District Administration - September 2011 - (Page 82)

Smith Tackles Oakland Unified awesome responsibility.” Searching for Stability Oakland Unified’s financial woes began in fall 2002 when then-Superintendent Dennis Chaconas made the surprise announcement that the district was millions of dollars in the hole because of overspending and accounting errors. The district was on the brink of missing payroll. The state doled out an emergency loan of $100 million and, in June 2003, forced out Chaconas and took the rare step of appointing its own administrator. State appointees had complete control over Oakland Unified until April 2008, when California’s superintendent of public instruction at the time, Jack O’Connell, decided the district had made significant progress. He returned personnel power to the locally elected school board, which decided to hire an interim chief for a year. When the board launched its search for a permanent superintendent, Smith emerged as an ideal candidate. At the time, he was a deputy superintendent of the San Smith draws laughter from students at West Oakland’s Lafayette Elementary on a recent visit. Francisco Unified School District and previously had led the nearby Emery Unified School District, a tiny system located on the coast between Berkeley and Oakland. Focusing on African-American Male Achievement RAce iS not A tAboo Subject foR Anthony “tony” Smith, SupeRintenDent of the oakland (calif.) unified School District. “the effects of oppression and racism are real and deep,” says Smith, who is white, “and we’re not going to recover or heal immediately.” Smith believes that schools must confront racial problems head on, and to that end, one of his first major initiatives on the job was creating a cabinet-level post to oversee AfricanAmerican male achievement. About one-third of oakland unified’s students are black, and the boys are the district’s lowest performers. for example, 28 percent of African-American males districtwide scored proficient or higher on the state’s language arts exam in 2009-2010, compared with 78 percent of white males. christopher chatmon, who leads Smith’s African-American male achievement initiative, is charged in part with upping the passing rate to 90 percent in five years, improving school attendance, and cutting incarceration rates in half. Last semester, chatmon piloted at a handful of high schools a “man up” life-skills class for black male students who were chronically absent, teaching them to navigate the public school system. Attendance improved by about 80 percent, he says, results that encouraged him to expand the program to at-risk black and Latino students at six high schools and two middle schools in the coming school year. chatmon also organizes quarterly conferences, inviting black community members to serve as role models and mentors for the students. chatmon, who is black, says Smith has earned the respect of the community, although his initiative drew critics from folks of all races. “if he’s not speaking at a black church, he’s at a quinceañera,” chatmon said, referring to the traditional party for 15-year-old Latina girls. “just as much as he’s leading at a board meeting, you’ll see him at a soccer game or a community meeting.” Emery Unified, like Oakland Unified, was coming out of state takeover when Smith took the helm there. “His strength was he knew the area very well. He was a former superintendent,” says Oakland Unified’s governing board president, Gary Yee. “He’s also very dynamic and charismatic.” Gentle Giant Smith, like most of the students he serves, didn’t have a Leave It to Beaver childhood. He moved often, living with various family members and friends from when he was around 2 years old. He went to numerous schools, some better than others. At El Dorado High School in Placerville, Calif., Smith recalls, a coach gave him focus, and he landed a football scholarship to Berkeley, becoming the team captain his senior year. He graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in English. After a stint in the National Football League, followed by a job at a law firm, Smith returned to Berkeley and, as his college mentor had suggested, studied education. He earned his master’s in 1993 and then got his doctorate in 2002. Smith has spent the last 14 years working to help children, starting out at educationfocused nonprofit groups and then taking District Administration 82 September 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2011

District Administration - September 2011
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Tech Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Conversations
They Work Hard for the Money
The Road to Rigor
District-Charter Collaborations on the Rise
Designing Safe Facilities
Tony Smith Tackles Oakland
Product Focus
New Products
Research Center
Crisis Response
Going Mobile
Professional Opinion
Student Counsel

District Administration - September 2011