SPECIAL EDITION Fall Conference • Leader Honored, p.3 • New Hispanic Report, p.5 • Conference Pictorial, p.9 LEGISLATIVE • Reauthorization Action, p.10 The Nation’s Voice for Urban Education November/December 2011 Vol. 20, No. 8 www.cgcs.org Large City Schools Show Eight-Year Climb in Improvement Average reading and mathematics scores ough County in Tampa -- joined Atlanta, tive director of the Council of the Great for public school students in America’s large Austin, Baltimore City, Boston, Charlotte- City Schools. “We are catching up with cities increased in grades 4 and 8 on the rig- Mecklenburg, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, the nation and putting urban schools in a orous National Assessment of Educational District of Columbia, Fresno, Houston, stronger position as we begin implement- Progress (NAEP) between 2003 and 2011, Jefferson County (Louisville), Los Ange- ing the new Common Core Standards.” according to the Nation’s Report Card: Trial les, Miami-Dade County, Milwaukee, New Urban District Assessment (TUDA) Reading Reading Progress and Mathematics 2011. With the improvement, the academic In 2011, grades 4 and 8 reading data achievement gap between the nation’s large show that average scores for students in city public schools and the nation narrowed large cities increased when compared with considerably in reading and math in both 2003. In addition, average scores signifi- fourth and eighth grades. cantly increased between 2009 and 2011 Significant gains between 2009 and among eighth-grade students in large cit- 2011 were also posted by the large cities in York City, Philadelphia and San Diego for ies. eighth-grade reading and in fourth- and the largest group of participating districts The new reading report also shows sub- eighth-grade math. in the program’s history. stantial progress by individual cities. Nine Twenty-one big-city school districts vol- “The latest NAEP results show both districts---Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte- unteered for the urban NAEP, or TUDA, short- and long-term progress by students Mecklenburg, Chicago, the District of Co- in 2011, with three districts participating in the nation’s large-city schools and gains lumbia, Houston, Los Angeles, New York for the first time. Newcomers -- Albu- since 2003 that are significantly larger than querque, Dallas, and Florida’s Hillsbor- the nation,” says Michael Casserly, execu- Large City Schools continued on page 4 Labor-Management Relations Discussed at Town Hall Meeting BOSTON—Big-city school superintendents and their teacher union counterparts sat side-by-side to discuss the issue of labor-management relations in urban education at a 90-min- ute national town hall meeting here. The meeting was held in conjunction with the Council of the Great City Schools’ 55th Annual Fall Conference and was moderated by Carole Simpson, former anchor of the weekend editions of ABC News World News Tonight. A graduate of the Chicago school system, it was in high school where Simpson was encouraged to join the staff of the Baltimore Schools CEO Andres Alonso shares a laugh with journalist Carole Simpson, who moder- high school newspaper and found her life’s work. ated the Council’s town hall meeting on labor-management relations. Town Hall continued on page 6 INSIDE THE COUNCIL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 School Board Member in Tampa Wins Top Council Award BOSTON—The red carpet was rolled present to a 2012 graduate of her choice Reilinger was the winner of the Richard out, literally, for six big-city school board in the Hillsborough school system or from R. Green Award in 2007. members, who after giving on-camera in- her high school alma mater. Four years later, Casper will graduate terviews, walked down a red carpet into from Boston College with a degree in a packed ballroom at the Council of the Award Beneficiary political science and plans to attend law Great City Schools’ 55th Annual Fall Con- school. At the 2011 Richard R. Green ference to hear who would be the recipient In 2008, John Casper, a student at Bos- Award ceremony, he expressed his ap- of the 2011 Richard R. Green Award. ton Public Schools, was the recipient of preciation at receiving the scholarship. The winner was Candy Olson, chair a $10,000 Richard R. Green scholarship “I’ve been able to pursue my dreams,” said of the school board for the Hillsborough from Elizabeth Reilinger, a former mem- Casper. County Public Schools in Tampa, Fla. ber of the Boston School Committee. Council Award continued on page 8 Olson has been on the school board since 1994, where she has been a staunch sup- porter of arts education programs. Sponsored by the Council, ARA- MARK Education and Voyager Expanded Learning, the award is presented annually in memory of Green, who led the Min- neapolis and New York City public school systems. Upon accepting the Green Award, Ol- son compared the work urban educators do to being a gardener. “Teachers don’t get to choose where the seeds they sow fall,” said Olson, “...but if you pull the weeds care- fully, things can grow in the soil and that’s what our teachers do everyday.” As the recipient of the award, Olson Candy Olson, school board member for Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, holds her $10,000 oversize check receives a $10,000 college scholarship to and is congratulated by her brother Jim Sullivan and her daughter Katherine and husband Chris. Executive Director Editor Associate Editor Michael Casserly Henry Duvall Tonya Harris [email protected] [email protected] Council officers A newsletter published by the Council of the Great City Schools, representing 65 of the nation’s largest urban public school districts. Chair Winston Brooks Albuquerque Chicago Fort Worth Louisville Oklahoma City St. Louis Superintendent, Albuquerque Anchorage Cincinnati Fresno Memphis Omaha St. Paul Chair-elect Atlanta Clark Co. Greensboro Miami-Dade Orange Co. San Diego Candy Olson Austin Cleveland Houston Milwaukee Palm Beach San Francisco Board Member, Hillsborough Baltimore Columbus Indianapolis Minneapolis Philadelphia Seattle County (Tampa) Birmingham Dallas Jackson Nashville Pittsburgh Shreveport Boston Dayton Jacksonville Newark Portland Tampa Secretary-Treasurer Broward Co. Denver Kansas City New Orleans Providence Toledo Eugene White Buffalo Des Moines Little Rock New York City Richmond Washington DC Superintendent, Indianapolis Charleston Detroit Long Beach Norfolk Rochester Wichita Charlotte East Baton Rouge Los Angeles Oakland Sacramento All news items should be submitted to: Urban Educator Council of the Great City Schools 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 702 • Washington, DC 20004 (202) 393-2427 • (202) 393-2400 (fax) | URBAN EDUCATOR URBAN EDUCATOR | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 INSIDE THE COUNCIL Columbus and Tampa Superintendents Recognized Two urban school ments of my life,” stressed Superintendent of data to increase student achievement leaders recently re- Harris, noting that the honor reflects the “Data enable us to make informed in- ceived high honors in consistent work of her district staff, parents structional and academic decisions that their respective states and the community as well as the support lead to increased student achievement,” of Ohio and Florida. of her family, friends and colleagues. said Commissioner Robinson in a news The Buckeye As- As Ohio’s 2012 Superintendent of the statement. sociation of School Year, Harris becomes a nominee for the “I commend Superintendent Elia for Administrators in American Association of School Admin- the outstanding job she has done in mak- November named Co- istrators’ National Superintendent of the ing data us- Gene Harris lumbus City Schools Year. age a priority Superintendent Gene State Recognition in her district Harris the 2012 Ohio Superintendent of and using it to the Year. In a special awards ceremony in Florida’s enhance the “Gene is long-deserving of this award,” state capital of Tallahassee, Florida Edu- educational ex- said the association’s executive director, cation Commissioner Gerard Robinson perience for all Kirk Hamilton, in a news release. “Dur- recently named Superintendent MaryEl- of the students ing her superintendency in Columbus City len Elia of Hillsborough County Public and teachers Schools, student achievement has increased Schools in Tampa the state’s 2011 District under her care,” dramatically, while at the same time, she Data Leader of the Year. Robinson em- has successfully led the district through She was selected from among five -fi MaryEllen Elia phasized. many challenges.” nalists for the award that recognize school “This is one of the most special mo- leaders who support and encourage the use Language Arts, Tenures Extended for Superintendents Literacy Focus In the Carolina’s Charleston and Greensboro Of Council Retreat Nancy McGinley, cently approved a con- In preparing urban schools for the Com- the superintendent of tract extension for Su- mon Core State Standards, the Council of Charleston County perintendent Maurice the Great City Schools recently held its School District in Green through June second retreat of instructional leaders and South Carolina, was 2015. specialists in academic areas that will be recently given a one- In its review of instrumental in the implementation of the year contract exten- Green, school board new standards. sion through 2014. members lauded Green More than 28 urban school districts Nancy McGinley Maurice Green Under McGinley’s for promoting a vision from around the nation were represented leadership, the district of educational excel- at the retreat -- “Building Shared Under- has increased its rating from “below aver- lence and said his personal integrity sets standing of the Common Core State Stan- age” to “excellent” on report cards released the tone for the district. Green has de- dards in English Language Arts and Lit- by the state. The district has also imple- clined a pay raise four times and has re- eracy” -- in Newark, N.J. mented literacy academies in the first, third duced his salary. David Coleman, lead developer of the and sixth grades, which are helping strug- Since taking the reins as superinten- English language arts for the Common gling readers improve their reading skills.