New Superintendent Articles

complicated ones. It’s harder to predict what will happen, because complex systems interact in unexpected ways. It’s harder to make sense of things, because the degree of complexity may lie beyond our cognitive limits.” The authors go on to describe three proper ties of complex systems. “The first, multiplicity, refers to the number of potentially interacting elements. The second, interdependence, relates to how connected those elements are. The third, diversity, has to do with the degree of their heterogeneity; The greater the multiplicity; interdependence, and diversity, the greater the complexity.” We would argue that school districts meet all of these standards or definitions for com plex systems. Even in a small modal district of four elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, where classrooms and schools are by design loosely coupled, there is multiplic ity, interdependence and diversity; As school districts increase in size, the complexity also increases. To ifiustrate the situations superintendents currently face, consider Philadelphia and its superintendent, Wffliam Hite, who came to the district from Prince George’s County Md., in October 2012. Rather than dealing with a tra ditional school board, he reports to the School Reform Commission created in 2001 when the state took over the schools. The commis sion’s agenda, which he is working diligently to implement, includes: Expanding charter school enrollment — from 50,000 in 2012-13 to 80,000 in 2014-15 — and thereby increasing the number of “high-per forming seats:’ ‘ Borrowing $300 million for operating expenses (thus creating a level of debt service that further erodes the district’s ability to main tain itself). Closing as many as 60 district schools (25 percent) over a two-year period and, at the same time, continuing to convert low-perform ing schools to charters. Negotiating a teacher contract that would dramatically change wages and working condi tions for teachers — by imposing a 15 percent salary cut, reducing benefits, extending the workday, eliminating seniority provisions and transfer rules, and increasing class size. Adopting an FY 2014 budget that requires

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Harris Sokoloff (left) and James “Torch” Lytle of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education use the threads on a spider map to illustrate the complexity of the superintendency. laying off 3,700 employees, including all assis taut principals, counselors and school secretar ies, and 675 teachers. b Appointing principals for at least 70 schools, 30 percent of the total (at least 50 of whom will likely have no prior experience in the position). Of course, complexity is not unique to the leadership of urban school systems. Just across the city border on Philadelphia’s Main Line is the Lower Merion Public School District, one of the highest-performing and best-funded dis tricts in the state.

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