Leadership Matters - October 2014

students one year and five years out about how well prepared they were for college. While Cross is all for a movement to regain local control over public education, he’s not an advocate for mutiny. “I would never steer my district away from complying with the law,” he said. “I just think the law needs to be changed and the over-reach needs to be stopped. We will jump through all of the hoops, and we will administer the tests -- and then we will put it aside and focus on the kids and what’s important: a well-rounded education for children in a warm, caring and nurturing environment. All of the talk about education reform and there’s no mention of music, art and physical education.” Cross is in his 23 rd year as an educator, including four years as a special education teacher, six as a high school principal, one year as an assistant regional superintendent, two years as superintendent of the Spring Valley School District and 10 years as the schools chief in Peru. The genesis of Cross’ letter dates back to last spring when he met with his building principals to discuss the school year that was ending and to look at ways to improve going forward. “The principals and I had an in-depth discussion about all of the distractions and the need to refocus on the kids,” Cross recalled. The letter more or less captured and framed that discussion for parents. He sent it out on August 20. A school board meeting was scheduled that night and by the time Cross headed to that meeting the letter already was hurtling through cyberspace. “I told the Board that I had sent a back-to-school letter to parents and I gave them a copy of it. I’m not sure any of us realized how far and wide it would spread, but by the next day I was getting responses from all over the place,” Cross said. Based on the response he has received, Cross said he thinks it’s just a matter of time before there is a “revolution” by parents and educators who believe in strong local control of public education. He chuckled when he recalled a reporter asking him about his “controversial” letter. “I told her that there was no controversy,” he said. “The response I’ve gotten has been 100 percent supportive of a common sense approach to educating children. If nothing else, the response to the letter proves that parents do not want their children attending a test factory.”

“I would never steer my district away from complying with the law. I just think the law needs to be changed and the over-reach needs to be stopped. We will jump through all of the hoops, and we will administer the tests -- and then we will put it aside and focus on the kids and what’s important: a well-rounded education for children in a warm, caring and nurturing environment. All of the talk about education reform and there’s no mention of music, art and physical education.”

Read responses to the letter from across the country on the next two pages.

7