New BCS superintendent gives philosophy, goals

Louise Smith, who was selected as superintendent of the Bogalusa City Schools by a 5-2 vote on Friday, is ready to go to work.

Louise Smith, during her June 20 session
with community stakeholders in Bogalusa.
(File photo)

Despite the vote following racial lines, Smith had earlier said she felt she could work with anyone or any group and that she felt the demographics of the Poplarville (Miss.) School District and Bogalusa were similar enough for their to be similarities.

BCS board president Paul Kates, who said Friday, "Now that Mrs. Smith has won, we need to move forward for the children."

Kates said no salary was discussed during the executive session, but had earlier indicated a package that would reach the low six-figure range.

Both Kates, who said he supported Lionel Jackson, who is black, for the position, "because he is familiar with all of the laws, policies and procedures in Louisiana. The other person, the lady, is from Mississippi and will have to learn those things" and Raymond Mims, voted for Jackson.

Kates said he also favored Jackson because, "he said he would go into the homes and get parents involved."

About 50 members of the community were in a packed media room at the Central Office when the board returned after a 33 minute executive session and Kates called for a motion and vote.

Smith, who told interviewers her career goal was to become a superintendent, said she and her husband would relocate to Bogalusa as soon as feasible.

To help members of the community better understand her, she answered a series of questions for wpnewsblog:

1.     Introduce yourself to the community, as you would at a first-time public appearance:

I am Louise Smith - wife, mother, grandmother and educator.  All of these roles are important to me.  I am here today to talk about my role as an educator.  Education is the reason I am a responsible, productive person in our society.  I grew up under adverse conditions.  Educators instilled in me the desire to learn and work hard to achieve my potential and dreams.  I often wonder where I would be without powerful teachers who provided caring relationships, high expectations and opportunities to participate and contribute to the school and community.  I grew up knowing I would give back – I had to help other children find the hope and resilience they needed to succeed in life.  I have an undergraduate degree in social work, a master’s degree in education and a specialist’s degree in administration.  I have completed all work for the doctorate degree in education with the exception of a dissertation.  I love learning and I love watching our children grow and learn.

2.     Why do you want to become superintendent of schools in Bogalusa?

Becoming a school superintendent is one of my lifelong goals.  Bogalusa is just across the river from Poplarville.  Our demographics are similar.   I have made many trips to Bogalusa over the years to enjoy two of my favorite past times - eating and shopping.   I will use the skills, knowledge and insight from my diverse work experiences in education to turn the challenges of the Bogalusa school district into learning opportunities for students.  I firmly believe healthy schools build healthy communities.  I have been  successful in every education position I have held which includes: classroom teacher, principal, athletic director, federal programs coordinator, grant writer, loss control coordinator, sixteenth section land manager, staff development coordinator, test coordinator, technology coordinator, safe and drug free schools coordinator and alternative school principal. I will be a successful school superintendent and I look forward to working with students, families, educators and community members to build capacity and unlock the leadership potential in Bogalusa City Schools.

3.     Why are you seeking employment other than your current position?

I want to become a school superintendent.

4.     Summarize your current job responsibilities.

I write and administer grants for Poplarville School District and I coordinate our federal programs.  I work with teachers and support staff to build their professional capacity to serve our students and I help them find the resources, programs and strategies they need for success in the classroom.

5.     What are your strengths?

• Student focused
• Principled, collaborative leader
• Visible, accessible, hands-on leader
• Team player
• Communicator & Listener
• Fiscal Manager
• Committed to lifelong learning
• Informed decision maker
• Strategic planner
• Analytical Observer & Problem Solver
• Results oriented
• Resourceful
• Relationship/capacity builder
• Sense of Humor and Humility

6.     What challenges do you see in Bogalusa?

1.     Facilities

2.     Student Achievement

3.     Declining enrollment

4.     Accountability

5.     Transparency

6.     Stewardship

7.     Communication

8.     Leadership

7.     Your current district has a mixture of high performing, medium performance and low performance campuses … what needs to be done to get all campuses to the point where they are at least showing improvement and are not stagnant or in decline?

We will conduct a comparability study to determine why schools with the same demographics are not improving or growing.  We can do this by gathering and analyzing the data.  We will use results to implement best practices and research to ensure all schools are performing at high levels.  Improving schools is a matter of determining where the weaknesses are and working to correct them.

8.     Bogalusa has a reputation as a district where there is minimal parental participation. What can be done to effect change?

Research demonstrates family engagement in a child’s education increases student achievement, improves attendance and reduces dropouts.  Bogalusa recently sent 26 cheerleaders to a camp at The University of Southern Mississippi.  These students represented the school district very well.  They were behaved and disciplined.  Families and school sponsors worked with these students to help them realize the importance of their conduct and appearance to outside audiences.  I will go to these families and the families of other students and ask for their input on providing family participation in the schools.  We must help families realize they are the greatest advocates for their children and our schools.  We will develop multiple outreach mechanisms to inform families about family involvement policies and programs through newsletters, slide shows, local newspapers, memos and other media.  We will make optimal use of communication technologies to connect with families.  We will send learning videos/DVDs home.  We will post press releases, calendars, school menus and other messages on the district web site.  We will provide a family resource center with a coordinator.  Families can use the family resource center to learn technology skills and gain skills and knowledge to help their children with school work.  Families can check out learning materials from the Family Resource Center.  We will organize family advisory committees and PTA Units.  We can connect with families through face to face meetings, school performances, extracurricular activities and home visits.  Families will be invited into our schools as volunteers and resource speakers.  We will provide capacity building, training and technical assistance to teachers and administrator to scale up innovative practices to reach more families.  We will provide innovative programming and services to families such as leadership training, nutrition classes, exercise classes and family literacy to remove barriers to family participation.   We will evaluate the effectiveness of family involvement activities and programs on a regular basis.

9.     Realizing all districts are different, and that you have not been in the district before, rank your priorities for Bogalusa from one through five, with one being the most important. Also, please briefly explain why for each.

1.   Student Achievement – Student achievement is important for the successful development of our children.  Students who achieve in school become responsible, productive citizens and achieve occupational and economic success.

2.  High quality teacher in every classroom – Research tells us the teacher is the number one variable in academic achievement of students.

3. Family involvement – Research tells us family involvement is important in helping students perform academically

4. Safe disciplined schools – Teaching and learning cannot take place in a disorderly learning environment.

5. Improved facilities – Perception is reality.  People judge us by our appearance.  The public evaluates schools on the basis of appearance.  Clean attractive, well-kept buildings and grounds convey a sense of pride, attentiveness and respect for the public’s investment.

10.  Make your case as Bogalusa’s next superintendent.

I believe the challenges in Bogalusa City Schools can be turned into opportunities.  I will conduct an assessment to determine priorities and needs in the school district. Everyone will participate in the assessment – students, educators, families, board members, and community members.  We will establish our goals and develop an improvement plan.  We will implement and monitor the plan in order to make adjustments as needed.   The plan will be documented and communicated in as many formats as possible and to as many audiences as possible.  Everyone in the school district will know and perform their responsibilities to achieve the goals.  As the leader of the district, I will follow-up and follow-through to ensure we are meeting the goals as outlined to ensure a quality education for every student.