Ingram announces superintendent plan

SPRINGFIELD New Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alan Ingram announced his action plan in a document that places a premium on early listening and learning.

The "Superintendent's Plan of Entry" was posted on the school district's Web site at www.sps.springfield.ma.us. Ingram said he wanted community members to see and understand immediately what he will do to earn the public's trust and work with the School Committee, teachers and administrators to lead progress.

In his entry plan, Ingram reported he will immediately establish listening posts; clarify action items that will drive the school district to greatness; seek improvement opportunities; and target threats that adversely affect students, schools and the community. He said he aims to quickly gather information and assess the district's strengths so he can acutely understand its challenges and weaknesses.

Ingram identified development of guidelines for working with the School Committee to build a shared vision and mission as a first order of business. Development of a blueprint for education reform in the SPS, he said, must be a team effort with the School Committee and grounded in trust, mutual respect and clearly defined roles.

A close examination of the school district's finances and operations will be a key component of the superintendent's early days on the job. The operating and capital improvement budgets will be closely assessed from the lens of effectiveness and efficiency. Ingram will also carefully consider how finances and operations currently align with the educational goals and needs of the district.

Ingram will work with senior staff to analyze student achievement data, paying close attention to the performance of all student groups. Ingram said it is unacceptable for one group of students to succeed while others on the same campus do not make progress. He has called for student achievement data to be disaggregated so that educators can focus on the needs of every student group.

During the first six months, Ingram will visit all Springfield schools to get a close-up look at the needs and expectations of students and their teachers. The new superintendent spent his first day on the job today in schools talking with students, teachers, parents, custodians, food service staff and others.

Ingram pledged to solicit input and ideas from elected officials, parents, teachers, students, principals, employee groups, business leaders and others through a series of private meetings and two to four public forums this autumn. There will also be a major effort to communicate with the public through the news media. Ingram said he wants to engage the media "in the discourse around educational improvement and the future of the Springfield Public Schools."

The new superintendent made it clear up front that he will ask for help from experts from around the country. He said he may ask local and national businesses, universities, associations and foundations like the Broad Foundation, the Council of the Great City Schools and the Wallace and Davis Foundations to help Springfield examine its schools and make progress.

Near the end of December, Ingram will release a report of his findings and a vision for future of Springfield Public Schools. The work also will include the outline of a "strategic planning process" for the development of a five-year plan for the school district.

"It is a tremendous honor for me to become the Superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools," Ingram wrote in an open letter to the public posted on the Web site.

He said the city has been enriched by generations who fought and died for their country, moms and dads who worked hard so their children could have a better life and young people with hopes and dreams as big as those of the Pilgrims who came to Massachusetts to settle this great land of ours.

"Academic progress has been made here in our schools. Teachers have done good work. Community members have offered the kind of support that the founders of this great nation envisioned," Ingram wrote. "But much remains to be done. Let's face it our schools have helped our children to learn but we have far to go to reach the levels of academic achievement our children deserve. We cannot allow our children to fall victim to the soft bigotry of low expectations. Every child can learn. Every child should learn. We must not be satisfied with simply helping some children to succeed we must strive to have every child learn to their highest potential. If we settle for anything less than success, then that's what we'll get in Springfield Public Schools: something less than success."

Ingram promised the community he will "meet you and LISTEN, REALLY listen, to you."

He stated: "I want to know what you expect of your schools, where you think we need to improve and what you think we do well. I want to get to know this entire community and have you get to know me. From there, we will together craft a strategic plan to make our public schools second to none."