The Forgotten Choice: Seize the Day

"Where there is no vision, there is no hope." ~ Geo. Washington Carver

One would think the professionals advising Richmond Public School Superintendent Dr. Yvonne W. Brandon would be more than familiar with the old advertising bromide: "Sell the Sizzle" (and not the steak). And, to a certain degree it appears they are nominally aware, given the recent PR-campaign blitz to sell "The Choice" (and not the system).

But, whether marketing steaks or urban school systems, there comes a point when the customer needs to take a bite of the steak or check out "The Choice." And, if they find themselves chewing the same old dried-out shoe leather, they will look elsewhere -- and have, for years.

To be sure, "The Choice" campaign tells us plenty about what RPS is today -- but, it tells us nothing about where it is headed, what it is becoming or how citizens, parents and teachers can help "be the change" we wish to see in our schools. If this PR campaign is the best that RPS can offer, then clearly, the system is in need of some "shock therapy."

What would have been impressive -- and still could be -- would be for Brandon to present a coherent and cohesive plan that is serious about reforming RPS – top to bottom. We need a plan that not only acknowledges the system’s strengths and weaknesses, but contains her vision of what must be done to help our children and our city achieve greatness.

While reasonable people can disagree on the details, one thing is certain: maintaining the status quo is not the answer.

We need to ask parents who send their children to RPS -- as well as those who don’t -- how the system can become more responsive and relevant to their needs and expectations. Further, the plan must be informed and inspired by the best and brightest of our classroom teachers and principals.

We need a plan that will make real the promises of financial reform and accountability in order to achieve equity in our schools for ALL children. The citizens of Richmond need to hear from Brandon how she intends to emphasize academics and athletics, how she intends to integrate the arts and sciences.

This plan must be relevant to the future employment needs of our children and enhance the economic potential of our region. Such a focused vision will do more to keep children in school than any sermon or political speech.

Unfortunately, "The Choice" PR campaign is not such a plan. It is, however, evidence that the change so many hoped that Brandon could bring, won't be arriving anytime soon.

For example, the Board members did not learn of "The Choice" marketing campaign until they were invited by the Superintendent to attend the press conference launching the effort. To be kind, perhaps the Superintendent and the Mayor Dwight C. Jones were just so excited about the PR campaign that they plumb forgot to send it past the School Board, the teachers or the parents.

Sadly and pathetically, the RPS administration continues to be ridiculously addicted to secret-keeping, despite promises of transparency. It is beyond absurd that even good news is apparently doled out on a strictly "need-to-know" basis.

Had the actual advertising campaign been shared with board members, PTA leadership and the teachers prior to launch, certainly someone would have asked why only one African-American male is depicted in any of the materials. Similarly, no children with disabilities are shown, nor is there even a mention of School Board’s efforts to make our schools comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If RPS truly wants to "seize the day," leadership needs to look not so much at what other urban school districts are doing, but what the private, parochial and most successful county schools are doing. Consider the following:

• The whole system has not been redistricted in more than 30 years. If not now, when?

• Instead of piecemeal International Baccalaureate programs at two select schools, why not whole school Baccalaureate programs?

• Instead of simply closing Chandler Middle School and moving the teachers who have failed to get that school accredited in the past seven years to other schools, why not undertake a serious reform of middle schools as we know them now?

• Mayor Jones made campaign promises about reforming middle schools. Brandon and members of her administration and board all talk about the need to give parents additional choices. When will these choices be available?

With the noteworthy exception of School Board vice-chair Kimberly B. Gray of the Second District -- who successfully led the fight to rescind the Gag Order that the School Board unanimously approved and who has repeatedly asked for a line-item budget -- the silence of the Richmond School Board is deafening.

Mrs. Gray’s erstwhile colleagues sit there as if they are bumps on a log, saying nothing, hearing nothing and worst of all -- doing nothing. They all seem scared witless to speak up on behalf of the citizens who elected them. It appears they have quietly ceded control of the schools to the Superintendent and the Mayor and given the citizens NO SAY in the matter.

Little wonder. RPS administrators, with help from Mayor Jones and key members of the business community, have effectively managed to neutralize the elected School Board and keep it out of the decision-making loop, all with not a bleat of protest from our chosen representatives.

The new board had barely been seated when the Mayor and heavy-weights in the business community let it be known that "they" had already chosen Brandon. The six years I served on the Richmond School Board afforded ample opportunity to be impressed by Brandon's dedication and work ethic and, I confess, I was unabashedly a member of the choir singing her praises.

Those years of direct observation convinced me that her strength is instruction -- not politics. Consequently, her endorsement of C.T. Woody for Sheriff was shocking for two reasons: 1) it seemed totally out of character and 2) Brandon has been in the system long enough to know that it is absolutely against School Board policy for her to endorse any politician’s bid for office, much less Woody’s bid for re-election as Sheriff.

Given RPS' astounding number of suspensions each year that directly contribute to the number of truants and dropouts and actively feed thousands of children into the “School to Prison Pipeline,” it would behoove the School Superintendent to ask hard questions of herself and her staff about what can be done to keep our children in school and out of jail. One would think that Brandon would have sufficient challenges before her to keep her out of unnecessary political frays.

All things considered, Brandon and Jones are to be commended for showing the citizens of Richmond that they indeed do know how to "work well and play nice" with one another. They are also to be commended for finally realizing that our school system needs to market itself in order to stop the 50-year decline in enrollment.

But, they are both delusional if they think this can be accomplished by offering nothing new and by systematically leaving Board members, parents and teachers out of the process. Such an approach hasn’t worked for the past 50 years and there is no reason to believe it will today.