12:17 p.m., Dec. 8, 2009----National Superintendent of the Year Beverly Hall visited Dover, Del., on Nov. 18 to share lessons from her work in the Atlanta Public Schools. Meeting with education leaders from across the state, she confirmed the work that has been done in education policy in Delaware while offering ideas for the path ahead.

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Hall is highly qualified to offer advice to education systems looking to improve their impact on students. Atlanta Public Schools has nearly doubled its graduation rate in the past 10 years in addition to adopting a district-wide curriculum that has proven to increase student achievement.

Before becoming the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools in 1999, Hall served as state district superintendent of Newark (N.J.) Public Schools and deputy chancellor of New York City Public Schools. No stranger to what it takes to turn around failing urban school districts, Hall has used her experiences to offer recommendations about teacher and school leadership policy to audiences nationwide.

She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Keystone Award for Leadership in Education in June 2009.

During her visit to Delaware, Hall discussed the specifics of her work in Atlanta in two sessions. The first was a private meeting with Delaware's superintendents and charter leaders, followed by a dinner and keynote address for education stakeholders from across the state. Both meetings were sponsored by the Delaware Academy for School Leadership at the University of Delaware in partnership with the Delaware Department of Education.

Highlights of the evening included Hall's inspiring example of her personal leadership success and her ideas for moving forward with Delaware's plan for public education. Her keynote address focused on how the management of human capital in education can increase student achievement, and she suggested several small steps a state system can make to gain quick results.

One example is collective pay for performance, which was adopted in Atlanta Public Schools and helped to increase teacher effectiveness and teacher collaboration. Hall also suggested a variety of approaches to turning around failing schools, including transforming large schools into smaller ones.

Attendees said they were pleased with Hall's recommendations and inspired by her story.

“Dr. Hall has a vision and a plan for how to achieve the vision, which is equally important,” said Victoir Cahoon, a principal from the Appoquinimink School District.

Whitney Williams of the Christina School District added, “She was courageous, exposing the truth and the data [needed to improve achievement in her district]. For us in Delaware, if Atlanta can do it, we can do it, too.”

Article by Alison Willey
Photo by Mike Baker