I did not think much of Judge Manning’s latest jeremiad when I read the N&O report, but I found the whole document a worthwhile read. Here are some highlights:
Manning is shocked to learn how much it cost to run the state’s 44 lowest performing high schools: $268 million. The cost to run the state’s 44 highest performing high schools: $254 million.
As a result, Manning sees the light: “…I have come to the conclusion that the major problem with these schools lies in the category of school leadership, not money.”
Then, Manning gets legal: “…from a legal standpoint, the children have a constitutional right to have a competent and effective principal in charge of their school.”
So, Manning takes action: “An ineffective principal cannot stay on any longer and continue to preside over a high school where no more than 55% of the students tested on EOG tests perform at or above grade level.”
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Of course, Manning has not yet realized that school leadership licensing standards assure that the new principals come from the same mold as the fired ones. He believes that the old system, i.e. the teacher-assistant principal-principal pipeline, has the available talent to improve the failing high schools. He will be disappointed to learn that it doesn’t.
