Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Brizard the 'great unifier', runs for cover

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Brizard the 'great unifier', runs for cover:

Brizard the 'great unifier', runs for cover

by Mike Klonsky

I've been working in and around schools for many years. In all that time I've rarely seen 90 percent agreement among teachers on anything. The one man who seems to unite every district teacher (against him) wherever he goes, is J.C. Brizard. His charm and education background seems to get him through his first year. But once teachers and the public see past the smiling face and figure out what he's there for, it's just a matter of time before the consensus builds.

Brizard arrived as superintendent in Rochester in January 2008 and was received warmly by the community and even by union presidentm Adam Urbanski. But it didn't take long for Urbansky to realize, “Brizard’s definition of shared decision-making was to make a decision and then share it with others.’’

By 2010, with graduation rates falling and Brizard pushing school closings and "merit" pay, 94.5% of the city's