The Education Reform All-Stars Behind Our Superintendent and BOE: What Have Their Combined Talents Delivered?

An esteemed group of experienced education reform professionals have supported our Superintendent and members of our BOE.  They’re all successful, smart, and have impressive pedigrees:  they include top executives, industry leaders, successful entrepreneurs, and former White House advisors. 

Here’s a sample of this Dream Team, all of whom live, or have lived, in Montclair: 

·        Jon Schnur, Executive Chairman of American Achieves, which “helps communities and states leverage policy, practice, and leadership to build high-quality educational systems and prepare each young person for success in careers, college, and citizenship”

·        Chris Cerf, former Commissioner of the NJ Department of Education, currently CEO of Amplify Insight, which provides support materials/software to implement the Common Core across the U.S.

·        Donald Katz, Board member of Uncommon Schools, a nationwide chain of charter schools (and husband of BOE member Leslie Larson)

·        Samuel Cole, Board member of Success Academy charter schools; President/COO of Phigital, a tech start-up company; veteran financier

With such robust intellectual firepower behind her - as well as the freedom to enact her agenda with no restrictions, supervision, or accountability from the majority of the BOE – one would think that our Superintendent would have made some truly amazing things happen since she promised to “put the district on the map” in August 2012.  Unfortunately, I’m at a loss to identify anything that remotely resembles a success, a significant result, or an accomplishment worthy of pinning to a map that MacCormack has brought us (unless you count the slew of local, regional, and national press clippings about the disruption that her ideas have created for teachers, students, and parents).

But don’t go by me.  Instead, ask yourself:

Are Montclair’s schools, teachers, or students better off now than they were over a year and a half ago, when our expertly-directed/encouraged/enabled Superintendent took office?