Winston Brooks "power goals"; a closer look

Independent of the worthiness of a goal is,
how well written is the goal?

If a goal is written poorly or wrongly, there is an effect on
measuring the goal and even upon reaching it.

Still unclear at this point, what does "Power Goal" even mean?

Worth noting; the "Power Goals" are not published anywhere
for APS stakeholders examination; not even on the APS website.

Here, according to KRQE link, are Winston Brooks
"Power Goals."

1. Three-year academic plan - Brooks wants to develop the plan with measurable targets by the end of the 2010-11 school year. He wants to focus on improving student achievement, narrowing achievement gaps, increasing graduation rates and improving attendance. Administrators will work out the plan and present it by the end of September.

2. Build confidence in APS - Brooks wants the administration to improve relations between the school district and the community, media, other organizations, business and government. The plan for that is due by mid-October.

3 (tie). Create a communication plan - Brooks wants the administration to develop a communication and evaluation plan between the district and the community, media, school board and others. The plan for that is due by mid-October.

3 (tie). Schedule board training workshops - Brooks wants to train the school board on the role and responsibilities of a school board, creating a more student-focused organization. The first workshop is due for mid-November.

5. Review and enhance facility upgrades - Brooks wants plans for facility upgrades to be completed and publicized by mid-October.

6. Improve the district's money management - Brooks wants a "transparent, sound and effective financial stewardship plan" with well-documented processes in place, with reports due every quarter starting with the 2008-09 school year.

7. Transition APS from site-based management to district-based management - Brooks wants the plan to include fair distribution of resources. The plan is due in the spring.

8. Enhance school crisis plans - Brooks wants a template for crisis management provided to all school and non-school sites, and wants those sites' administrators to create and file a crisis plan based on that to the district offices.

Goal 1. Measurable targets is a great start. The weak link will be in determining how to measure and what. APS, after years of focus, has yet to come up with an agreed upon method of measuring truancy; which is as black and white an issue as one can imagine. Either students are in class, or they are absent without any excuse. The technology is there to measure accurately; attendance of every student in every class - yet they don't.

Measurable targets however is only one aspect of the problem. The other is, how will the targets be reached? There are only two courses of action; one stops doing something, or one starts doing something. Stakeholders will need to carefully examine Brooks goals when they are finally presented to the public, months from now.

Unless Winston Brooks is willing to concede, on the record, that administrative failures fall under things to stop doing, he will have to list things that administrators need to start doing.

Otherwise, it is teachers, and others at the educational interface, who have to stop doing the wrong things, and start doing the right things.

As a teacher with some experience to call upon;
I would suggest that there is little that teachers can do to change the dynamic very much. I believe that we have squeezed about as much out of that resource as we can.

Something has to be done to make what teachers are doing now, work better.

The most obvious thing, is to eliminate classroom disruptions; whether they be endless announcements on the all call, or removing chronically disruptive students from classrooms long term.

Unless, and until, Winston Brooks does something about the issues that interfere with educationally efficient environments; there cannot be significant improvement in what goes on, on a daily basis, in classrooms.

Look for measurement that is unequivocal and accurate, specific examples of what will end, and what will begin, and for specific plans to deal with chronically disruptive students.

Goal 2. The leadership of the APS has yet to admit even, that it does not enjoy public confidence, nor will it admit the reasons for the lack of confidence.

Beware of any plan, the terms of which themselves, do not inspire confidence.

If the terms are murky and muddled; it is the same old, same old.

If the terms do not include town hall meetings, or the equivalent opportunity for stakeholders to ask legitimate questions and expect candid, forthright and honest answers;
your chain is being pulled. period.

I find it suspicious that no changes at all, are in the offing.
Wait four months to learn anything.

Goal 3. Goal 3 and Goal 2 are inseparable. If the leadership of the APS had a record of candid, forthright and honest communications; there would be no lack of confidence in their leadership and no need to improve communications.

The lack of change, the lack of progress, and the current lack of honest communication does not bode well for future change.

You have to ask yourself, if the leadership of the APS really intends to do anything any differently, why are they not doing things differently right now, today?

If you asked Brad Winter today, how many tax dollars were spent on his new board room, he will not answer you. Why would you believe that he will answer you four months from now?

Brad Winter promised that transparency on the Jim Villanucci show almost two years ago; and still nothing.

The most important question of all;
given the problems revealed by the Meyners Audit;
either a great deal of money has been wasted or stolen,
or a miracle has taken place.

Why will the leadership of the APS not address the question.
Why will they not tell stakeholders how much money was
wasted or stolen, and by whom,

or in the alternative, explain the miracle in terms
we can all understand?

Goal 4, or 3b, depending. Winston Brooks wants to train the school board on the role and responsibilities of a school board, creating a more student-focused organization. The first workshop is due for mid-November.

You have to wonder why the training is six months distant.

You have to wonder whether or not the training will include training in how to answer legitimate questions candidly, forthrightly and honestly. If it does not, who cares what other training they undertake; how could it possibly make any less difference?

Goal 5. Winston Brooks wants plans for facility upgrades to be completed and publicized by mid-October. Why wait five months? Why not put them up on a user friendly website as fast as they can be put up? except to hide what they would have to put up, for a few months longer?

Goal 6. Winston Brooks wants a "transparent, sound and effective financial stewardship plan" with well-documented processes in place.

This is a real no-brainer. The Meyners Audit revealed that the APS Financial Division had inadequate policies and procedures, was not accountable to the procedures that they did have, and were keeping inadequate records on the spending of a billion tax dollars a year.

The response is cook book. There is no need to invent polices and procedures for large corporations; they could be copied off the internet.

It is apparent though, that the policies and procedures will be put in place without acknowledging the fact that they never existed. To this day, no one who was responsible for the lack of policies and procedures has been identified. Two people, who should have blown the whistle on the lack of policies and procedures years ago, and who did not, have been promoted to the highest positions in the "new" financial division.

The supposed transparency is a joke, for as long as they refuse to tell stakeholders how much money was spent at 6400 Uptown Blvd, in the interests of the board members and administrators that work there, and at the expense of students, teachers and other stakeholders at the educational interface.

It is worse than a joke; it is outright deliberate deception. Look for a candid, forthright and honest accounting of spending at 6400 Uptown Blvd. In its absence, you really cannot believe a word that they say.

Goal 7. The transition from site based to district based management. This is really the scariest goal of all. Forget for a moment any argument about site based versus district based management. Look only at the manner in which it has taken place.

Despite years of past practice, Winston Brooks simply erased all of the progress that has been made so far, without even the courtesy of involving stakeholders in the change. He broke tacit and overt promises in complete disregard for stakeholders.

Stakeholder interests are of no interest to Winston Brooks.

That has to concern you at some level.

Goal 8. Enhance school based crisis plans. Another no-brainer. Crisis plans are also cook book. With only a small amount of fine tuning; one could down load them from the internet two clicks into a Google search.

The only reason that they are not in place already,
is that the leadership of the APS never had anyone whose
responsibilities included putting them in place,
or they had that person, and s/he was simply grossly incompetent.


I hope that Winston Brooks will make a positive difference in the future of the APS.

I am worried that even the most casual scrutiny of his plans
reveals that changes will be predicated on protecting good ol' boys from accountability,
and in keeping the good ol' boy organizational structure in place.

In which case, there will be no change at all.

The APS will still be run by Paula Maes, the good ol' boys, and the Modrall.