Leadership and passion are required. Leaders should not be confused with managers. While excellent managers may be able to manage anything, excellent leaders can only lead that which they believe in deeply. Leaders should provide a moral authority, value structure, content and persistent focus on goals. More and more school districts are contracting out the academic work and hiring a manager as superintendent when in fact they should hire the visionary instructional leader and contract for the management work.
Many teachers are deeply committed professionals.
Too often in lieu of increasing the pay for teachers of urban schools the contractual arrangement has been to cut back on the time and responsibilities of the job. Urban districts faced with hard economic choices tend to pay less, have overcrowded classrooms, poor or outdated books, no computers, and no mentoring of new teachers. The latest teacher contract in Philadelphia contains some positives, including increased emphasis on professional development and compensation based on demonstrated improvement, not automatic pay raises. Even if people are difficult to work with initially, it is important to take a lot of time with each school board member and listen to their concerns. Parents, children and the faith community may be the best advocates for change.