Thorntontopped the list of applicants in a nationwide search conducted by aprofessional educational recruiting firm that has filled leadership positionsin many of the major school districts around the country. The Milwaukee SchoolBoard, under the leadership of Michael Bonds, overcame decades of quarrelsomedivisiveness between competing factions to vote unanimously for Thornton, 9-0.
On top of that, two of the most important politicalleaders in the state, Gov. Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, both saythey want to put the power of their offices behind improving Milwaukee schools.
So much for rationality, though.
One only had to read the attack on Thorntonin the opening paragraph of the MilwaukeeJournal Sentinel story about his selection to realize not everybody isready to get behind Thornton’sefforts to raise educational achievement in MPS.
Quote: “The Milwaukee School Board voted unanimouslyFriday to elect Philadelphianative Gregory Thornton as the next superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools,despite the candidate’s history of personal bankruptcy and questions that havebeen raised about his ethics.”
In other words, “Welcome to Milwaukee, you bum.”
What terrible scandal did the Journal Sentinel unearth to turn a news story on the unanimousselection of a highly qualified professional for the toughest education job inthe state into an editorial attack? Absolutely none.
Thorntondoes not have a “history” of personal bankruptcy. He filed for bankruptcy onceback in 1997 after he opened a restaurant that failed, “trying to live theAmerican dream of being an entrepreneur,” he said.
Failing in a small business (which had nothing to dowith Thornton’swork as an educator) can hardly be interpreted as evidence of either moral orprofessional failing.
What about any so-called questions about Thornton’s ethics? The Journal Sentinel reported nothing tosubstantiate those charges either.
Before Thornton waschosen for the No. 2 position in Philadelphiapublic schools, he took a trip to Africa withthe National Alliance of Black School Educators. The trip was partially paidfor by an educational company called Plato Learning Inc.
Later, after Thorntonwas in Philadelphia, Plato Learning got acontract there, but former Philadelphia Superintendent Paul Vallas, who praisedThornton’s work, said Thornton was not the school officialresponsible for awarding the contract.
Far more relevant to winning the Milwaukeejob was Thornton’s experience in Philadelphia helping toclose the achievement gap between black and white children in one of thenation’s largest urban school districts. And the fact that when the state ofPennsylvania took over a low-performing school district in Chester, Pa., in2007, Gov. Ed Rendell asked Thornton to take over the superintendent’s job toraise achievement levels, which he has done.
So what’s behind the crude attack on Thornton before he evencomes to town?
Sadly, for those of us who still believe injournalistic standards, the JournalSentinel is allowing its editorial support for Barrett’s attempt to takecontrol of MPS to openly bias its news reporting.
The so-called “questions” about Thornton appeared Friday morning, the day theMilwaukee School Board was scheduled to choose the new superintendent. Thestory, under the misleading headline “MPS Finalists Have Checkered Pasts,”trashed the other two finalists as well with similar petty charges that hadnext to nothing to do with their professional qualifications.
The proposal Barrett and Doyle announced last Augustfor Barrett to take control of MPS from the elected school board has neverreceived widespread support in the community. On Jan. 5, when the SenateEducation Committee held the Legislature’s only public hearing in Milwaukee on the proposedmayoral takeover, 20 speakers advocated mayoral control and 81 were opposed. Ofthose who registered for or against the takeover, 99 were in favor and 299 wereopposed.
The JournalSentinel dishonestly reported the next day that members of the public atthe hearing “were fairly evenly divided.”
Because of the strong opposition in Milwaukee, themayoral takeover is dead as a doornail, but Barrett, Doyle and the Journal Sentinel keep dragging it aroundin public like the corpse in the film Weekendat Bernie’s.
Thornton hasdiplomatically said he is willing to work with either the mayor or the electedschool board to improve Milwaukeeschools.
What remains to be seen is whether Barrett, Doyleand the Journal Sentinel are sincereabout seeking improvements for MPS even if they can’t get their way abouttaking control.
The best way to demonstrate that would be to jointhe unanimous Milwaukee School Board in supporting a highly qualified newsuperintendent as he takes on the challenging job of reforming MPS and raisingachievement.
