Imagine for a moment that you are Jennifer Sprague.
You are not yet 35 years old.
You have uprooted your family and moved to a new state.
You have followed the only boss you have known for many years.
Your salary is so high it still makes the news months after it was offered.
Why in the world would you suddenly resign?
You probably wouldn’t and she probably didn’t.
Considering that this is DISD, it’s far more likely that Jennifer Sprague was asked to take one for Team Miles and that she is becoming quite familiar with the underside of a bus. Sure, it’s one of the really nice buses reserved to take the 3700 bigwigs to the convocation in plush, air-conditioned comfort but still….she’s under the bus.
Regardless of how it went down, though, this latest episode shows that Team Miles is predictably imploding. And even if the “reform community” tries to blame the whole disaster on resistant teachers, the public knows better.
The truth is that edu-reformers brought Miles to town, with the help of the likes of Mike Morath, Mayor Mike and Lew Blackburn. Once here, Miles simply doubled-down on the standard edu-reform agenda: tax dollars. Excessive salaries, expedient policy violations, more excessive salaries, the “need” for TFA and students left in the care of substitute teachers to free up even more cash.
As the implosion continues—and it will—our community must fight back against the duplicitous edu-reformers waiting in the wings because we are all ready for real change. Now is the time to put on our thinking caps and find a superintendent who will serve children and families instead of the edu-reformers.
Sprague’s introduction to under-the-bus realities signals the beginning of the end, but also the beginning of the beginning for students in DISD.
