October 2008
Superintendents create working document to spark dialogue about the future of public education in Texas
By John Egan

In September 2006, superintendents from 35 Texas school districts set off on a journey of knowledge unlike anything they’d experienced before. Over the course of nearly a year and a half, the superintendents — from across the state — gathered in Austin, Dallas and Houston for intense sessions to discuss and dice the future of education.

Under the umbrella of the newly created Public Education Visioning Institute, the superintendents attended eight two-day sessions where they heard from experts in public education — and heard from each other an array of opinions about the past, present and future of Texas’ public education system. The superintendents’ final exam, if you will, was a team project: They had to put down on paper their vision for principles and practices in 21st century public schools.

The result? A 48-page report called “Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas.” The report outlines the 35 superintendents’ thoughts on digital learning, accountability, assessment, learning standards, bureaucracy and local control of schools.

As the superintendents point out, the document remains a “work in progress,” subject to change based on input from superintendents, teachers, lawmakers, parents and others.

In “Creating a New Vision,” the 35 superintendents collectively write: “As the representatives of over 1.2 million students, we who were part of that group were frustrated with the present direction, but realized no clear picture was available to frame a conversation regarding a preferred future. We were also concerned that the principal architects of the present system are politicians, business leaders, and their policy advisors – not superintendents, not principals, not teachers, and not parents or school board members. Educators and parents have vital contributions to make and their insights and commitments should be utilized. We knew it was time to begin a new and different kind of dialogue.”

That dialogue was just what Keith Sockwell had in mind when he conceived this initiative. At the time, Sockwell was working at SHW Group LLP, a Plano architecture firm that specializes in schools. Also the former superintendent of Northwest ISD, Sockwell now is CEO of Cambridge Strategic Services, an education consultancy with offices in Plano and Montgomery, Ala. Sockwell hatched the idea for the Visioning Institute after chatting with superintendents around the state who voiced concerns about the future of education. He says superintendents often are viewed as fighting proposals or ideas rather than supporting them. The Visioning Institute would be a forum for a group of superintendents to be proactive instead of reactive.

Sockwell enlisted SHW Group, the Texas Association of School Administrators and the Texas Leadership Center as sponsors, and tapped former Mesquite ISD Superintendent John Horn as the facilitator of the 35 superintendents’ brainstorming sessions.

“To work with 35 top leaders in the state is an honor,” Horn says. “It was inspiring to see their commitment to children, to each other and to a different kind of future.”

Horn says the state’s accountability system proved a hot topic among the superintendents.

Visioning Institute participant Jeff Turner, superintendent of Coppell ISD, says the current system has a stranglehold on teachers, who fear their students won’t perform well on mandatory TAKS tests.

“We think the accountability system is going in the wrong direction and causing us to do things that we feel are basically education malpractice,” Turner says. “We’re creating great little test-takers, but not necessarily educating our kids like we think they should be and to the depths that they should be.

“We’re not getting the job done that we feel needs to be done to equip our kids with the skills they need for this new century,” he says.

According to Horn, the Visioning Institute superintendents clarified in their discussions that they do want to be held accountable, but the mechanisms currently in place to make that happen is where the dissent occurs.

“[The current system] creates a lot of problems for not only teachers, but for the kids,” he says. “Critical decisions in public education should not be driven by paper-and-pencil exams taken on one day.

“What we’ve seen in the past 25 years in public education is a huge shift in power from local communities to state and federal government,” Horn continues. “Secondly, there’s been a centralization of accountability. And what I mean when I say that is, the typical superintendent is a lot more accountable to TEA and the federal government then he or she is to the local community. There has got to be a better balance that makes a school district more responsive to and accountable to its local public.”

However, Turner emphasizes that the report’s purpose isn’t to blindly bash the accountability system or the state and federal No Child Left Behind acts. He and other superintendents see the report as a tool to foster open discussion about the future of education among teachers, parents, school administrators, legislators, business leaders and others. Released in May, the document continues to draw attention inside and outside education circles.

“This group is not saying we have all the answers,” Horn admits. “What they’re saying is, ‘Here are some things we believe to be true from a practitioner’s perspective. We are raising questions and putting issues on the table so that all stakeholders in public education can have productive conversations about the issues we’ve identified.”

“We want feedback; we want to know what people think,” says Visioning Institute participant Stephen Waddell, superintendent of Birdville ISD. “We want suggestions. We want criticisms.”

One area of the report that should elicit plenty of feedback involves digital learning. As the report notes, most modern-day students come to school as savvy users of technology. Yet they can’t readily take advantage of that technology in schools built under a 20th century model. New learning standards must be adopted to mesh with the ever-evolving digital realm, the report says.

“To keep students fully engaged, schools must adapt to this new and rapidly changing environment. They must embrace the potential of new technologies and make optimum use of the digital devices and connections that are prevalent today to make learning vibrant and stimulating for all,” the report notes.

During one of the Visioning Institute sessions, superintendents heard from six tech-smart students representing Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Highland Park ISDs. Those students shared with the superintendents that classes that solely rely on a lecture format lack vibrancy and stimulation. As a result of that insight, Turner decided to create a student advisory panel on technology within his school district in Coppell.

If public schools don’t acknowledge and prepare for the 21st century world, “our country will suffer, and it will suffer in a big ol’ way,” adds Visioning Institute participant Cathy Bryce, superintendent of Highland Park ISD.

TASA plans to use the Visioning Institute report as a guide in developing its legislative agenda and in responding to other education proposals that come forth, says TASA Executive Director Johnny Veselka. The report constitutes a “call to action” for anyone interested in improving the education system, Turner says. Of course, Turner and his 34 counterparts in the Visioning Institute are making sure that call is heard far and wide. The superintendents dedicated plenty of time and energy to the visioning process.

Visioning Institute participant Rod Schroder, superintendent of Amarillo ISD, describes the visioning sessions as lively and “mentally draining.” He jokes that when you have 35 superintendents in one room, you probably have 45 opinions. Amid the exchange of opinions, however, the conversation was open and honest, he says.

“It was not a ‘group think’ at all; we were encouraged to challenge,” Schroder says. “None of these people were shy about sharing their positions or beliefs.”

While the superintendents didn’t always see eye to eye on their positions and beliefs, they remained cordial to one another. As Bryce characterizes it, there was “no fisticuffs. No yelling or hollering.”

Indeed, Bryce, Schroder, Turner, Waddell and the other superintendents developed great respect and trust for one another.

“We knew each other’s hearts,” Bryce says, “and we knew each other’s commitment and purpose.”
In getting to know each other’s commitment and purpose, the superintendents undertook an unprecedented — and rewarding — assignment.

“It was an amazing experience,” Waddell says. “Overall, it was one of the most enriching things I’ve ever participated in.”

To obtain a copy of the report, visit TASA’s Web site at www.tasanet.org and click on the Visioning Institute logo.

Who They Are

Superintendents who participated in the Visioning Institute include:

David Anthony, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Cathy Bryce, Highland Park ISD
Gene Burton, Rockwall ISD
Deborah Cron, Weatherford ISD
Thomas Crowe, McKinney ISD
Ralph Draper, Spring ISD
Robert Duron, San Antonio ISD
John Folks, Northside ISD
Alton Frailey, Katy ISD
Greg Gibson, Crowley ISD
Annette Griffin, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
Jim Hawkins, Killeen ISD
Michael Hinojosa, Dallas ISD
Rick Howard, Comanche ISD
Mark Jackson, Burleson ISD
Melody Johnson, Fort Worth ISD
Duncan Klussmann, Spring Branch ISD
Richard McReavy, Waller ISD
Leonard Merrell (retired), Katy ISD
Richard A. Middleton, North East ISD
Vernon Newsom, Mansfield ISD
Dawson Orr, Wichita Falls ISD
Douglas W. Otto, Plano ISD
Thomas Randle, Lamar CISD
Rick Reedy, Frisco ISD
Jerry Roy, Lewisville ISD
Karen G. Rue, Northwest ISD
Rod Schroder, Amarillo ISD
Greg Smith, Clear Creek ISD
Barbara Sultis, Goose Creek CISD
Jeff Turner, Coppell ISD
Stephen Waddell, Birdville ISD
Ryder Warren, Marble Falls ISD
Nola Wellman, Eanes ISD
Leland Williams, Dickinson ISD