A panel of three urban principals shared their schools' success stories with the Chautauqua Institution, Friday.
The panel, consisting of Cathy Battaglia, Buffalo; Marion Pittman Couch, Winston Salem, N.C. and Maria Hersey, Palm Beach County, Fla., discussed the many hurdles their school systems encountered with the goal of reforming the education system. All three of these principals have overseen schools involved in the International Baccalaureate.
The panel was introduced by Paul Campbell, head of regional development for IB Americas, saying that many issues were raised throughout the week's lecture series, however "we should be rooted in what is actually happening in the classrooms," he said.
The first speaker, Maria Hersey, began by asking the crowd to use their imaginations and to put themselves into several different scenarios, such as being a student from a disadvantaged background, a teacher in another part of the world, or a 22-year-old graduate fresh out of college whose only job opportunity is in high-need schools. Understanding these situations is pivotal to understanding education reform.
"These are the realities of real people I have worked with," she said. "You have to consider all these realities."
Hersey shared the story of her school, Westward Elementary IB Magnet School, in Palm Beach, Fla., which was rated a state-grade of D when she entered. The school is located in a community with a high murder rate and many drug problems, she said. Last year, the school was given an A rating, with 92 percent of the students at or above grade level.
"This was very slow-and-steady successful progress," she said, involving the community, the teachers, the administration and the students.
"It's not about one teacher or one principal, it's about the community of learners," she said. "This requires collaboration on all levels."
In creating a successful turn-around with the IB program, "we have created networks of support for other schools," she said.
Marion Pittman Couch had lost 70 percent of her staff when she became principal of Paisley IB Magnet School, in Winston Salem, N.C.
Couch and her staff both collaborated to keep the school afloat.
"Everyone unanimously voted for the systematic change," she said. "We all played a role and it was in that working together that a systematic change started."
Couch put her and her staff through rigorous training in order to change the teaching style of the school.
She shared a story about one young girl who was admitted to the school after having problems at another school in the district.
"She excelled here," said Couch. "She made an appointment to see me and came with tears in her eyes saying, 'I cannot believe a school like this existed and is free.' This young lady is an example of what happens when you have teachers who understand the needs of the students."
The building, the area and the the community didn't change, but what happens inside that building is what has changed, she said.
"Education in America needs everyone's help," she said. "What we did at Paisley can be done everywhere."
Cathy Battaglia, community superintendent for the Buffalo Public Schools, shared how she turned around her district by providing leadership courses to provide better leaders in the schools.
"We believe at the end of the day the bottom-line is that school leaders should know how to inspire change," she said. "We've created leadership academies which teach skills to direct, influence and sustain those changes."
No school program should be dependent on one person, she said. In order to continue to offer continuity in the school system a program shouldn't end just because a team member has left.
"It needs to be able to endure changes and keep it going," she said.
These leaders and trained to put the needs of the children first, by teaching the skills they need to inspire these kinds of changes, she said.
"Teachers come to work expecting support and we are teaching school leaders how to provide that," she said. "Every principal is the president of the kid's union."
