Why did former Cincinnati superintendent fail?

No, it wasn’t because of Cincinnati’s parochialism. Or bully unions. Or that she came in as an outsider. If she had simply taken the time to study and understand that a culture had set in going back to the 1970s, she might have succeeded. 

Look. Superintendents of large urban districts always start in a hole. Data says they survive their assignments from somewhere between three and five years. Wright lasted only two, but it was because she didn’t understand the simple meaning of collaboration. A culture of collaboration began to build as far back as 1977 when the newly installed Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT), an affiliate of the huge urban national American Federation of Teachers, led a successful 19-day strike that began a rightful demand that the teachers of the district, the ones closest to the pedagogy and the children, and by far the largest block of influence on schooling, have a significant say in the direction of the district and its policies. 

And instead of just salaries, benefits, working conditions and out of pocket expenses, teachers in 1977 and during the years that followed began to clearly state that collaboration was the key to the district’s success. It wasn’t that they wanted all the power, just their fair say, and CFT launched an ongoing battle to gain that place at the table through a series of union leaders that included Roger Stephens, Tom Mooney, Rick Beck and now Julie Sellers. And over those years they’ve done the hard work to support collaborative school board candidates, joined successful levy campaigns, formed alliances with progressive superintendents and conducted high-profile public relation strategies to establish themselves as legitimate school reformers. And the other five employee unions followed their lead. 

So today, any superintendent, wherever he or she comes from, must walk in the door seeking those voices or he or she will get run out of town, which is what happened to Superintendent Iranetta Wright. 

And make no mistake. The unions are right. No lasting and effective change will come from any version of dictatorship, hard or soft. There’s a 2014 Stanford study that shows the positive power of collaboration, and that’s just the first on a list of quick Google entries saying the same. But it isn’t simply that it’s the right way to manage, it’s that the grassroots workers woke up to that fact years ago, and they aren’t about to turn back now and they shouldn’t.

Cincinnati, like all large, urban districts, has had a string of superintendents over the years, some promoted from the inside, some from around the country. But the most successful ones have been the collaborators. Maybe it was because they were by nature team players. Or it could be they studied leadership theory. Or maybe they simply took the time to understand the unique history of the Cincinnati Public Schools and the evolution of its unions. And maybe most importantly they shed the naive belief that a teachers’ union only cares about salary and benefits. No, the CFT cares about the children as much as any administrator any day. And they prove it by working long hard days for pay far below similarly educated professionals. They do the job every day that most other Americans choose not to or would leave after two weeks.

So, these unions have not only demanded their fair say today. They’ve earned it. And the children and the tax payers are better off because of their attitude. Because the elected Cincinnati School Board understands all this, Iranetta Wright stood no chance of survival once all six unions voted “no confidence” in her. The board also knows, and they are the ones who hire and fire superintendents, that unless their superintendent can manage needed reform with willing collaborators, no change will come. My faith is that this is but a blip, a reminder of what we started learning in 1977. That this mammoth district will remember its history and once again find a leader who can bring real progress through hard work and collaboration.

Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this commentary piece do not necessarily the express the opinions of The Cincinnati Herald.