Kalman Hettleman: State superintendent leadership comes under fire as criticism and divisions surface

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The offices of the Maryland State Department of Education in Baltimore. Google Earth image.

For several weeks I searched for a commentary, working title, Should Superintendent of Public Schools Mohammed Choudhury Stay or Go?

And in a submission I sent out yesterday, I attempted a balanced analysis of his controversial two years in office. He (by July 1) and the State Board of Education (by around September 30) must declare whether they are interested in renewing his contract, which expires in June 2024.

State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury. Photo by Maryland State Department of Education.

But today there has been stunning news that seems to require him to go, not stay. One of the concerns about him that I described was the growing tension between Mr. Choudhury and the board responsible for accountability and implementation of the Master Plan. Just hours ago, out of the blue, a strong statement from Isiah Leggett, President of the AIB, described a major break in the approval of local school districts’ initial plans for policy implementation. school reform.

Mr. Leggett wrote, in a statement to local school districts, that the AIB has made every effort to work with MSDE and Superintendent Choudhury to develop an acceptable joint process for reviewing Blueprint implementation plans. . However, he concluded, ultimately the Superintendent decided that MSDE should follow an independent process.

The result means school systems are likely to receive confusing or conflicting feedback on their implementation plans from the state Department of Education and the Accountability and Implementation Council.

An independent MSDE process is simply impractical, if not illegal. As Mr. Leggett pointed out, to the extent a conflict exists, the law clearly states that AIB is responsible for approving Blueprint implementation plans. Yet MSDE still has to deal with the day-to-day guidance and oversight of local school districts, so the breach, unless repaired, dooms the effective implementation of Master Plan reforms.

Since Mr. Choudhury became Superintendent, I have spoken to hundreds of people inside and outside the State Department of Education who have interacted with him (as I personally have) . In researching this article, I asked for additional comments from about 25 people.

My review of Mr. Choudhurys’ performance had, prior to today’s news, two main parts: first, his strengths and achievements; the other, criticisms and worries. They are still relevant as the State Council, along with the AIB and the Governor, consider whether his contract should be renewed.

Many factors are at play. A barrier threshold is the virtual unanimity that one’s personal style impedes one’s working relationships with MSDE staff, local school districts, elected officials, and advocates. It so dominates discussions about him that objective judgments about his productivity and accomplishments are harder to come by.

There are other mitigating factors. He has only been in office for two years and has had to deal with the pandemic. Even more imposing, it inherited the mammoth Blueprint with its huge fixed priorities and implementation challenges.

I try to take these factors fully into account in the analyzes that follow.

Strengths and achievements

It is universally accepted that Mr. Choudhury is a hard worker, intelligent, data-driven at lightning speed and passionately dedicated to equity. Almost every statement or document associated with it highlights the needs of disadvantaged, poor, and students of color.

He earned credit for developing a new way of measuring poverty that would dramatically increase funding for urban and rural areas of concentrated poverty.

He personally chaired the Task Force on English Learners in Public Schools whose report and recommendations were widely acclaimed. He has been a strong advocate for English language learners and dual language immersion programs.

Its relationship with the Maryland State Education Association (the largest teachers’ union in the state) appears to be on solid ground. He supported higher pay for teachers and education support staff.

He has been applauded by special education advocates for his support for restrictions on restraint and isolation of students with disabilities.

Its flagship project to date is the Maryland Leads Initiative, which has gained national recognition. About $150 million in discretionary COVID funds was distributed last year to 24 local school districts for a limited number of high-leverage strategies; bonus grants were available for reading science and develop your own staff apps.

To do justice to his record, I asked MSDE for a list of his accomplishments and an interview with him for this article. I received an acknowledgment of receipt but no further response.

Criticisms and concerns

These fall into two broad categories: outputs and relationships. In both areas, the overwhelming consensus is that, given his strengths and potential, he has been a disappointment.

Outputs

Despite a commendable reach, numerous meetings, school visits and surveys, and countless deep dives into the data, he still hasn’t developed action plans for MSDE priorities.

It has been engaged since November 2021 in the development of a strategic plan. But the identification of flagship programs, initiatives and strategies is not expected until June, and it is unclear whether specific tasks, timelines and accountability measures will be forthcoming. It is highly unusual for a reforming superintendent to take so long to lay out priority work plans.

This is particularly evident in the absence of comprehensive literacy and math instruction plans and interventions for struggling learners. It follows its counterparts in other states. In fact, he abandoned the promising literacy work that preceded him at MSDE.

Special education has also been mired in inaction since Mr. Choudhury took office. The state’s much-loved Assistant Superintendent of Special Education voluntarily left her position and hasn’t publicly given a reason. Currently, Mr. Choudhury is resisting, after initially opposing, the Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Boards directive calling on MSDE to create a special education task force modeled on the English Language Learners Task Force that he presided.

In other major policy areas, including early childhood and community schools, there are similar criticisms of the lack of MSDE support and engagement.

Relationships

Criticisms of his interactions with others are almost invariably the first topic that comes up in evaluations of Mr. Choudhury’s performance. Former and current staff at MSDE describe terrible morale due to their inability to listen and communicate, belittle staff and depend on a small inner circle.

Every staff member I’ve contacted is speaking off the record for fear of reprisal, with the exception of one former mid-level employee who quit and sent a letter joined by nine others to state officials outlining his concerns earlier this year. Employees denounced a tendency to verbally denigrate and belittle others and micro-management that led to a slew of vacancies and left MSDE unprepared to implement the Master Plan.

The holidays included the departure of two of Mr. Choudhury’s top aides whom he had personally recruited. Vacancies across MSDE are often cited as the reason for a bottleneck in decision-making.

In Annapolis, lawmakers offered a flurry of no comment or declined to speak formally.

And now, on top of these concerns, is the major break with the AIB highlighted earlier. Tensions between the AIB and Mr Choudhury grew, so it was no surprise other than the severity and openness of the breach.

Similarly, tensions have also arisen with local superintendents and local school boards. The President of the State Council recently met with representatives of both groups and heard a litany of complaints about their working relationship with MSDE.

Summarize and move on

At this point, it seems inescapable that Mr Choudhury will have to leave, although his departure and the search for a replacement will take time. School reform on the scale of the Master Plan is an uphill struggle under any circumstances. When its chief steward fails to build trust and collaboration, leadership fails and school reform cannot succeed.

The AIB, along with the state board, must investigate the current situation and weigh the suitability of the superintendents. Governor Wes Moore (D) will also play a central role, including his power on July 1 to appoint three new members of the State Board of Education (in addition to the three hes already appointed).

I originally wrote that if Mr. Choudhury and the state board choose contract renewal, some form of personal improvement plan should be required. It should cover relationship building, transparency, responsiveness, priority work plans with outcome measures and at least bi-monthly public reporting. But that now seems like a long shot.

In total, the contract renewal will determine who leads schools in Maryland over the next five years and whether the Blueprint sinks or swims. A new leader is urgently needed.

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