To: Board of
Education District 107 Pleasantdale
From: Meg Pokorny
- Middle School Principal
I am addressing you tonight on the eve of my retirement out
of expediency. I had hoped to be offered time for an exit interview with the
Board, but since that was not requested, I am taking this opportunity to share what I
hope is a perspective that will be helpful to the district.
Exit interviews were something I did routinely as principal
and the format I used was simple. I
asked the departing employee two questions.
What have you learned since you came here? And, what problems do you see that if
addressed would help us improve as a school?
I’ll start by answering the first question. The short answer is that I learned a great
many things about what it takes to be a good leader…to lead a school, or any
organization. There isn’t time to list every
one , so I’ll focus on the three that standout most. First, would be an idea I needed to keep in
mind every day for past eleven years; “ You don’t know the whole story until
you’ve heard it from both sides”. If I
hadn’t learned that, I would have regularly jumped to the wrong conclusion and
ended up with “egg on my face” every day for the last eleven years.
The second thing I’ve learned is that as the leader of the
school, I set the tone. If I filter out
the negatives that aren’t serious and project a positive tone, I create a more positive school. By definition, the leader of any organization
must be, publically and privately, its
biggest fan.
And the third thing I’ve learned is that the often quoted
advice, “trust but verify” is not permission to micro-manage. I found I needed to remind myself that I don’t
know and I can’t do everything .
Delegating is good for an organization.
It enhances trust and it increases motivation.
Now the second question:
What problems do I see that if addressed would help you improve as a
District? What I see is a newly
formulated Board that isn’t clear what its job is and hasn’t learned and isn’t
practicing the leadership qualities I just listed. Some of you, instead of being this District’s
greatest fans, encourage criticism of the district by the public on Face Book
and/or a blog. Instead of taking the
time to hear both sides of a story, or to verify the accuracy of the
information, some of you make statements
- in board meetings - that if checked
would be proven inaccurate.
Your most stunning lapse in judgment however, came with announcement
of my retirement. Mark, who clearly
knows the most about the potential for loss when a school undergoes a transfer
of leadership, recommended that our assistant principal, Joni Sherman, be
appointed my replacement. He knew that I
had mentored her carefully and that with three years of experience here, she could
ensure that the effect of my departure on students and on achievement would be
minimal. If the Board had considered his
recommendation thoughtfully they would have seen that Joni’s one year contract
would give them and the superintendent at least a semester’s time to decide
whether, based on actual evidence, she was their choice to fill the
position. And if, based on this
evidence, they decided not to renew her
contract for the following year, a
careful search could have been done in early spring, the most opportune time to
attract viable candidates.
By exercising restraint, and good leadership, the Board
could have ensured a seamless transition for Middle School staff, students and
parents. Because you as a Board rejected
the superintendent’s recommendation and took the unprecedented step of taking
on yourselves the direction of a principal search over the summer, you have
also taken on that responsibility for results that will follow.
This incident is one example of the trend toward
micromanagement, or what could be described as “over reach”, that has
characterized this newly elected Boards’ first two months in office. The agenda of today’s Board meeting and the
sheer size of the Board Packet supporting it is unprecedented. Far from a sign that the Board is doing due
diligence, it is a clear indication that this Board fails to recognize and
accept its role as overseers and not implementers in the administration of this
School District. By delving into the day
to day operations, such as teacher assignments and allocation of resources or technology that are clearly the responsibility
of the superintendent and principals, and by making unprecedented and time
consuming requests for detailed information about these and other topics, the
Board is making it harder for the staff who is responsible to do their
jobs.
Over the last ten years Pleasantdale has benefited from the
accumulated wisdom and experience of a stable administrative team working with
a highly effective Board in an atmosphere of mutual trust. The results in terms of student achievement,
financial security and staff and parent satisfaction have been the envy of
many. At this moment however, the
District is at a crossroads. Whether or not this forward momentum continues
depends upon the newly constituted Board understanding the responsibilities and
the limitations of their role. If the
Board accepts its role as overseers and not implementers and acts accordingly,
I can predict that the next ten years will see Pleasantdale students reaching
new heights
I will end by stating that the decision to write and to read
this letter tonight was entirely mine and that I am solely responsible for its
contents.
