I suppose I can put my frustration in storage now that I know I’m not the lone person who sees the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as a public institution where sound ideas go to get ignored.
Its leadership must think institutional inertia is golden. It isn’t. It is, however, a reflection of indifference or incompetence. Those are the only choices I’ll give the district.
What am I talking about?
A week ago, I sent an email with a flyer attached to CEO Warren Morgan and his administrative crew about an arts competition I’m co-sponsoring for CMSD upperclassmen. I copied Morgan’s Communication Department and Mayor Justin Bibb, whose office is the nominal head of public schools. I’ve not heard a word.
In my email, I blind-copied a representative of a local arts organization. In her reply, I got a nice compliment for what I’m trying hard to do for students. She understood too well the challenges ahead in dealing with the school district.
Here’s an excerpt of her reply:
First, thank you for bcc’ing me on the email. While I am sad to hear about the lack of response from CMSD, I can say I am not surprised, as we have faced similar challenges. We have also run into similar issues getting anyone to help promote our work beyond what we share on our own social media accounts.
Under Morgan, I expected more. I’d once worked for his predecessor, and thought he was the kind of patronizing white man who spoke disingenuously about his passion for our Black boys and girls when his actions proved otherwise. So, I welcomed Morgan. I thought he, as a Black man, might replace complacency with hope.
But in the Cleveland school district, it takes audacity to bank on hope. For decades, its leaders have failed to educate our youth. They’ve been slow to expose our boys and girls to technology, and they’ve been even slower to train older educators on how to integrate hi-tech tools into classrooms.
Of course, I know artificial intelligence presents a fresh, more nuanced concern. Implementing AI requires an outlook beyond investing in flashy hardware that few educators know how to use; it requires forward thinking from a confident leader who’s willing to come in and ditch all the old ways.
Such thinking starts with a simple first step: getting back to people who want to help. It means answering the telephones; it means returning messages; it means supporting worthy programs.
In her email to me, the woman recommended I reach out to principals, because they see the impact on students every day.
I have no doubt the woman’s right. I intend to do as she suggested.
Meantime, do I not prod Morgan and his lieutenants to do better? Should I recommend that they spend more time outside their offices on Superior Avenue and look at what occurs inside school buildings across the district?
For what’s happening under Morgan’s watch isn’t proving beneficial to current CMSD students. They’re traveling down the same pockmarked pathway Gordon paved, a pathway that’s led to mediocrity.
It’s also led to practices that stifle creativity. Because if no one in Morgan’s crew can bother to answer an email, they’re operating in a silo. People notice, and that should trouble Morgan, Bibb and all who favor substance over silence.
