In the wake of her first 100 days on the job, Syracuse City School District Superintendent Sharon Contreras plans to implement reforms and revitalize a district that graduates 50 percent of its 21,000 students — 75 percent of whom are not proficient in English or math.

Upon taking the new position, Contreras developed a 100-day entry plan that started July 1 and ended Monday. The plan mostly consisted of learning about the different challenges the district faces as well as the hopes and dreams of the district’s future, she said.

‘My first 100 days were about listening and learning,’ Contreras said.

To do this, Contreras said she reached out to Syracuse University, Syracuse Say Yes to Education, the Syracuse Board of Education, Syracuse commissioners, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and the New York State Department of Education, among others.

Richard Strong, school board president, said the Syracuse City School District was revered for its student performance in the 1970s and 1980s. But now, the district is struggling with poor performance, poor staff management and low funding, he said. Strong said the district is a $400 million operation.

‘Compared to our suburbanite relatives, we are under funded,’ he said. More than 90 percent of the students in the district are eligible for a reduced-price school lunch, Strong said.

Strong described Syracuse as an ‘immigrant city.’ The students in the district are made of more than 20 nationalities. Strong said 50 percent of the students are black, 38 percent are white and English is the second language for 8 to 10 percent of the students.

A major influence on the district has been a lack of self-accountability among students and their parents, he said.

‘Right now, I think it’s a lot of elbow grease and getting the parents and students to do what they’re supposed to do,’ he said.

SU has been assisting in the reformation of the district by providing services such as professional development for teachers and initiatives for students, Contreras said. She said the university provides more than 300 tutors.

Contreras said she has been working with Chancellor Nancy Cantor in developing her plan. Cantor said the university is committed to the district and the reforms that Contreras is proposing.

SU’s engagement in the district is quite natural due to resources such as the School of Education, Cantor said.

SU’s Scholarship in Action vision ties in with the district, she said, because it’s an example of how institutions can provide human and intellectual capital in collaboration with the community.

Say Yes is a national nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the academic performance of students in urban areas. The organization reaches out to all public schools in the city and provides services, such as tutoring, after-school programs, summer programs and scholarship programs. The district adopted the program in 2008 under former superintendent Dan Lowengard.

‘Whether it’s environmental sustainability or urban education, Say Yes is a perfect example where you have faculty and students working hand in hand with the district … to face issues that are really pervasive around the world,’ Cantor said.

Say Yes is the largest engagement SU has with the district, Cantor said. She said she has worked directly with Contreras in furthering the program. Contreras is already doing a great job, Cantor said.

‘She’s committed, first and foremost, to educating students and sending them to college,’ Cantor said.

So far, Contreras said she is making changes to some of the structures within the district. She said she developed task forces that are working on curriculum and instruction, leadership, teaching and teacher evaluation.

‘The district has many talented staff and students, however, we are not seeing the results we should see given the talent we have and the investment that the community makes in education, so we have to do business differently in order to see better outcomes for our students,’ Contreras said.

Contreras, a lifelong educator in urban education, said she is ready to make the many changes needed.

‘I think the issues that the Syracuse City School District is dealing with are issues that I’ve been dealing with over the course of my nearly 20 years in public education,’ she said.

Contreras served as a teacher, principal, area superintendent and assistant superintendent in Rockford, Ill. She also served as chief academic officer in the Clayton County Public Schools in Georgia and the Providence Public Schools in Rhode Island. Contreras said she helped turn around an urban elementary school that was underperforming.

‘I would never shy away from urban school districts because improving urban education is my passion,’ she said.

Strong, the school board president, said although Contreras is new to the district, she has potential to turn around the performance.

But Strong said the challenge will be whether the community will back Contreras, something only time will tell.

‘This is a 10- to 20-year project,’ he said.

Now that her first 100 days is up, Contreras is looking toward the future of the district.

She said she plans to develop a new curriculum to prepare students for the workforce and for college. She also plans on creating new evaluation and accountability systems to support educators.

‘We’re also going to embark upon a strategic planning process,’ Contreras said. She said she is working on a five-year strategic plan to keep people focused on graduating students.

Contreras said although it may not sound like heavy lifting, those are huge projects that will require a lot of community engagement. She said it will take some work, but she is sure that people will see the district start to turn around.

Contreras was hired with a three-year contract, and by the end of her term, she said she hopes to see two major changes: improvements in student achievements and academic rates and improved graduation rates.

Said Contreras: ‘I also am hopeful that the community will have greater confidence in the Syracuse City School District and we become the schools of choice.’

snbouvia@syr.edu  

Published on November 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia