Executive Director’s

Report

Peggy McAllister

  

There is no question that we are experiencing difficult times. The economy, mortgage foreclosures, declining stock markets, higher food prices and the exorbitant gasoline prices tell a story. That being said, educators too have difficult times in front of them. High stakes testing, designation of schools in need of improvement, No Child Left Behind, dwindling school budgets and above all having to “do more with less.”

For years our critics have said, schools should be run more like business.

It doesn’t seem like business is doing so well lately! It does remind me of Jamie Vollmer’s famous blueberry ice cream story that was told several years ago in Education Week.

Vollmer spoke to approximately 290 teachers, administrators, and non-certified employees. As the CEO of a nationally recognized company for blueberry ice cream, he was eager to echo the cry for change in America’s public schools. His proven claims of zero defects. Total Quality Management, and Continuous Improvement rocketed through the auditorium like shots from a gun.

When finished with his “in-service” presentation, a woman’s hand shot up. A veteran high school English teacher was recognized and quietly said, “We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream.”

The speaker smiled smugly and replied, “Best ice cream in America, Ma’am.”

“How nice” she said. “Is it rich and smooth?”

 “Sixteen percent butterfat,” he crowed.

 “Premium ingredients?” she inquired.

“Super-premium! Nothing but triple-A.” He was on a roll. He does not know if it was the arrogance he had acquired as CEO of a very successful company or if it was because he was swimming in waters he really knew very little about. Whatever the reason, this shrewd and worthy leader did not see her next question coming.

“Sir,” she said, “when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?”

As the trap snapped, silence filled the room. Quietly he said, “I send them back.”

 “That’s right!” she exclaimed, “but we never send our blueberries back. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them with attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, junior rheumatoid arthritis, and English as their second language. We take them all. Every one! And that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it’s not a business. It’s a school.”

From that day forward this CEO began a long transformation. He visited hundreds of schools. He learned that schools are not a business. He learned that schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material; they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for a reliable revenue stream, and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of desperate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night.

Source: Education Week 

Difficult times do not await us; they are upon us here and now. We need to unite and support Department of Education Commissioner Lyonel Tracy and his “Follow the Child Initiative”. Rather than just looking at test scores, this initiative focuses on the total child to document the personal, social, physical, and academic growth of each child. This approach goes beyond the NCLB mandate, which measures growth by only test scores. This is a way to personalize education for each child.

Without significant change, the NCLB act will continue to publicly humiliate schools that may not perform well by these single criteria. Schools will be encouraged to find a way to hide or cast aside their “inferior blueberries”.  What society has come to know as a sanctuary for all students from all backgrounds will quickly turn into an institution as cold as an ice cream parlor driven only by profit.

We face serious teacher and administrator shortage in this state. Teachers and administrators are caring, giving people and they are not stupid. If schools become just another competitor in the business world, teachers and administrators will move to more attractive options. Some may say we have been under that threat for years.  Maybe so, but if teachers and administrators do this, we have no one to replace them.

It is time for New Hampshire to unite in support of the total child and public education. While rules have changed, and I know NH educators are good, caring people who place their highest priority on the children in this state, they need to be encouraged.   We are the “Live Free or Die” State.  We need to be free to continue our commitment to quality education that is the best interest of our children.                      

 Have a safe and happy summer vacation!