Post by gatordog on May 28, 2007 21:49:05 GMT -6
From the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper opinions section:
OPED / Stephen Daeschner
Daeschner looks back after 14-year tenure
'What will it mean for kids?'
By Stephen Daeschner
Special to The Courier-Journal
Louisville, my family and I have called you "home" for 14 years. That's the longest time I have stayed in any one city since my college days. I think that says less about my propensity to seek out new challenges than it does about Louisville's attractiveness as a place to live and have a family. When I arrived here with my wife in 1993 to assume the leadership of the Jefferson County Public Schools, our two daughters were still toddlers. This is the only home -- and JCPS is the only school system -- our girls have ever known.
Now it is time for me to head for new horizons.
Leaving will not be easy. The circumstances of my departure have already taken up a lot of ink on these pages, so there's no need to recite them again. Suffice it to say I had hoped to be here a few more years to finish some things we had started in JCPS -- or at least to move them further in the right direction. But now others will pick up the torch, and I'm all right with that.
As I've busied myself with packing, I've had some time to reminisce. With the community's unfailing support, we've accomplished a lot of good things for the students of Jefferson County. Our early childhood education program has expanded exponentially for 3- to 5-year-olds, and it regularly receives national acclaim. Our applications of technology extend from the classroom to the business office, and from the cafeteria to the bus compound.
Our student achievement scores keep rising year after year, and every subgroup -- regardless of gender, race or disability -- is making progress. In fact, we compared the long-term trends of student achievement on the CATS (Commonwealth Accountability Testing System) with trends on the JCPS Need Index, which takes into account such factors as the percentage of students who qualify for subsidized meals, or who need special education services, or who move and change schools frequently. As the accompanying chart reveals, students' CATS scores (accountability index) have risen at every level, even as the challenges they face (need index) have also increased. We believe these data are a strong indication of how JCPS strives to help every child be successful.
Every spring, hundreds of students take Advanced Placement tests and score well enough to earn college credit for work done in high school. Our facilities are the envy of practically every urban district in the nation as we continue to construct new schools and modernize the older ones. We offer an on-line high school that allows students in public, private, parochial and home schools throughout Jefferson County to earn credits via their home computers. We believe in the stewardship of public monies and are proud that our district's finances are responsibly managed and concentrated on student services.
I want to be very clear about one thing. Many positive things have happened for kids in JCPS over the last 14 years, and much of the credit goes to this fantastic community. Parents, you came in droves to PTA meetings and parent-teacher conferences. You volunteered with fund raising and you drove your children to after-school activities. You sent your kids off to school each day, fortified with a good night's sleep and a healthful breakfast. You supervised their homework, and you set high expectations for their academic performance and behavior. In short, you were always there for your children. Most of all, parents, thank you for entrusting JCPS with the education of your children. You could have paid us no greater compliment.
Credit also goes to the wonderful businesses, and the governmental and civic organizations, that partnered with us year after year in initiatives large and small, long-term and short-term. Thanks to the generosity of our local business leaders, hundreds of 3-year-olds were able to attend a full-day preschool program, developing the skills that allowed them to enter school on a par with their more economically advantaged peers. Through the financial support and the thousands of volunteers provided by local businesses and government, the Every 1 Reads program is assisting students at every grade level to build better reading skills. With the support of other local organizations, thousands of students saw a stage play; learned pedestrian, bicycle and water safety skills; experienced live performances by the ballet and orchestra; canoed along local streams to collect water samples, and got up close and personal with a lorikeet. Our community is rich in resources, and generous in sharing those resources with its youngest citizens. Again and again, I knocked on your door, reached out by telephone or buttonholed you at a meeting, and you never turned me down. Correction -- you never turned our students down. "Thank you" does not express the depth of my gratitude.
Last, but not least, I want to thank the employees of JCPS, for they are the backbone of our district's many successes. I thank the principals and other school administrators for providing leadership of our local schools, and the teachers for keeping the focus on student learning regardless of the distractions swirling around them. I thank the classified support staff for providing nutritious meals, for making our visitors feel welcome, for driving the buses in a safe manner, for keeping our bills paid on time and for maintaining our buildings and grounds in tip-top shape. Most of all, I thank the staff who worked directly with me on a daily basis. No doubt I tested your patience on more than one occasion, but it was your professionalism, your expertise and your dedication to JCPS that motivated me to do my best each day.
Disappointments? Yes, there have been a few. I still think we should have closed a couple of underutilized buildings that are sapping much-needed resources. In addition, there is still serious work to be done in order to decrease the suspension and dropout rates and to increase attendance.
Frustrations? Yes, there have been some of those, as well. Five years ago, we presented to the Kentucky Department of Education some feasible options for implementing their mandated systems for handling student and financial data -- options that would meet their needs, yet work in a school district the size of JCPS. KDE refused, insisting that JCPS adopt the same systems being used in the rest of the state. Millions of dollars later, in spite of everyone's best efforts, these systems are still not functional, and we may have to go back to square one.
Looking ahead, this community and its public schools are facing many important tasks in the coming years, not the least of which could involve revising the student assignment plan in line with the Supreme Court's ruling. Other items on the plate will include deciding whether to build a new elementary school in the Norton Commons development, and continuing to tackle persistent achievement gaps between demographic groups.
I am confident this community will continue to set high expectations for the leadership of its public schools. And so you should. Louisville has far more strengths than weaknesses, and the children deserve to be the beneficiaries of all this community has to offer.
So, Louisville, my family and I bid you a fond farewell. We take many wonderful memories with us. I will be following your progress from a distance, and I will always be in your corner. At the same time, I issue this challenge. Consider it a homework assignment, if you will. Whether at the family level, the civic level, the governmental level, or the small business or corporate level, let your decisions be guided by this criterion: "What will it mean for kids?" Children are our greatest legacy -- and the purest reflection of the kind of community we truly are.
Stephen Daeschner is leaving the position of superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools after a 14-year stint.
OPED / Stephen Daeschner
Daeschner looks back after 14-year tenure
'What will it mean for kids?'
By Stephen Daeschner
Special to The Courier-Journal
Louisville, my family and I have called you "home" for 14 years. That's the longest time I have stayed in any one city since my college days. I think that says less about my propensity to seek out new challenges than it does about Louisville's attractiveness as a place to live and have a family. When I arrived here with my wife in 1993 to assume the leadership of the Jefferson County Public Schools, our two daughters were still toddlers. This is the only home -- and JCPS is the only school system -- our girls have ever known.
Now it is time for me to head for new horizons.
Leaving will not be easy. The circumstances of my departure have already taken up a lot of ink on these pages, so there's no need to recite them again. Suffice it to say I had hoped to be here a few more years to finish some things we had started in JCPS -- or at least to move them further in the right direction. But now others will pick up the torch, and I'm all right with that.
As I've busied myself with packing, I've had some time to reminisce. With the community's unfailing support, we've accomplished a lot of good things for the students of Jefferson County. Our early childhood education program has expanded exponentially for 3- to 5-year-olds, and it regularly receives national acclaim. Our applications of technology extend from the classroom to the business office, and from the cafeteria to the bus compound.
Our student achievement scores keep rising year after year, and every subgroup -- regardless of gender, race or disability -- is making progress. In fact, we compared the long-term trends of student achievement on the CATS (Commonwealth Accountability Testing System) with trends on the JCPS Need Index, which takes into account such factors as the percentage of students who qualify for subsidized meals, or who need special education services, or who move and change schools frequently. As the accompanying chart reveals, students' CATS scores (accountability index) have risen at every level, even as the challenges they face (need index) have also increased. We believe these data are a strong indication of how JCPS strives to help every child be successful.
Every spring, hundreds of students take Advanced Placement tests and score well enough to earn college credit for work done in high school. Our facilities are the envy of practically every urban district in the nation as we continue to construct new schools and modernize the older ones. We offer an on-line high school that allows students in public, private, parochial and home schools throughout Jefferson County to earn credits via their home computers. We believe in the stewardship of public monies and are proud that our district's finances are responsibly managed and concentrated on student services.
I want to be very clear about one thing. Many positive things have happened for kids in JCPS over the last 14 years, and much of the credit goes to this fantastic community. Parents, you came in droves to PTA meetings and parent-teacher conferences. You volunteered with fund raising and you drove your children to after-school activities. You sent your kids off to school each day, fortified with a good night's sleep and a healthful breakfast. You supervised their homework, and you set high expectations for their academic performance and behavior. In short, you were always there for your children. Most of all, parents, thank you for entrusting JCPS with the education of your children. You could have paid us no greater compliment.
Credit also goes to the wonderful businesses, and the governmental and civic organizations, that partnered with us year after year in initiatives large and small, long-term and short-term. Thanks to the generosity of our local business leaders, hundreds of 3-year-olds were able to attend a full-day preschool program, developing the skills that allowed them to enter school on a par with their more economically advantaged peers. Through the financial support and the thousands of volunteers provided by local businesses and government, the Every 1 Reads program is assisting students at every grade level to build better reading skills. With the support of other local organizations, thousands of students saw a stage play; learned pedestrian, bicycle and water safety skills; experienced live performances by the ballet and orchestra; canoed along local streams to collect water samples, and got up close and personal with a lorikeet. Our community is rich in resources, and generous in sharing those resources with its youngest citizens. Again and again, I knocked on your door, reached out by telephone or buttonholed you at a meeting, and you never turned me down. Correction -- you never turned our students down. "Thank you" does not express the depth of my gratitude.
Last, but not least, I want to thank the employees of JCPS, for they are the backbone of our district's many successes. I thank the principals and other school administrators for providing leadership of our local schools, and the teachers for keeping the focus on student learning regardless of the distractions swirling around them. I thank the classified support staff for providing nutritious meals, for making our visitors feel welcome, for driving the buses in a safe manner, for keeping our bills paid on time and for maintaining our buildings and grounds in tip-top shape. Most of all, I thank the staff who worked directly with me on a daily basis. No doubt I tested your patience on more than one occasion, but it was your professionalism, your expertise and your dedication to JCPS that motivated me to do my best each day.
Disappointments? Yes, there have been a few. I still think we should have closed a couple of underutilized buildings that are sapping much-needed resources. In addition, there is still serious work to be done in order to decrease the suspension and dropout rates and to increase attendance.
Frustrations? Yes, there have been some of those, as well. Five years ago, we presented to the Kentucky Department of Education some feasible options for implementing their mandated systems for handling student and financial data -- options that would meet their needs, yet work in a school district the size of JCPS. KDE refused, insisting that JCPS adopt the same systems being used in the rest of the state. Millions of dollars later, in spite of everyone's best efforts, these systems are still not functional, and we may have to go back to square one.
Looking ahead, this community and its public schools are facing many important tasks in the coming years, not the least of which could involve revising the student assignment plan in line with the Supreme Court's ruling. Other items on the plate will include deciding whether to build a new elementary school in the Norton Commons development, and continuing to tackle persistent achievement gaps between demographic groups.
I am confident this community will continue to set high expectations for the leadership of its public schools. And so you should. Louisville has far more strengths than weaknesses, and the children deserve to be the beneficiaries of all this community has to offer.
So, Louisville, my family and I bid you a fond farewell. We take many wonderful memories with us. I will be following your progress from a distance, and I will always be in your corner. At the same time, I issue this challenge. Consider it a homework assignment, if you will. Whether at the family level, the civic level, the governmental level, or the small business or corporate level, let your decisions be guided by this criterion: "What will it mean for kids?" Children are our greatest legacy -- and the purest reflection of the kind of community we truly are.
Stephen Daeschner is leaving the position of superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools after a 14-year stint.