Page turned on Bush era in education

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published October 11, 2007

To win the job of Florida education commissioner, Eric Smith did his homework. That he spoke at such length about the need for teamwork in school reform is clear evidence. It also is most welcome.

As Smith no doubt discovered, Florida is still smarting from a governor, Jeb Bush, who treated education as a battlefield on which teachers were often branded the enemy. Worse, that culture of warfare spilled over into the Department of Education, the agency that is supposed to provide professional oversight and support to schools. The previous state Education Board chairman would tell people "we're under attack," as though it inspired him.

Bush's political differences with teacher unions were obvious, but DOE used them as a license to discount the views and motivations of all teachers. As a result, policies were often formulated or administered with no sense of their true impact on schools. Former Education Commissioner John Winn even tried to impose a teacher performance pay plan unilaterally; the Legislature in that case intervened.

The worst Bush legacy at DOE may be the extent to which career education professionals were purged. Within DOE, dissenting opinions were viewed as enemy attacks, and Winn surrounded himself with those he deemed true believers. His polarizing K-12 chancellor Cheri Yecke, who had hoped to succeed him, is one jarring example.

Smith, 57, comes to this job with impressive credentials. He is a former Florida teacher and principal who went on to lead school systems in Charlotte, N.C., and Anne Arundel County, Md., and receive national accolades. He is now senior vice president at the College Board, giving him a firsthand view of how some high school students are not prepared for college.

Smith will be only the third appointed commissioner, a job that used to be filled at the ballot, and he is the first to emerge after a full national search. The Education Board, which has previously served as little more than an echo chamber for Bush initiatives, deserves credit for an open process that at times revealed genuine debate.

Board members also seemed to be inviting the kind of collaborative approach Smith said he wants to bring. They were unafraid, as they asked questions, to acknowledge the divisiveness within DOE and the disconnect with educators around the state.

Smith will find a receptive audience in Florida, particularly in schools where teachers are looking for the chance to finally be heard. He certainly can bring a fresh perspective on a test-heavy accountability system that has been virtually unchanged in almost a decade. But he also makes a refreshing point that transcends curriculum standards and grading formulas.

Achieving academic greatness, Smith writes, is "not just about choosing the right strategy but having the will to assure that the strategy succeeds." If he opens the classroom doors, he will find that most teachers possess that will.

[Last modified October 11, 2007, 07:50:47]