ROSEMARY PERLMETER began her work in education in 1996 when she joined with the former mayor of Irving and other community leaders to create Uplift Education, one of the first and most successful charter school operators in Texas. Perlmeter now serves as CEO of the Teaching Trust, which she founded in 2010 to focus on developing entrepreneurial educators committed to transforming urban public schools. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Southern Methodist University.
What are the fundamental ways principals and future leaders need to adapt from the ‘typical’ approach to leading schools to improve the performance of schools?
There are many ways, but I will focus on the top couple of things. We need to move the emphasis further away from one-time end-of-the-year or semester testing to more frequent, shorter assessments so that no one ever sits in a classroom for a quarter or half of the year before a gap is discovered. Second, we should think about school culture in a more proactive way so that it is consistent in schools. Putting a very high emphasis on positively stated expectations will allow the discipline system to emphasize high standards and measure against it. Third, there should be an almost viral culture amongst the adults with regard to new systems if the goal is for the students to buy into consistent expectations. We should share what’s working and what’s not. Leaders can model this process by being open and transparent about what the kids need and about their own limitations.
What strategies are unique to urban or minority schools to help them improve achievement and close any gaps?
All three of the things referenced in question one matter that much more in urban schools. When a student falls behind in a classroom and it is discovered at the end of a year, they aren’t really catching up. Since you are working in places where the learning gaps are bigger, people working collaboratively and urgently matters even more.
How do you create this positive teacher culture?
We have to properly train principals to break down the barriers to the growth of their teachers, and have thorough professional development.
What state or national policies could be tackled to improve these areas?
Texas has a very open process for teacher preparation. The standards for teachers haven’t been all that high. In the last couple of years, the state has looked at really trying to elevate what’s out there in terms of their expectations. It is hard to make changes because people have done it a certain way for so long. We need advocacy and lobbying to fight against low standards.
What skills do future leaders need to effectively transform schools?
The top skills needed by leaders are to model their values especially those that correlate with transparency and strong personal leadership. They need to understand much more than they often do about effective instruction and make sure the pieces are in place to equip teachers developmentally. Then, since societal issues are becoming more extreme every year, leaders need to have sharp problem solving skills. They need to be able to motivate and influence adults around change. Most importantly, they need to be able to create a unified and positive culture of achievement in schools.
Outside of school leadership, how can education schools better develop future teachers?
They need to make sure that the dispositional values are a part of their program. They need to be unapologetic about requiring the traits that align with strong instruction and be really cognizant that they takes practice. None of this change happens due to reading a book. They need ample time in a classroom to affect a change. Instructional planning time can take quite a lot of work. They need to look at the curriculum standards to make sure they are spending the most time on things that matter for the kids.
What urban school districts are getting it right, and what are they doing differently?
The central office in any school district plays more of a role than we think it would in terms of what the kids learn. Therefore, the central office should also focus what is highest leverage.
The central office would also benefit from insuring their is less turnover. Schools will respond and follow suit. When you have a highly politicized environment and are always changing leadership, you send mixed messages to the school. For our district, it is good that Mike Miles is staying around another term. This creates continuity, something that suburban districts often have and thus is helpful.
What are the typical teacher reservations or objections to the changes you promote? How do you overcome these objections?
At the school level, often there is a lot of adult autonomy. It is hard to go from each doing their own thing to a unified plan. Also, there is such a lack of time. Time is precious, and there is so much time that is needed to change the trajectory of kids. Structural changes could help with the time element. For example, focusing on compliance is not always what’s going to produce the best outcomes for kids so too many outside initiatives can be a challenge.
