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(Mack is sworn in as superintendent by U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice in 2002)
A lot of things looked really bad for Dayton schools when Percy Mack took over as superintendent in July of 2002.
The district report card rating was worst in the state. It was closing schools and shifting students around to save money. And a large bond issue for school construction loomed just a few months away.
But Mack had no hesitation about taking the job. It was his first shot at a superintendency and people who wanted the school district to change quickly rallied around him. Thinking back on the last six years, Mack this afternoon cited that instant support and continuing community commitment that he remembers most fondly.
“The way the people in this community embraced me as a person, not just as a superintendent — the kindness and great treament — it was key to our achievements with school district,” he said.
Mack, 57, insists he is not running away from Dayton. He said he wanted to stay but he feels the pull of family commitments in the south. His children and grandchildren live in Georgia.
“Dayton has been home for me,” he said. “The only thing that would change that would be family. My family is very important to me. Right now I have to support them. The sacrifice in moving had to be mine.”
Percy Mack, the superintendent who led Dayton schools from a worst-in-Ohio ranking to test score gains and other improvements over six years, will leave the district on July 1.
Mack on Friday accepted a job as superintendent in Columbia, S.C., a slightly larger school district of 23,000 students compared to 16,000 here.
Mack, who could not be immediately reached for comment, said earlier this month he was interested in the job primarily because it was closer to his native Georgia. He interviewed but was not selected for the superintendent job in Mobile, Ala., in September.
The school board in Columbia interviewed Mack and two other candidates last week. After a meeting this morning, they offered him the job and he accepted, according to The State newspaper.
School officials there did not disclose contract terms but have said they wanted to pay their next superintendent between $195,000 and $230,000. Mack makes about $140,000 in Dayton.
Dayton school board President Yvonne Isaacs said she was happy for Mack but sad for herself and for Dayton.
“This gets him as close to home as he can be without going home,” she said. “That’s good for his family.”
As for the district’s immediate future with a levy expected in November and no superintendent after July 1, Isaacs said the board would meet quickly to begin developing an action plan.
“It’s going to present a challenge for us,” she said.
Looks like while I was out of town, Ohio Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, introduced in the legislature the bill he promised last month that would limit charter school companies from opening new charter schools unless they can demonstrate that they are replicating a high performing school they already run successfully in Ohio.
The current law allows charter companies to open new charter schools in Ohio as long as they can demonstrate they have at least one high performing school they manage somewhere in the country. This means a company operating low performing schools in Ohio can keep opening more schools as long as it can point to high performers in other states.
And Luckie’s bill goes futher, blocking any charter company with a low performing school from opening more charter schools.
I’m in Kansas City today for a seminar on math education put on by the Hechinger Institute for Education and the media where we’ve been talking a lot about the crisis of science and math education in the U.S.
Specifically, American technology companies are screaming about the need for qualified, home grown engineers and complaining that they have no choice but to hire Chinese, Indian and other foreign-born engineers because they are so much easier to find than American engineering school graduates.
As a result, Ohio is among several states that have made a big move for more math and science instruction. By 2014, Ohio will require graduates to take three lab sciences and pass Algebra II to receive a high school diploma.
This push for more math and science raises several questions. Among them:
—Will there be good paying jobs for engineering graduates in the future?
—Do all students need challenging, high level math courses like Algebra II?
—How will a big state like Ohio ramp up instruction so there will be enough quality courses (and teachers) for every student?
On Friday I spoke with Dayton Superintendent Percy Mack about his experience interviewing last week in Columbia, S.C. The bottom line was that Mack didn’t see anything during his visit to discourage him and he is still in the running.
Mack said he had an enjoyable trip. He said he was impressed by the district, by the seriousness of the school board and especially by the the thoughtful questions and good attitude of the regular folks who came to a meet-and-greet with the three finalists. And he continued to find much in common between Dayton and Columbia schools.
Handicapping Mack’s chances is a tricky game, as we learned last year when he appeared to be the top candidate in Mobile, Ala., but then was not among the final two choices. The Columbia school board has a big budget hearing Tuesday, after which they are expected to get serious about choosing among the three superintendent candidates. We may hear something by the end of the week.
A friend in Memphis tells me the local TV media has been having a field day with James Williams’ past escapades in Dayton and elsewhere while all but ignoring the other four candidates for school superintendent. I went looking for some of those TV reports and found a familiar face on this one. Remember when Andrew Douglas was a TV reporter in Dayton? He remembers being here, and he remembers James Williams, too. Take a look.
Meanwhile, back in Buffalo, Williams tells the local media that the city should consider it “a great honor” that he is being considered for the job in Memphis. A Buffalo radio station reports Williams telling the school board to “make me feel appreciated” if they want to keep him. (His contract there runs through 2011.) And on a Buffalo News blog, they ask if it’s time for Williams to go.
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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Latest comment
I don’t think anyone is really surprised Mack is leaving. If he’s not looking why is this