Key to Great Schools

Zachary, Central Superintendents Tell Their Formula

Leaders of Top School Districts On What Makes Great Schools

CENTRAL — Only two men in the past 100 years have started new school systems in Louisiana and carried them through to success — Supt. Warren Drake of Zachary and Supt. Mike Faulk of Central.

Last month, the Louisiana Department of Education named Zachary and Central the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked school systems in Louisiana.  For Zachary and Warren Drake, it was the 7th straight year to be ranked No. 1.

Then last week, Supt. Drake announced his retirement after 10 years as superintendent.

Meanwhile, Supt. Faulk is completing construction of the new Central School Complex, the largest public school project in the history of East Baton Rouge Parish.

In Southeast Baton Rouge, citizens are pushing to create a new independent community school system, modeled after Zachary and Central’s experience.  Other groups are pushing for the formation of as many as five new school districts for the parish.

With the Zachary school system now 10 years old and Central now five years old, the Central City News asked Supt. Warren Drake and Supt. Mike Faulk for their thoughts on what makes successful school system.

Here are their answers.

Supt. Warren Drake of the Zachary Community School System:

1. Neighborhood Schools with Strong Parental Involvement.

“To me, this is clearly No. 1.  When students can go to school in the community where they reside, it makes all the difference.  If the name of your town is the name of your school system, it speaks volumes.  If your parents truly buy in to your schools, you’re difficult to beat.”

2. Good Leadership at the School and in the Classroom.

“There’s no substitute for high quality people.  You need great principals and great teachers.  It’s all about who the students are exposed to.  Put the best principals in position and the best teachers in the classrooms and you will get results.”

3. High Expectations.

“You must expect a lot from people.  Let them know that we expect outstanding performance in every way.  Then let them do their job.  They will rise to the occasion.”

“If something bad happens, leaders must take of it immediately.  I want the leader to take of the problem before it even comes to my attention.”

4. Take Ownership.

“Everyone involved must take ownership of the schools and the students’ education — the students, the parents, the teachers, the administrators, and the community.  When people buy in to what’s going on, then everybody is part of the solution.  This involves a lot of things you might not expect.  For example, I shop at our stores in Zachary.  Why?  Because their success is key to the success of our school system.  If businesses in Zachary are dying, they will not be able to pay the taxes our schools need.”

Around the state, many people think No. 1-ranked Zachary is an all-white school system, when in fact it is roughly 50-50.  Drake was asked how he keeps racial peace and multi-racial support for Zachary schools.  He said:

“The key is an expectation of fairness.  Fairness is the one word.  When black and white feel they will get a fair shake, things work out very well.”

“Another key is to have an open door.  My door is always open to everyone.  If someone comes in to see me and I’m out of the office, the secretary calls me and I’m back at the office in five minutes.  I want everyone to feel they are important and have a voice.  A school system — like a business — is about customer service.  The last 10 years have been a big challenge but it has been the greatest 10 years of my life.  Now I’m ready for the next challenge.”

Supt. Mike Faulk of the Central Community School System:

1. Quality of the Staff in the Classroom.

“When we started the school system, every teacher and administrator had to reapply.  We retained about 60 to 65 percent of the previous teaching staff.  We were able to put a high quality staff in place.”

The greatest change in the Central school system was at Tanglewood Elementary, which was a poorly-performing school before the creation of the Central school system, but has been the No. 1 elementary school in the state for the past three years.  We asked Supt. Faulk how he made such a turnaround.  He said:

“We followed Zachary’s model and focused schools around two or three grades.  In the case of Tanglewood, we removed the 4th and 5th grades and focused on the 2nd and 3rd grades.  A big factor in our approach is that there are no school districts in Central.  Students attend every school in the course of their studies.  This is working very well.”

2. Leadership at the Schools.

“Leadership is a very significant factor in the success of a school.  I look for principals with experience in successfully dealing with an accountability program and a track record of showing improvement.”

“When looking for leadership, it is important to have a large pool of applicants to choose from.  As Central becomes successful, we are seeing a larger and larger pool of applicants for leadership positions.”

3. Community Involvement.

“Our level of community support and involvement has been most significant in our success.  Support has been universal — from taxpayers to volunteers to parents and students.  Their support has been vital to everything the Central Community School System has achieved.

4. Cohesive School Board.

“Our school board has been united.  When we started, we had an appointed board.  At the first election, only one board member was replaced [when two incumbents were in one district].  At the next election, two members decided not to run again.  The two new board members meshed well with the board.  This unity of purpose has been very effective.”

5. Community Schools.

“This is the deciding factor.  The people in Central wanted their own schools for Central students.  They didn’t want their students bused in or bused out.  The people have bought into this school system.   These are their schools for their kids in this community.”

“All of these factors have been very important to the success of this school system and they will continue to be key to even greater success in the future.”

Supt. Faulk said Supt Drake and the Zachary school system have been role models for Central and to everyone in Louisiana who aspires to have a great school system.