Michael Bennet Influence On Education

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Michael Bennet was appointed as Denver’s school superintendent by Mayor John Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper soon realized that despite increased monetary spending combined with a concerted effort to improve the schools, little progress had been made. Bennet had been charged with the task of leading the much needed school reform. Bennet quickly devised plans to radically improve Denver’s lowest performing schools. Bennet concentrated his efforts on Manual High School. Manual High School was one of the poorest performing schools in the state of Colorado. It was also only operating at half capacity. Manual school had suffered through a decade of failed school reforms, so it came as no surprise that the school community did not welcome Bennet’s…show more content…
He vowed that the next time he moved to close a troubled school, he would demonstrate more patience. He also admitted to neglecting to keep the parents and students informed as he considered and reconsidered his ideas. Initially, Bennet failed to realize the limitations of the students and their families. Katherine Boo described the difficult lives of many of the students of Manual. They were plagued with violence, drugs, gangs and a lack of financial resources. School was the easy part of their lives. Bennet also failed to realize the negative attitudes of the faculty based on his public declaration of their failures. Todd C. Light discussed the topic of public distrust of administration. He said that, “the public doubts the legitimacy of the big administrative state”. The community of Manual High School had endured at least a decade of school reform. I believe this would be defined as “hyper-reform” as called out by Light. Why would the people involved with Manual buy into Bennet’s new school reform plan when so many had failed in the past? James L. Garnett also discussed the communication break down between the government and the public. He said that the government communication is one way only. They send messages but do not listen to any. Bennet was sending his message to the people but not looking to receive any response back from the people on what they needed and wanted.…show more content…
Kettl describes one challenge of public administrators as, “The job in the twenty-first century has become harder because expectations have grown even as resources have shrunk. “ Kettl went on to say that, “public managers themselves must be ready to accommodate conflicting and contradictory demands.” There were many persons involved with and affected by the educational reform in Denver public schools and Manual High School. Each group involved had their own desires and goals. The students wanted to be continue their education at a school they were comfortable and familiar with. They did not want to be looked at as “stupid” kids. They needed someone to understand the difficulties they dealt with outside of school that affected their lives and often hampered their learning abilities. The teachers and faculty did not want to be looked at as failures. They were looking for affirmation that they were doing an admirable job, not criticism. They wanted the resources and training they needed to succeed. They also wanted compensation that reflected the administrations confidence in the work they were doing. The community, which included parents and leaders, wanted to be informed and involved with the reform plans. They wanted to feel as though they were being treated fairly compared to other races and economic classes. Todd C. Light stated that organizations need to focus on perceptions of their overall performance in four basic tasks: helping people, spending money

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