Portland public school teachers were treated to an unscheduled
lecture from their boss last week--and it wasn't exactly
a pep talk.
During a meltdown that dominated the local news for days,
superintendent Ben Canada lashed out during the Oct. 23
school board meeting following a presentation by Portland
Association of Teachers President Richard Garrett. Canada
accusing teachers of giving up on struggling students
and--so it seemed at the time--hinted that he might quit.
"I will not stay in a system where we're willing to throw
away 20 to 30 percent of all children," he told the board.
He then reiterated those sentiments directly to teachers
in a combative email he fired off later that night.
Canada was furious. But the real catalyst for his uncharacteristic
outburst was not his employees as much as it was his employers--as
the first words of he uttered at the board meeting suggest.
"I accepted this position because I believed this school
board wanted all children to succeed," Canada said. "But
based on what I'm hearing tonight, I'm not your superintendent."
Although board members support Canada publicly, the relationship
between the superintendent and the elected board has soured
in the 26 months he's been on the job. In a variety of
ways, the board has signaled increasing concern about
Canada's management skills. Over the summer, for example,
Ruth Anne Dodson, a Chamber of Commerce staffer, spent
considerable time at district headquarters, evaluating
staff and streamlining operations. Dodson's findings played
a role in the unplanned departure last week of Merced
Flores, Canada's chief of staff. And the outside oversight
isn't finished--this fall, PGE loaned Brad Fishel to the
district to help implement management improvements.
Other messages have been more direct: At the beginning
of this school year, the board cut Canada's bonus from
last year's figure of 78 percent of the maximum allowed
to about 65 percent. Board members say the superintendent
viewed his pay cut as a "D" on his report card.
The school board isn't the only group pressuring the
superintendent. Over the past year, the Education Crisis
Team, a coalition of minority activists, demanded that
Canada address the achievement gap between minority and
white students. Their demands came as scores of community
leaders took part in a strategic planning process, bankrolled
by the Portland Public Schools Foundation.
At the end of the last school year, the strategic plan
team presented its results to the school board, just as
the Crisis Team was cranking up the volume, regularly
disrupting board meetings.
The board then asked Canada to figure out how to implement
the strategic plan.
At the Aug. 28 board meeting, Canada presented a hybrid
document, which at first reading seemed to combine the
strategic plan with some of the concrete actions demanded
by the Crisis Team. Those proposals included increasing
testing and drawing up Individual Education Plans for
all students below benchmarks--a disproportionate number
of whom are poor and minority.
At that meeting, the board asked few questions about
the specific actions proposed, seemingly relieved that
the superintendent had managed to incorporate some of
the Crisis Team's demands.
Board chairwoman Debbie Menashe says in hindsight she
wishes more time had been spent reviewing Canada's proposals
but adds that the community's expectations were high and
time was short.
Teachers immediately reacted to Canada's plan, particularly
the parts that he and his staff added over the summer.
"The document shows little knowledge of what the district
is already doing," Lindy Delf, a 28-year district veteran
who teaches at Rose City Park Elementary, wrote in a September
email to the school board. "Schools are already required
not only to assess every child but to report the results
of those assessments on a quarterly basis."
Given teachers' unhappiness, Garrett's presentation to
the board came as no surprise to anyone--including Canada.
When the union president finished, the board solicited
comments from teachers in the audience. Their scathing
remarks, and the board's response to them, seemed to catch
the normally jovial Canada off guard.
Marc Abrams, the board vice-chairman, told teachers he
had heard similar sentiments from students, parents and
reporters. Former board chairman Ron Saxton followed,
saying, "I want a lot more education about why [the new
tests and assessments] are a good idea."
Board members Doug Capps and Derry Jackson also made
teacher-friendly comments, all of which was too much for
Canada. Though Garrett may have provoked Canada's tirade,
the union leader suspects teachers weren't the superintendent's
primary target.
"To tell you the truth, I think his real animus was against
school board members, not us," Garrett told WW
minutes after Canada's comments. "He seemed to take their
remarks as personal criticism."
Menashe agrees. "I think Ben was feeling we were pulling
the rug out from under him," she says.
Canada could not be reached for comment. He left last
Friday for two weeks in China, where he will lead a delegation
from the American Association of School Administrators
on a visit to that country's schools.
