News-Record.com

It staggers the imagination. Once again, the school board demonstrates it has no clue, OR, that it has a different agenda than simply what is best for students. It is clear that Mr. Green is an intelligent and capable leader, but after the meeting with teachers on Wednesday it was completely obvious that Dr. Prince has more expertise, experience, and is better prepared to lead GCS.

I'm stunned.

So, what will Mr. Green's greatest challenge be? I imagine his greatest challenge will be convincing educators that he knows anything about our profession. A "listening and learning tour" is no substitute for training and experience.

I think his greatest challenge is to stop saying "I don't know" or "I don't have the answers" to every single question he's asked.

Biggest problem -- getting a handle on the various factions in Guilford County -- including any faction which likes to use another faction in order to "bloat" the school system (i.e., keep that tax money rolling in, folks!).

I think Mr. Green is the best choice. The crew we got would have had Ms. Prince for breakfast. I don't think this guy will suffer fools easily. He obviously can't be race-baited. Being a lawyer I think he'll know blatant conflict of interest when he see's it etc. That eliminates probably 80% of the problems with this board over the last eight years.

I think it's good.

Oh Greensboro.......I told you that the black candidate would win. The lady clearly was the stronger candidate, but of course let diversity come into the picture and bam this is what you get. We all knew what direction the city would go in and was there ever a doubt, it just amazes me. We live in a crazy society nowadays.

I am an educator and I am pleased with the decision. I like the fact that he says that he is a listener and then will take action- a certain level of honesty. How could he know exactly what to do if he is not involved in the day to day runnings of this county's schools? Any other answer is bull. I have been in education long enough to know that it is very easy for educators to spout off a bunch of educational jargon that sounds good and makes the public feel like their are competent but it rarely translates into tangible results for kids- if it did, our school across the state and nation wouldn't be in so much trouble.

We have had program after program in Guilford County and they have shown only limited results yet these programs have padded the pockets of consultants who never stay around long enough to take responsibility for whether their programs worked. We need someone who will ask the right questions, have the right conversations, and evaluate what we are doing right and determine what improvements need to be made. Many times educators from the "inside" are incapable of evaluating themselves. I am happy that Mr. Green is with us- we have tried one way- let's do something different.

I am offended by Darlene Garrett's comments that Mr. Green was chosen because he was African-American. If Dr. Prince was chosen would it have been only because she was a women? Neither would be appropriate to say. It was clear from the 7 people who voted for Mr. Green why they voted the way they did and I don't remember race being a part of their comments.

I do not appreciate the fact that Ms. Garrett used the name of teachers to indicate that we wanted someone with teaching experience only. That is not accurate- we are not a homogenous group- you are only speaking for one group of teachers from your side of the tracks. In fact, I am one of at least 11 teachers I know alone who do not think that is the most important criterion or even near the top of the list- don't use our names as educators to fight your battles, Ms. Garrett- I haven't been "slapped in the face"

I do not understand how someone with no experience leading any school system can come in and lead one of the largest in the state?? Obviously, he's a smart man. I give him that, but Dr. Prince has lead a school system previously and that's what this job is ... correct? I think his greatest challenge will be his job in general. He's never done this before and it will be a challenge!

I would love to hear what changes He will bring to GCS. Everyone knows there's a need for a lot of change.

I say give the guy a chance... he can't be any worse than what we had....... right???? LOL. No seriously I think Mr Green will do a great job if we give him a chance. We have so many issues in our school system and I am sure with a positvie team behind him he'll do great. His experience seems to be an issue with some. We have to realize many of the teacher we have in our school have no experience and many don't belong in a classroom setting but we have given them the oppurtunity to teach our children with the hopes that they will succeed.........

Kham,
I agree with two of your points. First, Mr. Green does deserve a chance to prove that he was the right choice for the job and/or that he is up to the task. And second, based on his leadership style alone, he will be much more well received that Dr. Grier whose main leadership tactic was intimidation.
However, it's still difficult to accept that he was selected over someone with so much more experience and success in the profession.
Also, from a teacher's perspective, I do hope that his attitude and actions do demonstrate that he does in fact "revere" educators (his word).

Hey Bill,
Sometimes having more experience doesn't mean you can do the job. Looks like both have great accomplishments. We could only pick one. I am sure if they had picked Mrs. Price someone else would be complaining. We can't make everyone happy. I hope you have a great weekend!

Legitimate experience in any profession never hurts. If Dr. Prince had been selected, yes, some would have been unhappy, but not for the fact that she did not have experience.
And to respond to one of your the points in your earlier post, new teachers are hired and placed in classrooms every year, but even they have one semester of student teaching and several other semesters of internships. Mr. Green doesn't even have that experience. The main contention that many teachers and administrators have with his selection is that he has absolutely no frame of reference when it comes to the rippling effects of his decisions. And make no mistake, virtually every decision made at the central office will have some impact on every school and every classroom.
And possibly most important, he has no experience, and I assume, no formal education in matters of curriculum and instruction, which is a big concern.

The board's choice shouldn't be a surprise. I mean when have they ever listened to teachers? It should be interesting, especially since he has no teaching experience.

This guy may have some honeymoon period. However, people in Greensboro have proven over the decades that they are never happy with their superintendants. There will be some group that can't stand him for sure.

M
It is a sad, sad world in which we live, when people think that African Americans want a handout or hand-up because of their skin color. It is apparent that Mr. Green has more than just his skin color. Get pass color and look to character and the ability to bring our school system to a place of excellence.

This was not about race, this should have been about experience. Guilford County Schools are a joke and will continue to be. This was a done deal from the start, especially with Duncan and Ray and Associates ties to Mo. Not only is it a slap in Dr. Prince's face, but it is a slap in every educator, especially superintendents, who went school, took education courses, earned Doctoral degrees in edcuation, and have served on the front-line in the schools and classrooms. And by the way, the job of superintendent involves curriculum, testing, instruction, drop-out, closing the gap, ABC's and AYP and not just daily operations as was listed in the paper ( security, facilities, buses, etc). That's crazy that they would list what Mr. Green will oversee. A GOOD SUPERINTENDENT SHOULD OVERSEE ALL ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

We have just completed two tenures of educators who came in with their own top-down ideas. They were trained in public education and, by golly, they were going to put that learning to use by implementing those ideas. I am not a teacher, but THAT is what would scare me in a leader, not a lack of formal training from a graduate program in education.

What this system needs is a good manager who can enable people to do the jobs they know and were trained to do. Managing an enterprise as large as this one bears very little resemblance to being a teacher or principal. Other than the similarities between schoolkids and county commissioners.

Now, if we really want to work on our education system, let's start with teacher pay and ways to attract very bright people into every classroom.

Again, as a career educator, I have worked in a school system that was the largest in its state. Some of the things that Dr. Prince mentioned that had been done in systems where she has worked are effective. One example of this is having a strong alternative school. One of the biggest injustices to many students in this system is that they sit in classrooms where the same students disrupt their learning all day long. Rather than removing children who really aren't ready to be a part of a class, we allow one, two, or three students to hold pack twenty-five others, many of whom truly want to learn. Unfortunately, what I have observed is that the disruptive child's needs become a greater priority than the sum of the other students in the room.

I liked the idea that Dr. Prince had answers. She had answers that would work here in Guilford County because many of the problems facing the schools here are not unique to this school system. The achievement gap is not a new phenomenon. Educators know that students seem to cluster together in reading through about the third grade. By fourth grade, reading ability begins to separate children, and children who read poorly, begin having more behavior problems in school.

Honestly, I did not agree with every approach she suggested, but I liked the fact that she clearly knew what questions needed to be asked.

Mr. Green is clearly an intelligent and educated man himself. Perhaps there is something inside of him that will inspire teachers, administrators, students, parents, and indeed, the entire community. A leader with courage, integrity, wisdom, and compassion could take this system a long way.

The decision to hire Mr. Green by the school board should not be a surprise to anyone. This is the same school board who continued to give our last superintendent raises for his dismal performance.
The same school board also refuses to acknowledge that GCS has a gang problem, manipulates numbers so that our drop-out rate, suspension rate and crime rate in our schools looks better than they really are. Our present school board and administration would make good accountants for Al Capone because they can cook the books with the best crooks.
The school administration and the school board blame the teachers for the achievement gap and for the large disparity of African-American students failing and being suspended from school while not giving credit to the teachers for the good scores of minorities such as Asian-Americans and the lack of discipline problems with the other cultures in the school system. You cannot have it both ways. News Flash people, the answer is in both of these are cultures and in the families or lack thereof. Teachers cannot undo what a student has and continues to be taught directly or indirectly at home. Until the entire education system wakes up and is prepared to start teaching parents how to be parents no amount of money thrown at the problem is going to work. But then again it is so much easier to blame the teachers than to demand parents to take responsibility for raising their children.

Expect to see an onslaught of "puff" pieces in the News and Record over the next few weeks about Mr. Green.

Let the spin begin.

Bill,

Your case in point: Today's front page article is a "puff" piece heralding the great Mo Green.

John,

Exactly, but it's probably only the beginning.