Chalkboard passes along a Texas state senator’s issues with former GCS Superintendent Terry Grier, who now heads Houston’s school system.
Brian Ewing says he’s checking on the factual nature of state Sen. Mario Gallegos’ claims. But he does offer an interesting general analysis of Grier’s supposed pattern of behavior:
He convinces the board that changes will be hard, the community will push back and they must stay the course.
He demands that the board give him the authority to make the change he prescribes regardless of the lack of buy-in from a community that has been removed from meaningful input.
When the parents and community begin to voice their concerns about his changes he uses the media to make his case and to pressure the school board; too often, the school board learns about his programs when they open their morning newspaper.
He attempts to publicly marginalize political, business, or community figures who question his approach by labeling them as against school reform — he has used this to marginalize every school board that has ever employed him.
When the fire gets hot like it did in San Diego, Amarillo and Sacramento, he leaves for greener pastures with a buy-out that has been pre-negotiated. If that doesn’t work — he sues the board, like he did in Sacramento.
What jumped out at me was ‘school board learns about his programs when they open their morning newspaper.’ Not so shocking —that happens at all levels of government here in Guilford County.
