If ever there was a time for the Hamilton County Schools to think out of the box, it is now.
With the recent resignation of the superintendent, a scandal about a school trip rape still percolating, and the imperative to raise test scores and provide training for good jobs, the district should ponder carefully what kind of new leader it wants, whether the leadership team structure should be changed to be more effective, how the system needs to transform to better educate students, and how it can improve communications with parents and the public.
Although the Hamilton County Board of Education recently voted to give the post of acting superintendent to two assistant superintendents, the move is only a temporary measure. The board will discuss interim superintendent candidates at its April 14 meeting.
To give themselves the widest possible latitude in selecting an interim superintendent, school board members voted to make the only qualification for the job a bachelor's degree. That's especially good thinking, considering someone outside the world of education might be the perfect choice.
During the interim period, someone with business or military experience might be the exact person needed to identify weaknesses in district structure, to pinpoint waste and duplication, to bring in fresh ideas and innovative thinking, and to map out a road for change.
Fresh eyes on a subject are always helpful.
If the interim period needs to be the entire 2016-2017 school year, so be it. If the board feels it has an effective interim superintendent and competent assistant superintendents in place, a full year would give the interim leader time to provide a good assessment of the schools system and time for the board to find a sound candidate for the permanent job.
Come August, the board itself could have a different look than the one that selects the interim superintendent. Potential candidates have picked up papers to qualify to run for the seats of four board members, Rhonda Thurman (District 1), Dr. Jonathan Welch (District 2), George Ricks (District 4) and Donna Horn (District 7), who are up for election. All four are not likely to lose, but one or two could, potentially changing the look of the body.
While no perfect candidate exists for Hamilton County's next superintendent, individuals considered for the job should have both a willingness to make wholesale changes to move the district forward and an understanding that the way forward doesn't mean everything done in the past was wrong.
In recent years, administrators have been too quick to adopt the likes of a college track for all students, foundation-bred schemes for change, the concept that all students learn alike, and endless testing.
An interim superintendent and new superintendent, on the other hand, should consider expanding magnet schools, creating more charter schools, ensuring better teachers throughout, concentrating on school readiness and reading proficiency by third grade, and requiring more parent involvement.
Both persons also should make transparency and communication linchpins of their tenure. Former Superintendent Rick Smith saw the beginning of his end written when he wasn't forthcoming to the public with what he could reveal about the Ooltewah High School rape case in December. And then, earlier this month, after his requested buyout had been rejected and he had vowed to stay until the end of his contract in 2019, he resigned after it was revealed he'd not shared a damaging report about the district's priority schools with school board members.
Superintendents must share the bad with the good, though the bad too often makes the banner headlines. Hamilton County residents want their public schools to succeed, but they want to have confidence in the leader running the show and in the administration behind that leader. If they can't, they won't feel like the system needs their further support or any additional county financial backing.
To facilitate confidence in the system, a new superintendent may want to restructure his administrative staff to have both an innovative non-educator as an assistant superintendent and a communications liaison who will constantly be in touch with the public. The budget may or may not accommodate such positions, but they are worth considering to allow a superintendent to effectively concentrate on educational matters.
The Hamilton County Schools are at a crossroads. Doing the same thing with different leadership will not bring change or gains. Changing what is necessary with an eye on historical strengths is a better way forward.