With a reference to a fairy tale told by Leo Tolstoy, the 19th-century Russian writer, Dr Andrés Alonso said good-bye to the students Baltimore City Public Schools. His last day as CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools is June 30:
It’s the story of a king who decided that if he could answer three questions he would be a wise man and a wise ruler:
- When should I begin something?
- Who should I listen to?
- What is the most important thing to do?
The answers Tolstoy’s character finds, Dr Alonso said, apply to the city’s schools and will remain in his memory, “along with my many great memories,” as he heads to New Jersey to take care of his parents and teach at Harvard University:
- The most important time is right now.
- The most important person is the person you are with (students).
- The most important thing is to do good to those around you (again, students).
Dr Alonso reformed the city’s schools in a way that sometimes divided them, the Baltimore Sun reported (see timeline). Wrong or right, though, it always seemed to me, he held firmly to his positions, as when he fired a principal at Abbottstown Elementary School, whom he suspected of cheating on state tests. The principal, who questioned the evidence used in the case, was reinstated.
The state had listed the city’s school district as failing until the schools showed big gains on state tests in 2009. And in 2010, Dr Alonso hammered out a historic deal with the teachers’ union, tying their pay increases to student performance.
Again, wrong or right—and the jury’s going to be out for a long time on the idea of using student performance in teacher evaluations—Dr Alonso was a strong leader who continuously showed his commitment to doing what he believed would be best for Baltimore’s students.
“It has been an honor and pleasure to serve you, your families, your teachers and the many other members of the City Schools community,” he wrote in his farewell letter to Baltimore students.
He has taught many lessons, and we hope that in so doing, he has learned much himself and that he will share those experiences with future school leaders at Harvard and in other great learning communities.
