New Memphis City Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash has hit the ground running, and one of his primary purposes these days is getting as much advice and hearing as many opinions as he can about our city school district.
If his new organization chart is any indication, he could be the much-needed agent for change that Memphis City Schools has needed. Although it’s the seventh org chart for the district in the past four years, it appears to be a drastic improvement over the bureaucracy-heavy ones of the past that appeared aimed more at consolidating power than setting up a high-performing district. Those old org charts most resembled a diagram of the federal Medicare system or the infamous Hillary-Care plan. For the first time in way too long, the organizational structure of Memphis City Schools is now sleek, manageable and hopefully, accountable. It also appears to be built on a philosophy of decentralizing power from the Avery Avenue mother ship and getting it closer to the schools and neighborhoods that the central office was created to serve (which allies him with the philosophy of Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton).
Part of this philosophy of decentralization is to engage the public, to rally support, to discuss challenges and to mobilize a movement in support of school reform. But first, the lines of communications have to be opened up, and that seems to be a priority of the new superintendent.
In recent days, we’ve given our opinion, so we’d like to hear yours:
If you could give your best advice to Superintendent Cash about Memphis City Schools, what would it be? What would you recommend as his priorities and opportunities or pressure points to watch out for?
We look forward to your sharing your opinions as he lays the foundation for his tenure at the head of our district.
