In that same issue of Shaker
Life, you said that your goal
was to visit every classroom in
every building of Shaker Schools
during your first 90 days as
superintendent. What stayed
with you after all those visits?
One thing I realized early on was that
in order for us to accomplish anything,
it was going to take a team approach
where people were empowered to do
their jobs. I knew that if we could get
people to believe in what we were doing
for our kids and give them the tools they
need and build the capacity for them
to do it, then that’s how our work was
going to get done.
In my school visits, I remember
seeing segregated classrooms at
Woodbury, the Middle School, and at
the High School. I was shocked because
I knew that Shaker was considered a
pioneer in equity and in tackling the
achievement gap. Fast forward five years
and we still have those challenges, but
there is a little more diversity in advanced
level courses, and there are structures
in place to prevent segregation from
happening intentionally, which I believe,
over time, will make a difference.
Working toward equity for all
students has been a large part of
your work at Shaker. Where do we
stand now as a District and what
work do we still have to do?
Equity is not new for us in Shaker
Heights; what is new is how we
implement our equity work and develop
action plans around it. Today, we’re
saying that we’re not just going to
talk about equity, we’re going to do
something about it. That’s a big shift and
it’s also been a challenge. Our Equity Task
Force is truly empowered to do this work,
and they believe in this work, so I know
that they will continue on after I’m gone.
44 SPRING 2018 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
Photograph by Kevin G. Reeves
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE