Running All the Red Lights

There are many red lights in education reform, ranging from citizens to national and state legislative requirements to the schools staffs themselves. What can you do as a superintendent, school leader, or classroom leader when you encounter these and other red lights? You can run a red light.

Iredell-Statesville Schools Superintendent Dr. Terry Holliday and co-author Brenda Clark give examples of when they ran the red light. Running red lights is appropriate for fire, police, and emergency officials when there is a sense of urgency, a similar sense of urgency is needed to eliminate those negative experiences of children that douse students flame for learning.

You can reflect at a red light. Tools and techniques are presented for reflection when you are confronted with a red light. In the School Improvement Plan framework and the basic tool Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle discussed, school leaders and teachers will find tools of reflection. You can turn right at a red light with caution.

Through a discussion about mission, vision, values, and alignment, Holliday and Clark will give you insight on how to turn right at the red light and still be able to reach your destination of success for children. You can back up at a red light. Sometimes when you are going too fast and you get caught in the intersection at a red light, you have to back up with caution so as not to hit anyone behind you. The authors describe these times and provide tools of communication planning, collaboration, and deployment that can help you back up without hitting anyone behind you or being hit by traffic coming through the intersection.

These authors' journey toward education reform included the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Education in 2008 and has been a destination of success for the school district's children. Other leaders in other school systems will be inspired to undertake their own journey and to sustain it for all children. The journey is a frustrating one, but the destination is always worth the trouble.

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• Additional Information
  • ISBN: 978-0-87389-778-5
  • Item Number: H1376
  • Dimensions: 6 x 9
  • For details on using this product as a textbook for your course or class, contact us
• About the Author(s)

  Terry Holliday, PhD, is Commissioner of Education in Kentucky. He was superintendent of Iredell-Statesville Schools in North Carolina from 2002 to 2009. Prior to that, he served as superintendent of Transylvania County Schools in Brevard, North Carolina. In 2002, he was named superintendent of the year for Western North Carolina, in 2008 named North Carolina Superintendent of the Year by the North Carolina Music Educators Association, and in 2009 named 2009 A. Craig Phillips North Carolina Superintendent of the Year by the North Carolina School Boards Association and the North Carolina Association of School Administrators. Prior to his work in school administration, he was a music and band instructor. Holliday holds a bachelor�s degree in music education from Furman University, master�s and educational specialist degrees from Winthrop University, and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of South Carolina. He is a member of ASQ. Brenda Clark has been Associate Superintendent for Learning in Iredell-Statesville Schools since July, 2007. Previously Clark worked with Jim Shipley and Associates (2000-2007) as Senior Consultant and was the Baldrige in Education State Coach for New Mexico. Clark served as principal of Azalea Elementary in Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, Florida 1991-2000.� The school was recognized as one of 18 top schools in America by the National Education Association in 1997, featured in Redbook magazine as one of 8 outstanding schools in the United States, and was awarded the Governor's Sterling Award for Performance Excellence in 2000.� Ms. Clark was named Outstanding Principal for the State of Florida in 1998 by then Education Commissioner, Frank Brogan.� Prior to her work in administration, Clark taught math and physical education. �Clark holds a bachelor�s degree in health and physical education from Georgia Southern University, a master�s degree in perceptual motor development from Florida State University and educational leadership certification from the University of South Florida.� She is a member of ASQ.