Monday, November 26, 2007

Three Things That Matter About Draud

New education commissioner Jon Draud had thought enough about that job to negotiate a four year, $220,000 contract plus $10,000 to live in a Frankfort hotel for the next six months. But he told the Lexington Herald Leader yesterday he hadn't yet gotten around to putting together a list of priorities for turning around Kentucky's schools.
Draud said he had not had time to draw up a complete list of priorities because he was only offered the commissioner's job Saturday night.


One priority we do know about is getting on the universal preschool bandwagon.

Despite this:
"A high percentage of elementary schools are on track to be proficient by that time," said Joe Brothers, chairman of the Kentucky Board of Education. But the number drops to 25 percent of middle schools, he said, and 12 percent of high schools.


In other words, Draud and the education bureaucracy want to pour more resources into the area that needs it least.

And speaking of bureaucracy: when it gets as bad as it is in Kentucky what we really need is someone to shake up the old ways and chart a new course.
Draud said two words that will define his work are cooperation and collaboration. "We've got to get people cooperating together to be successful," he said.


I'm in favor of people getting along, but the educrats have so badly mishandled the half of the state budget they are entrusted with that playing nice with them doesn't belong on our list.