New Leaders for Urban Schools: The Rise of Non-Traditional School Leaders 307
came after 20 years of public and private legal work including two years as deputy counsel to
the President of the United States.
Dallas views his decision to become a superintendent in a missionary light. He reported
that he became a superintendent “because I believe education is the most important domestic
issue this country faces, particularly in complex urban environments where so many kids are
falling through the cracks. I have had my life changed by public education in this city. I grew
up in poverty.” When discussing why he believes the mayor tapped him for the
superintendency, Dallas replied: “Obviously I was an unconventional pick, but...I think I had
the qualifications...the skills to lead significant organizational change, which is what's
required in public education. You have a system that's failing many, many students. It's
underperforming, and people who grew up in the culture of such a system are often not the
best people to lead a transformation, whereas in my work that I had done in the government
and in the justice—and at the large media firm, I think I was positioned to be a
transformational leader... basically my whole life has been in training for this.” Dallas
believes in the promise of mayoral control and commented that: “It is hard to do serious
transformation work until we had a system of mayoral control, where I pretty much knew that
I’d have the opportunity to serve with this mayor for a significant period of time.”
Superintendent Dallas graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from
an elite Northeastern university before earning a law degree, with magna cum laude honors,
from another elite university in the Northeast. Superintendent Dallas has authored several
articles in both scholarly and popular journals.
Under the leadership of Superintendent Dallas, student test scores on the NAEP have
remained relatively flat. Modest gains in 8th grade math scores (+2%) for example are offset
by declines in 4th grade reading scores (-3%). Graduation rates for the district have improved
slightly (+1.5%) but remain low (59.7%).
The Johnson School District
The Johnson School District has an operating budget of around $526 million and serves
almost 30,000 students in 65 schools. Over the past three years, student enrollment has
declined by ten percent. This majority-minority system is comprised of a student population
that is approximately 61% African-American, 35% Caucasian, 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 1%
Hispanic, with the remaining 1% identified as multi-racial, American Indian, or “other.”
Roughly, 68% of these students are from low-income families, and 1% ELL.
Superintendent Franks was appointed to the position in August 2005 after serving as the
Chair of an Education Committee in a northeastern state, where he worked to develop the
state’s educational reform legislation. Prior to that, Franks had an unsuccessful gubernatorial
campaign and had taught Political Science at a small liberal arts university while also serving
as Director of the Public Policy Center. Superintendent Franks earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree from an elite Northeastern university and a Juris Doctorate from the same university.
Superintendent Franks understands that his is “an intensely political job.” He believes in
the value of bringing in “an outsider” and commented that, “someone coming up in a
traditional public school system might be more of a detriment than a help.” He views
leadership as “an accumulation of a personal skill set which can’t be done on a credential
basis.”