The whole thing is linked here (I know I didn’t spend enough time on the rankings). Previously I wrote that I was struggling with number 5. This is what I came up with:
Madison Metropolitan School District
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH
LEADERSHIP PROFILE ASSESSMENT
Attachment
5. Tell us your vision for the School District for the future.I believe that public education is our best means of creating a better future; a future with less inequality, more understanding, greater prosperity and a stronger sense of citizenship. I also understand that fulfilling this mission – especially at a time when public education is under attack from many quarters and under a state finance system that values tax relief more than education – is and will remain an ongoing struggle. Districts like MMSD have an important role to play in the national debates over the mission and assessment of public education. We are a district of high expectations, high needs and great inequalities. We are also a community that supports our schools and believes that students of all backgrounds can and must be successful. Like other districts in the Minority Student Achievement Network (the first place I would look for candidates), we are a proving ground and have the great opportunity to demonstrate that public education can fulfill its mission, can provide opportunities for all, and can create a better future.
The best statement of what the next steps in this direction would be can be found in the work of the Equity Task Force (http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/boe/equity/). I would ask that all finalists read and respond to the Final Task Force Report (and appendices).
At minimum, the profile should reflect a commitment to the Task Force’s definition of equity:
Equity assures full access to opportunities for each MMSD student to achieve educational excellence and social responsibility.
I attended one of the focus groups this afternoon and thought that the consultant did a very good job.
Thomas J. Mertz
AMPS 