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Striking a chord
By Mike Chamness
IASA Director of Communications
Peru Superintendent Mark Cross says he was
simply writing a back-to-school letter to parents in his
district. He wasn’t trying to make a political statement
or create a movement, though he thinks one is
needed. In a stunning display of the power of social
media, Cross’ letter spread from his school district’s
Facebook page to more than a million readers across
the state and nation.
“The letter was just a sincere response to what
have been many, many distractions from the federal
and state agencies that get in the way of what matters
most,” said Cross, who has received hundreds of
responses from coast to coast. “It apparently struck a
chord.”
Cross said the biggest reaction to his letter was
about the way in which test scores are being used to
rate public schools. Cross believes school rankings
are best left to things like football and basketball.
“The way that data is being used to compare and
rank schools is completely misguided. Assessment
data was never intended to be used for those
purposes. Probably the biggest takeaway from the
responses I have received is about the misuse of test
data to measure kids, teachers, principals and public
schools,” Cross said. “What professional in any line of
work would want to judge someone’s performance
based on how an 8-year-old fills in a bubble on a
given day?”
Cross’ viewpoint regarding the use of assessment
data by the federal and state education bureaucracies
has nothing to do with how his district stacks up
because Peru Elementary School District 124
historically performed above or at the statewide
averages on the ISAT test that this school year is
being replaced with the PARCC assessment.
In his letter, Cross wrote:
“Unfortunately, there
are many federal and state education initiatives that
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Superintendent’s heartfelt letter to parents goes viral
Peru Elementary Superintendent Mark Cross reads to teacher Chris Goodman’s Kindergarten class.
