John Friedrick, executive director of the N.C. School of Science & Mathematics, scored some mighty low marks on a report issued last week by an independent commission studying fairness and diversity at the state-supported school. In many respects, the c ommission's report sounded like a warning shot across the bow.
The Independent Commission for Fairness and Diversity concluded in a 19-page report that Friedrick is the source of much of the anxiety that many NCSSM supporters have about the future of the prestigious school. When it opened in 1980, the school was th e nation's first residential public high school devoted to science and mathematics.
The commission set out to address a long-standing perception that minority students and faculty aren't getting a fair shake at NCSSM. However, the panel found a larger problem-questionable leadership at the top.
The commission found Friedrick lacking communication and leadership skills vital to heading the school's rigorous academic programs. He is also accused in the report of intimidating faculty and staff who disagree with him.
Unfortunately for the school, rumblings of discontent have traveled well beyond the old Watts Hospital campus. Student applications are down and minority teachers are refusing job offers in spite of the school's stepped-up efforts to increase diversity.
However, the turmoil is leading some people to question whether the schools is losing the luster that made it a model for other states. And some critics apparently believe it questionable whether NCSSM remains North Carolina's premier public high school , one "where innovation and the highest level of excellence in teaching and learning in mathematics and science occur in our state."
The commission's report is one that Gov. Jim Hunt - the founding father of the school - must carefully gauge. If new leadership is needed at NCSSM to ensure the school's status as North Carolina's educational pride and joy, Hunt should not hesitate to m ake some tough decisions.
If there is any doubt about the independent commission's findings, remember that the panel put hundreds of hours into interviews with administrators, teachers, staff members, students, parents, and alumni. Correcting problems at NCSSM is a serious matter, and the commission approached its work in that vein.
Without support from the people around him at NCSSM, there is little chance John Friedrick can evolve at this late date into an effective leader for the school or that he can repair the damage already done. This, however, cannot be disputed: The state and Durham have invested far too much in NCSSM to allow its national reputation to become tarnished.
Whatever the severity of the Hunt administration's reaction to the commission's report, it must move quickly and firmly to prevent more damage - real or imagined - to NCSSM's public image. Reputations are always easier to make than to restore.