How NOT to improve our schools

– NOT backing up success

Rules for the ‘Race to the Top’ federal education fund are out, and as the first figure shows, there are big points in this state-versus-state competition for states that do things to create and nurture great education leaders.


Thus, the story I’m about to tell should upset many here, and maybe a few in Washington, as well. It’s a story about how Kentucky did nothing to support an education leader who made dramatic improvement in one of our schools.



Back in 2005, it was viewed as one of the most hopeful and aggressive attempts anywhere in Kentucky to breath life into a seriously failing school.

The Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Lexington was in terrible shape. Reading proficiency rates were terrible, and math proficiency was scarcely higher. This heavy minority school clearly needed a turn-around, and it looked like the Fayette County School System was serious about making that happen.

Fayette County’s Superintendent transferred one of his top performing principals, Peggy Petrilli, to the troubled Booker T.

Petrilli had posted a great track record at another high minority school in the district, and she looked like the perfect choice – except to the minority parents at Booker T. They were demanding a black principal – period.

Petrilli is white.

Petrilli was sent in, anyway.

As the two graphs below show, the turn-around in Booker T’s scores for reading and math were dramatic. Even though some of the increase from 2006 to 2007 can be explained by the inflation caused by new CATS scoring standards, the total rise is far too high to be solely due to that issue.




Very simply, the Petrilli era at Booker T. Washington was accompanied by real and very substantial improvement in both subjects.

But, then the roof fell in.

Friction grew between Petrilli and her minority parent population. They wanted her out. They wanted a black leader – period.

Results didn’t matter, apparently.

In August 2007, the parents won. Despite posting the dramatic score improvements shown in the figures, Petrilli got the axe. And, just to add insult to injury, the district accused Petrilli of cheating on the state tests.

Well, we now know a bit more.

For one thing, we know that there has been a noticeable decline in performance in Booker T. Washington in recent years. That is even more unsatisfactory because we also now know that the state tests in math got even easier in this time frame.

We also see something else. If Petrilli really had been cheating, then the scores after her departure should have sunk right back to near the levels of 2005. That didn’t happen. The scores did decline slightly in reading in 2008, but proficiency actually went up a bit more in math.

So, there was still some lasting impact from the Petrilli years. Moreover, the scores could not look like they do if Petrilli had cheated.

Sadly, by 2009, the proficiency rate trend in both subjects is in decay at Booker T. With Petrilli’s team and programs now largely replaced by other people and ideas, Booker T. Washington is losing ground, again.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is no way to nurture educators.