Taking charge Quiet start, big finish mark Duncan's first year page 2 of 3
TAKING CHARGE Quiet start, big finish mark Duncan's first year Smoke on the horizon Politics strain board, union relations CTU in Springfield Scott's community, political ties round out mayor's school team	Better outreach with long-time insiders is a priority, says Eason-Watkins. “Both Arne and I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to reach out to individuals,” she says. “Any individual, no matter where they were in the organization, if they called and needed clarification, it was provided.” But LQE Executive Director John Ayers has a different take. “I hear there’s gridlock,” he says. “[Duncan’s lieutenants] are frozen out, and the decisions are still in the hands of traditional educators.” Central office has a “command-and-control mentality” and some staff hoard information, he adds. Mid-level bureaucrats are the “800-pound gorilla that sits over school reform,” says Mike Klonsky, director of the Small Schools Workshop at UIC. “You still have the old mentality, the old guard, nestling in the ranks, and hoping that this too will pass. If Arne’s going to drive change, it’s gotta be not just in terms of changing people but restructuring that bureaucracy.” While Duncan and his team work to open lines of communication with central office staff, some in the field are getting mixed signals, or worse yet, no signal at all. “I am not sure who to call to get some answers,” says Barbara Radner, director of DePaul University’s Center for Urban Education, who serves as an external partner to several schools. At times, Radner says, the central office response is, “We’re waiting for the kid on the fifth floor [where Duncan’s office is located at 125 S. Clark St.] to make up his mind.” In another fifth-floor office just a few blocks away, Mayor Daley helps the kid make up his mind on major decisions, according to Ald. Patrick O’Connor, who chairs the City Council Education Committee. “These guys aren’t making huge decisions without everybody being shown what the decisions are and being able to make the case [for] why they need to be made,” he says. Green horns Both Duncan and Eason-Watkins get high marks for focus and determination—and for being quick studies, but some view their lack of experience at the helm of a large organization as a weakness. Fair or not, this perception has reached the grassroots, which has a generally positive impression of the new leadership. Early this spring a document titled “The REAL Organizational Chart,” credited to an LSC representative, began making the rounds on central office fax machines. Written by an LSC representative, it showed Duncan and Board President Michael Scott at the bottom; above them were CPS officials who had made decisions or overseen efforts that had angered LSCs. Duncan and Vallas, right, make the transition at the June 27 School Board meeting. (Photo by John Booz.) The uneasy honeymoon has kept some outside groups in a wait-and-see posture. “The jury is so out on this one,” says Jacqueline Leavy, director of the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, which tracks CPS capital spending. “It seems that there’s a sincere desire to set a new tone. But we’re waiting to see. We need results.” For instance, Leavy says the district has not yet put out a capital spending plan for the current fiscal year, which is nearly over. “We’ve asked and asked and asked,” she says. “Put it on paper, give it to people.” 1 | 2 | 3 Next-->
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