MCS Retreat Focus on District’s Future Learning Process

MCS Retreat Focus on District’s Future

Written on April 30, 2011 – 6:41 pm | by Christopher Tulloch

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – With two opting not come, the remaining 7 Memphis City School Board members attended their annual retreat to discuss a game plan for the future of the school system. But rather than rehash their charter surrender decision, the group agreed it was time to start letting the public know of the academic strides city schools are continuing to make.

Their critics, including one of their own, might sarcastically observe the beleaguered members of the Memphis City School Board have been in “retreat” since surrendering the school system’s charter more than 4 months ago.

“You just surrendered an entire school system,” stated MCS Board Member Kenneth Whalum. “What are you retreating for? What are you planning for?”

Getting MCS board members to think a little smarter by playing offense instead of defense during the transition period before the merger of city and Shelby County Schools was one of the themes espoused by renowned education reform expert Don McAdams. McAdams, who runs the Center For Education Reform in Houston, was brought in Monday to help school board members formulate plans for the system’s future at their day-long 2011 retreat held at the MCS Training and Learning Academy. Theme number one: the past is the past, get over it!

“Once the board decision is made it is a board decision and they have to move forward as one,” McAdams said. “They also need to formulate some statement to make clear what their vision is going forward.”

McAdams’ appearance, believed to cost nearly $5,000, was no willy-nilly choice. Over the past three years he has served as a consultant to MCS and a number of board members have attended training sessions run by his Texas-based institute. It has given him a valid perspective on the enormity of the task and the issues that lie ahead.

“I haven’t seen anything this big going on in public education in America,” he stated. “None of the changes that any of the superintendents and boards in this city or that city come even close to the transformational effects that this kind of consolidation will bring.”

McAdams’ biggest contribution was to remind the seven board members who attended to adopt a united approach to making positive statements about the advantages the merger presents. Rather than be distracted or surprised by changing events, McAdams stressed the board should stay on the track of advancing student academic achievement levels all the way up to the time a merger actually takes place, and beyond.

“When you see our ACT scores going up and when you see our graduation rate at 71% – when Philadelphia is at 43% and Charlotte’s at 55% – there aren’t very many comparatively large urban districts that have a 71 percent graduation rate,” noted board member Jeff Warren.

“We talk about 5-thousand dollar expenditure for this retreat, which definitely has value,” said board member Martavius Jones. “I still want to talk about me being a Shelby Countian and Shelby County tax dollars being used to sue me as a Memphian.”

Learning Process