Controversial Palm Beach County school district leader Hernandez stripped of power
Ohanian Comment: Maybe this should be posted in 'Good News,' but what bothers me is that Hernandez' plan is still considered "ok" for the poor kids. . . you know, those kids. I commend parents for fighting for what they want for their kids. But I worry a lot about those kids who get left with the scripted curriculum and the incessant testing.
This is a complicated issue. For a little history put "Jeffrey Hernandez" into a search on this site.
By Samantha Frank and Adam Playford
Jeffrey Hernandez, the architect behind the controversial academic plan that threw the Palm Beach County School District into turmoil, was removed from his post Monday, Superintendent Art Johnson said.
In an effective demotion, Hernandez, who was chief academic officer, will lose his leadership position and wide-ranging power over the district's curriculum, Johnson said. He will hold an advisory role, helping low-performing schools improve, but will not oversee those schools nor their principals, Johnson said.
For months, Hernandez has been the focus of protests from furious parents and teachers, many of whom said they felt straightjacketed by strict reforms that required frequent testing and dictated minute details of how they run their classrooms.
Hernandez's duties will be split between Johnson, who held the role for a year before becoming superintendent, and Ann Killets, the district's chief of staff, whom Hernandez replaced this summer.
The move is intended to "deal with the distractions and controversy that have occurred surrounding some of the curriculum initiatives and some of the personal statements regarding Mr. Hernandez," Johnson said.
"We've reached a point where the distractions are becoming a hindrance to us moving forward," he added.
Asked if the change was based on performance, Johnson said the controversy showed that the district didn't have the "best alignment" of skills with "the needs of the system."
Meeting another demand of critics, Johnson also promised to deliver a list of which reforms are required by the state and federal governments vs. those being picked by the district.
Reached by phone before the announcement was made, Hernandez said he was in meetings and would call back. Attempts to reach him later were unsuccessful.
The change comes three days after new test results showed that reading scores are down at 51 percent of county schools, despite Hernandez's reforms. Johnson said that the two are unrelated, calling the data statistically insignificant and only one thin slice of the big picture.
The removal was lauded by Hernandez's many critics. But it was met with concern by his backers, who say he was the first to try to help struggling students, particularly minorities, in the top-rated district.
Hernandez, 35, first wowed Johnson after becoming responsible for turning around failing schools in three counties, including Palm Beach, in August 2008 in his position as a state education administrator. He began his career at the Miami-Dade school district, zooming up the district's ranks and developing a reputation for turning around flailing schools.
State standards were set to rise and Johnson wanted change. So in May, he convinced the school board to hire Hernandez as chief academic officer, replacing Killets.
Hernandez quickly took on an unprecedented role, seizing control from principals, even at high-performing schools, and forcing reforms that emphasized frequent testing and uniformity.
Salting the wound was Hernandez's professorial style, laden with graphs and charts and statistics, which critics perceived as arrogant.
By June, his meetings with parents were already turning sour. And in the six months that followed, the fights bloomed, until Hernandez was at the epicenter of one of the most intense clashes to consume the district in years. Despite announcing in October that the academic changes were no longer mandatory, the firestorm didn't die down.
Lisa Goldman, the Wellington mother behind the "Testing Is Not Teaching" Facebook group that became home to thousands of discontented parents, said she is thrilled.
"The school district obviously heard the voice of the community," she said. "This is definitely a step in the absolute right direction."
School board member Frank Barbieri, a Hernandez critic, also praised Killets, writing in an e-mail that she has "earned the trust and allegiance of our principals and teachers."
But Chuck Ridley, chairman of the Coalition of Black Student Achievement, said that he was "disappointed" to hear about Hernandez's reassignment.
In the 10 years that the coalition has existed, "Mr. Hernandez was the first person from the school district who actually articulated and developed a plan for systemic reform," he said.
Board member Debra Robinson, a former president of the Palm Beach County Caucus of Black Elected Officials, echoed Ridley's concern.
"I'm very worried that this drastic change represents turning our back on the children that have not been successful in this school district," she said.
She is also not sure Killets is the right person to be managing the district's academics.
"We've been there already," she said. "And did it work? The data would say no."
Johnson said the transition will be smooth because both he and Killets have served as the district's chief academic officer in the past.
Hernandez is under contract for the rest of the school year, Johnson said, so his $180,366 salary will remain the same, as will Killets' $180,366 salary.
He will work with "Differentiated Accountability Schools," those that have failed federal standards the longest — similar to what he did in Miami and at the state level, Johnson said.
"He is able to quickly diagnose some of the deficiencies and needs of the school and give the appropriate recommendations to the administration," Johnson said. "And then we would be the ones who would be responsible for carrying that out. So the responsibility is shifting, from him doing it to us doing it."
adam_playford@pbpost.com
samantha_frank@pbpost.com
— Samantha Frank and Adam Playford
Palm Beach Post
2008-12-22
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/controversial-palm-beach-county-school-district-leader-hernandez-138366.html?printArticle=y
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
