South Boston Online thinks it is very good news that you are coming to Boston as our new Superintendent of Schools.  Frankly, given the “on again/off again” hiring practices in the City of Boston and the tendency of the Boston media to jump the gun, we weren’t completely sure until this week that you had really accepted the position.  It was only when you came here for your first visit on Monday that we were convinced.   

     It appears from the newspaper reports that you are able to craft mutually beneficial agreements with your various staffs – primarily among the teachers.  In addition, from all reports, you are very concerned with establishing channels of communication and cooperation with parents.  All of this is good.

     We respect what we have heard about your persistence.  When your first superintendency in Rochester became difficult, you left for a while, and then returned to try again.  Your second tenure as Rochester’s School Superintendent went so well, you were honored with being named National Superintendent of the Year by the Association of School Administrators.  That’s a remarkable achievement, in our opinion.

     South Boston Online has taken several editorial positions on education.  For your information, we would like to summarize these in this letter.

     First, we strongly support parental choice in selection of schooling, including pilot programs, charter schools, neighborhood schools, and even home schooling, for that matter.  Regardless of the incessant studies and the politics involved with this issue, there is one overriding reason for our opinion:  Parents have an inalienable responsibility and right to choose their children’s life paths, including how they are educated.

     Getting parents involved from Day One in your tenure is essential.  Could we suggest a small first step?  Start requiring that parents come to the school in person to pick up and sign each child’s report card.

     Also, South Boston Online favors MCAS exams.  Why?  Because the results have been good, no matter what anyone – expert or not – tries to say.  Seven of eight students now pass these exams, both math and English, on their first attempt.  Two-thirds score “proficient” or better, and slowly but surely, the achievement gaps are closing.  This is a great credit to Boston’s student body.  And it has the benefit of getting teachers and school standards “on the same page”.

     In our opinion, maximum effort must be focused on improving Boston’s middle school and high school education, even if this means diverting resources from other programs.  For some reason, the quality of learning drops sharply somewhere around the Eighth Grade in Boston.  We aren’t educators, so we don’t know why.  Perhaps it’s a lack of early reading skills; maybe it’s outdated pedagogy.  But Boston’s teenagers are a hardy bunch.  We are certain you’ll be amazed at how well they will respond to any educational challenge you give to them.

     Enforce the rules, of course.  Significant numbers of students are showing up at our own South Boston High School as much as an hour late.  Why is this happening?  Is there merit in the studies that show a later school day, starting at 9 or 9:30 a.m., is beneficial?

     And finally, there’s the issue of busing.  South Boston Online is all for diversity in a cosmopolitan city like Boston.  But we have taken a stand against busing because it is very expensive and it hasn’t worked.  Estimates of busing’s cost center on $30 million per year.  This is a complex legal, political, and emotional issue, but that amount of money would build a new neighborhood school every year, or refurbish two existing Boston schools.  If there’s a choice, South Boston Online has to come down on the side of using scarce funds to modernize and stay current.

     We know you’ll have a plate full of practical and operational issues when you arrive next summer, so perhaps the “vision thing” can wait until 2008 or after.  In any case, we wish you the very best, and we are looking forward to having you as our Superintendent of Schools in Boston

     Kind regards,

     The Staff

     South Boston Online