After John Deasy, LAUSD faces a tough choice: Play it safe or take another risk?
When the school board chose John Deasy as superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2011, it knew what it was getting: an outsized personality with a national reputation as an advocate for school reform.
And in his 31/2 turbulent years at the helm, Deasy proved to be just that. He courted wealthy donors who helped subsidize a robust travel schedule, and he spent about 200 days on the road as he attempted to raise the district's profile and promote his agenda.
A close look at Deasy's tenure clearly shows the challenge of juggling the responsibilities of running a sprawling, often-dysfunctional district while serving as a leading voice in the national movement to overhaul schools.
And in his 31/2 turbulent years at the helm, Deasy proved to be just that. He courted wealthy donors who helped subsidize a robust travel schedule, and he spent about 200 days on the road as he attempted to raise the district's profile and promote his agenda.
A close look at Deasy's tenure clearly shows the challenge of juggling the responsibilities of running a sprawling, often-dysfunctional district while serving as a leading voice in the national movement to overhaul schools.
At key moments of tumult in the district, the records show, Deasy was simply not in town.
Now, as the Los Angeles Board of Education begins to search for a new superintendent, it faces an important choice: Should it take a chance on a nontraditional candidate? Or should it take the safer route and turn to a conventional educator?
In Deasy's case, his critics argue, his national role came to subsume his home-base responsibilities.
The beginning of the end came a year ago, just before the school year started. Deasy was in New York to discuss challenges threatening education reform.
Back at home, the city's public schools were in disarray. By the time Deasy returned for the first day of classes, a malfunctioning scheduling system had forced students into gyms and auditoriums to await assignments. Some of them ended up in the wrong courses, putting their path to graduation in jeopardy.
Two months later, in October, a Superior Court judge ordered state education officials to meet with Deasy to fix the scheduling problems that he said deprived students of their right to an education. But Deasy flew to South Korea the next morning to visit schools and meet government officials. A week later, he resigned, under pressure, as head of the nation's second-largest school system.
Deasy's tenure has become a lesson for the board in an era when urban school chiefs must navigate a minefield of political interests — including unions, politicians and foundations — all seeking greater influence.
Jeffrey Henig, professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, said strong ties to the foundation world and national education leaders can draw additional revenue for After John Deasy, LAUSD faces a tough choice: Play it safe or take another risk? - LA Times:
