{"id":870,"date":"2006-11-14T08:57:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-14T14:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/11\/school-board-must-put-aside-politics-focus-on-kids\/"},"modified":"2006-11-14T08:57:00","modified_gmt":"2006-11-14T14:57:00","slug":"school-board-must-put-aside-politics-focus-on-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/11\/school-board-must-put-aside-politics-focus-on-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"School board must put aside politics, focus on kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Since Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz was placed on administrative leave last week, I\u2019ve spent hours talking with people about the situation. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This community is incredibly divided. Good people, including many I know personally and respect deeply, are at odds over whether Diaz is the district\u2019s savior or another devil, or something in between.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In June, just before the school board voted to hire Diaz, I wrote<\/a> that the next superintendent would have to reach out to all people in the school district, and that she would have to bring about massive change while also preserving our heritage and honoring our culture.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I wrote that even those who are resistant to the change must be included in deciding how it happens, or the division that has consumed this district for years will continue to spread.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here we are. It\u2019s continuing to spread.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As a journalist who has covered every major controversy this district has faced since former Superintendent Jesse Gonzales left in 2001 \u2013 and there have been many \u2013 I want to share some thoughts and observations. Because there\u2019s so much division, there\u2019s no way to do this without upsetting many. Please understand I share these thoughts not as one who believes I have all the answers, but as one who has no direct stake in the school district and who is trying to examine the situation from that perspective.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There are a lot of allegations flying about Diaz\u2019s conduct and her past. I\u2019ve spent time looking into much of it in the past few days. Here\u2019s some of what I learned:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s true that she has made some unilateral hiring decisions since coming to Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, and has brought in people she worked with in other districts. It\u2019s also true that she has full authority to do that.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s true that she has dared to broach the subject of whether some high school athletes \u2013 but not all \u2013 should receive course credit for practicing their sports. She should be leading the entire community in a discussion about whether this is the right policy, or whether it needs to change.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s true that Diaz has made some quick changes in top-level administration. Most I\u2019ve spoken with thought these changes needed to happen. They just don\u2019t like the way she went about it.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s true that she\u2019s a bit white collar in a blue collar town.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s true that Diaz has been superintendent in a New York City<\/st1:city> district and the schools in Bridgeport<\/st1:city>, Conn.<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>, and that school boards in both cities opted not to renew her contract after several years on the job. But it\u2019s also well documented that politics were at play, especially in Bridgeport<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In that school district, local corruption was so bad that the mayor of the city, who was at odds with Diaz for much of her tenure, is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2003 of federal charges related to public corruption.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The school board member who cast the deciding vote in 2004 to get rid of Diaz recently told the Connecticut Post<\/a> that she did so under pressure from her brother-in-law, a member of the powerful Democratic Town Committee. She had been a strong ally of Diaz before being pressured to switch sides. She refused to tell the newspaper how her brother-in-law pressured her.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also true that, in the New York<\/st1:state> and Bridgeport<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> districts, measures of success improved under Diaz\u2019s leadership. In fact, the Bridgeport<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> district was one of five across the nation nominated this year for the Broad Foundation\u2019s<\/a> annual prize for excellence in urban education, the top such prize in the nation. The contest focuses on districts that demonstrate overall excellence while doing the most to eliminate the achievement gap for poor and minority students.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Diaz helped the Bridgeport district accomplish that only after cleaning house, which leads to the most common complaint I\u2019ve heard about her \u2013 that she doesn\u2019t treat people well. Many would call that an understatement.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I spoke with Diaz about this Monday, and she admitted that she has made some mistakes. She said she hasn\u2019t done enough in her four months in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> to adapt to the culture and take into account the sensitivities that exist here.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very demanding. In some cases, I have a very different style. I\u2019m not always easy, and I have very high standards,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cI have to slow down.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Diaz acknowledged that her tendency to respond immediately means she has at times said things that are hurtful, and said she sometimes doesn\u2019t realize she has done that.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be more thoughtful about how I respond,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/span>She also said she needs to spend more time listening and making a greater effort to build consensus.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve recognized that I have to step back and be more thoughtful and find a different stride,\u201d she told me. \u201cI have to be mindful that I am an outsider and I come from a different culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the next step?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI want the community on board,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cWe have to have a meeting of the minds and find common ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The board believed when it hired Diaz that she could find common ground among the many divided populations in the school district. She has won over many groups in her first four months. Others feel as alienated as they did under former Superintendent Louis Martinez.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Diaz said she is impressed with much of what she has seen in Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>. Overall, the district\u2019s principals are eager to work and learn, she said. She has seen some classrooms she described as \u201cmodel classrooms.\u201d Teachers are hard-working.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

One problem, she said, is that teachers are \u201cnot always working to the same purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s understandable. This district has been without strong, consistent leadership for at least the past decade, going back to at least the mid-point in Gonzales\u2019 tenure. In the absence of good leadership, principals have found their own ways to get the job done. Teachers have done the same.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In some classrooms, and even some schools, that works. But it\u2019s not the best way to run a district. Without consistency, many students will be left behind.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

They are often poor and, in this community, Hispanic, but they are also those whose parents don\u2019t make time or are too busy to raise them, and have left it to the schools. Such families aren\u2019t uncommon, and they come from all ethnicities and socioeconomic groups.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

With so much chaos in the district in the past decade, is it any wonder, then, that our gang problem has grown?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Our school district has to change. Federal and state regulations demand it, but at a more basic level, our humanity should require it. Read the newspaper. Examine the test scores. Watch our students drop out of high school at unacceptable levels, and it\u2019s easy to see that our district is failing to serve a large percentage of students.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Is Diaz the right person to lead the Las Cruces Public Schools into the future? Many I spoke with say she\u2019s not. Many say she is. The majority say the verdict is still out, pointing out that she\u2019s only been on the job four months and is tasked with cleaning house from more than a decade of inconsistent and, for the majority of the time, poor leadership.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I can tell you that, when Diaz was hired, I spoke with several people who predicted turmoil similar to what is now happening. Some people need to go. Some systems need to change. Some will welcome the change. Others will fight it.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Because of personnel law, only board members, Diaz and their attorneys will know the full story of how she has treated people since she has arrived and the gravity of the mistakes she has made. Rumor is rampant right now, and many I\u2019ve spoken with have shared stories with me in the past week they believe to be true about Diaz.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Some are stories that, when I began to dig, were easily disproved. Others are impossible to prove or disprove. That\u2019s the nature of rumor.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

What I can say for certain after investigating for the past week is this:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Diaz could have done more to communicate with the community and employees about the changes taking place. She needs to be more tactful in implementing change. It sounds as though she plans to make a greater effort to do that in the future.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

But let\u2019s not take our eyes off the ball. This school district has to change. Implementing the sort of transformation needed here is Diaz\u2019s specialty. She left Bridgeport<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> having riled the powers-that-be but having the support of people who put children ahead of politics \u2013 including many in the district\u2019s administration and the teachers\u2019 union.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s up to the school board to decide where this community goes next. Let\u2019s hope its members have the courage to put politics aside and do what\u2019s best for children, whatever that may be. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz was placed on administrative leave last week, I\u2019ve spent hours talking with people about the situation. This community is incredibly divided. Good people, including many I know personally and respect deeply, are at odds over whether Diaz is the district\u2019s savior or another devil, or something in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}