APS elementary school bucks the odds.

The Journal's Andrea Schoellkopf has a headline article in the
paper this morning. link sub req.

Eubank ES, "against all odds", has seen some real success in
dealing with an economically impoverished student body.

Schoellkopf's article credits the success at Eubank to five
traits that are apparently common to all schools that beat
the odds;

1. teacher collaboration,
2. community involvement,
3. focus on student work,
4. effective use of instructional time, and
5. teacher professional development.

It is worth noting that a burgeoning administrative staff
at the Uptown Administrative Center is not listed among
the influences credited in the success.

Despite the recurring evidence that delegating decision making
power and resources to the educational interface, (where
students and the system come face to face) is responsible for
real success, that delegation never seems to make it into
district policy.

The leadership of the APS in fact, stands foursquare against
the delegation of power and resources which they enjoy
spending personally.

In fact, Winston Brooks lists among his cures for a failing school
district, the re consolidation of the district's decision making
power and resources back into the Uptown Complex.

The misdirection of decision making power and resources is
enabled by the fact that the leadership of the APS will not
allow itself to be put into a position where they have to defend
anything that they do.

They refuse to put themselves in a situation where they can
be expected to answer all legitimate questions candidly,
forthrightly and honestly.

They refuse to put themselves in a position where they have
to explain why all schools in the district are not benefiting
from the movement of power and resources to the place
where they are most needed.

Which unfortunately, makes Eubank ES a fluke, and not
a sign of a changing dynamic in the APS in general.