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Opening Schools to Parents; Paterson Superintendent Invites Public to Join Him

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 September 2005, 15:00 CDT

PATERSON - Michael E. Glascoe likes to tell stories about how teachers can make a difference in classrooms, about how students will rise to high expectations.

But the new schools superintendent is more reticent when talking about himself, preferring to keep the focus on why he came to Paterson: helping the city's schoolchildren and trying to stabilize management of the 27,000-student district.

The district has been under state control since 1991 and again was mired in scandal when it was revealed in 2004 that roughly $50 million of school construction funds had been mismanaged.

Glascoe began his new job in the district July 18, replacing Dennis Clancy, the interim superintendent, who had served for one year.

One of the first initiatives he undertook was to create a plan for the first 90 days of his administration. This plan focused on four general areas of running the district: communications and collaboration; systemwide accountability and management; student achievement and instructional leadership; and organizational effectiveness.

Under communications were two highlights: building a relationship with the Board of Education and improving the communication between the district and the community, including parents. Off and on, board trustees have not worked well together, at times because of disagreements over the leadership and decisions of the state- appointed superintendent.

"I'm not worried about any dissent," Glascoe said in August about his relationship with the board. "If it comes, it comes."

Instead, he has been trying to work with board members on implementing the district's new literacy program, which was mandated by the state because of the district's low achievement on standardized tests.

Previously, some parents were frustrated by the reception they received at board meetings and at the central office of the district. Glascoe aims to repair those relationships by improving communication with parents and making sure that the district's principals create friendly environments in their schools for parents.

Under his direction, the district already has started to revamp its Web site and will improve the districtwide newsletter.

Glascoe also is inviting members of the community to join him on "learning walks," where he will visit schools to see teaching and learning in progress. His first round of walks began Tuesday, the first day of school.

The district's organizational structure does not work, Glascoe said. He believes it lacks a mechanism for ensuring that administrators and teachers are accountable to students and their parents. Figuring out a more streamlined structure is a priority for him.

He also wants to bring in a computer system that will allow teachers to easily analyze the progress of their students. Such a tool would give teachers the tools to home in on the skills that their students lack, he said.

"This district needs the very best," he said of the database system. "I salivate when I think about it. There's so much we can do with it."

(SIDEBAR, page L03)

Spotlight

Michael E. Glascoe

Job: Paterson schools superintendent.

Career: He was an assistant superintendent in the Fairfax County public schools in Virginia. In that job, he was responsible for closing an achievement gap in the district of 166,000 students. The Washington, D.C., native also worked in the Montgomery County schools in Maryland, where he started his education career as an elementary school teacher in 1972.

Salary: $200,000

Family: Married, with five daughters and three grandchildren. He is temporarily living in Wayne while searching for a house.

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

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