Springfield Public Schools new interim superintendent, Shawn Stover, says he’s focused on listening, and bringing the district together.
Stover is the third person to hold that job this year after unpopular budget cuts, and discord at the district’s top levels. Stover, who started his one-year contract on July 1, sat down with KLCC’s Rebecca Hansen-White to share his hopes for the school year.
Hansen-White: For our listeners that might be parents or teachers or students that haven't had a chance to get to know you yet, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Shawn Stover: I started in education in 1990, so I'm approaching my 37th year in education. I was a charter member for the national organization Teach for America, charter core member, I started my teaching career in rural eastern North Carolina. Was the teacher of the year in the district after my third year. Went on to be a superintendent. Went back to work for Teach for America, supporting teachers during their two-year commitment. Then became a superintendent in Texas, an area superintendent in D.C. and the chief of secondary schools. I wanted to move back into a smaller district. I went to Rockingham County [School District], North Carolina, and now, I'm here.
Hansen-White: Well, you've had, as you're just saying, a long career in education in a few different contexts. Are there philosophies or or lessons that you've learned as a leader that might help with some of the challenges that Springfield, and a lot of districts in Oregon, are experiencing?
Stover: Yeah, there are some things, and you said it actually in your question. Learning as the superintendent, I need to be the chief learning officer and not come in with a preconceived idea of what to do and how to do it. I saw a recent poll that over 80% agree that public education is good for our country. We need to start there with that premise that we can all come together for the benefit of our students.
I think another core belief is that the power of education starts, and our main focus should be, in the classroom. The number one determinant of student success is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. And when teachers understand the curriculum, embrace their students, present the curriculum in an engaging manner, then it doesn't matter what assessment or test score we put in front of them – good things happen.
So I hope, if nothing else, that the public understands, as I do, we really need to revere our educators. They are the point of the spear. They're the ones who are doing the work, and everything we do should be focused on supporting them.
Hansen-White: Springfield has also had some pretty serious struggles in the last year with fractured relationships at the top of the organization. Now, as someone new coming in from the outside, how might you help bridge some of those gaps on the school board and between the administration, in that type of environment?
Stover: The first thing is by gaining trust – trust is the oil that runs a school system. The board has to trust me, the teachers have to trust me, the community has to trust me.
Job number two is to show everybody our similarities and start focusing on that. There is no one right way to educate children, and people have very strong opinions. Sometimes we vary in those opinions, and that's okay. That's actually going to make us a better organization. Focus first on the 80% who really think public education is important for our democracy in our country, and then address those problems. We can't ignore them, but we want to make sure the conflict, the conversations we have, are productive and not personal.
So my job is to listen, learn, and refocus. Despite all that turmoil, this district is making progress. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think this was a district that I could add value to, and we could focus on the students, and we could be the best school district, not only in Oregon but in the country. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think that was true, and despite all the turmoil, the numbers that I've seen, and again, this is day 12, are very positive.
Graduation rates are moving up, not where it needs to be. Attendance is moving up. Outcomes, assessments are moving in the right direction. And just imagine if all the adults are focused on that, and we have this basis, what we can do.
Hansen-White: One of the themes I've heard over the last year, as I've talked to community members and people that work at the district, and sometimes even students, is I don't think a lot of them really trust the district right now, and I think that relates to the two budget cuts especially. Are there strategies that you have to help Springfield Public schools rebuild that trust?
Stover: Gosh, I hate to sound so trite – Listen, be there, understand the experience, and then connect those experiences together.
The theme that I have going in that I've worked with in my 12 days with the staff is we have to be better together. Board, central office, teachers, students – we all have to sit on the same side of the table.
