DPS superintendent search takes wrong turn
Last week, out of the pool of what Dr. Baguirov keeps calling a “highly qualified candidate pool” – the board had it narrowed to 3 candidates from six.
They were current Dayton Public Schools Chief of School Innovation, David Lawrence, relatively new hire- Gregory Roberson, Ed.D. Chief of Office for Exceptional Children and a curriculum chief from Beavercreek, who was picked to be superintendent elsewhere after applying for every job she could.
I chastised DPS BoE president Baguirov for fiddling while Rome burns. After the only outsider left, left, there was a quick scramble to enlarge the pool- and more candidates were considered, including some retreads like Debra Brathwaite who was the number two that was previously passed over when Dr. Mack left.
In fact, if you read the post about Brathwaite, you could be saying history is about to repeat.
Greg Roberson
For the three finalists tonight at the public forum- we have internal candidate Greg Roberson with less than a year in the district, and a very short career in education, starting in 2003 after a long career as an enlisted man in the Air Force.
Roberson is the newly hired head of the department of exceptional children. A job he got after the Trotwood public schools did a talent raid last year- hiring away 9 of our more talented people- including Tracy Mallory, who was at Horace Mann as principal before being promoted into this position. That’s also when we lost David White, who had turned Belmont around and was currently assigned to Ponitz. He was the highest paid principal in the district- making $15K a year more that Erin Dooley at Stivers- who hasn’t received a raise in years- despite having guided the districts only success story for years.
If you wonder why we’re constantly short of teachers, maybe the board can look back at their previous decisions, and come to a conclusion?
Rhonda Corr
Rhonda Corr– coming out of Indianapolis, who hired her after there was a meltdown in Chicago, where Ms. Corr worked with former Chicago schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. An article on Cleveland.com talks about how Parma (a large suburb of Cleveland) rescinded their offer to Corr- referred to as “Corr-Saegert” – but couldn’t find out if the issues in Chicago had bearing- they define her leaving Chicago:
Corr-Saegert was laid off her job as the chief of 36 Chicago public schools in June, the day after Byrd-Bennett resigned. Byrd-Bennett, who headed Cleveland schools from 1998 to 2006, had been on leave since April amid a federal investigation into a controversial, no-bid $20.5 million contract with a principal training academy, where she once consulted.
Corr has been busy applying for superintendents jobs elsewhere- Salt Lake City, and the Washington Local superintendent position, where a great pool included 19 candidates according to the Toledo Blade. Maybe there is a reason she keeps getting passed over?
Dan Schroer
Last person added to the final three is Dan Schroer, who has also been busy applying for Superintendents positions, including Beavercreek. His background is mostly agrigultural and voc-ed, but has been the Superintendent of the Margaretta Local Schools, Erie County, Ohio up around Sandusky. He seems to have job hopped his way around the state for years.
The Board Of Education, seems to think that there is no reason to hire a Dayton Public Schools graduate, who is in one of their top leadership positions- whose job function is “Innovation”- who has dedicated his life to working in the Dayton Public Schools- and has letters of support from 28 principals. Leaving David Lawrence out of this public “audition” is clearly a strategy to show the city who the new sheriff is in town.
The votes last night were all close- but, the two women on the board seem threatened by a strong, no-nonsense leader that knows the district inside out- and Dr. Baguirov, who thinks he should be in charge, is flexing his muscles. Note- Baguirov and Rountree are both serving their first term of unchallenged election. Sheila Taylor, apparently thinks that no internal candidate would be a good choice- because, well- despite her slightly longer tenure on the board, she still is mostly a labor puppet, and Lawrences strong belief in using pay for performance doesn’t sit well with her.
How any superintendent from out of town is going to figure out how to turn around a district in 2 years, is a mystery to me. This is a large organization, one of the biggest in the county, with many moving parts, different regulations, funky constituencies and big challenges.
Unfortunately, we can’t recall the Board of Education. What we can do is show up in force and demand that the board reconsider their picks, after we hear from these three Dayton rookies- and ask that the board reconsider Lawrence as an option.
Just remember- “A” people hire “A” people, “B” people hire “C” people.
“Just remember- “A” people hire “A” people, “B” people hire “C” people.”
And Dayton dumbasses hire Board of Education members.
If memory serves, an outside (Percy Mack) was hired and came in the turned the district around in a couple of years. It could happen.
But considering that the district seems to be in chaos, essential tasks not being completed by deadline, and Esrati’s preferred candidate labors under the delusion that merit pay is a good idea for teachers–well, I guess we’re doomed.
Ruddick- you think it makes sense to pay a top performer like Erin Dooley less that David White? Who left for greener pastures?
Seriously? We can’t afford to be losing the best teachers- to other districts that pay more.
I totally disagree that Laurence would be fitting for this district he is a part of the problems in DPS. He refuses to meet with parents he does nothing to resolve our concerbs he is arrogant and unprofessional on so many levels the fact that Thurgood has not been cleaned up particularly the head principal is beyond my understanding… This is my first hand expierence nothing I was told!
You have got to be kidding if you think that David Lawrence was a viable candidate!! Teachers don’t respect him – but he doesn’t respect them either. He’s king of the be incompetent and be promoted group. Or maybe he was part of the right fraternity to get promoted. Many teachers this summer are grateful that he will not be the next leader of Dayton Public Schools.
Lawrence is not a good pick. All he does is hang out with other staff members who are doing nothing and continues to let them do nothing. He has no answers and yet thinks he has all the solutions. He’s a joke and I’ve witnessed it first hand…
Lawrence was a good option, he is in it for the kids. Roberson should of never been selected as the internal candidate. At the forum tonight the question was asked to Roberson if he would move to the city. He could not give a clear answer but yet said he would talk to the board. Stated he was 28 minutes from Dayton, well if you are in Cincinnati or close to it, that is more than 28 minutes. If are district is not good enough for kids to go to DPS and you live in our city, then you are not good enough to be our Superintendent. Also, he was asked if he could name the principals and staff I the audienc and he stated he did not know all of them by name but some by faces. Well maybe that is because you probably haven’t been in the schools like you should have been all yeAr. Superintendent Ward lived in the district and her daughter is a DPS grad. The two external people seem like they could bring a lot to DPS, not sure which one was better.
If we could somehow create a human being with the combined DNA of Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Ghandi, Bill Gates, Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci and Mohammad Ali, then send this human being to Harvard, MIT, and Oxford for an education, then give them complete omnipotence over Dayton Public Schools…….they STILL could not save DPS.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls……..
Most of these comments are spot on. Lawrence is awful. Fact: Lawrence and David White were both under the gun. Lawrence left dps first when Thurgood fail to meet academic success by the state. Dps had to restructure Thurgood, per ode guidelines,therefore he left to head up Dayton Stem. He left there after our a year, he was forced to resign or be nonrenewed(facts) ask both dps and dayton stem for a public records request to validate. David White DID NOT TURN Belmont around, discipline is easy to restore, academically, they fail under his watch. Dps had to move Mr. White for the same reasons that Lawrence had to be moved. They both failed to turn any thing around academically!! Whom ever reads this, these are all FACTS, just ask for public records and check with ODE to validate. So please understand the Facts!!! Dooley has done a great job, Ponitz used to be top notch under Dr. Faircloth’s watch, oh the city forgot about this man, Dayton’s own. I believe he’s a Superintendent now. DPS needs an outsider to clean house!! MR. ESRATTI please know the facts. By the way, there is nothing wrong with candidates the look for multiple jobs. Why put all of your eggs in one basket and top tier jobs are volatile, they should always be looking regardless.
I too know Lawrence as a strong classroom teacher and an advocate for students. I team taught with him for numerous years and I can say with certainty, he’s one of the most intelligent human beings I know.
Most of you must be very clueless as to what urban schools desperately need. They definitely need the influence and leadership of successful black men. You’ll are allowing not liking his personality to cloud your judgment regarding his integrity and character.
I know from experience and as an educator, that if we truly desire change in DPS, its imperative not only to retain black men within the district, but to place emphasis on recruiting and hiring them as well.
Didn’t make it to the forum but how did Schroer and Corr seem? Lawrence is out, so just drop him from the thread. This is about who’s remaining.
I left out my full disclosure- that I’ve known Lawrence and have considered him a friend for almost 20 years- which is close to his length of service with DPS.
The more forceful a persons personality- the more forceful the haters as you see here.
There is no time to “clean house” unless it’s just to give a good showing to sell it to the state. It takes longer to fire teachers, and more time to hire teachers- than we have on the clock. That’s why this entire exercise is kind of pointless.
Corr said she’d spend 90 days listening. We don’t have 90 days to wait.
It’s my belief that Roberson was never the candidate- just window dressing to say – well, we didn’t hire him because he didn’t have enough experience yet.
Schroer was probably picked to offer a clear reason to hire Corr- who is, on paper, the obvious choice.
However, I don’t think she has the presentation skills to sell her turnaround strategy and get it moving. One thing about Dr. Mack- he was so likeable- just like Schroer, that he could get the team moving in the right direction. He’s like a cheerleader/coach/politician all wrapped into one.
I plan on fully flushing this out- in a post, with the video, by the end of this weekend, unless my lemonade business begins to boom.
[…] I model Rodney Dangerfield – of “I can’t get no respect” fame. Last night at the orchestrated three ring circus for public display of Dayton Public Schools superintendents (post and video to follow) I was […]
Mr. Lawrence is not an advocate for all students in this district. This year, it was no secret that he told high school principals to send the districts “worse kids” to Longfellow Alternative because he was going to run the remaining high schools like prep schools. Therefore, students, any student, (despite age, credits, IEP requirements, attendance, etc.) was sent to Longfellow. Each program at Longfellow had clear criteria that needed to be met by students, so that the student could be successful, but this criteria was cast aside under Mr. Lawrence’s directive. ANY student that was disliked or caused a problem was sent to Longfellow Academy, and the student was told that this was their only educational option; otherwise, leave the district. Clearly, his plan did not work. Not only did he force students into an educational environment that was not conducive to their academic needs, but when the students were scheduled to return to their home schools at the end of the semester, he allowed the building principals to refuse to take back their students. This was decided last minute where no student or parent was told of the decision to FORCE students to remain at Longfellow. At this point, students were kept in a place that could not service their needs and were denied other academic opportunities. He allowed these students to be discriminated against because of their academic or behavior issues. Students who were sent to Longfellow already had academic struggles, and because they were forced into an environment that was not suited for their needs, most students are now academically more than one grade level behind. Students who worked hard the first semester because they wanted to do right and return to their home schools quickly gave up hope and motivation once they saw that there was no longer a way out. They were lied to and their hard work meant nothing. Despite staffing being cut in half, student enrollment being doubled, and having no training or notice of the students being sent to them, the teachers at Longfellow worked very hard to help each and… Read more »
I apologize for my typo in my heading. *Teacher*
As a DPS employee for going on 10 years, I feel that Mr. Esrati’s judgment is clouded by his friendship with David Lawrence.* The new superintendent of Dayton Public Schools should be someone with a record of success, who has the best interests of the students at heart. I know nothing of the three finalists (I’ve only met Roberson in passing a couple times), but I know more than enough to say that the Board was right to exclude David Lawrence from its list of finalists. There is no way that David Lawrence should ever be superintendent of DPS and, in all honesty, the board should terminate his contract now before he begins undermining the new superintendent, whoever that may be. David Lawrence was a failure as a classroom teacher and a principal. Although, I will fully admit, some of the stories I’ve heard about Mr. Lawrence as a teacher (that he couldn’t pass the Praxis test, for example) are hearsay and may not be accurate. However, I do know for a fact that as a principal Mr. Lawrence was involved in two separate physical altercations with students, to the point that he had to be pulled off one of the students. I know for a fact that he had at least 30 teachers request transfers from Thurgood Marshall his final year as principal there due to the horrible way he treated his staff (a DPS record to the best of my knowledge). I know for a fact that when he left the district (not entirely by his choice) and went to the STEM school, he, as one STEM teacher related, nearly ‘ruined’ the school. The rumored wrongful termination lawsuit Mr. Lawrence filed against DPS seems to have resulted in the newly created ‘Chief of School Innovation’ position with the 6-figure salary that he now holds. Magically, that lawsuit never made it to the court room. Interesting, no? Since ‘Chief’ Lawrence has returned to DPS, he’s conducted himself in much the same manner as he did prior to his first stint as an administrator: disrespectful towards DPS staff. Now, I… Read more »
Wow! Look how many people are p!ssed-off about DPS!
State takeover? Do it! Now!
The moral at DPS is horrible. There has been a severe lack of leadership for a long time. I find it hard to believe that Lawrence is so bad, that former Ruskin Principal Devon Berry would waste his time coming to this meeting in support of Lawrence if all the above was true.
I’ve heard Lawrence’s plan- and heard the way he thinks things should be done- including raising pay of all teachers. I’ve watched Lori Ward be totally unable to fire people who are clearly incompetent- out of friendship, loyalty- or whatever.
Are you saying Ward was great?
Sticking in rumors of a lawsuit is bullshit. Either there was one, or there wasn’t. I’ve not heard of one. As to the physical confrontations- he didn’t do anything an SRO wouldn’t have done- because, unlike most DPS staff- he’s actually physically fit- and not afraid of students in dangerous situations.
He ran from Thurgood to WOW when the stabbing occurred…. and still beat the police there. Could you see L. Ward doing that?
I couldn’t see any of these candidates doing it.
The Longfellow situation is one of Dayton’s dirty little secrets.
I’d write more- but- of course- I’m totally biased.
I’ve also seen that organization totally paralyzed by it’s own lack of confidence or competence- take your pick.
2 years is a short time. Let him fail if you think he’s so incompetent.
Bet is- he’ll still be there under the new superintendent- and he’ll probably have more influence than before….
Mr. Esrati, I appreciate you responding to my comments and I respect your disagreement, but I stand by what I said. As to what we agree on, you are correct, the morale at DPS is terrible. After year after year witnessing the individuals downtown continually make decisions for no other reason than to justify their own position, it’s hard to stay positive. After seeing the district start then abandon project after project that’s supposed to be the ‘next big thing in education’, it’s difficult to keep your chin up and soldier on. After watching DPS bury all its negatives under the public persona of success and growth, it’s hard to stomach the reality. Here’s the reality: The problems with DPS start with and are almost solely the responsibility of the organization downtown. Lori Ward was and is an excellent cheerleader for our students, but her methods fall more under the guise of hiding the negatives rather than creating more positives. Those schools and individuals that have been successful in DPS have done so in spite of downtown, not because of anyone there, David Lawrence included. Yes, there are ineffective teachers and principals throughout the district. Yes, that is the responsibility of those individuals to correct their behavior and be effective leaders in our schools. But think for a minute, if we had an effective organization downtown supervising those teachers and principals properly, the ineffective individuals would have been gone years ago and DPS wouldn’t find itself fighting for the illustrious title of Worst Performing District in Ohio. It is a fundamental lack of consistency and leadership at the top that has created this problem. Does David Lawrence, a man who has been a part of that organization for several years now, add something to the equation that we haven’t seen to this point? He’s essentially been second-in-command for much of DPS since his position was created out of thin air. What has he innovated? Where is his record of success that would motivate the Board to consider him for Superintendent? Please, if I’ve missed something, explain it to me. Unlike… Read more »
Dear Angry-
I guess I’m like Dr. Roberson- I only know of one Longfellow- on Salem. Enlighten me on the other.
Mr. Lawrence can’t fire some of the people downtown- although he’d like to. The problem is- at this point, firing people takes more time and resources than we have left. We’re stuck with some dead weight.
Since we didn’t get to hear Lawrence’s plan publicly- you have to take it from me- it was way more detailed than what the other three presented.
There would have to be some negotiations with the union-
there would be major changes in transportation-
there would be a whole lot of things implemented- right away- because, even though you think he’s an idiot- I’ve heard things that sound a hell of a lot smarter than what I’ve heard from anyone else.
But- then again- most of the people in Dayton seem to think I’m an idiot…. so the question is why are you arguing with an idiot. Lawrence is out of the running anyway.
Mr. Esrati,
I was speaking of the two separate programs within Longfellow, the alternative school for students with persistent behavioral issues and the blended learning program that employs a digital learning system paired with content specialists to assist in students’ learning. It’s the blended learning program that Mr. Lawrence essentially destroyed this year through forced overcrowding and through ignoring the standards that students in that program are supposed to exhibit. That’s the program that had 100% of its teachers apply for a transfer this year as a direct result of Mr. Lawrence’s (lack of) leadership.
To be clear, I don’t really know or support any of the candidates for superintendent. Roberson has only been around for a year and was largely ineffective in his position. The other two aren’t particularly exciting from what I’ve heard of them either. Honestly, I stopped paying close attention after David White’s name left the discussions.
In a sense, you can characterize any superintendent as a politician of sorts. They are trying to gain support and be chosen for a public service job largely through their vision and plan for the school district and their previous record of success. David Lawrence only has half the equation here, he has no record of success. I don’t care how compelling his words are, I don’t care how intelligent he sounds, I don’t care how fast he can run, David Lawrence simply is NOT qualified to be superintendent of DPS. End of story.
For the record, Mr. Esrati, I don’t think you’re an idiot. While I disagree with your stance here, it’s good to see someone passionate about making Dayton a better place. Unfortunately, you’re only getting one side of this issue from your friend Mr. Lawrence: his side. Perhaps if you were aware of the truth behind the DPS publicity curtain, you’d understand why Mr. Lawrence represents everything that is wrong with DPS.
I’m glad he’s out.
Dear Angry-
After working with some of the incompetent people in HQ- you aren’t the only one who is angry. If you are worried about the blended learning- just wait until the chromebooks show up for 1 to 1….
I’m going to post the video of the superintendent three ring circus. You can watch.
Reality- if comments above are to be believed- David White wasn’t great either.
I do know this- Lawrence at least knows the community- the pastors, the politicians, the landscape- and who the malcontents are.
The new superintendent has to be able to get everyone working on the same game plan pretty quick to make this work in 2 years- so if I had to pick one of the three- I’d go with Schorer. Man can glad handle with the best of them.
My bet is they’ll go with Corr. It will be interesting.
Mr. Esrati,
I guess the best way I can sum up my feelings regarding the superintendent situation is by saying clearly that we don’t need anyone from DPS. After years of failure with leaders who know this community like the back of their hands, it’s clear that we need an outsider. The system of deciding who gets favorable positions based on their their high school alma mater or their college fraternity/sorority simply doesn’t work. Maybe that could be overlooked in a district where there’s continued academic success, but when you’re falling in almost all academic measures, the cronyism is but another symptom of the malignant growth that exists downtown. We’re looking for someone who can excise the cancerous failure that has plagued our district for almost a generation now, not someone who aided in its growth. This is not the time for half measures. We need a fundamental change if we’re ever going to give these kids the quality education they deserve to help them be productive citizens out in the real world beyond Dayton.
As for the Chromebooks and the new technology initiative, I agree with the idea in principle, however the Board is more or less like the federal government as far as I’m concerned: they can’t be trusted to run ANYTHING efficiently. I remain optimistic that someday that trend will change…
I would appreciate you posting that video of the superintendent candidates, I’d like to watch it for myself as long as there are no middle fingers or “F*ck you’s,” in it…are there? (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)
Angry- I’m guessing you work at Meadowdale.
The video is almost done ripping- then it has to upload. Might be ready tomorrow.
I’ve been gathering some info to dispel some of the lies that are being spread here about David Lawrence.
As to Longfellow- This year a mistake was made promoting an assistant principal, when a good principal left.
If there aren’t any competent people in DPS- no one with the vision to fix it- you should have left already too.
Frankly, as angry as you are, you should find somewhere else to whine and disparage. The reality is, the person who has been leading this ship has been getting a free pass. I’ll document what changes Lawrence actually made- and why they made a difference.
Thanks for all the extra work.
Mr. Esrati, Reasonable guess as to my place of employment, and reading back over my previous comment I can see why you might make that assumption, though I will not speak to it’s accuracy (or lack thereof) at this time. I’m willing to listen to your points regarding Lawrence, I’ll admit, I’m intrigued. I have trouble seeing anything downtown has “accomplished” as a success considering the downward spiral this district has been stuck in for far too long. The same can be said for Mr. Lawrence’s “accomplishments”, I still see no pattern of success that would make him a worthy superintendent candidate. As I mentioned previously, Lori Ward is just as guilty as anyone else downtown, more so considering her position all these years. Both she and Mr. Lawrence share the same ability to ignore the negative while promoting the positive, even whilst we’re literally drowning in said negatives. I stand by the assertion I made earlier, the only true successes in this district are those made by dedicated teachers in their own classrooms, in spite of downtown’s influence. I’m not willing to say there’s no one at DPS that has the vision to truly change the district for the better, I’m simply stating that DPS has been floundering for so long that it’s extremely difficult to imagine an individual within these halls that possesses that level of vision, a history of success, and a superintendent’s licence. If that individual exists, why aren’t we talking about them instead of Mr. Lawrence? I’m not attempting to whine and disparage here, simply trying to express my sincere opinion that we’re doing a disservice to DPS students by considering people for the superintendent job who have no discernable record of success, including but not limited to Mr. Lawrence. Take it however you like though. If it’s whining that can help people wake up to the plight of our kids, then whining is what I’ll do. As for me leaving the district, I’ve stuck it out for nearly a decade of my life. I’ve devoted countless hours and prayers and tears to these students… Read more »
[…] DPS employee” who now tells us he’s leaving the district- Lawrence is a disaster- even alluding to rumors that Lawrence “couldn’t pass his Praxis test” – something you have to pass to get a teaching license, or a principals license in the State […]