Sac City Unified Gets Corporate Look (Broad Academy related story)

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/11/2882293/sac-city-unified-gets-corporate.html

Nearly a year into the job, Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jonathan Raymond's vision is becoming more apparent: He wants a more corporate-like education structure with streamlined responsibility.

As part of the reorganization, Raymond has added several high-paying positions, eliminated others and added corporate-sounding titles.

<snip>

Some teachers have questioned the new positions, which come as the district faces severe budget cuts and employee unions agreed to pay cuts. "I'm skeptical that this translates into actual help at the classroom level," said Lori Jablonski, a teacher at McClatchy High School.

<snip>

That's the case with Raymond, a lawyer who dabbled in Massachusetts politics and ran a multimillion-dollar nonprofit in Boston before graduating from The Broad Superintendent Academy, which trains leaders from outside education to run school districts. Raymond went on to be a chief accountability officer at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina before taking the superintendent job in Sacramento last summer.

"As you began to get superintendents from more diverse fields, they began to rename the jobs," Kirst said. "People want to rethink what these jobs are and the structure of their office. The old titles didn't fit the jobs."

The new job titles may fuel a growing concern among education advocates that corporate American is taking over public education.

"Whether education will be a public or private matter – that's one of the debates we are in the middle of," said Paul Heckman, associate dean in the School of Education at UC Davis. "I think corporations would love to see it more private."

Heckman cautioned school districts from focusing on efficiency and production instead of "encouraging young people's development."

Raymond said that's not the case in Sacramento.

"I think we are a business," Raymond said. "We are in the teaching and learning business. We are not in the business of manufacturing widgets. We make and help develop individual and unique kids."

From the sidebar, the new positions and their salaries:

Chief accountability officer: Currently hiring, $119,537 to $149,914.

Chief family and community engagement officer: Currently hiring, $109,199 to $136,717.

Chief academic officer: Olivine Roberts, $119,537 to $149,914.

Chief human resources officer: Robert Garcia, $143,233.

Chief communications officer: Gabe Ross, $114,178.

Chief of staff: Teresa Cummings, $102,000.

Chief business officer: Patty Hagemeyer, $130,591


Jonathan Raymond--Broad Class of 2006
http://www.broadacademy.org/fellows/53_Jonathan+Raymond.html?page_filter=0

In July 2009, Jonathan Raymond was appointed superintendent of Sacramento City Unified School District. Raymond previously served as the chief accountability officer for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Prior to his career in education, he served as president and CEO of the Boston-based Commonwealth Corporation, a non-profit organization focused on building stronger communities through innovative education and workforce development programs. Raymond has also served as deputy director in the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Earlier in his career, he was in private law practice, focusing on business and labor law. While earning his law degree, Raymond served on the staffs of Florida Congressman Tom Lewis and Senator Orrin Hatch. He later held the position of legislative and public affairs director at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. In Sacramento, Raymond's achievements include: creating "Priority Schools" to offer extra assistance to the district's most academically troubled schools; working in close partnership with parents and the community to balance the budget in the face of a $30 million deficit; and launching a comprehensive survey for community members to give feedback on the district's budgeting and strategic planning practices. His ongoing civic involvement includes running for the U.S. house of representatives in the fourth congressional district in Massachusetts in 1996. Raymond has a bachelor’s degree in history from Tufts University, a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a law degree from the George Mason Law School. Raymond is a graduate of the 2006 class of The Broad Superintendents Academy.



http://www.inourpocket.com/tag/jonathan-raymond/

Of merit pay for teachers, Raymond says there should not be just one measure used to determine how much a teacher makes. Raymond says the district should consider the opinion of the children and parents and the history with the teacher.

Do you think the salaries of the new "corporate" positions with be measured by the opinion of the children and the parents too? lol

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. And what about the parents who never come to school and never return calls?

Does their opinion count? Or would the teacher get extra points for teaching kids who have parents who don't care enough to get involved?

[Hannah Bell]

2. administration? evaluations? lol. never from the ranks, only from superiors.