Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Don't Stop Now

Let me begin by thanking everyone who supported my campaign for Superintendent of Schools. Conventional wisdom held that 51 votes would be enough to win the republican primary in Choctaw County. I got 58 votes. That’s 35% of my race, which was 4% and 8% higher than the 2nd and 3rd place finishers got in the democratic primary. Moreover, I heard time and time again that many voters concerned about our schools would have voted for me if I had run as a democrat, but they felt compelled to vote in several hotly contested democratic races. While I’m not foolish enough to believe there would have been enough democratic votes for me to have won as a democrat, I do feel I did pretty well for an "outsider."

What pleases me most is that more than 40 people voted for my ideas and positions. I doubt they voted for me because I’m an opinionated ex-yankee. Moreover, I asked my church members not to vote for me so that they could support candidates from my congregation who were running as democrats. Other than my congregation, I haven’t got much family in Choctaw County. Given those who said they’d have voted for me as a democrat, and the votes I did get, I believe there are a good many people in Choctaw County who want to see the kinds of changes I’ve been advocating. Changes such as recruiting widely for teachers and administrators, using stakeholder input to insure the best applicants are hired, putting an end to hiring less qualified people just because they know somebody, improving classroom instruction, empowering teachers and treating them as professionals, giving parents a bigger say in their kids education, etc.

If you’re one of those people who would have voted for me if I ran as a democrat, I would encourage you to vote for Donna Nail in the democratic runoff election. She has most consistently supported these views. I worked closely with Donna last year and I believe she will do her best to bring about these kinds of improvements. In addition, she is one of the most professional, dedicated educators I have ever worked with. Moreover, everyone else in the election is running on experience. I believe that experience as part of a failed system will just perpetuate our problems, not solve them..

In closing, let me say that I have been encouraged by the number of people who want to fix our schools. Let me assure you I will not give up the fight. For starters, I intend to keep this blog going in a revised form. I’m trying to find a blog site that will allow the public to add their own articles to keep the conversation going. I will edit my campaign articles to remove any partisan politics and repost my suggestions on the new site. I’ll also be changing the blog address to reflect that it will no longer be mine, but will belong to the people of Choctaw County who are committed to improving our schools.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Teacher Empowerment

Note: This is an ad that ran on August 1st



ATTENTION TEACHERS
As we enter the last week of this campaign I would like to ask every teacher in Choctaw County to reflect upon the issues facing our schools and each candidate’s specific plan to address those issues before you decide who to vote for. Once you get in that booth it’s between you and your conscience. I know you care about our schools. I hope you care enough to find out what each candidate’s position is. You may find that most candidates don’t really have a position on anything of substance. One candidate’s primary position seems to be that he’ll “dress appropriately.” Another’s is that he “loves the children.” I can promise you that I also love our children. As far as dressing appropriately, I’ll continue wear whatever my wife lays out for me. Beyond that, however, I’ve also stated specifically, and in great detail what I see as the problems facing our schools and what I’d do to fix them. It’s all available for your consideration at http://bobmamrak.blogspot.com. Now, I’d like to address two more things.
TEACHER EMPOWERMENT
In my 20 years as a Choctaw County classroom teacher my morale experienced many high and low points. Most highs took place when everyone got out of my way and let me design and deliver quality, creative lessons that my kids enjoyed and learned from. The lows invariably came when an administrator treated me like a hired hand, ordering me to do this, that, or the other thing when my experience and training told me it was a waste of time (or worse yet, bad instructional practice). In the past few years our morale has often been challenged when we see inexperienced, less qualified personnel promoted because they were somebody’s friend or relative.
I promise you, as superintendent, I will put a stop to this nonsense. I pledge to empower teachers to be directly involved in hiring, curriculum, and instructional decisions. Furthermore, I will see to it that teachers no longer have to work the gate, ticket booths, etc. at extracurricular activities unless they volunteer and are paid for their time. Other districts have long since stopped this practice in order to treat their teachers as professionals and not hired hands. You may be unaware that the ticket sale money made at athletic (often thousands of dollars) and other events are part of the activity fund that an administrator can spend at his discretion. Districts that respect their teachers as professionals pay teachers or parents who have volunteered out of those gate receipts.
OPEN, TRANSPARENT DECISION MAKING
I also pledge to you that as superintendent I will keep nothing secret from teachers or parents. The week of March 12th through the 18th was National Sunshine Week in America. Sunshine Week’s name comes from the “sunshine laws” each state in our nation has enacted to insure that local and state government bodies keep their meetings and records open to the public. To kick the week off the Clarion Ledger ran a series of editorials, one of which said, “If you're a parent, you need to know the decisions and policies of school boards that affect your children's education. Concerned parents too often, however, are shut out of the decision-making process in Mississippi.”
Ironically, the same week the Choctaw Chronicle ran this headline on the front page: “School board meets behind locked doors.” The article stated that, “The board met for three hours in the county office while citizens tried to enter the meeting. The citizens were told that there was no meeting in progress. So the question remains why were the doors locked while a public meeting was being conducted?” Why indeed. While it is true that public bodies may go into “executive session” to discuss certain issues defined by Mississippi’s Open Meeting Act, the law enumerates specific procedures that must be followed before going into “executive sessions.” My concern is not just that the law seems to have been ignored in regard to the meeting in question, but as the Clarion Ledger pointed out, parents “need to know the decisions and policies of school boards that affect your children's education.”
Secrecy in our school district is not confined to meetings. This January our district received a report from the JBHM Education Group entitled, Organization and Performance Evaluation of Choctaw County Schools. This 51-page document reportedly cost taxpayers around $25,000. I’ve been told by parents who have requested a copy that none were available for them. What’s even more disturbing is that when copies of the report were distributed to school administrators seven pages had already been removed. According to the report’s Table of Contents those pages contain evaluations for each of our schools’ principals. Surely parents have a right to know what kind of job those entrusted with their children’s futures are doing. According to Mississippi’s Public Records Act taxpayers have a right to see that report. I don’t know about you, but if I can’t see the whole report I’d like my share of the $25,000 back.
As superintendent I will never conceal information or a decision making process that pertains to the running of our schools. If you are supporting other candidates, ask them if they are willing to pledge the same. If they’re not, I hope you’ll have the good sense to look for another candidate. It is time for the public to take back our public schools. Progress requires change. Vote for Bob Mamrak.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

It's Time for Solutions

Note: This is another ad than ran on August 1st

As we enter the last week before the election we hope that all voters are aware of the serious nature of the superintendent’s election before us. Our county schools operate on an annual budget of around 16 million dollars per year. That’s a lot of tax dollars that have come out of our pockets. That’s a lot of meat and potatos that will never make it onto our families plates. I hope you’ll all be concerned you’re getting your money’s worth.
Condider that ast year Choctaw County’s schools ranked somewhere in the middle of Mississippi’s schools. Mississippi’s schools rank #48 of America’s schools. America’s schools rank pretty low down the ladder of the industrial nations of the world’s schools. Looking at those facts, we have to believe we can do a lot better by our kids.
The first step is to get all of us, the parents and grandparents of our kids to care enough about our schools to cast informed votes in the superintendent’s election. Find out what each candidate says he or she will do as superintendent. If a candidate has no specific ideas to improve our schools, there’s very little chance he will improve them. If a candidate is running on the great job he did as an administrator in our schools, why aren’t our schools in better shape than they are now?
Putting up the most yard signs and handing out the most cards are not part of the superintendent of school’s job description. Being able to identify problems in our schools and fix them is. Saying, “I love our kids, the children are the future, and our kids deserve the best,” is not enough. Every candidate feels this way, but those positive feelings aren’t enough to fix our schools. Every voter owes it to the children of Choctaw County to elect the superintendent who has the courage to identify the problems in our schools and the knowledge to fix them.
Please take the time to find out what the candidates’ ideas are for fixing our schools. You may find out your favorite hasn’t got any idea. You can find out very specifically what Bob Mamrak plans to do at http://bobmamrak.blogspot .com. If you prefer, call him at 285-3633 and he’ll explain his ideas over the phone or send them to you in writing. We’re convinced that if you truly want a superintendent who0 can improve our schools you’ll vote for Bob Mamrak.
Paid for by the committee to elect Bob Mamrak.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Summing Up a Bit

Note: This week was my turn to be profiled in a free candicacy announcement in the Plaindealer. Since it was my first chance to do this in that publication, it seemed wise to sum up the campaign so far. The article that ran in the Plaindealer on July 24th appears below.

Bob Mamrak has announced his candidacy for the office of Superintendent of Schools. He will be running in the Republican primary on August 7th. Mamrak has been an educator in the Choctaw County school system for 20 years. He is also in his 20th year pastoring New Zion Baptist Church. He calls those 20 years one of his most pleasing accomplishments since the longest any one man ever served the 165 year-old church was seven years. Mamrak has been married to his wife Anna for 36 years. They have two grown children and one grandchild.

Mamrak’s academic qualifications are impressive. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in public relations. He has a master’s degree in educational leadership. He has finished the coursework for a doctorate in educational leadership and is completing his PhD dissertation on Mississippi school reform. Mamrak is a nationally certified English teacher, and is certified by the state of Mississippi in English, art, journalism, and administration. He has successfully competed for national grants that he used to study the school systems in both Japan and Germany.

Mamrak has said that his intent from the start has been to run a campaign that focused on the issues facing our schools. He feels that A serious discussion of the issues cannot take place in small advertisements, on yard signs, or on business cards. Therefore, he helped organize a public panel discussion where all the candidates for superintendent had the opportunity to explain their positions and answer the public’s questions. All but one candidate attended. In addition, Mamrak has posted all of his positions and proposals on the Internet (http://bobmamrak.blogspot.com) so voters can evaluate them carefully and thoughtfully.

Mamrak feels there are many problems facing our schools. “There’s a bunch of them,” he said, “but most stem from one over-riding problem: the public has lost control of our public schools. For too long our schools have been run like a private business. We say we want parental involvement when in reality we only want parental approval. We say we want to hire the best certified educators available when in reality we don’t recruit beyond our friends and families. We allow public educators, paid with our hard earned tax dollars, to make decisions behind closed doors and without our input: decisions that will determine our children’s futures. Maybe it’s acceptable to run a privately owned candy store this way, but not schools established to serve the public. It’s got to stop. It is time to take back our schools.”

Mamrak has listed eight changes he would make to begin the work of fixing our schools: 1. Begin aggressive and wide recruitment for certified personnel and then involve parents and teachers in the hiring process in order to put a stop to administrators hiring less qualified “insiders.” 2. Work with each school’s PTO to make them organizations that help parents help their kids succeed, rather than the fund-raising groups they have become. 3. Work with principals and teachers to improve test scores by instituting proven teaching methods like problem-based learning, curriculum integration, and other student-centered techniques. 4. Make the decision making process in the school system transparent, so that taxpayers can hold administrators responsible for the decisions that effect their children’s futures. 5. Utilize the expertise and experience of classroom teachers by empowering them to be involved in policy and program decisions. 6. Ensure the safety of our students by securing the school buildings on every campus. 7. Get directly involved in the evaluation of teachers and administrators in order to acknowledge excellence and formulate plans to help those who are ineffective improve. 8. Hire an unemployed Choctaw Countian at minimum wage to cut grass on our campuses so that administrators making over $50,000 a year can get off riding lawnmowers and get back to running our schools.

Joking about not running on good looks or personality Mamrak said, “If that were the case, I’d be lucky to get my wife and myself to vote for me. I’m hoping there are enough people in Choctaw County who care enough about our schools to vote for someone who recognizes our problems and knows how to fix them.”

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Improving Classroom Instruction

Last week’s article responded to feedback I’ve gotten from parents concerned about the high-stakes testing required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Generally speaking, I’m in favor of the intent of the tests: holding schools accountable for the quality of education they provide. As you can probably tell, however, I’m no fan of NCLB.

Research has already revealed several unintended negative results of high-stakes testing. Most obvious is that schools are focusing most of their efforts on improving test scores, or as teachers like to say, “teaching the test.” This causes a narrowing of curriculum. Schools tend to stop teaching the whole child. Subjects that are not tested are neglected. This fosters a two-class society. Children from more affluent families are exposed to the arts and other aesthetic aspects of American culture at home, but the children of less affluent parents, children who used to discover these things at school, are indeed “left behind.”

Perhaps the most distressing unintended result of NCLB is what researchers call “educational triage.” Until hurricane Katrina I’d never even heard the word triage. I learned it’s a medical term that doctors use in emergency rooms, on battlefields, etc. to see which patient should be given priority. Basically, doctors separate patients into three groups: those that are not in too bad shape and don’t need priority treatment, those that can be saved if given top priority, and those who are so far gone that treatment wouldn’t save them anyway.

Because of NCLB high-stakes testing our schools are beginning to triage students. Teachers are told to classify students into three groups: those whose grades are high enough that they don’t need any help in passing the tests, those whose grades are on the borderline and will likely pass the test if they are given top priority, and those whose grades are so bad that they have little chance of passing the test no matter what a teacher does. The logic is that by concentrating on the middle group, schools can get a higher percentage of students passing the test and improve the school’s state performance level rating. Educational triage may improve a school’s rating, but it strikes me at best as contrary to the purpose of public schools. At worst it is un-American and bordering on immoral. Our best students are not challenged to excel and our most needy students are “left behind.” Our goal should not be to raise test scores. Our goal should be to provide the best possible education we can to all of our children regardless of their God-given ability.

Another unintended result of NCLB high-stakes testing is the detrimental effect it has had on teacher morale. Good, resourceful, creative teachers resent being told to abandon what they know are good instructional techniques in order to “teach the test.” Researchers have found that more teachers are leaving the profession, fewer top college students are entering the profession, and many who are persevering in classrooms report higher levels of job dissatisfaction.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Schools around the world, across America, and right here in Mississippi are experiencing high levels of student achievement (evidenced by high test scores) without “teaching the test.” A few years ago I was lucky enough to win a Fullbright Fellowship to travel to Japan and study their school system first hand. Japanese schools are widely regarded among the world’s best. Their test scores go through the roof. Like most people, I suspected they were obsessed with test scores and made their students drill, drill, DRILL! I was wrong. Their philosophy is to teach the whole child. They concentrate on curriculum integration, problem-based learning, classroom projects, and other student-centered learning strategies.
These strategies work because they make learning relevant to students’ lives and (more importantly from the kids’ perspective) fun. Let me give some specific examples.

The year that I returned from Japan I used what I had learned to design a school-wide, curriculum-integrated project: a Medieval Fair. In August I presented the plan to my principal and got permission to hold the fair nine months later in May. I should note that I got my administrator’s permission, not support. There were no school funds allocated to buy materials, there was no directive to other teachers to participate, there was no anything except a verbal, “Sure, do whatever you want.” In fact, when the event which was scheduled nine months in advance took place, the principal failed to attend citing another commitment.

Over the next eight months I planned and worked. I talked up the project to other teachers and parents. I spent every penny of my own classroom money to buy resources other teachers could use. I got the PTO to kick in $100 for supplies. In the end about half the staff came onboard. The event was held on the playground. Mrs. Wright had math students build a display on Medieval mathematicians and their accomplishments. Mrs. Coleman had Weir and Ackerman students use puppets to stage Medieval morality plays. Mrs. Weeks had her music classes perform Medieval songs. There were re-enactments of the King Arthur legends, architectural displays of Gothic cathedrals, a display of Medieval illuminated manuscripts, performing court jesters, innumerable booths featuring medieval foods and more. One parent gave lessons in calligraphy. The fair was a tremendous educational success. In addition to local newspaper coverage we were featured on the Columbus television station’s evening news.

Elaborate events like this are not the only way to go. Problem-based learning is a technique that is very effective. As always the teacher begins by checking the state framework for the standards and objectives to be taught in that particular area of study. The teacher then thinks of a problem or project whose completion will require learning those standards and objectives. Student achievement is not measured solely with a typical multiple choice and true/false test at the end of a unit. Tests of this type tend to find out more of what a child didn’t learn than what he did learn. Instead, the project becomes the evaluation, providing a learning experience that takes place throughout the unit.

For example, in an English class we studied Shakespeare for nine weeks. I split the class up into five groups and had each pretend to be an entertainment promotions company. They were told that a touring company was coming to Choctaw County to put on a play. Each group had to pick a Shakespeare play and devise a plan for staging the play at a profit. They had to write and produce newspaper, television, and radio ads. They had to find suitable locations and dates. They had to design and produce playbills. They had to set ticket prices, estimate attendance, and predict profit margins. In short, they had to do real life activities in an educational setting. During this one unit we covered nearly every standard and objective in my state framework.

Good, experienced teachers (and new or struggling teachers with good instructional leaders helping them) can come up with problem-based instruction for almost any unit of study. When my kids studied the King Arthur legend, groups acted as advertising agencies hired to create a multi-leveled campaign to recruit knights for the Round Table. When we studied the Diary of Anne Frank student groups had to come up with a complete plan to successfully hide and sustain a family like the Frank’s somewhere in Choctaw County. At the end of one year of English literature I had student groups act as travel agencies that put together a “Literary Tour of England” that included sites relevant to all the authors we studied. They created maps showing the logic of their itinerary. They submitted detailed budgets covering food, lodging, transportation, and admission fees. Moreover, they used advanced thinking skills while researching and completing a complicated, relevant, real-life project.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m the only local teacher who uses these effective instructional strategies. For years Carol Wright, one of the finest teachers I’ve known, had her math classes build scale models of their bedrooms. At Ackerman Elementary students have used higher-level thinking skills to solve a mystery after investigating a “crime scene” that teachers set up. Over the years I have seen many good teachers go the extra mile to design lessons that are effective, student-centered, and fun.

My point is that this type of teaching should be the rule rather than the exception. Unfortunately, as school districts feel increasing pressure to improve test scores these strategies are being neglected in favor of worksheets and drills, drills, drills. No wonder kids don’t like school.

I am currently finishing my doctorate in Educational Leadership with a dissertation studying the Pierce Street School in Tupelo, Mississippi. The Pierce Street School focuses on curriculum integration, problem-based learning, and other student-centered classroom instruction. Pierce Street’s state performance level rating has been a level five every year since Mississippi adopted the rating system. I believe our kids are every bit as smart as Tupelo’s kids. If we will teach them using the best available instructional strategies their test scores will be as high as any in Mississippi.

If you’re supporting other candidates ask them what they will do to improve test scores. If they intend to keep on doing what we’re doing now, it’s time to look for another candidate.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

High-Stakes Testing

In last week’s article I asked for feedback and input on the educational issues that have, and as of yet have not, been addressed during this campaign. I appreciate all the feedback I’ve gotten and I continue to encourage you to let me know what other educational issues you are concerned about. Call, write, or email me for straight answers (my number and address are in the previous article). I firmly believe that the parents and taxpayers of Choctaw County need to know where each candidate stands. Simply saying, “ I love kids,” “we must put students first,” and “the children are our future” is not enough. We need to elect a superintendent that has the courage to identify problems in our schools and has the expertise to fix them.

The feedback I’ve gotten so far makes it clear that people are concerned about the high-stakes testing our kids are subjected to as part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation that comes out of Washington. As I said in a previous article, the premise behind the testing is reasonable: since the federal government provides local school districts with federal tax dollars, the federal government tries to hold local schools accountable. Simply put, the feds require us to test our kids to prove we’re using all that money to provide the public with effective schools.

The problem is that our concern with test scores has come to define how we do school. We have become so obsessed with improving test scores that most of what we do revolves around that end. In effect, the test that was intended to measure how we are doing has become what we are doing. That’s crazy! Testing cannot improve student achievement anymore than weighing a hog more frequently will fatten him up better.

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is America’s best means for evaluating education across the nation. The NAEP tests students from all over the country so we can get a national report card. Their data for 2002-2005 showed that reading scores for fourth graders were unchanged and actually went down markedly for eighth graders despite all these tests. Worse yet, the testing required by the NCLB legislation has led states to construct charades of window dressing to make unsuccessful schools look successful. The legislation allows states to set their own standard for success. A Rand Corporation study showed that there is a huge gap between state test scores and NAEP scores. In other words, states are making their tests easier so the scores will make it look like their schools are doing better than they really are.

For instance, the Rand study showed that our 50 states reported that fourth graders required to take subject area tests passed at a rate of 21% in the lowest state and 90% in the highest state. When you look at the NAEP’s unbiased national scores, however, the lowest state’s fourth graders passed at a 10% rate and the highest state’s kids passed at a 43% rate. The gap between state reported scores and NAEP scores was highest in Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi. Unfortunately, Mississippi’s gap was the largest at about 68%.

No Child Left Behind is here and we have to deal with it, but our strategy of making improved test scores the highest priority is misguided at best. That strategy misses the point. The goal is not to improve test scores. The goal is to improve education. When that occurs, test scores will go up. Instructional techniques that accompany high-stakes, one size fits all testing programs undermine rather than improve the quality of education.

So what do we do? We improve instruction. We use instructional strategies that have been proven to work elsewhere: instructional strategies that motivate children and make their studies relevant. We do what successful schools are already doing. We concentrate on curriculum integration, problem-based learning, classroom projects, and other student-centered learning strategies.

In next week’s article I will explain how to do that and give specific examples of these proven instructional strategies. Fixing our schools is not easy. It takes more than saying, “ I love kids,” “we must put students first,” and “the children are our future.” Fixing our schools requires taking specific action to improve instruction. If you’re supporting other candidates ask them exactly how they intend to fix our schools. If they can’t give you specific, workable answers, find another candidate.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Fourth of July Lull

Happy Fourth of July! You may have noticed that I didn’t run any political advertisements in this week’s papers. My intention was to take this week off to recover from a whirlwind month. My wife Anna and I spent two weeks in London visiting more historic sites than we could count. We returned to teach Vacation Bible School during the third week, and we had a great summer revival at New Zion in week four. Today Anna and I are celebrating our 36th wedding anniversary and babysitting our grand daughter, and tomorrow the rest of the clan is coming over for a July 4th cookout.

I thought all that was excuse enough not to post anything this week, but then I got a phone call from a supporter who was disappointed that I hadn’t written a new article. Well, I wouldn’t want to let anyone down so here I am at the keyboard.

The Fourth of July is traditionally when many Choctaw Countians decide whom they will vote for in August. At the family cookout, over ribs and burgers, talk just naturally turns to the election around the corner. A lot of people vote for friends, family, or whoever put up the most signs and shook the most hands. In the superintendent election, I hope you won’t do that. The superintendent of schools could be the most important position being voted on. The results will have a very direct bearing on our children’s futures.

That’s why I have tried to make this election about the educational issues facing our schools. That’s why week after week I have written an article that addresses one of those issues that gives specific, detailed solutions to problems that must be solved. No other candidate has done that; not now or in the previous five superintendent elections I’ve seen in the 20 years I’ve served the Choctaw County School System. (To give credit where credit is due, however, Donna Nail has addressed issues, albeit with less specific solutions.)

Now I need you to do something. I need feedback. I need to know if you think I am on the right track. I need to know what other educational concerns you have so I can address them this month. To that end I’m asking you to contact me by phone, mail, or email. Write to me at 2385 Weir-Salem Road, Weir, MS 39772. Call me at (662) 285-3633. Email me at churchart@excite.com. I appreciate the calls and emails I’ve received so far, but I need to hear from more citizens who truly care about our schools.

In closing, let me say how much I appreciate the many kind and supportive comments I’ve received during my campaign. One thing I’ve heard over and over is that you wish more people could read my articles, people who don’t have the internet or, like me, are stuck with a dial-up connection that makes it difficult to download what I’ve written. Therefore, I encourage you to talk about these things to people you meet. Better yet, print them out and hand them a copy. Also, if you contact me I’ll be happy to mail anyone a copy of every one of the articles.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Parental Involvement

It is very common to hear educators complain about the lack of parental involvement in our schools. They complain because they know that when parents are involved with their childrens' schools their childrens' grades improve. In the 20 years I have served Choctaw County’s schools I’ve heard a lot of talk about increasing parental involvement. Unfortunately, a lot of talk does not produce results. We must take concrete steps to increase parental involvement.

I know that what I am going to say next will raise some people’s blood pressure. So be it. The truth will set you free, but first it may make you mad. The truth is this: while we say we want parental involvement in our schools, what we actually try to produce is parental support and approval for what we have already decided to do. These are not the same things.

My first college degree was in communications with a minor in public relations. Anyone who knows the first thing about public relations will tell you that the way to get people involved in an enterprise is to empower them. In other words, allow people to have input before decisions are made rather than try to get them to support your decision after the fact.

Fortunately, we already have a vehicle to facilitate parental involvement: the PTO. Unfortunately, most of our parents are not members of the PTO. This will not change as long as our PTOs function only as support groups rather than groups whose input is sought and valued. This will not change as long as PTO meetings revolve around what parents can do for our schools and ignore what our schools can do for parents. Typically, PTO meetings devolve into discussions as to how parents can raise money for the schools. While there is nothing wrong with this in and of itself, this is not enough. Asking parents to raise money time and time again without ever offering them anything in return inevitably discourages PTO involvement. Our PTOs need to offer programs that will equip parents with tools they can use to help their children do better in school.

In the past, there have been times that we have actually thwarted parents who want increased involvement in our schools. For example, a caring and dedicated PTO member at one school volunteered to write a periodic newsletter to keep parents informed about the school and its programs. This is a simple, cost effective way that nearly all good schools use to increase parental involvement. Apparently, administrators felt the newsletter told too much about the school and censored it so heavily that the parent was discouraged from continuing. In a separate instance, administrators discouraged “Homeroom Parents” from meeting outside of the school to explore ways they could help their childrens' teachers be more effective. Apparently, administrators felt they would have too little control over meetings held off school property.

This last incident is indicative of the over-riding problem with our schools. Many administrators believe they must control every aspect of our childrens' educations. It’s time we recognized that America is a democracy, not a monarchy. No public educator should exercise the divine right of kings to make decisions that affect our children’s lives without our input. It is time for the public to take back our public schools. If I am elected Superintendent I will make parental involvement and parental input a priority. I will never discourage parents who take the initiative in improving our schools. If you are supporting other candidates, ask them if they’ll pledge to do the same. If they won’t, find another candidate.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Ineffective Administrators & Teachers

During the May 17th public meeting with four of the five candidates for superintendent, the following question was asked: “How will you handle ineffective administrators or teachers who have lost the respect of students, parents, and the community?” In the two minutes allotted for the answer that night each candidate present did his or her best to deal with the question. This is, however, a very important question and I’d like to answer it more fully here.

The old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” applies. I believe that the vast majority of educators enter the field wanting and expecting to do a great job. Unfortunately, not all of them are successful. There are many reasons this is so.

First of all, make no mistake about it; teaching and supervising teachers is a difficult job. Most of us will admit to being pretty sorry for the first year or two. Therefore, it is essential that individual improvement plans be the rule rather than the exception.

Currently, most teacher and administrator evaluations are an end unto themselves. What I mean by that is once an individual has been evaluated a copy of the evaluation is put into that person’s file and that’s usually the end of it. In the best school districts that is the beginning rather than the end. The evaluation is used as more than a measure of performance; it is used as a tool to improve performance.

To insure this, the evaluator sits down with the person that was evaluated a few days after the fact and together they weigh the individual’s strong and weak points and devise a plan to enhance the strengths and correct the weaknesses. The plan needs to be specific with attainable goals for improvement. The plan should include resources the individual can use to achieve the goals. Then, when the individual is evaluated the next time, the evaluator pays special attention to the areas the person has been working on. This process should be repeated year after year.

It should be noted that this evaluation and follow-up process should not be used only with new teachers and administrators. No matter how long someone has been in education, there is always room for improvement. It is easy for seasoned public school veterans to get complacent and fall behind in the latest best classroom practices and innovations. If you’ve ever used the phrase “kids these days” you should realize that instructional practices that worked when we were kids won’t necessarily work today. Proper evaluation and follow-up of all certified personnel is the best way to keep us all up to date and on our toes.

That said, what do you do when teachers and administrators are doing a poor job and have lost the respect necessary to be effective? You begin by finding out what went wrong in the first place. You do this by talking to people (on both sides of the issue) who have first hand knowledge of the situation. You spend time at the particular school and observe the situation for yourself. You study all available written records and documentation pertinent to the situation. In short, you make certain you understand the problem.

The next step is coming up with a plan to solve the problem. It would be foolish to give specific solutions here since the question didn’t cite a specific problem. It is, however, imperative to keep the best interests of the students in mind. Ideally, a plan of action can be devised that can turn the situation around. In a case where the students’ best interests are in immediate jeopardy, reassigning the teacher or administrator to a different position may be necessary. In my view, termination would be a last resort. When the ineffective teacher or administrator’s livelihood and the well-being of his or her family is at stake, that teacher or administrator should be given every opportunity to correct the problem.

In closing, I feel it’s important to go back to where I started my campaign. We can prevent ineffective teaching and administration by hiring the most qualified people available. In the case of teachers, recruitment is the key. In the case of administrators, recruitment and common sense are the key. I’m all for promoting our own teachers to administrative positions when qualified teachers are available. In doing so, however, teaching experience and educational credentials must be the measuring stick. Until we begin promoting our most experienced, most highly qualified teachers to administrative positions, we can’t expect much improvement in our schools.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Monday, June 11, 2007

School Safety

When four of the five candidates for superintendent met with the public to discuss the issues on May 17th, the following question was asked: “In light of the Virginia Tech tragedy, what are your plans for making each campus safer? I’d like to use this space to expand on the two-minute answer I was allowed that night.

Several years ago, as a teacher at Weir Attendance Center, I was very alarmed one morning when I heard about the latest school shooting. I’m not sure now which shooting it was. There have been so many of them. I think it was either the murders in Pearl, MS or Columbine, CO. In church that Sunday we prayed for the victims and the hurting communities involved. I also mentioned that we, just because we lived in a quiet and beautiful country community, should not be unconcerned about our own schools’ safety.

Apparently, other parents felt the same. Some of them organized a meeting a few nights later in the school cafeteria. I’m not sure how much they accomplished, but everyone got to air their concerns and seemed to have felt better for having done so. The principal, who has long since gone, was very upset with me. He seemed to think that I had caused the meeting to take place. He was giving me more credit than I deserved. Ironically, he was annoyed with what the school’s parents and I thought was a good thing. Had I been principal I would have called the meeting myself.

A few years later I heard about another school shooting. This one was in Florida, I believe. A student murdered his favorite teacher, a male, 10th grade English teacher. This upset me to no end. While I may have my faults (my wife would be happy to provide a list), I can honestly say that I have gotten along extremely well with the vast majority of my students. Some still visit me, even as adults. On top of that, I am male, and was the only 10th grade English teacher at Weir! That latest shooting was getting a little too close to home for my comfort.

I say all this to let you know that school security has been a major concern of mine for over a decade. Our schools in Choctaw County are especially vulnerable due to the physical make-up of our campuses. As our campuses have grown over the years we have had to add buildings, and more buildings mean more doors.

As superintendent, the safety of our children would be a top priority to me. Realistically, there’s just so much we can do with the money available. Therefore, I would pursue whatever grant money is available to increase security. Beyond that, there are some things we can do right now that would cost very little.

First of all, we should do what other districts all over the state are doing. Keep all doors on every campus locked and install an intercom at the main entrance. In between classes, when students must pass from building to building, a teacher who would normally be posted in the hall by his or her classroom door, should be posted at the building entrances to allow students access. While this would be inconvenient, the safety of our kids should take precedence over convenience.

I’d also do the following: I’d also make sure that every classroom has a working two-way intercom. I’d see to it that a least one person in the district became an expert in the calibration and use of the sophisticated metal detectors that we already have in some of our schools, and require that they be used. I’d see to it that all staff are informed about and trained in procedures already in place for crisis management, and review and fine-tune those procedures periodically.

In addition to these and any other steps we can come up with, I’d make it my policy to be open and honest with parents on safety issues. It’s time we stop sweeping incidents under the rug and pretend they never happened. When we do that, we cause rumors to start flying around the community. Instead of making parents feel more secure, which I assume is the intent of covering up an incident, we actually make parents feel less secure because the rumors are always much worse than what really happened.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

School Uniforms

One of the questions asked at the May 17th candidate forum was, “Do you think uniforms should be worn? Why or why not?” We were given only two minutes to answer on Thursday, and we only had room for three sentences in the follow-up article that the Plaindealer was good enough to print the next week. I promised I would answer the question more fully on this blog.

Personally, I don’t think our students should be made to wear uniforms. If I recall correctly, only one candidate, Terry Stacy, strongly favored school uniforms. He said that in the past he had actually asked the school board to require our students to wear uniforms. He felt that uniforms would make it easier for teachers to identify intruders, and he inferred that it would eliminate the problem of students being beaten up for their Nike footwear. My views differ significantly.

First of all, unless we also required standardized shoes, I think many students would continue to wear Nikes. Moreover, I’m not aware of any Choctaw County student ever being beaten up in order to have his shoes stolen off his feet. I know such things happen in Los Angeles and New York City, but most of us choose to live in Choctaw County because that type of thing doesn’t happen around here. If ever it does, swift and severe disciplinary action will put a stop to it.

In regard to identifying intruders, I guess uniforms would help spot someone who was improperly on campus with innocent motives. An intruder who was on campus and planned to do harm to our students, however, could surely obtain a uniform from the same source that our own children got theirs. Evil doers have a long history of obtaining police uniforms, military uniforms, pilot uniforms, etc. in order to commit their crimes. I just can’t believe that it would be harder to get a Choctaw County school uniform than to get a policeman’s uniform.

During the candidate forum I pointed out that requiring uniforms would add extra expense to family budgets already strained by rising gas prices. Mr. Stacy said that wouldn’t be the case because parents had to buy clothes for their children to wear to school anyway. That only makes sense if you think our kids are going to wear their school uniforms around the house, hanging out with their friends, and to church on Sunday. Parents are still going to have to buy the clothes kids like to wear at these times in addition to school uniforms. Also, how many teenage girls do you know who are willing to wear the same blouse two days in a row without washing it? Moms are going to be washing clothes every night or else they’ll have to buy several uniforms per child.

Perhaps the biggest reason I wouldn’t require school uniforms is because I take Jesus’ admonition to do unto others as you would have them do unto you very seriously. I would have hated wearing a uniform when I was in school. Clothes and image are important to our kids, and I don’t think we should take that aspect of their childhood away from them just to make our jobs a little easier. I feel that an effective, enforced dress code can take care of any problems that students’ clothing might cause.

That said, the major theme of my campaign is to give the public more say in how our public schools are run. Therefore, if the majority of parents wanted uniforms, I would not oppose them. But if I got to cast my one vote on this issue I’d say, “No, let the kids be kids.”

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Saturday, May 26, 2007

In Praise of Football

I have been gratified to hear all the positive response my campaign platform has generated in the county. I am especially pleased that the other candidates, for the most part, are supporting positions that I have been advocating for several years. While most of the buzz has been positive, I’m also aware that there are some negative comments out there as well. I’d like to address the one I hear most often.

I’ve heard that some people have said that I hate sports and as superintendent I’d try to do away with athletic programs. This is so incredibly untrue that I was tempted to ignore it, but I decided it might be better to set the record straight.

I love sports, especially football. In high school I was on the football, baseball, and track teams. When I was cut from the basketball team I became the scorekeeper. In my twelve years as a public school student, our high school had one winning season. My senior year we went 5 and 4, and we were ecstatic! We played some tough teams. Our rival across the river had a quarterback by the name of Joe Theisman. They had one basic play: hike the ball to Joe and let him go. It didn’t get much better when Joe went to Notre Dame. He was replaced by Drew Pearson.

I guess that’s why I fell in love with Weir football when I came to the school 20 years ago. I’d never been associated with such a winning tradition. I didn’t miss a game for over a decade. Not wanting to miss a thing, I walked up and down the sidelines following the ball rather than sit in the stands. For a few years I did the play by play from the press booth.

Later, when I began to teach half a day in Weir and half a day in Ackerman, I became an Indian fan too. I know that some Choctaw Countians feel that’s like rooting for Ole Miss and State too, but I couldn’t help myself. The year the Lions and Indians both went to state was as good as it gets. During the time that Dicenzo Miller, Conner Stevens, and the McKinley brothers played at State, I covered the games for the Plaindealer.

I guess the nonsense of me being against football began in the 2001-2002 school year when I was chairman of the Weir school improvement committee. The state of Mississippi made us come up with a school improvement plan because of extremely low standardized test scores. I and five or six of the best teachers in the school came up with a plan that had to be, and was, approved by the school board and accepted by the state department of education.

Among other things, the plan contended that we needed to stop using classroom instruction time for athletics. I don’t know how it is now, but in the past students were taken out of class to pick up garbage under the football bleachers. Some students in a two-period class were let out halfway through the class to lift weights in the fieldhouse. Some students were actually on the practice field during their study hall. As I said, I loved Weir football, but any competent educator knows that these things are plain wrong.

When the plan was released the feces hit the fan! Since there wasn’t anything in the plan that its opponents could attack, they attacked me. It was said that I wanted to do away with football. It was also said that I was a bad father, a bad pastor, and a bad person in general. I’m surprised I wasn’t accused of being Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man. Believe it or not, I actually received one physical threat.

Of course, the accusations were completely false. I didn’t then, nor would I as superintendent, ever want to do away with athletics. Like most parents in Choctaw County, I believe athletic programs are essential to the success of our schools. My position is simple, straightforward, and honest. While I believe a good athletic program is vital, sports should never be a higher priority than academics.

It is unfortunate that some of those who oppose my candidacy are telling folks that I hate sports and will try to do away with athletics if I’m elected. To their credit, they’ve not yet said I’m a terrible person. I expect that will come later this summer. So be it. I will never back down or apologize for telling the truth, and the truth is that public schools must always put academics ahead of athletics.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Monday, May 21, 2007

Candidate Debate

If you weren’t at the courthouse last Thursday night you missed an historic event. For the first time in the history of the Choctaw County School District, or at least for the first time in the 20 years that I’ve served the district, candidates for superintendent came together to discuss the issues with the public. Although it wasn’t meant to be a debate, when it was over folks kept asking me who I thought won. That was the easiest question of the night. The public won.

The public won because for once they know the candidates’ views on school issues. They were also able to see how well the candidates can think on their feet. Just as importantly, they were able to see how well each candidate can communicate his or her ideas.

The biggest surprise of the night, for me at least, was that all the candidates present had apparently been studying my blog. They all said that they are in favor of recruiting widely for teachers and administrators, that they are for involving teachers and parents in hiring teachers and administrators, and that they are for empowering teachers and parents by giving them input in policy and program decisions. That surprised me because when I formally presented these ideas to our school board on February 11, 2002 I got very little support and a great deal of criticism.

In all fairness I should say that my opponent in the Republican primary, Glen Beard, did not jump on that bandwagon. Of course, he didn’t come to the meeting, but if he had I’m sure he would not have endorsed these positions. His record for hiring certified personnel at Weir Attendance Center would seem to rule that out.

My biggest disappointment of the evening was that Glen Beard chose not to show up and tell the public his positions and what he would do if he were the superintendent of schools. I’d like the public to know where he and I differ on the issues because I feel certain that we differ significantly. In the August primary I won’t be running against Donna Nail, Terry Stacy, or Freddie King. I’ll have to beat Glen Beard first. If you want to help me do that please remember to ask for a Republican ballot in the August primary election. In November, of course, you can vote for a combination of Republicans and Democrats if you chose to.

In closing I’d like to thank Kenny Clark, Charles Thomas, Laura Sandiford, Tricia Robinette, Lee James, and Robin Fulce for volunteering their time to make the evening’s discussion possible. There was so much happening Thursday night that I’m sure I’m leaving others out who helped as well, and I’m sorry for the omission. I’d also like to thank all the Choctaw Countians who came out to show their interest and express their concerns for our schools. I’d love to see this event repeated before the election. I’d be happy to go anywhere at anytime and give the public my views on educational issues.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

No Child or Dentist Left Behind

No Child Left Behind

Perhaps the most talked about and controversial topic in public education today is the No Child Left Behind legislation. For most people, the biggest bone of contention in this law is the provision requiring high-stakes testing for students. The premise behind the testing is reasonable: since the federal government provides local school districts with federal tax dollars, the federal government tries to hold local schools accountable. Simply put, the feds require us to test our kids to prove we’re using all that money to provide the public with effective schools. Nearly every public educator I know is frustrated with the No Child Left Behind Act. So am I. This frustration is well illustrated by the following story written by John S. Taylor, a school superintendent.


No Dentist Left Behind
My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups. He uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've got all my teeth. When I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about the new state program. I knew he'd think it was great.

"Did you hear about the new state program to measure effectiveness of dentists with their young patients?" I said.

"No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do that?"

"It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities each patient has at age 10, 14, and 18 and average that to determine a dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as excellent, good, average, below average, and unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the best dentists. The plan will also encourage the less effective dentists to get better," I said. "Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their licenses to practice."

"That's terrible," he said.

"What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we should try to improve children's dental health in this state?"

"Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is practicing good dentistry."

"Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."

"Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don't all work with the same clientele, and that much depends on things we can't control? For example, I work in a rural area with a high percentage of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper middle-class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring their children to see me until there is some kind of problem, and I don't get to do much preventive work. Also, many of the parents I serve let their kids eat way too much candy from an early age, unlike more educated parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay. To top it all off, so many of my clients have well water which is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use of fluoride can make?"

"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. "I can't believe that you, my dentist, would be so defensive. After all, you do a great job, and you needn't fear a little accountability."

"I am not being defensive!" he said. "My best patients are as good as anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work where I am needed most."

"Don't' get touchy," I said.

"Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red, and from the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his teeth. "Try furious! In a system like this, I will end up being rated average, below average, or worse. The few educated patients I have who see these ratings may believe this so-called rating is an actual measure of my ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be left with only the most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse. On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below average?"

"I think you are overreacting," I said. “Complaining, excuse-making and stonewalling won't improve dental health.”

"Spare me," he said, "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won't buy it," he said hopefully.

The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you measure good dentistry?"

"Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes."

"That's too complicated, expensive and time- consuming," I said. "Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an absolute measure."

"That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think. This can't be happening," he said despairingly.

"Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you some."

"How?" he asked.

"If you receive a poor rating, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly.

"You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy clientele to show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems with which I have probably had much more experience? BIG HELP!"

"There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all."

"You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and teachers on an average score made on a test of children's progress with no regard to influences outside the school, the home, the community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools." I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened. "I'm going to write my representatives and senators," he said. "I'll use the school analogy. Surely they will see the point." He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger that I, a teacher, see in the mirror so often lately.
THE STORY ENDS HERE, BUT PLEASE READ ON

Unfortunately, No Child Left Behind is here and we have to deal with it. So far, our strategy seems to be to “teach the test.” A few years ago I actually heard a school board member say that all we needed to do was get a copy of the state tests and study them. Our strategy misses the point. The goal is not to improve test scores. The goal is to improve education. A few years ago I was lucky enough to win a Fullbright Fellowship to travel to Japan and study their school system first hand. Japanese schools are widely regarded among the world’s best. Their test scores go through the roof. Like most people, I suspected they were obsessed with test scores and made their students drill, drill, DRILL! I was wrong. Their philosophy is to teach the whole child. They concentrate on curriculum integration, problem-based learning, classroom projects, and other student-centered learning strategies.

I agree with the dentist in our story: When asked how he would measure good dentistry he said, "Come watch me work. Observe my processes." Yes, it is complicated and time consuming. But that’s how you improve education. You observe classroom teachers and help them get better. The school principals should be the best teachers in their schools. They should be willing to take the time, and have the ability, to show teachers how to improve classroom instruction. They should see to it that curriculum integration, problem-based learning, classroom projects, and other student-centered learning strategies are the rule rather than the exception.

As Superintendent of Schools I pledge to get out of the office and into the schools. I will work with principals to improve classroom instruction. If you’re considering other candidates for superintendent, ask them to tell you about the various instructional strategies they are familiar with. Ask them if they’ll work with principals to ensure that best practices are used in our classrooms. If they’re not, find another candidate.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Hiring the Best Certified Teachers and Administrators

Hiring the Best Certified Teachers and Administrators

In an earlier statement of my positions I stressed the importance of recruiting widely and aggressively to find the best possible candidates to fill openings for certified teaching and administrative positions. It really shouldn't be hard to figure out that the surest way to improve our schools is to hire the best people available. Simply recruiting more applicants, however, will not accomplish this. It is essential that we hire the best applicants from among those we have recruited. To this end, top performing school districts in Mississippi and throughout the nation make stakeholders part of the hiring process.

Districts accomplish this by having committees made up of teachers, administrators, parents (often PTO members), and sometimes school board members evaluate applicants for certified positions. Typically, these committees narrow down the applicant pool to a few of the best candidates and then recommend these few to whoever has the authority to make the final decision. Whoever makes that decision must pick only from among those recommended by the committee.

Obviously this process can take many forms. Let me share two of the most common models with you. In the case of a teacher hire, it is common to have three teachers, an administrator, and a parent on the evaluating committee. The teachers should be from the same subject area as the teacher being hired. The committee will go over all the applications and select about five of them to come in for interviews. Next, the committee conducts interviews to narrow the field down to the best three choices. Many districts actually have these finalists come in and teach sample lessons for further evaluation. Finally, the best three applicants are referred to whoever does the hiring. Even here, it is best not to leave the final decision to a single individual. It is best if a subject area teacher (the department head if there is one), the principal, and the superintendent make the final selection.

In the case of an administrative hire the process is pretty much the same except that the committee should be varied. The three teachers should come from three different subject areas, and a school board member should always be a member. Another difference is that, in this case, many districts leave the final decision to one person: usually the superintendent. Of course, in both cases (teacher and administrative hires) the school board must approve the final decision.

I have no doubt that this idea will be controversial. I believe most parents and taxpayers, however, will see the wisdom of involving stakeholders in the process of hiring the people who will shape our children’s futures. My guess is that those against it will be those who have up until now been making these hiring decisions without any oversight. History teaches us that oversight is essential in the public sector. Those unwilling to share their decision-making authority are in effect telling us that they know better than us, that our opinions are of little value, and that they don’t really care what we think.

If you’re thinking of voting for other candidates, ask them if they will be willing to share the hiring process with those they work for: you, the taxpayer. If they’re not, look for another candidate. It is time for the public to take back our public schools.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Finding the Best teachers and Administrators

Finding the Best Teachers and Administrators

There are many factors that contribute to an effective school: parental involvement, student/teacher ratios, building facilities, and of course the money needed for supplies and so many other things. Our inability to completely control most of these factors is a constant challenge to public education. Fortunately, the single most important factor in providing a quality education to our children is absolutely under our control: the hiring of certified teachers and administrators.

You would be hard pressed to find a competent school administrator who would not agree that hiring the best teachers and principals available is the single most effective thing we can do to improve our schools. It should be obvious to everyone that the only way to hire the best certified people available is to look for the best certified people available. In the 20 years I have served our school district, this has not been the case. Rather than recruit the best educators available, we tend to select them from friends, family, and acquaintances. It is common for us to fill next year’s openings in the spring even though the pool of certified educators to choose from is larger in the summer. Too often positions are filled before the public even knows they are open.

I have been in contact with top-performing school districts in Mississippi and other states and have found that they attribute much of their success to recruiting widely and aggressively. Simply putting an ad in the county paper(s) is not adequate. There is much more we can do.

Perhaps our best prospect for recruiting the best certified educators is just 22 miles up the road. Mississippi State University turns out a new batch of teachers and administrators year after year. We should be actively involved in trying to convince the best and brightest of them to come to Choctaw County to work with our children. We should maintain regular contact with the MSU College of Education and the university placement service to increase our pool of prospects. Our children deserve no less.

Top performing school districts use many more recruiting techniques. Nearly all of them post every job opening they have with the Mississippi Department of Education so that teachers from around the state are aware of their vacancies. Many districts advertise their openings in our state’s large, regional, daily newspapers as well as their local weekly papers. Also, it is not uncommon to find recruiters from the best districts setting up booths at job fairs throughout Mississippi, especially at every Mississippi university that offers a teacher education program. In addition to these methods, some superintendents told me they actually call top-notch teachers and administrators who are employed and not really looking to change in order to persuade them to consider coming to a new district. When I received National Certification in English, a neighboring county contacted me to see if I’d be interested in working for them. We should be doing the same.

If I am elected Superintendent I pledge to do everything I can to actively recruit the best educators to work with our children. I will never settle for whoever is handy. If you’re leaning toward other candidates, ask them if they too are committed to finding the best available certified educators to work in Choctaw County. If they’re not, find a candidate who is. It is time for the public to take back our public schools.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

Mamrak to Run for Superintendent

By now you may be aware that I am running for Superintendent of the Choctaw County Schools. Unlike some of the other candidates, I am not a life-long Choctaw County resident. I did not arrive here by the circumstance of my birth. It is safe to say that none of the candidates chose to be born here. Some were just lucky. I, however, made a deliberate decision to live here. I’ve traveled throughout America, in Asia, Europe, and Latin America – but Choctaw County is where I chose to raise my family. When my parents got too old to care for themselves, I brought them to Choctaw County as well. I buried my Dad in South Union cemetery in 2005.

At this point it is customary to tell you all about myself. I’m not going to do much of that for two reasons: First, it would probably bore you. Second, I wouldn’t want you to vote for me because of who I am. I want you to vote for me because I understand what is wrong with Choctaw County’s schools and I know how to fix them. Still, for those who have no idea who I am let me say this: I am in my 20th year pastoring New Zion Baptist Church which was founded 165 years ago. Prior to my arrival, the longest any one man ever served our church was seven years. (Statistics show that Southern Baptist pastors serve their churches an average of about two years before moving on.) I’ve been married to the same wonderful woman for 36 years; we have two grown children and one grandchild. Call me if you want to know more, and I’ll tell you my life story.

I will, however, list my academic qualifications, as they are pertinent to the superintendent’s position. I have a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in public relations. I have a master’s degree in educational leadership. I have finished the coursework for a doctorate in educational leadership and should have my PhD before the year ends. I am a nationally certified English teacher, and I am certified by the state of Mississippi in English, art, journalism, and administration. I have successfully competed for government grants that I used to study the school systems in both Japan and Germany.

It is unlikely that I will come to your house and personally ask for your vote during this campaign. I firmly believe that one of our school system’s problems is that we tend to elect the most popular candidate for superintendent rather than the most qualified. That may be OK for high school yearbook Who’s Who elections, but it is a mistake when selecting the person charged with shaping the future of our children. The ability to knock on doors, hand out business cards, and shake hands are not the best qualifications for the superintendent of our schools.

Whoever you vote for in this election, please vote based on the issues. Above all, don’t vote for anyone who tells you that our schools are doing fine, and that there are no serious issues. Over the next few months I will address several different issues. Most of them, however, stem from one over-riding problem: the public has lost control of our public schools. For too long our schools have been run like a private business.

We say we want parental involvement when in reality we only want parental approval. We say we want to hire the best certified educators available when in reality we don’t recruit beyond our friends, families, and aquaintances. We allow public educators, paid with our hard earned tax dollars, to make decisions behind closed doors and without our input: decisions that will determine our children’s futures. Perhaps it is acceptable to run a privately owned candy store this way, but not schools established to serve the public. It has got to stop. It is time to take back our schools.

A serious discussion of the issues cannot take place in small advertisements, on yard signs, and on business cards. Therefore, I suggest that all the candidates appear before the voters in a public panel discussion where they can explain their positions and answer the public’s questions. In addition, I will post all of my positions and proposals on the Internet (http://bobmamrak.blogspot.com/) so voters can evaluate them thoughtfully.
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak

PS: This article was initially posted on March 22, 2007. It was reposted when this blog was created.