Is Michelle Reid Fit for the FCPS Superintendent Post?
I Don't Think So
I am a Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) parent, a resident of Fairfax City and a taxpayer.
Just a few days ago, parents learned on social media that the FCPS Board identified two candidates for the FCPS Superintendent post, Cheryl Logan and Michelle Reid, both doctoral holders. Their identities were disclosed by the Fairfax NAACP Chapter and one of the candidates, Dr. Logan, withdrew her candidacy as a result.
Source: https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/04/fairfax-naacp-expresses-concern-over-potential-school-system-superintendent-picks/
Source: https://files.constantcontact.com/5c44296b501/b0a6aecf-6883-4f75-9d56-115c8c9a900d.pdf
Who Was the Snitch?
I would like to join the voices of many parents and organizations that are demanding a thorough investigation into the LEAK of information about this process that appears to stem from the FCPS Board own quarters! Who leaked the confidential information and why? We, parents, demand answers.
Northshore School District vs Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
The remaining candidate, Dr. Michelle Reid, is the superintendent of the Northshore School District, a district 11% the size of FCPS.
Let’s take a look at key statistics about these two school districts:
Northshore School District (NSD):
It contains 37 schools and 23,915 students.
The district’s minority enrollment is 40%.
54.5% are White, 21.5% are Asian, 2.1% are Black and, are 12.6% Hispanic/Latino.
Also, 9.5% of students are economically disadvantaged.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS):
It contains 221 schools and 188,887 students.
The district’s minority enrollment is 60%.
37.8% are White, 19.5% are Asian, 9.8% are Black and 26.8% are Hispanic/Latino.
Also, 22.7% of students are economically disadvantaged.
Source: https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/washington/districts/northshore-school-district-100572
In sum, as my mother used to say: “Numbers do not lie” - the sheer difference in scales between these two school districts is such, at least in logistical terms, that Dr. Reid’s previous experience will qualify her at best to serve as principal in one of the high schools in Fairfax County Public Schools!
How About Dr. Reid’s Substantive Performance
Notwithstanding I have some grievances against the Fairfax NAACP Chapter (which I might develop in a future Substack post), I have to admit that it completed a thorough analysis of Dr. Reid’s performance during her ternure as Superintendent of the Northshore School District (NSD).
I am including some relevant sections of the above mentioned letter where the Fairfax NAACP Chapter not only revealed the identity of the candidates, but also good data about their perfomance.
“PERFORMANCE DATA
While size and diversity tells one story, we then focused on achievement data by demographic and program group for both NSD and OPS. According to publicly available data, in Northshore only 43.9% of Black students and 42.3% of Hispanic students are passing their English Language Arts (ELA) state standard exams compared to 78% of Asian and 65% of White students.
The results are even more bleak in Math where only 25% of Black Students and 22% of Hispanic students are passing, compared with 74% of Asian students and 49% of White students.
The downward trend continues with Special Education Students pass rates of only 34% in ELA and 21% in Math. For ELL students, pass rates are 15% in ELA and 13% in Fairfax County.
These metrics are surprising given the small population of approximately 2,000 ELL students in NSD, compared to the nearly 47,000 ELL students that FCPS educates.
Similarly disturbing is the data showing that despite only 34 Black students in the 2021 Senior class for the whole district, only 88% graduated on time. At first glance, 88% looks like a respectable graduation rate until you realize how few students (30) we are talking about.
In a district such as NSD with low numbers of racially diverse people, the data should be presented in raw numbers along with percentages to fully understand the implication. For example, in 2017 there looks to be a huge bump in ELA achievement, however it represents 85% of 20 students (17 students), compared to 57% of 23 students (13 students) in 2016, an increased achievement for only 4 students districtwide.
Across all demographics, achievement at Northshore School District has stayed flat after a bump in 2017, and more recently we found concerns about the provision of Special Education services during COVID closures. Based on the publicly available data, we see no evidence of closing achievement gaps in Northshore despite the very small populations involved.”
Source: https://files.constantcontact.com/5c44296b501/b0a6aecf-6883-4f75-9d56-115c8c9a900d.pdf
Rory Cooper reported on Twitter that in the field of MATH, a little over 50% of students in Dr. Reid’s school district are above grade level and scores in other subject matters are not impressive either.
Under Dr. Reid’s direction, Northshore School District (NSD) was one of the first to shut down during the pandemic and one of the last to return to in-person learning. Not surprisingly, it is reported that Dr. Reid’ philosophy about grades consists of “grades doing NO HARM.”
My Personal Evaluation of Dr. Reid Suitability for the FCPS Superintendent Post
I take issue with Dr. Reid’s competence for discharging the functions as a Superintendent of FCPS. It is clear that she is ill prepared for the challenges of the post.
It begs the question why the FCPS Board would even consider Dr. Reid for the post? In this connection, it has been reported that she is a fervent proponent of “equitable outcomes.” Is that the main reason why she is the leading candidate, given the FCPS School Board’s established preference for “equity” over merit at all costs?
Let’s Review the Selection Process
Given the importance of the Superintendent position, I would like to submit the following requests:
1. The immediate voidance of the process so far.
2. The naming of an interim Superintendent.
3. The FCPS Board should disclose the criteria it is using to appoint its new Superintendent.
4. The procedures should be OPEN and PUBLIC.
5. Parents should be asked to share their views about candidates.
6. Race, gender, adherence to Critical Race Theory and all its fancy proxies, and support for illegal race-based admissions process to magnet schools SHOULD BE BARRED AS CRITERIA. Let’s remove politics and ideology from this process.
7. I would like to propose a simple criterion: proven competence. A prudent manager, preferably from the private sector, with a clear agenda to provide our students with the skills to succeed in the XXI Century: math, science, computer science, writing and financially literacy.
Is this too much to ask for? I do not think so. The students of FCPS deserve better.