Then enters Dan Powell, current Superintendent of Crowley ISD, who is lauded as a great leader and apparently Needham and company have been pushing for him behind closed doors along with the mayor. According to many he has done ok at Crowley though the board there seems to have allowed him to run as he needs. He is seen as very conservative and while political leanings should not play a part, we don't need more politics than what we have now. Perhaps readers out there can give us more background on him and also why he would be good for FWISD? Obviously when Needham and company are involved we hesitate to endorse because of their track record. Why the push for him? What do they know that we don't? We need an independent voice that is for teachers, students and parents.. We need integrity.
We would like for the board to tell us the make up of the candidates, the rubric used to choose candidates and what each brought to the table. This doesn't require naming people but it would gives us an idea of the process. Were there not other qualified people? Who was number 2 and what set that person apart from number 1...
Dan is a Ft. Worth native. Both his parents were FWISD principals. After college he went to work teaching in FWISD, not for long, then quickly moved up through administration until he became an Assistant Superintendent. He applied for the supers job, I believe when MJ did and of course didn't get. He left Ft. Worth and ran Everman ISD for a number of years before he retired and was teaching adjunct classes at TCU when he got the call from Crowley. He has close ties to FWISD even now. Dan knows this business very well. He also understand the political side of it and manages it pretty well. Not sure why he didn't have enough support to get the super job here before but it might have saved the district a lot of grief if he'd gotten it, but maybe not. I think everything I written is correct, if I'm off on anything please politely correct me. Dan is probably too smart to leave a good secure job in Crowley to come here at his age he might not want the challenges that he'd face here.
ReplyDeleteSome staff at Crowley like how he is about students and makes sense with the policies he has put in place. We hope he is not being corrupted by Jackson and Price who have no intention on helping FWISD but more about what they can get for themselves. Don't forget that Jackson touted running for the Senate seat Wendy Davis left.
ReplyDeleteFW is a mess so yes someone would need to really come in strong and get ready for the tug of war.
I would love to have a strong leader and that is what Dr Powell is. I know he could stand up to the political games going on in our district and on our board. He would clean up budget messes, our too-large admin, and allow teachers to put education back in their classrooms. I do not see strength coming from a 35-year-old with virtually no classroom experience. I pray I am wrong for the good of our teachers and our children. This Dr. Boyd will be closely watched and very scrutinized. I hope he is ready for it.
ReplyDeleteWe do need to get back to basics and what we know works. Too much policy has ruined teaching.
ReplyDeleteDo not forget we requested NO local or previous FWISD employee! The community has spoken on this issue!
ReplyDeleteDan would be much better than the A-Hole the board wants to hire.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Mr. Powell but his BEST reference for me would be if Needham, Robbins and Jackson DO NOT support him. If that happens, he must be good.
ReplyDeleteRobbins told the board that Powell would not even be considered. I guess it's not a democracy in there.
ReplyDeleteNeedham is lucky to have found such an unethical "yes man" as Robbins. He made a complete fool of himself at Palazzolo's trial. And don't forget - for his performance he was made Board President and Linares was fired as interim Super.
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