SCIENCE AND MATH SCHOOL MUST CHANGE, PANEL SAYS

The Durham Herald-Sun
March 19, 1998
FRONT PAGE

By Robin L. Reale
The Herald-Sun

An independent commission has found widespread concern about the future of the Durham-based N.C. School of Science and Mathematics.

The school must make changes to stay on the cutting edge of specialized education, according to a 19-page report to the Board of Trustees.

The executive director intimidates some staff and faculty members who disagree with him, student applications are declining and minority teachers are turning down job offers, the report states.

"If there are things that are preventing us from being fair and diverse, we want to know about them and we want to address them in a very honest and frank manner," trustee Chairman William Massey said in a phone interview from his Greensboro home Wednesday night.

"That doesn't mean we have to change executive directors, and it doesn't mean we have to throw out everything," he continued. "It just means we have to come together as a community and rethink some of these issues."

The 530-student school - created to improve teaching and student performance in science and mathematics - sits on the old Watts Hospital complex.

It opened in 1980 with much fanfare and optimism as the country's first residential public high school, catering only to juniors and seniors with an exceptional aptitude for both subjects.

Two years earlier, state legislators clashed over whether the school would become an elitist powerhouse that drained good students from other public schools. Gov. Jim Hunt, who proposed the school, quelled a last-minute revolt, pushing forward a budget provision to establish the school.

It since has served as a model for other states and a number of foreign countries.

While the school has lived up to its original expectations and parents generally approve of their children's education thee, the commission heard numerous worries that it may be losing its appeal.

"There is an expression by many that perhaps the school is no longer viewed as 'the place' where innovation and the highest level of excellence in teaching and learning in mathematics and science occur in our state," the report states.

The six-member Independent Commission for Fairness and Diversity studied the school for six months. The Board of Trustees, which granted the commission a three-month extension, received the results March 6.

Commission members - a group of education and business leaders - spent hundreds of hours interviewing administrators, teachers, staff members, parents, graduates and students.

They found that those invoved with the school desire good leadership.

Division exists in part because of perceptions based on half-truths are left unaddressed. And that, the commission said, leads to accusations of favoritism among departments and a perceived bias toward hiring white workers.

The report contains findings and recommendations in seve areas, including leadership style, communications, and student and personnel recruitment efforts.

Four of the seven areas refer to John Friedrick, the school's executive director.

"The commission's six-month study suggests that the executive director lacks important communication and leadership skills needed for an innovative, academically intensive, student-centered school like NCSSM," the report said.

Those skills will gain importance in the coming years, commission members noted, as the school shifts from its status as an educational experiment to a model for distance learning, which uses technology to teach at multiple school sties statewide.

Some teachers and staff believe Friedrick's initial creativity and innovation has waned except with respect to distance learning. Those thoughts appear to have fueled tension between veteran employees throughout the school and newly hired workers in that department.

In an interview, Friedrick listed several current efforts with benefits outside the distance-learning lab.

A 58,000-square-foot educational technology complex, for example, will house an auditorium, lecture hall, and classrooms for teacher training and other workshops.

The commission heard complaints that Friedreick does not listen well and sometimes argues with those who don't share his opinions.

It found no clear definition of his responsibilities or evidence of regular evaluations.

"The perceptions that exist in that report are ones that I suspect exist to a greater or lesser degree for any administrator," Friedrick said. "But I'm a change agent. I'm making changes that may cause some people to disagree with either my style or approach."

Friedrick was also criticized for top-down management - seeking suggestions for policy's sake - although a 1989 report the Board of Trustees commissioned to assess the school's first decade recommended that approach.

The "Second Decade Study," released a little more than a month before Friedrick came on board, said the new executive director should communicate "from the top down" as he worked on his top priorities.

Massey said it's important to consider the previous study when interpreting the results - particularly those that highlight Friedrick - of the new report.

"If he did what he was told and now we're saying that's not the way to do it, whose fault is that?" Massey wondered.

"As trustees, we have to look at ourselves and ask what our role is in this."

The Board of Trustees - obliged to set the tone on issues of fairness and diversity - was scrutinized as well.

According to the report, the board has considerable turnover, its relationship with some community members is misunderstood and faculty representatives on board committees fear expressing themselve candidly.

In addition, the commission found staff members have been working harder to recruit alumni to the school's administrative rosters - to counteract the shortage of minority faculty.

Ted Drain, former Durham Public Schools superintendent and a member of the commission, said the board has requested the commission's help with analyzing and carrying out the recommendations.

The board is scheduled to meet later this month to discuss the report in detail.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM INDEPENDENT COMMISSION

COMMUNICATION

Findings:

• The executive director does not listen well and sometimes argues with and sometimes argues with those who disagree with him.
• Students' opinions are not sought until late in the decision-making process.
  Students are not informed of changes that affect them. Parents lack knowledge about school activites.
• Concerns about confidentiality contribute to an atmosphere of distrust.

• Hold regular staff and faculty meetings, occasionally together, with a prepared, pre-announced agenda and time for anyone to introduce subjects for discussion.
• Have the Student Government Association provide input before policies affecting students are decided. Establish continuing e-mail communication with parents.

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

Findings:

• An administrative cabinet has little faculty and staff representation. A cabinet may be an efficient way to run a business, but it may not be the most effective way to run an education institution.
• It's appropriate for the executive director to report to the Board of Trustees. But it is unclear how the board defines his responsibilities and measure his effectiveness.

• Have trustees define the executive director's role and communicate to the public his/her responsiblities.
• Seek a new level of expertise on the board, especially as distance learning expands.
• Because faculty members fear taht they can be dismissed without cause or fair warning, establish a clear link between performance, contract reviw and renewals.

Findings:

• The executive director has a reputation of being autocratic and a poor listener who can become emotional and defensive when challenged or questioned. He lacks important communication and leadership skills needed at a student-centered school expanding from a signle campus to a model of technology-based distance learning.
• Some anger remains over how the executive director was hired. Too many faculty and staff, as well as the executive director, refuse to let go of the past.

• Have school leaders set the tone, not compromising on issues of fairness, whether real or perceived.
• Emphasize team building for faculty and staff, with regular, totally anonymous employee-climate surveys, discussion of the results in all units, and concret action plains.

Findings:

• There is a shortage of minority faculty and a declining number of student applications, especially from minorities. Soem qualified minority faculty turn down job offers.
• On the positive side, staff working with residential life represents diversity and is addressing role model needs.

• Evaluate faculty recruitment and selection; use exit interview to find out why staff and faculty leave and some teacher reject job offers.
• Use alumi to recruit students and teachers and make efforts to attract more minority and female students into higher level "topics" classes.

Findings:

• There is a misunderstanding about the role of the board of trustees.
• Board members come to their roles with differing expectations and often little knowledge about the school.
• There is considerable turnover on the board.

• Have board members participate in meaningful strategic planning about every three or four years.
• Hold a meeting with staff people from the offices that appoint trustees so that they know the types of people the board needs.
• Review the size of the board, as well as its organizational structure.

Findings:

• Faculty and staff orientation appears to be reasonably effective, but promotional opportunities need to be more clearly communicated.

• Give all employees a written professional development plan at the beginning of each school year.
• Mandate diversity training, and hold more recognition programs for faculty and staff.

Findings:

• A widespread lack of community - especially beteen veteran and newer employees and between advocates of the school's original mission and its new push into distance learning - exists.
• Some campus members perceive a preference for white personnel versus a divers faculty and staff.

• Discuss the future of the school and its changes with the entire school community.
• Consider diversity when selecting those who work with distance learning; ensure that all faculty, however, have some involvement with the initiative.