Education Week - March 18, 2015 - Special Report - S8

EDUCATION WEEK MARCH 18, 2015
n
The Chief Academic Officer > www.edweek.org/go/CAO
S8 |
Turning District Visions
Into Classroom Realities
Current and former CAOs tap varied backgrounds to improve academics
W
hile principal- and
superintendenttraining
programs
are ubiquitous,
and in many cases
a necessary step
toward taking on
those roles, preparation
programs
specifically for chief
academic officers simply do not exist.
That's in part because the role itself
presents something of a dichotomy: It's a
30,000-foot-level executive position with
the boots-on-the-ground focus of classroom
instruction.
And while superintendents are at times
recruited from noneducation sectors-
politics, business, law-the need for caos
to have a strong instructional background
means many have climbed the district ladder,
starting from the classroom.
"These folks are more likely than not
going to be on a traditional track," said
Sheila Brown, the director of the education
and society program at The Aspen
Institute, based in Washington, who convenes
a group of 16 caos from urban districts
several times a year for professional
development. "Many have been teachers
and principals, and probably all have had
some director or senior-level responsibility
for curriculum and instruction."
But the trajectory isn't always straight.
Some people skip ladder rungs or divert to
private consulting on their way to cao jobs.
And, as Ms. Brown points out, "some of
them move very quickly" through the tiers
to the chief role.
What caos do tend to share is that
they've demonstrated a strong understanding
of the instructional demands in
the classroom, as well as an ability to recognize
instructional knowledge in others.
"It's a person who can create a strategic
plan on the teaching and learning side of
the house but also on the human-capital
side," said Ms. Brown. "I think superintendents
need them to be real connectors of
the work, and dynamic caos, they do that."
Education Week recently talked to several
current and former caos about their
jobs and the professional experiences that
led them to be curriculum leaders.
BY LIANA
HEITIN
Ms. Izquierdo, left, talks
with Assistant Principal
Aillette A. Diaz at Primary
Learning Center, Ms. Diaz's
school. Ms. Izquierdo sees
her role as a facilitator of
teaching and learning.
PHOTO BY
JOSH RITCHIE FOR
EDUCATION WEEK
MARIE L. IZQUIERDO
"We had No Child Left Behind breathing down our necks, and within three years,
Chief academic officer for Miami-Dade County, Fla., public schools
STUDENT ENROLLMENT: 350,000
BASE SALARY: $140,777
EDUCATION: Florida International University, bachelor of arts and master's in
educational leadership
For Ms. Izquierdo, the goal was never to go to the central office-and it certainly
wasn't to become the superintendent's second in command. What she really wanted
to do was become a principal and open a brand-new high school. "I just wanted to
pick out school colors, pick my staff from scratch, and order furniture," she said.
After five years as a teacher and about a decade as an assistant principal for a
middle school in the Miami-Dade district, Ms. Izquierdo was tapped for a principalship
at an elementary school in Little Havana, the neighborhood she grew up in.
The school had a D grade, based on the state's rating system at the time, she said.
it was an A, then a higher A in year four," she said. "By year five, we met 100 percent
adequate yearly progress. ... It was a really big success story in that school."
The Florida Department of Education recruited her to work with superintendents
in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties on school turnaround. In 2010,
the superintendent in Miami-Dade offered her a position as deputy chief of staff.
From there, she was on a fast track to assistant superintendent and cao.
"I've always seen my job as exactly the same regardless of the title," she said. "I've
always believed my job is to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom. To get
rid of the noise and provide the resources necessary to allow teachers to do their work."
In other words, she says, her charge is to "untie knots."
For Ms. Izquierdo, one of the toughest tasks is to maintain focus on student
achievement and supporting classrooms, and-"not be easily distracted by peripheral
events or circumstances," she explained. "It's to keep the main thing, the
main thing. ... I'm that person going, 'What does this have to do with teaching
and learning?' " l
http://www.edweek.org/go/CAO
Education Week - March 18, 2015 - Special Report

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