Mary Armstrong did a masterful job of negotiating and compromising while working with St. Louis Public Schools representatives in forging a new contract for teachers. She should be commended for sticking to her guns and representing her fellow union members, while also finding a way ulitimately to reach common ground with the district.
However, Armstrong’s attack on Creg Williams, the district’s newly hired superintendent, as being too inexperienced is classic “playa hatin’.” Williams, who has helped the troubled Schools of Philadelphia improve test scores at the high school level and increase graduation rates, won a unanimous vote from the fractious SLPS board of education. Yet, Armstrong expressed her doubts because of a perceived lack of experience.
Where would black people be if white people always played the “experience” card? Yet, here is a successful black woman sniping at the young superintendent before she has even met and worked with him.
Apparently, Armstrong favored John Thompson, the recently released superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools. Thompson’s flashy attire must have impressed Armstrong more than his recent background. The suit, matching tie and shoes he wore to Friday’s interview session with board members probably cost more than most SLPS parents make in a month. While he was styling in Pittsburgh, the achievement gap widened. Within a week of Thompson and his fancy wardrobe’s release, three of his overpaid appointees were also told their services were no longer needed by the district’s interim superintendent.
Thompson said he wasn’t told that the achievement gap needed to be addressed, just the out-of-whack budget. How could a black superintendent ignore or not deal with black children learning more slowly than their white counterparts in a district that is predominantly black because “I was told to balance the budget?”
If this is the kind of experience that Armstrong thinks the troubled city public schools need, then she knows more about apparel than school administration.