Another academic bull has been kicked out of Minnesota's K-12 china shop.
The Minneapolis school board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Thandiwe Peebles, who simultaneously raised test scores, assigned homework over Christmas (sorry, "winter") vacation, rankled educators, snubbed politicians, allegedly used district resources for personal gain, and according to a Star Tribune report, failed to touch "the right bases downtown."
"In the end you fail because the politics causes you to fail," said Charlie Kyte, a former superintendent and head of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, in the Strib story. "There really is a conflict here," Kyte continued, "between the real users of the Minneapolis public schools, which is a whole set of communities of color, and the established old-guard liberals who are primarily white ... The adult drama needs to come to an end, and everyone needs to refocus on education and achievement."
That's all well and good, but focusing on education and achievement can get you fired. Just ask Dave Jennings, Thandiwe Peebles and Cheri Pierson Yecke.
EDUCATION
