Dallas Mayor Looks at Taking Over DISD
As the news broke that Mayor Tom Leppert was considering a take-over of the Dallas Independent School District, emotions start rising.
When asked for a comment, all Mr. Leppert would say was, "The statement speaks for itself. I'm sticking with the statement," he said, adding only that "in the end, the kids have to be the priority. We're having a lot of conversations."
However, some school board members are questioning his motives. "Why would he want to be in charge of the school district?" Lew Blackburn wondered. Other board trustees from the southern sector (a primarily African-American section of the city) are stating their concern about a mayor from the northern sector (a primarily White section of the city) running the Dallas district (which is primarily African-American and Hispanic).
I get the sense that there is some defensiveness and territorialism going on. But, the truth of the matter is, our district teeters on the edge of a downward spiral. Though blame has been freely placed on Superintendent Hinojosa, blaming people does not fix the fact that our school system is not doing well and our children are suffering.
In the past, I don't know that I would've been on board with a city take over. However, I think we need to consider our needs and our resources.
DISD hasn't been thought of as a quality district for quite some time. If Mayor Leppert is serious about making the children a priority, it doesn't matter to me what color he is or where he lives. Our children deserve better than what they're getting.
I actually like Hinojosa. I like his passion; I like his approach. However, just because he has the best in mind for the kids and may be a great educator visionary doesn't mean he's got great business sense.
What I notice in non-profit is that most of us come from social sciences fields. We have been taught to be social workers, ministers, educators, etc. We have not been taught how to create a business plan, develop outcomes, and have a solid sense of budgeting. Yet, we are expected to wear that hat. Even the president of the United States has a team of people to figure out the economic piece.
So...if a successful business man who graduated from Harvard and was the former CEO of Turner Construction is committed to education and can help us get our financial piece in order, why not take him up on the offer? I don't get the sense he's wanting to tell educators how to teach. I would hope he is willing to listen to the educators and work in conjunction with them so that we can have a financially viable and educationally strong school system.
Showing posts with label Tom Leppert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Leppert. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Developing our future leaders
At the beginning of the summer, Marcus Martin, of Education is Freedom informed us at Central Dallas that we would be recipients of two interns through the Mayor's Intern Fellows program and let me know that I would get one of them.
My intern, Michael, was an extremely quiet guy when he first started working this summer. With our recent staff cutbacks, I was very excited to have been granted a free intern (sponsored by another corporation) but because of his quiet demeanor, I wasn't quite sure how to use him at first.
We started him on several administrative tasks then, as the summer progressed, he helped with our "Urban Experience" teen program. He seemed to open up as the summer went on. I admit, I felt a bit of pride and success when I saw a small grin creep across his face or heard a small chuckle from him. By involving him in our Urban Experience program, he also got to know other teens that I've worked with for many years and quickly became one of the group.
Yesterday was Michael's last day. We attended a lunch banquet sponsored by the city of Dallas, AT&T, and Education is Freedom. The banquet celebrated the first year of the mayor's vision of pairing kids from low-income schools with new opportunities and connections in order to "...produce a sense of aspiration, to give kids a chance to see what options can be later in life."
As I listened to the experiences of other teenagers participating in marketing analysis, law firms, and other corporate internships, I wondered if Michael missed out by not being at a company that could give him "bigger" career experiences than our non-profit.
Last night, however, I spoke with his grandmother. As she and I talked, she explained to me…sounding somewhat disappointed…that Michael has an overly quiet personality. She explained that she and his dad have really tried to get him out of his shell. She went on to talk about how this summer has really been good for him. She said he comes home happy and she has seen how much it has helped him. I assured her that he has now been sucked into the group of teens I call on to do different things--volunteering, college trips, and such--and that Michael's internship was only the start of a long-term access to opportunities. She seemed thrilled.
Though I often try to convince people that our education department needs more funding and needs to be allowed to grow, I don't think even I realize how important our work with kids and teens really is and how much impact it has on their development and their future.
I am very impressed with Mayor Leppert's vision and implementation of that vision. The Mayor's Intern Program provides students with the opportunity to interact with top of the line corporations and help them gain experiences that will more than likely influence their future careers.
Though I know that having high school students work at a company for the summer may sometimes seem like it could take more effort than provide benefit, I truly hope that more non-profits and corporations sign up so that next year becomes an even bigger program. I would love to see efforts like this begin in other cities and towns as well (that's a hint to all of you out there with connections!! :) ).
All of our children deserve the opportunity to "dream and envision who they can and will one day become."*
*(taken from the mission statement from our After-School Academy).
My intern, Michael, was an extremely quiet guy when he first started working this summer. With our recent staff cutbacks, I was very excited to have been granted a free intern (sponsored by another corporation) but because of his quiet demeanor, I wasn't quite sure how to use him at first.
We started him on several administrative tasks then, as the summer progressed, he helped with our "Urban Experience" teen program. He seemed to open up as the summer went on. I admit, I felt a bit of pride and success when I saw a small grin creep across his face or heard a small chuckle from him. By involving him in our Urban Experience program, he also got to know other teens that I've worked with for many years and quickly became one of the group.
Yesterday was Michael's last day. We attended a lunch banquet sponsored by the city of Dallas, AT&T, and Education is Freedom. The banquet celebrated the first year of the mayor's vision of pairing kids from low-income schools with new opportunities and connections in order to "...produce a sense of aspiration, to give kids a chance to see what options can be later in life."
As I listened to the experiences of other teenagers participating in marketing analysis, law firms, and other corporate internships, I wondered if Michael missed out by not being at a company that could give him "bigger" career experiences than our non-profit.
Last night, however, I spoke with his grandmother. As she and I talked, she explained to me…sounding somewhat disappointed…that Michael has an overly quiet personality. She explained that she and his dad have really tried to get him out of his shell. She went on to talk about how this summer has really been good for him. She said he comes home happy and she has seen how much it has helped him. I assured her that he has now been sucked into the group of teens I call on to do different things--volunteering, college trips, and such--and that Michael's internship was only the start of a long-term access to opportunities. She seemed thrilled.
Though I often try to convince people that our education department needs more funding and needs to be allowed to grow, I don't think even I realize how important our work with kids and teens really is and how much impact it has on their development and their future.
I am very impressed with Mayor Leppert's vision and implementation of that vision. The Mayor's Intern Program provides students with the opportunity to interact with top of the line corporations and help them gain experiences that will more than likely influence their future careers.
Though I know that having high school students work at a company for the summer may sometimes seem like it could take more effort than provide benefit, I truly hope that more non-profits and corporations sign up so that next year becomes an even bigger program. I would love to see efforts like this begin in other cities and towns as well (that's a hint to all of you out there with connections!! :) ).
All of our children deserve the opportunity to "dream and envision who they can and will one day become."*
*(taken from the mission statement from our After-School Academy).
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Mayorial candidates--words versus actions
On May 12, we will make a choice. Who do we want for our next mayor?
Central Dallas had decided to invite the top 7 mayorial candidates to Turner Courts and Roseland Homes so that they would have the opportunity to dialogue with people who usually get left out of the conversation.
I was excited about the opportunity. Central Dallas has a lot of clout these days and even though this same opportunity probably wouldn't have taken place had it been left up to the candidates to organize it, I was grateful that we at Central Dallas were using our "power" to facilitate an event like this.
However, by 2:00 yesterday, I was very disappointed.
We had found out the day before that only 2 candidates had planned to come to Turner Courts. The rest had all opted to go to Roseland Homes (a public housing development, but one that is in a very "safe" area for the candidates...economic development and nicely constructed town homes exist all over the Roseland/City Place area. The Hope VI grant has refurbished the entire Dallas Housing Authority area). The candidates had chosen to go to an area, though still in need of some work, that is very plush compared to Turner Courts.
Figuring if they wouldn't come to us, we'd go to them, we (Turner Courts) decided to visit them on their "turf" at Roseland. At 1:30, we all packed up and made the trek over to Roseland for the meeting at 2:00.
Only Sam Coats showed up on time.
And not only was Mr. Coats at Roseland, Mr. Coats evidently hadn't gotten the message and had gone to Turner Courts first.
THANK YOU, Mr. Coats! Thank you for valuing us enough to come out...to both places...on time!
Gary Griffith did show up about 15-20 minutes after we had started and stayed the remainder of the time.
No other candidates showed up.
Both men seemed like fine men. I'm sure the other 5 are fine men as well. But it says something to me when they do not acknowledge our worth and value enough to show up...or even call for that matter. If the meeting had been scheduled in a wealthy part of Dallas with potential campaign contributors where there is a higher percentage of voter turnout, would they have shrugged off that meeting as well...no matter what their schedule looked like? I tend to think not.
At one point in the discussion, Mr. Coats asked the audience (of maybe 30 people) who was registered to vote. I wonder if he was surprised when nearly every hand went up.
Perhaps if people had a reason to think they were valued, if they had a reason to think that the city works for them, too, perhaps they would vote. Perhaps if the candidates did make more of an effort to go into low-income communities and ask the people what city services are lacking (explaining what the mayor does and doesn't have authority over so that we target our requests and statements), maybe then people would see that their voice is a part of the conversation as well.
Before our meeting I had looked over the candidates and each of their platforms. I had made some tentative decisions of who I thought might be working in our best interests. After yesterday, my tentative decisions changed. It's one thing to put a good platform in the paper. It's a completely different thing to actually show up.
Actions speak much louder than words.
Note: The same 7 who were invited to speak with us have also been invited to be at our Prayer Breakfast on April 26. Check out the link and come join us!
Central Dallas had decided to invite the top 7 mayorial candidates to Turner Courts and Roseland Homes so that they would have the opportunity to dialogue with people who usually get left out of the conversation.
I was excited about the opportunity. Central Dallas has a lot of clout these days and even though this same opportunity probably wouldn't have taken place had it been left up to the candidates to organize it, I was grateful that we at Central Dallas were using our "power" to facilitate an event like this.
However, by 2:00 yesterday, I was very disappointed.
We had found out the day before that only 2 candidates had planned to come to Turner Courts. The rest had all opted to go to Roseland Homes (a public housing development, but one that is in a very "safe" area for the candidates...economic development and nicely constructed town homes exist all over the Roseland/City Place area. The Hope VI grant has refurbished the entire Dallas Housing Authority area). The candidates had chosen to go to an area, though still in need of some work, that is very plush compared to Turner Courts.
Figuring if they wouldn't come to us, we'd go to them, we (Turner Courts) decided to visit them on their "turf" at Roseland. At 1:30, we all packed up and made the trek over to Roseland for the meeting at 2:00.
Only Sam Coats showed up on time.
And not only was Mr. Coats at Roseland, Mr. Coats evidently hadn't gotten the message and had gone to Turner Courts first.
THANK YOU, Mr. Coats! Thank you for valuing us enough to come out...to both places...on time!
Gary Griffith did show up about 15-20 minutes after we had started and stayed the remainder of the time.
No other candidates showed up.
Both men seemed like fine men. I'm sure the other 5 are fine men as well. But it says something to me when they do not acknowledge our worth and value enough to show up...or even call for that matter. If the meeting had been scheduled in a wealthy part of Dallas with potential campaign contributors where there is a higher percentage of voter turnout, would they have shrugged off that meeting as well...no matter what their schedule looked like? I tend to think not.
At one point in the discussion, Mr. Coats asked the audience (of maybe 30 people) who was registered to vote. I wonder if he was surprised when nearly every hand went up.
Perhaps if people had a reason to think they were valued, if they had a reason to think that the city works for them, too, perhaps they would vote. Perhaps if the candidates did make more of an effort to go into low-income communities and ask the people what city services are lacking (explaining what the mayor does and doesn't have authority over so that we target our requests and statements), maybe then people would see that their voice is a part of the conversation as well.
Before our meeting I had looked over the candidates and each of their platforms. I had made some tentative decisions of who I thought might be working in our best interests. After yesterday, my tentative decisions changed. It's one thing to put a good platform in the paper. It's a completely different thing to actually show up.
Actions speak much louder than words.
Note: The same 7 who were invited to speak with us have also been invited to be at our Prayer Breakfast on April 26. Check out the link and come join us!
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