Roy Exum: Amazon: The Teachers Cried

  • Saturday, August 20, 2016
  • Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

Earlier this week Jill Levine was told Amazon, and the employees at our huge distribution center, wanted to kick-start Woodmore Elementary with a sizable gift to help the failing iZone school as it struggles back onto its feet. So Jill, the Department of Education’s Chief Academic Officer, jumped in a car with interim superintendent Kirk Kelly and her two top lieutenants – Zac Brown and Justin Robertson – to go see the show.

Little did they know that they would see a number of teachers weep, and wipe away tears of their own. “I thought it was going to be a check, which we really need, but it was so much better,” she said. “Everybody in the room was literally thrilled beyond anything you have ever seen.

When the stage curtain was drawn back, there were boxes, hundreds of boxes. “They bought $10,000 in school supplies. For years Hamilton County public school teachers have barely gotten by but to see huge stacks of things they desperately need, and being carried to their classrooms by Amazon employees, was incredible. The biggest thing that every teacher saw was people who cared.”

Asked if this surprise would stimulate Woodmore, Levine replied, “You don’t think children notice? Sure they’ll respond. We put one of the best principals in there this year -- Brenda Cothran is fantastic. She worked with me at Normal Park and is as sharp as they come.”

In another caring moment, the leaders of the school district sent an effusive thank you note to every teacher this week, signed by Kelly and seven others. The key line? “Thank you for dedicating your life to being a champion to the children. Please know that we are 100-percent committed to supporting the work you do in our classrooms.”

Those who signed the letter visited all 79 schools during the first week of the school year and Levine said she, Brown, and Robertson will each visit 25 schools every month this year. “We want to know what our teachers need. We want to help.”

As the letter to the teachers read, “The challenges in our district are considerable, and we have much work ahead of us. We cannot do it without you. You, the teachers, are our most important factor in moving our students ahead. It is true we are judged by test scores, but let’s not forget that our students and teachers are much more than a number.”

A Sunday article in the Times Free Press just weeks ago included the scathing statistic that 30 percent of Hamilton County teachers are believed to be “least effective” and, while we know our public school system is the worst metro district in the state, there is a widespread belief the measuring system is faulty.

Jill Levine says, “The American Education Research Association says value-added data is invalid. Our teachers get pretty badly beaten up and we are on a mission to instill confidence back in the classroom. A constant beating doesn’t help anyone. We want to encourage and motivate. We had a great summer telling our teachers that they really matter. At the same time, we are the first to realize we have a massive rebuilding to do but every month, Justin Robertson, Zac Brown and I will visit every school in the district. We are going to turn this around and it starts with the teachers.”

In recent years Hamilton County has waited until August to hire teachers and the brightest prospects are long gone. UT’s education school has been abysmal and the teacher’s union is under heavy fire for protecting incapable teachers. “UTC is changing completely and instead of six weeks of practice teaching, we’ll start with 13 weeks this year,” said Levine. “The new director of UTC’s education department is Renee Murley and she’ll be a strong partner for us.”

Levine said placing some of the best principals in iZone schools is a big part of the turn-around. “I believe one of the top educators I know is Arielle Hayes. She’s the new principal at Dalewood Middle and at (Thursday night’s) school board meeting, she was given the chance to deliver an inspirational moment. It was unbelievable,” said Levine.

So, with that, listen to one of the new voices of leadership who believe deeply the turn-around has not already started, it is well on its way to greeting a new superintendent that the new school board will select.

Here is Arielle’s “magic minute:”

* * *

“FAILURE”

“The dictionary defines it as "lack of success," omission of occurrence or performance; specifically.

“My name is Arielle Garcia Hayes and I am a first year principal of a failing school, with failing teachers, failing kids, failing parents, and apparently a failing community. ‘What does that mean?’ I ask myself.  And who is that really defined by?

Because when I walk into my building each day, I see amazing, passionate teachers holding freshly brewed cups of coffee, smiling and laughing with one another while eagerly awaiting students to arrive. Teachers who are yearning for growth in a field that is constantly evolving, who use what skills they've been taught to teach others, who do their personal best to meet a thousand demands a day and those who wear many hats in order to embrace the WHOLE CHILD.

“I see 330 dedicated students that arrive sleepy and tired each and every day at 6:30 am by the bus loads, that's even before half of the city is awake and even before the sun rises. Students who trust and feel safe in what we are doing and beg for more engagement, more engaging activities and for more choices in related arts classes, sports, and clubs. Students who are witty, bright, beautiful and CREATIVE!

“I see parents who demand the attention of everyone in the room, especially when they feel their child’s needs aren’t being met. They just want to be heard, because for so many years they have not been. Concerns ignored due to not always fitting into societal norms, financial brackets, for the color of their skin, for the attire they wear, or, most recently in Hamilton County because of the foreign language they may speak.  Parents who fight day in and day out outside of the school walls then come into the buildings fighting and being the fiercest advocates for their children that I have ever witnessed.

“I see people from the community every day arrive before me in groups of five to six wearing white shirts walking quickly around my track because they feel safe on my school grounds, young adults competing on my tennis and basketball courts, and children playing tag in my fields; and as I leave each day my campus is so packed I can’t even get out because of the huge football league filled with young minority males working hard to hopefully be successful in this life.

“Honestly, we don’t see ourselves as failures….BUT if you must call us failures…we are happy to be amongst the greats: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and Michael Jordan.

“WE are Dalewood Middle School. Engaging every child.  Every day.”

* * *

Jill Levine: “We want to restore the joy of learning for students and the joy of teaching for teachers. It’s that simple.”

She adds, “Can I tell you something? I wasn’t quite sure how it would go with Kirk Kelly … I mean, we were kind of like competitors as finalists for the interim job … but you’ve got to know he is one of the smartest, most decent men I have ever known. He’s doing great things. He’s making a lot of good things happen. I just wanted you to know.”

royexum@aol.com


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