The Tribune on Friday reported a stunner: Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard has gotten sharply critical reviews from the Board of Education and could be fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Within hours, Emanuel denied he was about to push his schools CEO out the door.
“As soon as I heard about this, I called J.C. and said, ‘you focus on the full school day, full school year,’ Emanuel said Friday morning. ‘You’re doing a great job.'”
So, what to make of this? No one’s denying that a performance review and a letter from school board President David Vitale that were obtained by the Tribune sharply criticized Brizard for management, communications and decision-making. People around the schools have been talking sotto voce about sharp conflicts among top administrators. Keep in mind that Brizard didn’t get to select all of his top aides — he was handed a team when he arrived.
So we’ll take Emanuel at his word that Brizard has his full confidence. And we’ll suggest that, while everyone is impatient for better schools, some patience is required in this case.
Brizard has had 15 months in one of the toughest jobs in the city. His performance review, while critical, attests to progress. The letter from Vitale credits Brizard for “a challenging but solid year.” Vitale wrote that Brizard is “off to a good start in year one and there is significant potential to have year two and beyond be even better.”
Last year, when Emanuel introduced Brizard to Chicago, we said:
The wisdom or folly of Emanuel’s decision will be revealed in his new CEO’s performance: Do Chicago graduation rates improve? Do test scores rise? Are the best teachers inspired to stay in the classroom and the worst shown the door? Are new charters and other innovative schools welcomed and given sufficient resources? The ability to get along with many constituencies is important, but Brizard won’t be measured by how well he holds people’s hands. He’ll be judged by whether children succeed in Chicago schools. He will be judged by results.
Graduation rates are projected to hit an all-time high in 2012. Test scores are rising. The district is moving to identify and reward the best teachers and show the worst the door. Brizard and the Board of Education have fought Chicago Teachers Union attempts to cap the number of charter schools and drain money from them.
Yes, we’ve heard the whispers about Brizard’s shaky management skills. There’s been turnover in some of the district’s top posts, which often points to leadership. “The organizational effectiveness of CPS could be substantially improved with a more coherent and decisive management decision-making process,” Vitale wrote.
Brizard made a big step up in the size and scope of his responsibilities, from Rochester, N.Y., to Chicago. The mayor knew that when he made the hire. The message from the evaluations seems to be: Learn and improve. Any administrator worth his salt is going to take that to heart.
Is Brizard being fitted to wear the jacket if teachers strike? Strike or not, the most critical outcome will be what winds up in the teachers contract, how much that document opens the door to education reform. Brizard, Vitale and the rest of the school board, the union leaders and the mayor will all bear responsibility for the success or failure of that.
CPS has had four chief executives in four years. Give Brizard time to prove himself.
