Turning Around Urban Districts: The Case of Paul Vallas
Lee Iaccoca, Steve Jobs, and Ann Mulcahy were CEOs that resurrected Chrysler, Apple, and Xerox from near (or actual) bankruptcy to profitability. They were turnaround heroes–saviors, if you like–to their corporate boards and shareholders.
Salvaging a sinking business means that the CEO charts a new direction, outsiders arrive and veterans exit, novel products appear and old ones disappear–constant and unrelenting change is the order of the day in saving a company. A tough job that demands a thick skin with little time for regrets.
Turning around low-performing urban school districts is in the same class as CEOs turning around failing companies.
After serving in Chicago for six years, Philadelphia five years, and New Orleans four years, Paul Vallas put the saga of urban superintendents in stark, if not humorous, terms:
“What happens with turnaround superintendents is that the first two years you’re a