a new way of doing business. Political leadership doesn’t always need to come from the superintendent. In Boston, the popular two-term mayor (who is actively involved because he now appoints the school board) buys political support for the school system, allowing the superintendent to focus on instructional change. • Instructional leadership also is essential. Across the country, urban districts are putting long overdue emphasis on quality teaching and confronting the decades-old problem of low student achievement. Thus, coupled with strong political leadership, successful school districts today also have strong instructional leaders with a track record of success. Simply having a good manager – someone who can run the school district operations effectively – is no longer good enough. School districts need leaders who understand what good instruction is, how to replicate it, how to articulate it to others, and how to deploy resources from a central office to support improvements in schools. • There is no such thing as a “superhuman.” A district needs a strong leadership team – especially

in a complicated urban district. School board and community members need to recognize at the front-end that a strong senior team of two to three key people will be essential for success. The school board should hire the best person they


can find for the job, experts advised, but know that others will need to be hired to complement the superintendent and to do all that needs to be done. For example, in San Diego, Superintendent Bersin knew he needed credibility and instructional expertise; he hired the best person he could find and gave the person the title of Chancellor for Instruction (rather than the traditional Assistant Superintendent) to signal that person’s importance on the district’s leadership team. • The school board and superintendent need to work in tandem. The school board needs to be very clear with candidates about what is expected and what the district priorities are. Consistently, urban superintendents are undermined – and their tenures made short – when a school board is not clear and unified about district priorities, according to education experts. The school board plays the key role in creating the conditions – and expectations – that make or break a superintendent. Thus, the school board and community need to be clear about the skills they want in a leader and need to investigate carefully whether candidates truly have these skills. School board members shouldn’t micro-manage the school district; they need to assert leadership for what must be accomplished. • “Traditional vs. nontraditional superintendents” is a false choice. The key is finding the right

leader with the right skills for your unique situation. Media reports suggest that more and more urban districts – including the country’s largest – are turning to non-traditional non-educator superintendents to solve their educational woes. However, the American Association of School Administrators reports there are no more than 15 non-traditional school leaders nationwide. Traditional superintendents intimately know the enterprise of a school district, having spent their entire professional life in the system (usually starting as a teacher, then a principal). They have a background in teaching and learning – which should be the core function of a school district. They also have a track record of working with schools and school boards. However, strengths also can be limitations: some educators may see how schools function as immutable – “this is the way it is and the way it has to be.” Also, many educators haven’t had the preparation or training to lead and manage a multi-million dollar organization. Nontraditional superintendents frequently have broader experience in political relationships and organizational management. They are perceived as having fresh ideas and a new perspective and may have experience as “change agents.” However, experience in managing systems is not the same as managing to improve instruction and student learning. They also may find school districts more bureaucratic, more political, or more consensus-oriented that they are used to. According to the experts, the debate really ought not be about whether a “traditional” superintendent or a “non-traditional” superintendent is the right option for Portland. That’s a false choice: Superintendents with and without education credentials have both succeeded and failed in running urban school districts. Instead, the key issue is to identify clearly the skills most needed by the superintendent, identify who best has those skills, and support the hiring of a team to complement or round out these skills. If there is a common characteristic of successful superintendents – traditional or non-traditional – it is brainpower, according to the experts who advised the committee. Successful superintendents, regardless of their background, are smart and analytical – and apply these intellectual skills to make things happen.


PART III/Consulting the community What we did In June 2001, the Portland School Board convened the Leadership Advisory Committee to support its efforts to secure stable, visionary leadership for the district that can achieve the mission, core values, and objectives of the district’s Strategic Plan. The committee was charged with providing:

• A summary of community views on leadership needs and qualifications.

• A summary of administrator, teacher, staff, parent, and student views on leadership needs and qualifications.

• A summary of the views of other district stakeholders, including local and state elected officials, advocacy groups, and potential funders.

• Advice and observations on the issues facing the district at this time and the type of leadership needed to respond to those issues.

• Recommendations on the qualifications and selection criteria for a new superintendent. The board chose committee members based on their knowledge of the district and their experience with community outreach and organizational management. From June to September, committee members met with key stakeholder groups, collected written comments, and convened two public meetings. This report to the Portland School Board summarizes the committee’s findings and recommendations. What we heard In our consultations with Portland residents, the Leadership Advisory Committee asked four questions:

• What are the most pressing issues facing the district?

• What should be the qualifications of the new superintendent?

• What should a new superintendent know about the Portland community and school district?

• In three or five years, how should we measure success? Not surprisingly, the answers the committee heard represented a divergent list of compliments, complaints, good news, suggestions, and opinions. Nonetheless, across all of our discussions, common themes kept reemerging among the answers to each question. These themes are summarized below. The complete list of groups and individuals the Leadership Advisory Committee consulted is included as an appendix to our report. The appendix also includes notes from each of these meetings. Question #1: Most Pressing Issues What are the most pressing issues facing the district? The Leadership Advisory Committee heard five key challenges that the new superintendent must be prepared to confront. Whether or not these perceptions are entirely accurate is not the point; these are the challenges identified by stakeholders inside and outside the district.


1. Uneven leadership The committee heard: • Districtwide improvement efforts are not always clear, prioritized, or maintained. • Important challenges in the district today are not being confronted. • No clear process for making decisions appears to be in place. • An action plan for implementing the district’s Strategic Plan has been neither articulated nor

implemented. • Communications within the district and to parents and the community are uneven. • Staff morale and community confidence are low. • Leadership is needed at all levels – effective managers and principals need to be actively supported

and recruited. 2. Limited resources The committee heard: • Funding for the school district is inadequate. • Clear priorities for limited resources are needed. • Resources (both financial and human) are not distributed equitably to schools. • Resources should be better aligned with the goals of the district. • Facilities are aging and need attention. 3. The need for higher student achievement The committee heard: • Many Portland students at every level – from the gifted to the low achieving – are not meeting their

potential. • In particular, the achievement levels of many low-income students and students of color is

unacceptable. • Student achievement is supported unevenly, with perceived differences between more and less

affluent neighborhoods. 4. Increasing diversity The committee heard: • In the face of an increasingly diverse student population, the district is not adequately addressing the

needs of different cultures and languages. • In every school in the district, we still face challenges bringing children of color and children from

non-English speaking families up to the achievement levels of their peers. 5. Community involvement and engagement The committee heard: • Stakeholders want a closer partnership with the district. Parents and community members want to be

listened to, respected, and involved in decision-making. • Communication with parents, teachers, and community members about district goals, plans, and

progress has not always been clear or regular. • Too little collaboration takes place with other organizations and school districts.


Question #2: Qualifications What should be the qualifications of the new superintendent? In their answers to this question – but also in everything they told us about their hopes for a new superintendent – Portlanders told us they wanted a superintendent who was, most importantly, a strong leader. Specifically, Portland wants leadership in three areas of the school district’s work:

• Educational leadership is needed to identify educational best practices, make them happen districtwide, and motivate and inspire school staff.

• Managerial leadership is needed to set priorities, manage employees and resources well, recruit talented individuals, ensure effective communication, and maintain a clear decision-making process.

• Community leadership is needed to establish relationships and work effectively with diverse stakeholders (including the school board), deal with competing interests, and establish a strong relationship with city, county, and state leaders.

Specifically, Portlanders told us they wanted a superintendent with a proven track record of:

• Working successfully in an ethnically and culturally diverse organization or community and developing relationships with diverse community members.

• Leading change, managing a large organization, empowering front-line employees, and – ideally – confronting similar issues in a large urban district similar to Portland.

• Setting clear goals and developing an organization that can achieve these goals.

• Thinking creatively about problems and finding innovative and effective solutions.

• Leading an urban district with student demographics similar to those in Portland.

• Recognizing his or her own strengths and weaknesses, building a complementary senior management team, and supporting effective leadership at all levels of an organization.

• Serving as the chief decision-maker, CEO, and “manager of managers” in the district.

• Supporting effective labor-management relations.

• Sorting through complicated issues and navigating complex organizations.

• Seeking advice, building consensus, then acting decisively.

• Communicating well to internal and external stakeholders and showing solid political judgment.

• Confronting long-standing challenges, poor performance, and ineffectiveness in a large organization.

• Balancing competing interests and sticking to an overall game plan and key priorities.

• Attracting and keeping other competent staff in the district.

• Valuing employees, acting with openness, and creating a caring community. Many people said they would prefer a superintendent with educational experience, since student achievement and support for better teaching and learning are the district’s core functions. However, few staff or community members insisted that specific experience was absolutely essential. If that experience is lacking, then the new superintendent needs to have:


• An understanding of educational issues and challenges and school reform goals;

• An ability to come up to speed quickly; and

• A willingness to identify a capable educational leader (such as a deputy superintendent for instructional issues) to provide the needed expertise, authority, and direction for the district’s instructional goals.

In other words, finding a superintendent who is both an effective leader and a skilled educator would be ideal – but the school board should focus first on finding the effective leader. Question #3: Northwest knowledge What should a new superintendent know about the Portland community and school district? Opinions on whether the superintendent needed to have experience in Portland or even the Northwest were more split than on any other issue. Many felt strongly this background was essential; some were offended by the idea of a national search and the implication that only people from other regions have the right skills. Many others felt Northwest experience was important, but finding the person with the right leadership skills was more important. Finally, some argued strongly that they could think of no one locally who had the right mix of skills. Much of the insistence on hiring a “local” superintendent, advocates admitted, was a backlash to the perception that the previous superintendent never put down roots in Portland. Indeed, in offering qualifications for the new superintendents, more than a few people suggested owning a house here. Beyond this lingering frustration, however, Portlanders talked of uniqueness in Oregon’s politics, history, and governance that only people who have lived here for some time fully understand. Specifically, our committee heard that local perspective was valuable for these reasons:

• Knowledge of local institutions, issues, history, people, and politics in Portland or the Northwest is essential to understanding the community and getting things done.

• Portlanders expect inclusiveness, consultation, and community involvement in public decision-making, and the new superintendent needs to tolerate and support these processes.

• Local relationships and credibility are important for the superintendent to get things done – especially when the going gets tough.

• The region is becoming more diverse and struggling to overcome a history of racism and exclusion.

• Portland teachers and district management have had a good relationship in the past – but that relationship has been rocky more recently.

The committee believes the fairest conclusion to reach from all this input is that Portlanders have a strong preference for the new superintendent to be someone who lives and works in Oregon or the Northwest – or who has spent significant time here.


Question #4: Measurements of success In three or five years, how should we measure success? Considering measurements of success is an important exercise. It helps clarify our expectations for the new superintendent and makes clear the work that needs to get done. A new superintendent should be prepared to show progress in a few key areas and be able to articulate clearly what the plan is for meeting these goals and how we will know. The most frequent suggestion we heard for measuring the new superintendent’s success also is a simple one: Whether that person is still here in five years. This goal is an intuitive one. We know creating the changes that need to happen in Portland will take time, we want someone who will commit to the work, and we know that if that person is still here in five years, his or her work will be bearing fruit. However, this goal also is grounded in other school districts’ experiences; the most successful urban districts in the country today have superintendents who stay well beyond the average 2.5 years.

Other frequent suggestions for measuring the success of the new superintendent included:

• Is overall student performance improving?

• Is the low achievement of low-income students and students of color being corrected?

• Is there a strong district wide curriculum and instructional plan in place?

• Is the dropout rate decreasing, and are more students succeeding in jobs or college after they graduate?

• Have morale and pride among parents and staff improved?

• Do all students have equal access to a quality education, regardless of the school they attend?

• Is school funding stable, or are all resources strategically deployed?

• Is the Strategic Plan being implemented, and is progress toward its goals evident?

• Is the relationship with the teachers’ association harmonious and productive?

• Do Portland Public Schools have a positive image with the public?

• Is the newspaper reporting more good news than bad news about the district?

• Do other school districts look to the district as a leader?

• Are there strong leaders at every level of the organization?


PART IV/Conclusions Based on what we heard in our conversations with community and staff members, the Leadership Advisory Committee offers these findings about Portland’s expectations for its new superintendent and the priorities for the school district: There is optimism for the future, but a sense that tough challenges lie ahead. The new superintendent will lead a community with a strong foundation. The citizens of Portland are deeply committed to their public schools. Parents and politicians, community members, and administrators and teachers all want the city’s public schools to succeed. Across the city, community members and district staff see good things happening in classrooms. In many places, parents, teachers, and principals are working diligently – and beyond the call of duty – to improve student learning. As one staff person explained, “There is heroic work happening all over this district.” At the same time, the revolving door of recent superintendencies has taken its toll on the community’s patience and confidence. As another person told us, “It’s a district under extreme stress.” Employees and parents alike feel the absence of firm leadership and a clear workplan for the district. School leaders express frustration with the lack of consistent support and help from the central office. Many teachers, administrators, and staff feel over-worked and under-appreciated, and relationships among the district leadership and teacher union leadership seem frayed. Important decisions are perceived as being made in a vacuum, and some argue that important problems are being ignored. Portlanders want a leader, not just a manager. The problems facing Portland Public Schools require more than administrative know-how or managerial excellence. These aren’t good times that simply need to be maintained. Rather, they are times that call for:

• Forceful leadership;

• Innovative thinking;

• Stronger partnerships with staff and community members;

• A mending of past problems; and

• A clear plan of action. Portlanders understand clearly what needs to be accomplished, and they want someone who can accomplish it. We aren’t looking for a visionary or someone with good rhetoric. We don’t need to be rallied to the cause; we are already there. What we want is a superintendent in the model of a “chief executive officer” who can organize the district’s resources – its funding, its programs, its employees, its volunteers, its community supporters – to improve student achievement. The new superintendent needs to understand how large organizations function, how a central office can best support neighborhood and magnet schools, how to develop a culture of continuous improvement, and how to move forward. “We need someone who has the heart for the job,” said one parent, “not just someone who wants the title and salary.”


While we found disagreements on some issues among different community members and different school district employees, we heard no disagreement on this over-arching need for an effective executive. This desire for a strong executive trumps any interests in having an educator or a local leader assume this position. We think someone with an educational background would prove valuable, and we would prefer someone with local perspective and experience. The school board should aggressively recruit talented local candidates and talented school leaders – but it also should look with equal energy elsewhere, seeking out appropriate leaders wherever it can find them. Finding a superintendent with strong leadership skills remains the top priority, regardless of whether the person comes from inside or outside of schools, inside or outside of Portland Improving student achievement – and confronting the lack of achievement among many low-income students, students of color, and students from non-English speaking families – must be the main goal. While good things are happening in classrooms across the city, good things aren’t happening for every student. We heard clearly that Portlanders want student achievement to be the top priority – and the most important gauge of success – for the new superintendent. A focus and commitment to the success of every student is expected. Test scores certainly are up and the district has many successes to point to, but the community also feels more work and faster improvement is needed. Portlanders – both inside and outside the district – believe too many children are not achieving to their potential. According to what we heard, the district needs to continue improving each student’s performance, give teachers tools and support to help more students learn, and address low achievement among many low-income students, students of color, and students from non-English speaking families. While the district’s leaders already have taken some steps to improve teaching and learning – especially in low-achieving schools – we heard disagreement about whether the problem was being properly addressed and whether the solutions were adequate. We also heard dissatisfaction among teachers and staff about the way resources – including programs, funding, and teachers – are distributed around the district; many see inequitable support for student learning. The Strategic Plan provides the vision; we need a leader to make it happen. Adopted by the school board in June 2000, the district’s five-year Strategic Plan represents the first time the district has had a blueprint to guide its work. It also represents the first time the community has worked to clearly articulate its goals and hopes for its children and its public schools. Created with the support of the Portland Schools Foundation, the plan reflects the input of more than 1,200 citizens and teachers who participated in informal “speak-out” sessions and focus groups and the more formal input of 400 community members who participated on a city-wide leadership team and seven action/strategy teams. It sets out three bold objectives:

By the year 2005, 100 percent of students will:

• Show significant growth every year toward achieving rigorous system-wide expectations;

• Continually set ambitious learning goals, persist in pursuing those goals, and demonstrate progress; and

• Willingly and regularly contribute to the community.


In its conversations with community members and staff, the committee continued to hear both broad support for the plan’s objectives and specific support for the plan itself. It provides clear goals for what Portlanders want to see happen; the need is to hire a superintendent who can make it happen. As part of the committee’s research, we heard from Marla Ucelli, director of the Task Force on the Future of Urban Districts at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. “In school communities that work, we’ve seen two scenarios,” Ucelli explained. “First, the community develops the plan or vision for what needs to be accomplished and the board then recruits a leader to implement it. Or, recognizing that so much needs to change that the community doesn’t know where to start, the board hires someone who can create that vision. The worst possible scenario is when the board doesn’t know what it’s recruiting for.” In Portland, the community already has set the course it wants to pursue; it now requires the right person to lead us forward. The existence of – and support for – the Strategic Plan creates an unprecedented opportunity for the superintendent to hit the ground running. Good management of the school district must be attended to. Beyond instructional leadership, the new superintendent will need to ensure sound management at the school district. He or she should be expected to make tough decisions about reorganizing the district, if necessary, but also must be skilled at delegating the work to be done and empowering others. Good management also means hiring and supporting talented staff. In our conversations with parents and community members, the committee heard a widespread perception that the district is poorly managed. However, the committee’s interviews with teachers, building administrators, and central administrative staff sometimes told a different story. While the committee is in no place to verify any of these perceptions, we think we can say that things are not as bad as they seem, nor nearly as good as they should be. More important, lingering concerns about management of the district’s finances and systems – whether valid or not – will require the attention of the new superintendent. Specifically:

• There appears to be solid interim leadership in place. The interim superintendent received praise from many groups for his work in the short time he has been in the position. The new superintendent can build on the stronger management foundation being created this year.

• District staff consistently told us about a lack of coordination, poor communication, and inadequate information within the organization. These problems are fixable, they said, with adequate management attention.

• Many parents and community members said some district staff seems resistant to change. The committee heard from new managers and staff who are working hard to fix systems and improve the ways things are done. But we also think greater attention will need to given to motivating those employees for whom “the way we have always done it” is an acceptable operating mode.

Communication and political skills also are important. Many say there is no institution more political than an urban school district, with inherent tension among an elected school board, teachers union, community advocacy groups, and central office staff. Navigating an organization like this requires special skills. Community members and district staff made clear that the new superintendent will need to improve communication, handle community politics, and build community support that can sustain an aggressive reform plan over time.


Cultural competency is essential. Portland Public Schools are increasingly diverse, and this trend will continue. Indeed, teachers and staff view this great diversity of cultures and experiences as one of the district’s strengths. However, community groups representing ethnic and language minorities expressed grave concerns about the district’s track record and current capability to respond. They reported inadequate attention and understanding of their needs. This issue cannot be ignored. The demographics – and thus student needs – of Portland’s schools are shifting, and a new superintendent must be skilled at addressing these changes. The school board should look for a leader who has worked successfully in an environment of diversity. Demonstrated capacity in meeting the needs of people from diverse backgrounds is essential. We know we won’t find all these skills in one person. The committee recognizes that, in many places, our hopes and expectations for the new superintendent are extremely high. Community members and district staff we talked to also recognized this point. Finding someone with all the skills, all the experiences, and all these qualifications may be next to impossible. Certainly, we challenge the school board to set its sights high and find the best candidates possible. And, where we can, we have prioritized what we heard as the most important qualifications. But we also acknowledge it is unlikely one person will have everything desired in a superintendent. The committee believes the leadership Portland requires will take more than one person. With this reality in mind, the committee urges the school board to hire the best person it can find for the job, based on advice from the community. Whoever it is, this person will need to create a team to augment strengths and compensate for weaknesses. Encourage your candidates to articulate what they will need – be it additional management support, instructional know-how, or political skills. Hire a superintendent who can judge strengths and weaknesses in others – and one who can articulate his or her own. School board and community play a role in the superintendent’s success. For the new superintendent to be successful, the committee believes the Portland School Board must focus on policymaking and holding the superintendent accountable for meeting clear goals. Too often, board members instead have been engaged in details ranging from personnel decisions to student transfers. This is a poor use of the board’s time and interferes with the ability of the superintendent to manage a staff. The committee recognizes the board has assumed these tasks for understandable reasons: In the recent past, district staff has failed to adequately respond to the needs of school district constituents, and board members have become the first stop, not the last, for complaints and for the natural “elbowing” among groups for limited resources. Portland’s new superintendent and its school board need to develop a new relationship. The school board must be clear about what is expected and what are the priorities. It should ask for a plan of action from the superintendent, modify it as necessary based on public input, and then support the superintendent in implementing it. The superintendent should have the support and resources to deliver results.


PART V/Recommendations to the Portland School Board Based on what we heard as we talked to community members and district staff throughout Portland, the Leadership Advisory Committee offers the following recommendations to the school board. We hope these recommendations can guide the board’s decisions about choosing a new superintendent, and we offer them in the spirit of strengthening the overall leadership of the school district –both from the top administrative level and from the school board. 1. Priorities for the new superintendent:

Above all, the new superintendent needs to be able to make progress on four important issues.

Four clear priorities for the new superintendent consistently emerged from conversations with community members and district staff:

• Focus on student achievement – the new superintendent must work to improve the achievement of all students in the district.

• Provide organizational leadership – the new superintendent must motivate and empower teachers, principals and other employees and recognize, recruit and retain excellent people.

• Provide community leadership – the new superintendent must involve and consult with district stakeholders and constructively harness community support for Portland’s schools.

• Implement the strategic plan – the new superintendent must oversee the design and execution of a workplan that accomplishes the objectives of the strategic plan.

2. Skills and qualifications of the new superintendent:

Hire a strong executive who can organize, change, and lead the district to accomplish our four priorities. We believe Portland expects these essential skills and qualifications from its next superintendent:

• Proven ability to design, organize and lead a “change effort” in a large, complex, diverse organization.

• A track record of laying out strategies, making decisions, organizing the work, deploying resources, and managing others as a key executive in an organization.

• Successful experience working in an ethnically and culturally diverse organization or community.

• Proven ability to assemble a high-performing team with the skills needed to accomplish an organization’s goals.

• Creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and strong intellect.

• Strong communication skills –with both internal and external audiences.

• Political judgment and savvy.

In addition, based on what we heard, these skills and qualifications would be desired in the new superintendent:

• Deep experience or familiarity with Portland, Oregon, or the Northwest.


• Education credentials (but, if not, then ideas for improving student achievement and a willingness to bring the very best educational expertise to senior management).

• Successful experience working with stakeholders or community organizations to build consensus on a plan of action.

• Commitment to seek advice and build consensus.

Student achievement is the community’s top priority. It also is the top priority of the district’s Strategic Plan. The board must hire a leader who can deliver on these priorities – someone who can ensure a viable plan for improvement is developed and executed. To accomplish this goal, the new superintendent does not necessarily need to be an educator; but if lacking this background and expertise, he or she must be able to demonstrate the ability to develop a workable plan.

3. Selection process:

The school board should make the decision, but community input into the decision is essential. We heard these past months that Portlanders’ interest in the new superintendent doesn’t stop with opinions about qualifications; community members and district employees also want the opportunity to offer input on the candidates and participate in the selection process. Thus, we recommend the school board:

• Clearly, quickly, and broadly explain the timeline and steps for choosing the next superintendent. It’s evident from our meetings that many aren’t aware of the plan. Be clear about which stages of the process will involve community members.

• Ask for suggested names and potential candidates from key stakeholders of the district.

• Include an opportunity at the appropriate time for community members to learn more about and hear directly from the top candidates.

• Ensure the search firm is thorough in its recruiting – looking for candidates in the Portland area but also beyond and considering current superintendents as well as leaders in other sectors. Ask the firm to publicly report on which organizations it contacted and which efforts it took during the search process.

4. Empowering a management team:

Recognize that one person alone won’t have all the skills or experience Portland desires. It is clear from looking at successful urban school districts around the country that they don’t rely on one “superhuman” superintendent to do all the work. In fact, a person with all the skills and experience needed to lead a complex organization like Portland’s school district probably does not exist. Our conversations with Portlanders revealed they intuitively believe this to be true, too.

Thus, rather than expect to find the perfect candidate, the school board will need to hire a superintendent who has the flexibility to build a talented leadership team that together can confront the instructional, administrative, and political issues facing the district. Specifically:

• During the selection process, the school board should expect each candidate to articulate his or her own strengths and weaknesses and what support and personnel will be needed to succeed.


• In assessing which candidate to hire, the school board should consider the strengths and weaknesses of existing district management – and, specifically, what new and unique outside skills are most needed. The Leadership Advisory Committee’s conversations with stakeholders begin to tell you some of what people both inside and outside the organization think. However, the board will need to reach its own assessment of the district’s current capacity.

• If changes are made to the district’s current senior management team, then the school board should clearly explain to the community and to staff members why these changes were made.

• To get the full range of leadership skills the school district needs, the school board may need to hire two people – one as the superintendent and one as another senior leader, each with complementary skills (such as one with instructional skills and one with executive management skills). The superintendent should be hired first, but then charged with hiring a complementary deputy. The Leadership Advisory Committee believes that only one person can be the superintendent and accountable for the district, but the challenges facing the district require that person to enlist a highly talented second-in-command.

• The committee worries about the district’s management capacity – at all levels of the organization. One talented CEO or CFO can’t address all the needed management issues.

5. The relationship between the school board and the superintendent:

The board should set goals and create a process for monitoring progress – and then expect the superintendent to meet these goals without being micromanaged. Like other boards of directors, the Portland school board should focus on overall policy, the districtwide budget, and holding its executive (the superintendent) accountable. The board needs to set goals for the superintendent that are clearly linked to the Strategic Plan and its vision for the school district, then create a clear process for determining how well progress is being made. Involving itself with the details of administration is a poor use of board members’ time and impedes any superintendent’s ability to execute an agenda. To give the new superintendent the best shot at being successful, the school board must give this person full authority to lead the district’s employees and activities. From the superintendent, it should expect accountability and communication. Finally, the school board should set an example for its management team and the community by collaborating together to pursue the shared vision of the Strategic Plan.

6. Community involvement:

The new superintendent should create a forum for uniting the district’s many advocates.

As we’ve noted, the Leadership Advisory Committee was struck by both the strong community support for the district and the different ideas and varying suggestions each stakeholder group has for how the district should move forward. The new superintendent will need to figure out ways of building on this enthusiasm while also building consensus and support for a new agenda. We recommend the new superintendent consider convening a regular forum that brings together the district’s many advocates for great schools. By bringing these individuals and organizations together, the superintendent will be able to stay in touch with emerging concerns and opinions and explore ways to balance competing interests. At the same time, this forum would give stakeholders an important opportunity to hear from each other and find areas of common interest.


PART VI/Appendix Groups contacted and meeting notes

Documents

Recommendations from the Community on the …Recommendations from the Community on the Qualifications for Portland’s New Superintendent Final Report to the Portland Public Schools