Enough Cheerleading, We Need Some Reporting and Context

I think I'd like Brearn Wright and agree with him on a number of things, but we're really past the point in this whole reform agenda where it is ok to write a newspaper profile of a new "turnaround" principal from another city without addressing his track record of data.

I mean, two years after this, their scores crashed:

Truesdell is a restructuring school. So all of the staff at Truesdell have to reapply for their jobs. My biggest focus was to staff a good school, and find good teachers. We had an interview process where staff were interviewed by students, teachers, and they engaged in role-playing scenarios. So, in one room, students came up with questions for the candidates. In one room, they had a team of teachers asking them questions. And in another room, they engaged in a role-playing exercises...

[In the room with the teachers], we started out with Clark teachers who were going with me to Truesdell. Once we decided what Truesdell staff were going to stay, they became involved in the process. Then, we used our connection with New Leaders for New Schools and Center for Inspired Teaching, and I asked them point-blank: Who are some of the best teachers in the city? And from there, we made phone calls. Also, we contacted Teach for America, 'Give me the best teachers in your program.'

That's kind of relevant to the discussion in Providence right now. What happened?