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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

How to tell if your School District is infected by the Broad Virus | Seattle Education 2010

How to tell if your School District is infected by the Broad Virus | Seattle Education 2010

How to tell if your School District is infected by the Broad Virus

Chicago has just learned that it will inherit Rochester, New York’s controversial and unpopular school superintendent, Jean-Claude Brizard.

Those of us who have experienced the “leadership” of Broad trained superintendents send Chicago our condolences. We have been there, done that, with scars to show for it and nothing in the way of academic or positive gains for our schools and kids.

In fact, the Broad brand has been seriously tarnished lately, to the point where it really should be considered a liability rather than an asset. Here are just a few examples of Broad supts who have been ousted or left their districts in a cloud of controversy: LaVonne Sheffield (Broad Superintendents Academy “Class of 2002″), Rockford, Ill.; Maria Goodloe-Johnson (Broad “Class of 2003″), Seattle, Wa.; Matthew H. Malone (Broad “Class of 2003″) former superintendent of Swampscott, MA; Deborah Sims(Broad “Class of 2005″), Antioch, CA.

Meanwhile, Detroit can’t seem to shake its power-hungry Emergency Financial Manager Bob Bobb (Broad “Class of 2005″) whose illegal control of the Detroit School District was stopped in court, but has been recently ratified by a law signed by extremist Republican Governor Rick Snyder.

And now Brizard of Rochester is going to bring his brand of Broad magic to Chicago.

What’s striking is the similarity of the reigns of terror and error of these Broad ‘graduates.’ Disturbingly so, in