Dr. Marcia V. Lyles Details Superintendent's First 100 Days:
Listen, Learn, and Lead

Message from Superintendent Dr. Marcia V. Lyles
As I embarked upon my Christina journey I pledged to listen attentively, learn quickly and lead boldly.  It has been a fascinating, illuminating, challenging and rewarding 100 days, and I thank every member of the Christina community for being gracious, welcoming and informative guides.  I’ve spoken with hundreds of people having different relationships with and perspectives
of the Christina School District. I’ve spoken with community leaders and met with PTAs.  I’ve hosted
a legislative breakfast, met with our mayors and attended community events. 

Our schools and district administrators contributed a great deal to my Christina education, but my most powerful experiences have been during my school visits. This is where I saw our educators in action and I met firsthand Christina’s greatest asset, Christina’s most precious resource – our children, our future.

Some of the ways I’ve listened and learned have included:

• Analyzed assessment and accountability data for both district and individual schools

• Reviewed Strategic Plan, Consolidated Grant application, School Success Plans

• Reviewed recruitment, assignment and retention strategies

• Reviewed professional development activities

• Reviewed resumes and evaluations of district senior leadership and principals

• Reviewed pertinent board documents

• Reviewed district financial materials including budget, audits, grants

• Met with district and school leadership for view of programs, practices and policies

• Commissioned a Curriculum Audit

• Met with district teams as a whole, and one-on-one

• Held an Executive Team Retreat

• Met one-on-one with principals (including assistant principals)

• Led a two day Administrators' Retreat

• Hosted Listening Sessions with teachers

• Met one-on-one with key operational staff

• Met one-on-one with board members for feedback on development of entry plan and discussion of expectations, roles, norms and priorities

• Participated in Board Workshops

• Conducted Town Hall Meetings

• Held a Legislative Breakfast

• Met with university educators

• Met with PTA leaders

• Met with parents

• Met with community leaders

After three months of reviews and visits and meetings, I have deepened my resolve that we must Expect Excellence – Every day, for every child, in every class, in every school. As you can see from the presentation I made to the Christina Board of Education on November 10, I presented my observations about areas that need attention, and outlined four goals that must shape the work ahead if we are to become the high-performing school district we have the potential to be. These include:

Achieving Excellence and Equity
Creating Nurturing Environments
Engaging Our Community
Developing a Plan for Excellence

The work ahead must focus on charting an accelerated agenda for excellence and equity for all students. As everyone who has gotten to know me these past three months can attest, I believe that you cannot have excellence without equity, and it will be a major goal of our District to generate an aggressive agenda for both excellence and equity. If we are to accelerate student achievement while closing the achievement gap, we must:

• Define excellence

• Make decisions based on data

• Align the curriculum

• Use research-based practices

• Improve instruction for special-needs students and English language learners

• Share ideas among schools

• Strengthen communications efforts

• Support our schools and our core business of teaching and learning

• Support principals

• Provide professional development opportunities

• Improve struggling schools

We must focus on cultivating safe, nurturing learning environments that foster responsible, productive, and positive behaviors. If we expect Christina graduates to be confident, prepared citizens schooled in 21^st century skills, we must create opportunities for them to thrive.

We must focus on engaging and mobilizing stakeholders in support of our students and schools. This includes enhancing communication, support the development of parent resources, and eliminating the divide between city and suburb and become a unified district.

Finally, we must focus on developing an aggressive timeline for engagement which holds everyone to high standards and expectations. This includes involving the community, establishing benchmarks, and measuring our success.

Each of these key areas is discussed in my document, with suggestions for how we can sustain effective initiatives and introduce fresh approaches and strategies. The District will begin a Strategic Planning process in late November, which will provide a vehicle for the community to focus its ideas and energies on achieving excellence and equity for all students.

I invite you to read and print my presentation to the Board and contact me with any comments or suggestions. I hope that parents and members of the community will get involved in the Strategic Planning process. I will continue to listen, learn, and lead in the months ahead, as we chart an ambitious course for future greatness in Christina.

Click here to access Dr. Lyles’ Presentation, “Superintendent’s First 100 Days: Listen, Learn, Lead”

Posted:  11.18.2009