Outside of sparsely-attended school board meetings, Tuesday was one of the first times parents and other stakeholders had a chance to hear from CMSD Superintendent Craig Chapman for any length of time since he took the position.
Although Chapman is no stranger – he has worked in the school district for 10 years in a variety of roles, including two stints as interim superintendent – this meeting was an opportunity to meet the public as the district’s permanent superintendent, a role he has held for about three months. That is not insignificant.
He arrives at a critical time for the city’s schools.
The district is in the middle of a $36 million capital improvement project, and in a few months, the district will implement a consolidated grade span system that will group students in separate schools by their grade level, a plan adopted by the board more than a year ago.
The meeting at Cook Elementary was the first of three parent meetings to discuss the consolidation and answer questions about how their children would be affected. A couple of dozen parents attended the meeting. The other meetings will be held March 3 at Sale Elementary and March 24 at Stokes-Beard Elementary.
Chapman talked to parents about why the change is happening and the planning that’s gone into it, particularly regarding how the schools will be impacted when it comes to accountability ratings. Some parents raised concerns about their children having to adjust in a new school. Chapman said that is something being considered, pointing to high dosage tutoring and certified interventionists as plans the district has to mitigate some of those issues. He elaborated on points he anticipated from parents and responded patiently and thoroughly to their questions without becoming defensive, even when the tone of the question was argumentative.
During the meeting, Chapman came across as a confident leader and effective communicator. There is a distinction to be made between confidence and arrogance. We’ve seen the damage the latter can do. We also realize the benefits of the former.
Confidence is a blend of competence, experience and preparation. All those attributes were evident in the way Chapman managed Tuesday’s meeting.
If Tuesday’s meeting was a Progress Report, Chapman passed easily.
That’s reason for optimism as the district prepares to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie just ahead.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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