Proven leader for city schools
The Boston Globe
Editorial
June 18, 2007
CAROL R. JOHNSON, the methodical superintendent of the Memphis school system, emerged over the weekend as the School Committee's choice to head Boston's 57,000-student school system. Johnson's educational philosophy and temperament remind some of former Boston superintendent Thomas Payzant. If she decides to take the job, she must show that the system can perform even better than it did under Payzant, who led the 11-year transformation of Boston schools.
Johnson's record in Memphis suggests she would be a good fit. Like Boston, Memphis is an urban district serving mostly low-income, minority students. During her almost four-year tenure in Memphis, the system achieved a 56 percent drop in the number of schools on the No Child Left Behind troubled school list. Her low-key personality would prevent flare-ups with Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who doesn't like being upstaged. And Johnson, who also led the Minneapolis schools, is well-known in academic circles, including the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard University. Peers describe her as "engaging, thoughtful, and unruffled," according to Paul Reville, president of the independent Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy.
The Menino administration's decision to conduct the superintendent search in secret could put Johnson, 59, at an initial disadvantage. The public interview process with finalists that led to Payzant's selection in 1995 is considered a best practice by education advocates and community groups in Boston. But the administration has abandoned that process, claiming that it excludes top-quality candidates like Johnson, who insist on confidentiality. Johnson enjoys a reputation as a good communicator who encourages parents to participate in their children's education. Her first communication challenge would be to explain why she shunned open interviews.
In Boston, the next superintendent will face immediate pressure to close the achievement gap between white and minority students and reduce the drop out rate. In Memphis, Johnson had flexibility to meet such goals by restructuring failing schools through the appointment of new principals and faculty. Teachers in these "Fresh Start" schools are eligible for financial bonuses based on student achievement. Such important changes, however, come easier in Tennessee and other right-to-work states than in strict organized labor environments like Boston.
Traditionally, superintendents in Boston unveil their priorities at an August retreat with principals and headmasters. School Committee chairwoman Elizabeth Reilinger promises that Johnson will meet shortly with a variety of constituents but may need to wait until September to start the job officially. Sooner would be better for Bostonians anxious to assess their new school leader.