Carey Wright, who was chief academic officer in DC under Michelle Rhee, has applied for the job of superintendent in Omaha. Educators and parents wonder if she will import Rhee’s aggressive tactics to their district. She had a great PowerPoint but went out of her way to make two points: one, she is not Rhee. Two, she respects Rhee.

Published Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 1:00 am / Updated at 4:42 pm

CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Omaha Public Schools superintendent finalist Carey Wright gives a presentation at the Teacher Administrative Center on Wednesday.

OPS finalist Wright says she won’t turn the district ‘upside down’
By Jonathon Braden and Joe Dejka
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

• Learn more about the three OPS superintendent finalists: Carey Wright, Mark Evans and Stephen Murley.

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Carey Wright knew the question was coming. And by the time she met with the public in Omaha Wednesday afternoon, she had already been asked it multiple times.

Was she the same type of leader as Michelle Rhee, the controversial former District of Columbia Public Schools chancellor who recruited her and made her chief academic officer in that district?

Would Wright, 62, a finalist for the Omaha Public Schools superintendent job, follow the Rhee model of firing ineffective teachers and principals, closing poorly performing schools and evaluating and rewarding teachers for how well their students score on tests?

“I am not going to come into your school district and turn it upside down,” Wright said.

OPS has too many good things going on to change everything, she said.

The question came Wednesday afternoon during a 90-minute interview session with the public at the district’s central offices, 3215 Cuming St.

Rhee recruited Wright in 2009 to the struggling district, which is comparable in size to OPS, from neighboring Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and, a year later, made her chief academic officer. Then-D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty had appointed Rhee chancellor in 2007.

Although Rhee’s aggressive reforms “rubbed a lot of people the wrong way,” Wright described her as one of the most dedicated superintendents she’s known.

Rhee inherited a district in bad shape, Wright said, and put a “laser-like focus” on students.

She was what D.C. schools needed, Wright said. Employees weren’t getting paid, windows were left broken, and air conditioners weren’t getting repaired.

Wright and Rhee have different styles, Wright said, but the same focus on students.

“She really achieved a tremendous amount in her tenure,” Wright said of Rhee.

On Rhee’s watch, in 2009, the district launched a teacher evaluation system called IMPACT. The system holds educators accountable for the growth their students make on state and local academic assessments. Highly effective teachers are eligible for bonuses and special recognition.

Rhee left the D.C. schools in 2010 after Fenty lost the mayor’s race to Vincent Gray, who was endorsed by the Washington Teachers Union.

For Wright’s part, she has a good relationship with D.C. teachers, she said, and meets every other week with the president of the teachers union. She said she wouldn’t change how Omaha teachers get paid and evaluated until she learned more about what was going on here.

She was the second OPS finalist to go before the public. Tuesday, Steve Murley, superintendent of the Iowa City Community School District, interviewed for the job. The last finalist, Mark Evans, superintendent of the Andover (Kan.) Public Schools, will interview for the position today.

Former Ralston Superintendent Virginia Moon is leading OPS for the remainder of the school year. John Mackiel retired in August after 15 years as OPS superintendent.

Wright spent all of Wednesday in Omaha, meeting with business officials and touring the city and school district, including a trip to Marrs Magnet Center.

About 160 people came to her public forum, a crowd that again included Susie Buffett, Omaha City Council members, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce officials and nonprofit leaders.

Wright used a PowerPoint presentation and 30 minutes to introduce herself to the crowd, showing a photo of her two daughters and sharing that she loves to dance. She said she’s a loyal person, a trait that extends to where she got all three academic degrees: the University of Maryland.

With the Maryland Terrapin logo on the overhead, Wright said, “As loyal as I am to the Terps, I’m also open to new possibilities.” The Turtle slid over, making room for a Huskers logo and a Creighton Bluejay as the crowd laughed.

The crowd also included many OPS teachers and administrators curious about the candidate with a tie to Rhee, one of the nation’s most controversial education reformers.

Wright pointed out areas where OPS could improve — its dropout rate with students learning English, and special education students — but held off on saying what she would bring from D.C. to Omaha. Instead, she brought up past experiences and her beliefs about education, such as equity for all students, in both her 80-minute public interview with the OPS school board and her public forum.

In Montgomery County, she pushed for a more inclusive approach to special education, which riled some parents but led to academic gains, she said.

Special education students who were separated from the general population were worked back in, when possible, with extra support for students and teachers, she said.

In D.C., to make sure high-achieving kids can soar, Wright said, she implemented a program for gifted and talented kids.

She also has helped develop a districtwide academic plan that directs teachers what to teach and when, based on the Common Core State Standards for math and reading.

D.C. officials also coached teachers on how to teach the standards, Wright said, and worked with the authors of the nearly national standards.

Wright has helped install a policy that made all high schools offer at least four advanced placement classes. The district also paid for the courses and trained teachers. As a result, student participation has jumped more than 20 percent, and the number of students passing AP exams climbed 85 percent.

Despite spending her entire professional life on the East Coast, Wright said her experiences in suburban and urban districts make her a “perfect match” for OPS.

“I have shown demonstrated results with the students that are underperforming in your district,” she said. “I am fully prepared to come and make my life here in Omaha.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1074, jonathon.braden@owh.com, twitter.com/jonathonbraden

Meet the finalists

The Omaha Public Schools board is hosting a public meet-and-greet with each superintendent finalist this week. The gatherings are from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the school board’s meeting room at the Teacher Administrative Center, 3215 Cuming St. The board is interviewing each candidate earlier on the day of the meet-and-greet.

Today’s candidate:

» Thursday: Mark Evans, superintendent of the Andover (Kan.) Public Schools

OPS superintendent finalist questions

All finalists for the OPS superintendent position were given these questions in advance. The board and the public also are asking other questions of them:

1. Please take a few minutes and give us a thumbnail sketch of your professional experiences; your pivotal beliefs on public education; and why you are interested in being our superintendent.

2. Please describe for us your perception of the role of the superintendent, the board of education as a whole, and individual board members.

3. What is your educational philosophy or theory of action, and how is it tied to research and best practices?

4. What are the essential academic elements of a district that will ensure that students are college or career ready?

5. How can you best develop a district environment that works to continually improve the professional capacity of its employees, in the name of increased student performance?

6. What systems, operational and/or academic, are needed for a district to sustain consistent growth over time?

7. How would you describe your experience in creating, implementing, and assessing system-wide budgets?

8. Explain the critical role that your operations departments play in successfully educating children.

9. Review any experience you may have had in providing equitable opportunities to all students.

10. In today’s budget reality, most districts are being asked to do more with less. Please discuss your approach to resource allocation.

11. Please explain your role with labor, collective bargaining units, and/or with negotiations.

12. What systems, operational or academic, are needed for a district to sustain consistent growth over time?

13. Do you have a closing comment you wish to make or to provide us any information that may not have emanated from this interview that would be valuable to us as we proceed with our selection process?

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