Getting to Know Superintendent-select Fred Clarke

March 29, 2011

To make it easier for Rochester SAGE members and other readers, I’m compiling all information I have regarding Rochester Community Schools Superintendent-select Fred Clarke into one post.

Resume, Cover Letter, and Interview Broadcasts

Mr. Clarke’s resume can be found at the Rochester Community Schools website. His full cover letter is also available there.

Frederick Charles Clarke
Superintendent – Albion Public Schools
Employer	Job Title	Dates
Albion Public Schools	Superintendent	2007 – Present
Champaign (IL) Community Schools	Director of Pupil Services	2006-2007
Champaign (IL) Community Schools	Director of Information and Instructional Technology	2003-2006
Champaign (IL) Community Schools	Director of Educational Support Services	2002-2003
Longview (TX) ISD	Assistant Superintendent, Pupil Services and Technology	2001-2002
Longview (TX) ISD	Assistant Superintendent	1999-2001
Fort Bend (TX) ISD	High School Summer School Principal	Summer 1999
Fort Bend (TX) ISD	High School Assistant Principal	1997-1999
Fort Bend (TX) ISD	High School Instructional Technology Specialist	1996-1997
Fort Bend (TX) ISD	Systems Operator	1995-1996
Fort Bend (TX) ISD	High School Science Teacher	1991-1995
University	Degree	Date
Western Michigan University	Ph. D.	TBD
University of Houston	Masters of Education, Curriculum, and Instruction	1995
University of Michigan	Bachelor of Science, Biology	1991

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Mr. Clarke’s semi-finalist interview, finalist interview, and the Board discussion on why they chose him are also on RCS’s website.

District Data

Mr. Fred Clarke is the Superintendent of Albion. The ACT scores for Albion are compared to state averages and Rochester Community Schools are below. Imlay City is the district for the third candidate, Dr. Gary Richards.

2010	Imlay City	Rochester	Albion	State
Composite	18.4	22.4	16.4	19.3
English	17.7	21.6	15.0	18.3
English+Writing	17.3	20.9	15.0	17.9
Mathematics	18.3	23.1	16.0	19.3
Reading	18.3	22.1	16.6	19.4
Science	18.8	22.5	17.3	19.7
Writing	6.3	7.1	6.1	6.5

2009
Composite	18.0	22	16.2	19.0
English	16.7	21.4	15.0	18.0
English+Writing	16.6	20.9	15.1	17.9
Mathematics	17.8	22.9	16.2	19.2
Reading	18.1	21.5	15.9	19.0
Science	18.8	21.7	17.3	19.4
Writing	6.4	7.2	5.9	6.7

2008
Composite	18.4	21.9	17.2	18.8
English	17.3	21.1	15.8	17.6
English+Writing	17.1	20.6	15.7	17.5
Mathematics	18.2	22.6	16.8	19.0
Reading	18.2	21.7	17.8	18.8
Science	19.3	21.8	18.0	19.5
Writing	6.4	7.3	6.1	6.6

Difference 2010 – 2008
Composite	0.0	0.5	-0.8	0.5
English	0.4	0.5	-0.8	0.7
English+Writing	0.2	0.3	-0.7	0.4
Mathematics	0.1	0.5	-0.8	0.3
Reading	0.1	0.4	-1.2	0.6
Science	-0.5	0.7	-0.7	0.2
Writing	-0.1	-0.2	0.0	-0.1

Trend Difference Between District and State
Composite	-0.5	0.0	-1.3
English	-0.3	-0.2	-1.5
English+Writing	-0.2	-0.1	-1.1
Mathematics	-0.2	0.2	-1.1
Reading	-0.5	-0.2	-1.8
Science	-0.7	0.5	-0.9
Writing	0.0	-0.1	0.1
Average Trend	-0.3	0.0	-1.1

3rd grade
	Math		Reading
	Met	Included	Met	Included
2006	91.90%	86	84.90%	86
2007	85.90%	78	80.80%	78
2008	97.40%	77	80.80%	78
2009	100%	78	80.50%	77
Compare	8.1		-4.4

4th grade
	Math		Reading
	Met	Included	Met	Included
2006	82.40%	68	80.60%	67
2007	74.70%	75	78.70%	75
2008	84.10%	69	69.60%	69
2009	98.50%	65	73.80%	61
Compare	16.1		-6.8

5th grade
	Math		Reading		Science
	Met	Included	Met	Included	Met	Included
2006	52.90%	87	67%	88	68.20%	85
2007	56.90%	58	76.40%	55	68.40%	57
2008	68.30%	60	54.20%	59	70%	60
2009	72.20%	72	70.40%	71	72.20%	72
Compare	19.3		3.4		4

6th grade
	Math		Reading		Social Studies
	Met	Included	Met	Included	Met	Included
2006	56.70%	90	77.50%	89	62.90%	89
2007	38.30%	81	63.30%	79	51.90%	81
2008	64.90%	57	72.40%	58	69.10%	55
2009	83.70%	49	75.50%	49	59.20%	49
Compare	27		-2		-3.7

7th grade
	Math		Reading
	Met	Included	Met	Included
2006	25%	92	80.20%	91
2007	43%	86	50.60%	85
2008	47.80%	67	56.70%	67
2009	67.30%	55	54.50%	55
Compare	42.3		-25.7

8th grade
	Math		Reading		Science
	Met	Included	Met	Included	Met	Included
2006	41.90%	86	56.30%	87	59.80%	87
2007	33.30%	87	55.20%	87	45.30%	86
2008	58.40%	77	58.40%	77	64.90%	77
2009	33.80%	71	62.50%	72	54.20%	72
Compare	-8.1		6.2		-5.6

9th grade
Social Studies
	Met	Included
2006	58.70%	109
2007	53.30%	90
2008	56.60%	83
2009	50.60%	81
Compare	-8.1

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District Data

			Great Schools		MME Avg.	ACT College Readiness	IB Schools
Name	School District	Title	Enrollment	Rating	MME Avg.	ACT College Readiness	IB Schools	Gifted Program
Frederick Clarke	Albion	Superintendent	886	3	36.0%	4.9%	None	Yes, limited

Rochester SAGE Interview Questions

I sent each candidate some questions regarding gifted education. Here are the questions and Mr. Clarke’s responses:

I am very impressed with the work SAGE has done for the benefit of the children in Rochester Community Schools. It is clear that your group understands the importance of ensuring students have optimum opportunities for advanced learning.

In Albion, we have been faced with meeting this challenge to ensure our gifted and advanced students receive the best education possible to promote college readiness. Albion, a small urban school district, has been described by many as a “Little Detroit.” We are a majority minority school district (58% African American, 40% White, 2% Hispanic) with over 88% of our students on Free or Reduced Lunch. Yet, we are still making staggering gains in student achievement, particularly at our elementary campus. Five years ago, Albion was at or near the bottom of the county in Math. Today we are at the top (achieving 100% proficient for all students) in 3rd grade Math; near the top in 4th through 8th grades. One contributing factor was our implementation of Full Day Kindergarten the first year I came on board. I believe that to build a solid foundation to success you need to look within our early childhood development initiatives.

Our high school, going through difficult times, will see the benefits of the initiatives we’ve put in place over the past 4 years. My experience tells me that it can take up to 8 years or more to turn around a high school that is struggling. We are already seeing gains due to the systemic academic changes made at the middle school level.

1) What advanced and gifted programs are currently offered in your school district?

Albion has lacked the resources for several years; however, we have managed to supplement programs using Title funds and other resources. Our differentiated instruction through the co-teaching model has enhanced our efforts to provide an enriched learning environment for our elementary students. As Rochester has come to realize, differentiated instructional environments are critical. I believe the DI concept is the most impactful educational reform model within the past 4 decades! Our elementary has implemented several programs to help enrich the students: Love of Languages, Robotics, and Destination Imagination. At the middle and high school level, implementation of the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) College Readiness program for at-risk students has opened several doors for many. AP English is offered at the high school and students can attend the Battle Creek Area Math Science Center to take additional AP science and math courses. In addition, students can participate in the ATYP program through Western Michigan University. Many districts in the county do not send their students to the BCAMSC or ATYP due to the cost. Our current philosophy is that the benefits far outweigh the costs so we will continue to offer this opportunity for our students. In addition, we implemented Dual Enrollment through established partnerships with Albion College and Kellogg Community College.

2) What do you believe the ideal advanced and gifted program would be?

An ideal program would be one that meets the needs of your advanced learners, challenging them to think critically and value learning. In my last district, we had the resources to implement an enrichment pull-out model along with a separate self contained gifted classroom. This worked well for addressing the multiple levels of gifted students. High quality and rigorous classroom environments are keys to successful gifted and enrichment programs, however. The two must go hand in hand. Each program, whether gifted/enrichment or regular education, must address the needs of the “whole” child. Research tells us that successful programs provide a mixture of three experiences: academic, cultural, and recreational (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). I have found this to be true based on my experience. Choosing the type of program you want to implement requires collaboration. For Rochester, everything begins and ends with community and staff communication to determine which is best for the students.

3) For Rochester Community Schools, what advanced and gifted program should be implemented based on your understanding of the surrounding community, the current finances, and the needs of RCS students?

It would be difficult to pinpoint which program would be better suited for Rochester before going through a collaborative process. My leadership style relies heavily on community involvement and feedback to look at the data and determine which programs are going to have the greatest impact on the students. I will involve staff, business leaders as well as parents as we work to develop an action plan for implementing a research-based best practice program. My experience in financially strapped districts has taught me several things, first of which is to look at your budget in terms of concentric circles. The innermost ring represents student achievement and the classroom. Moving outward, each larger circle represents categories that are less likely to impact the classroom. When Rochester is faced with needing to cut from $11 to $14 million, it is important that we address the outer circles first. A gifted and talented program would certainly be closer to the middle. Impacting the center circle would have a profound effect on the community. After all, the foundation for a community’s success lies within its most precious resource: the children.

4) What would your timeline be for implementing these programs?

This would be determined by the collaborative process. As a systems thinker, I will diligently approach this issue by 1) determining the current shared values and vision, 2) discovering the underlying deep assumptions or mental models, 3) working to build our shared vision, 4) emphasizing team learning as we implement the best model, and 5) using the process of continuous improvement once implemented.

5) Are you a supporter of the International Baccalaureate program and would you work to convert one or more elementary, middle, and high schools in RCS to the IB program?

I am familiar with this process. While serving as an administrator in Texas, we were working towards becoming an IB school. Ultimately funding kept us from moving forward, much to the disappointment of many. In terms of college readiness, I would say that nothing can compare to the curriculum offered in an IB program! It is interdisciplinary, inquisitive, and engaging. It does draw from other programs; however, as I’m sure Rochester has discovered when it entered into the consortium with the International Academy. Again, I would use a collaborative process with staff and community members to determine if Rochester can move towards offering an IB program within district. Anytime a school district such as Farmington pulls out of a consortium, you have to reassess what impact that will have on Rochester and whether or not the needs of our students are being met. We would also need to determine the impact on the district’s finances.

Thank you for this opportunity to express my thoughts. I look forward to working with you in the future!

Community and Finalist Interviews

I had the opportunity to ask some questions of Mr. Clarke during the Community/Parents Interview Sessions and Finalist Interviews during Public Questions. I also talked with Mr. Clarke briefly before each interview.

Mr. Clarke may be the most open to various forms of advanced and gifted education. In his role in Champaign, IL schools, the district had both magnet gifted classrooms and pull-out gifted programs. He also helped establish Renzulli Learning, a differentiated learning program.

Mr. Clarke also stated that they had considered the programs so important that he worked to protect them from budget cuts. This is in contrast to what has happened here and in other districts.

Another plus is that MEAP scores in math have risen, often dramatically, in his district. For 7th grade math, the percentage achieving at least basic proficiency rose 42 percentage points from 25% in 2006 to 67% in 2009.

While ACT scores in the state have primarily increased, in Albion they have decreased in many areas. They are still abysmally low in all areas.

And even though Math MEAP has risen, Reading has generally decreased. 7th grade reading dropped from 80% in 2006 to 55% in 2009. Mr. Clarke explained that there was a decision to focus on math and bring those scores up first and then focus on reading and the other subject areas.

I also asked about what courses he had taken on gifted learning and he had none. He also had not read much specifically about gifted students. He sounds open to input from parents of gifted students and gifted experts to implement the best gifted program possible.

100 Day Plan and Improvements Memo

One of the items Mr. Clarke presented to the Board of Education was a 100 Day Plan in which he listed his transition plan being the new superintendent. In it he covers meeting with various members of schools and the community, reviewing school data and policies, and examining potential changes.

Another item was a memo requested by the Board detailing what improvements Mr. Clarke would make to the district given unlimited funds. Mr. Clarke lists twelve items, including longer days and year-around school; mandatory foreign language, music instruction, and honors classes; and making RCS a Promise Zone for four-year college scholarships.