Interview with Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, Dr. Joe Hairston

Community Partnerships and Student Achievement: “Blueprint for Progress” in Baltimore

Topics: Parents and Community · Coaching School Leaders · Communication · Partnerships · High Stakes Testing · Leadership · Making the Tough Decisions · Improving Student Performance · Trends in Education  · Urban Education · ARCHIVE

In this podcast episode, Dr. Hairston discusses what the presidency of Barack Obama means to him and to education. Dr. Hairston shares how he has been able to maintain a superintendency position in the same school district for nine years and the great successes he has led.

A visionary and progressive leader, Dr. Joe A. Hairston has served since 2000 as Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, one of the nation’s 25 largest school systems. In February 2008, the Baltimore County Board of Education approved a third four-year term for Dr. Hairston. His 12-year tenure will make him the county’s second-longest-serving superintendent.

Dr. Hairston’s results-based leadership has yielded a growing list of achievements including greater student participation in and success on Advanced Placement and SAT exams and greater accountability and resource conservation.

A career educator, Dr. Hairston’s ascent in education administration began and is rooted in the classroom. Over the years, he has developed and refined strategies that have proven successful in raising student achievement.

Our podcast host Carolyn Pearson says, “I loved this interview with Dr. Hairston. He was thoughtful in answering the questions, comfortable and clearly proud of the efforts of his district including the community whose trust he has won. When we finished the interview Dr. Hairston felt there was so much he did not cover and so many partnerships he has spearheaded so we agreed the meet again at the end of the school year.”

Enjoy this inspiring and visionary interview with one of the nation’s foremost educational leaders.

Biographical Background

Dr. Hairston began his career in 1969 as a teacher in Prince George’s County. Within two years of entering the classroom, he was appointed department chairperson and five years after that he became administrative assistant to a principal. He was appointed vice principal in 1977 and was named a principal in 1981.

Dr. Hairston’s success in high school reform raised his profile within the education community and in the media. In 1987, Dr. Hairston was selected as one of 30 U.S. principals to participate in the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Urban Principal Project, which was designed to establish a profile of the skills necessary for effective school management, and one of 10 U.S. principals to participate in an Urban Principal Conference at Harvard University. In 1988, he was cited in Time magazine and featured in Maryland Magazine and Baltimore Sun Magazine.

In 1989, Dr. Hairston was named assistant superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools. Then in 1995, he became the first appointed (rather than elected) superintendent of Clayton County Public Schools in Jonesboro, Georgia. During his tenure in Clayton County, he earned praise for infusing technology into the administration and schools, increasing business partnerships, and developing community advocacy and fiscal support for the school system.

After an intensive search, the Baltimore County Board of Education selected Dr. Hairston to serve as superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools. In his first year, Dr. Hairston charted a direction for the school system through the Blueprint for Progress, which presents key strategies and concrete performance indicators. The Blueprint also provides structure for the BCPS Master Plan.

In addition to his demanding role as Superintendent, Dr. Hairston has numerous professional and civic affiliations. He serves on the College Board’s Superintendent Advisory Panel, Governor’s Task Force to Study Raising the Compulsory School Attendance Age to 18, Johns Hopkins University School of Education Advisory Board, Blackboard’s K-12 Advisory Board, Maryland Partnership for Teaching and Learning K-16 Leadership Council, and many other educational and community organizations.

A native of Virginia, Dr. Hairston earned a doctorate in education administration from Virginia Tech (1993), a master’s degree in administration and physical education from American University (1976), and bachelor’s degree in biology and physical science from Maryland State University (now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore) (1969).

Related Web Links:

• Baltimore County Public Schools

• Office of the Superintendent, Baltimore County Public Schools

• The Education Channel: Baltimore County Public Schools

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with District Superintendent of Schools of Eastern Suffolk BOCES and the First Supervisory District of Suffolk County, NY, Mr. Edward J. Zero

Cost Effective Strategies Striving to Improve Student Performance

Categories: Parents and Community · Online Learning · Coaching School Leaders · Diagnostic Protocols · Retention and Graduation · Career and Technical Education · Improving Student Performance · Trends in Education · Teacher Training · Professional Development · ARCHIVE

In a most insightful discussion, Edward J. Zero, District Superintendent of Eastern Suffolk BOCES, and District Leader’s Podcast host Dr. Ed Milliken reveal the vital role and impact of regional Educational Service Agencies (ESA’s). A regional ESA, such as a New York BOCES, supports student improvement in local school systems and assists in developing cost effective strategies for funding school improvement programs for districts in need.

Listen in for details of this educational model which includes powerful strategies and features such as:

The Medical Model: Through its area-wide structure, an ESA has the power to harness diverse education support initiatives and offer a unified array of programs and services that can be customized for the specific needs of a local school district. Analogous to the medical model of assistance, an ESA can diagnose a problem and prescribe the learning “medicine” that will generate the desired remedy.

Comprehensive Services: An ESA’s efforts are comprehensive. Included programs would involve direct support for classroom instruction, technological support, staff development for effective teaching, training for school learning leadership, and cost reduction approaches. In addition, the regional design of ESA’s permits the creation of unique alternative schooling experiences and can resolve time constraints which affect learning by offering online learning programs.

Level Performance: ESA’s occupy a vital position in supporting school district goals for standards level performance among all pupils.

 and many more.

This is an episode which promises to provide new strategies, perspectives and paradigms for some districts to consider, as well as build upon the success others already use.

 

District Leader’s Podcast provides vibrant interviews with superintendents on topics such as district Leadership, Improving Student Performance, Trends in Education and Making the Tough Decisions.

• We are pleased to have such varied perspectives from people who serve different constituencies and in different settings.

• Enjoy this free rich resource, conveniently via your computer, or  make it mobile on your TREO, MP3 player, or some cell phones..

Biographical Background
Mr. Edward J. Zero serves as District Superintendent/Executive Officer for Eastern Suffolk BOCES as well as the Interim District Superintendent at both Western Suffolk BOCES and Nassau BOCES. Eastern Suffolk BOCES is the largest ESA among New York State’s thirty seven BOCES serving eastern Long Island’s fifty one school districts. Ed works closely with the Commissioner of Education, the New York State Department of Education, and school districts across Long Island to ensure that all students receive a high quality education. His career in education has spanned more than 35 years.

Previously, Ed was the Executive Director of the Long Island Regional School Support Center. The LIRSSC has been the technical strategy of the NY State Education Department for supporting the instructional needs of high poverty, low performing school districts. By marshalling various school support resources, New York’s Regional School Support Centers possess the capability of delivering essential instructional support resources to school districts in need.

Also, Ed served as the Regional Manager of the Effective Schools Consortium Network. His responsibilities encompassed school districts that extended from the lower Hudson Valley (north of New York City) throughout Long Island. The Effective Schools Consortium was committed to advancing school improvement initiatives throughout the region.

Ed spent his early career working in the field of environmental education where the programs he administered earned numerous awards and recognition. During this time, he was appointed to serve as the Chairman of the Governor’s Environmental Education Task Force for Governor Cuomo.

Although Ed remains passionate about environmental issues and solutions through education, his focus of late has been his work on school improvement and student achievement. While serving as the Regional Manager of the Effective Schools Consortium Network for the Metro Region and the Executive Director of the Long Island Regional Support Center, Ed has been a staunch supporter of initiatives and programs that address the region’s high need, low wealth school districts.

Ed received his B.A. in Biology with a minor in marine sciences and secondary education from Long Island University, Southampton College. He earned his Master of Science in Applied Science from Stony Brook University, College of Engineering. Ed also attended New York University, Department of Organizational & Administrative Studies, where he obtained his School District Administration certification.

Related Web Links:

• Eastern Suffolk BOCES

• EMSC-NY State Education Department

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.