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Superintendent Jim McIntyre |
I’ve been following this teacher thing closely.
I’m posting this blog entry because there’s some information out there that isn’t correct
(and there’s a lot that is correct) about the time Knox County Schools
Superintendent Jim McIntyre spent in the classroom. I just wanted to throw out
a few facts.
It's not to give any side a voice.
Anyhoo:
FACT: McIntyre is in charge of the county’s more than $400
million educational budget, its 89 schools and a 7,500-person workforce that
includes 4,800 teachers.
FACT: Of the state’s 15 largest school districts, 13
superintendents spent between seven and 33 years as a teacher, assistant
principal, and principal.
FACT: Only two superintendents who oversee the state’s
largest school districts have fewer than seven years’ experience. Jim spent one
year in a school, and Dorsey Hopson, a long-time attorney, who took over one of
the state’s most troublesome school districts – Memphis-Shelby County – has no
classroom experience.
FACT: About 20 years ago, Jim taught only one school-year at Vincent
Gray Alternative High School, a private academy in East St Louis, Ill that
touts class sizes of eight to 10 students “who live on the margins of poverty,”
and graduates an average of 20 students per year, according to its website.
You can find that information right smack here.
FACT: Jim taught English, anatomy and physical education. He
said he took the job as part of an endeavor similar to “a domestic Peace Corps
kind of thing.”
FACT: After the school year, Jim returned home to Boston. He
built on his education, earning a master’s degree in urban affairs at Boston
University, and a doctorate in public policy at the University of
Massachusetts.
FACT: In 2006, Jim took over as BPS chief operating officer.
FACT: Knox County hired in him the spring of 2008 in a 5-4
vote. Initially 40 people applied for the job. The final candidates were Jim,
Brian Bingelli, an assistant superintendent in Virginia’s Fairfax County Public
Schools, and Bob Thomas, a Knox County assistant superintendent. Bignelli had
22 years’ experience as a teacher and principal, including eight in the
classroom, according to his resume. Thomas had 12 years as a teacher and
principal, including nine in the classroom.
FACT: Jim earns an annual salary of $222,800 and an $800-a-month
travel allowance. He started in early July 2008. The board has since then
renewed his contract, which runs through 2016. The board will talk about
extending his contract another year on Monday.
SEMI-FACT: The board does whatever Jim tells it to do.
FACT: Graduation rates have increased during Jim’s tenure, from
79.3 percent in 2008 to 87.8 percent in 2013 – though they declined slightly
from the all-time high of 90.2 percent in 2012.
FACT: Test scores aren’t as rosy as some folks paint them to
be.
FACT: This information is not new.
FACT: No one has actually reported it in detail.
A look at classroom experience for top 10 districts:
Memphis-Shelby County Schools
Superintendent: Dorsey Hopson
District size: 153,000 students
Teacher/Principal experience: none
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
Director of Schools: Jesse Register
District size: 83,000 students
Teacher/Principal experience: 13 years
Knox County Schools
Superintendent: Jim McIntyre
District size: 57,700
Teacher/Principal experience: 1 year
Hamilton County Schools
Superintendent: Rick Smith
District size: 42,000 students
Teacher/Principal experience: 13 years
Rutherford County Schools
Director of Schools:
Don Odom
District size: 41,000
Teacher/Principal experience: 31 years
Williamson County Schools
Superintendent: Mike Looney
District size: 34,000 students
Teacher/Principal experience: 9.5 years
Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
Director of Schools: B.J. Worthington
District size: 31,400 students
Teacher/Principal experience: 19 years
Sumner County Schools:
Director of Schools Del R. Phillips III
District size: 28,000
Teacher/Principal experience: 9 years
Wilson County Schools
Director of Schools Timothy R. Setterlund
District size: 15,750
Teacher/principal
experience: 33 years
Sevier County Schools
Superintendent Jack Parton
District size: 14,670
Teacher/Principal experience: 7 years
Jackson-Madison County School System:
Superintendent Verna
D. Ruffin
District size: 13,375
Teacher/Principal experience: 22