HISD's Greg Meyers on mission as new board president
. . . continued from page one
Throughout his first five years on the board, Meyers has preached the importance of data to the school district - whether in building systems and processes to ensure efficiency with tax dollars, creating more transparency by putting the district's "checkbooks" online so constituents can see how money is being spent or gauging student progress and success.
With Meyers, it's all about raising standards, raising the ceilings and offering opportunities and choices.
Part of the way the new board president wraps his arms around what's going at the schools and with the teachers in his district is by listening. He meets with teachers - whom he admits he is "in awe of" - to get "a better feel for what they do each day…to surround myself and immerse myself in what they do." To that end, he holds monthly Teacher Advisory Committee meetings. More than 40 teachers from the various campuses in his district serve on the committee. Meyers sees them as the "experts" and seeks to engage them in driving "where we want to go" as a district.
"If we have buy-in with the majority, things are going to soar."
Meyers is the only member of the board to hold these monthly meetings. He admits there are naysayers, but says most feedback from the teaching ranks is positive.
"Classroom teachers rarely get to meet as a small group with their leaders," said one member of the committee. "If more school districts' board members gave front-line people (teachers) an opportunity to speak candidly and without fear of retaliation about their concerns and the types of barriers preventing them from doing the job they were hired to do, our bottom line - student progress- could be greatly enhanced."
When he convened one of his first teacher meetings, Meyers told the group, "You guys may want to string me up, but we're going to talk about performance pay." He said that subject is a "very, very difficult task" on which to accomplish a buy-in. But his approach with the teachers was to empower the group to "devise something we could control rather than something dictated by the State of Texas."
The board president admits there is still a little animosity regarding the subject, but added that teachers also have provided a "lot of instrumental help." The teachers are quite vocal, he said. "I really want to surround myself with the people who know what's going on every day in the schools." And at next month's meeting, he plans to have officials with the district's research division come talk to the group about performance pay.
Meyers also hosts meetings with community members and seeks their feedback on issues. "I want them to know how I'm going to vote and why," he explained.
The first-time president admits there are some difficult tasks ahead for the Houston school district. "There's a lot of heavy lifting to do this year," he said, noting that at the last board meeting the stage was set for ensuring "quality teachers and quality leaders in the classroom."
At that meeting, the board gave its initial approval of a policy allowing the district to fire teachers whose students consistently perform below expectation on standardized tests.
Meyers not only wants to improve student success, but also to help teachers enhance their careers.
What's wrong with public schools today, according to Meyers, is that the structure hasn't changed over the years - it's still based on industrial times. "Is that still the best model to serve our kids?" He doesn't think so.
"Everything points to quality teachers and quality leaders. If a child gets less than a stellar teacher two years in a row, it's almost impossible to get that child back on their grade level."
In education, it's all about delivery, according to Meyers. "Not one person can do it alone. We've all got to be committed to what's best for the kids."
Meyers called the Houston ISD board "one of the most reform-minded" boards in Texas, and in the country.
"This board truly 'gets it.' You can have a million different great programs, but if you don't have anyone who can deliver them… We're going to embark down that road based on prudent data. We're either going to fall on our sword and die trying…or we're going to soar."
And Meyers can point to 200,000 reasons why the sword thing is not a viable option.
