I recently had the great good fortune to meet and get to know Jean-Claude Brizard, the superintendent of Rochester's public schools. It got me thinking about one under-appreciated aspect of leadership and how it relates to education reform. Let me explain.
Famed San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh not only won a spate of Super Bowl rings, he also left a tremendous human capital legacy. A scad of his former assistant coaches, including Mike Holgren, Sam Wyche, George Seifert, Dennis Green, and Jim Fassel,?went on to head coaching gigs themselves and had remarkably successful careers, including coaching in and winning a number of additional Super Bowls. In turn, their assistants, including Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy, Jeff Fisher, Jon Gruden, Andy Reid, Steve Mariucci, John Fox, and Brian Billick did the same. In short, Walsh continued to influence the game for the better long after he retired.
The?same thing can be said about former?US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. A striking number of prominent public servants, including Tim Russert, Bill Kristol, Karl Zinsmeister, and TBFI's own Checker Finn, cut their teeth working for the scholarly Moynihan. They then helped develop the next generation of leaders in their fields. Over the years, for example, Checker has helped mentor Nelson Smith, Scott Hamilton, and many more.
I've written before about my admiration for the current work being done in New York City's public schools by Chancellor Joel Klein. But it strikes me that, for the same reasons as Bill Walsh and D.P. Moynihan, his legacy will live on long after he decides to move on (hopefully not too soon!). In addition to changing what it means to be an urban district, he's helping develop the next generation of reformers.?Consider just a snippet of the human capital legacy he's leaving:
Andres Alonso, the head of Baltimore's public schools, was a Klein deputy.
Jean-Claude Brizard, the head of Rochester's public schools, was a Klein deputy.
Garth Harries, New Haven's?assistant superintendent and heir apparent, was a Klein deputy.
John White, a current Klein deputy, is a 2010 Broad Fellow and certain to lead a major district soon.
Ellen Winn, head of the Education Equality Project, led an important office under Klein.
Michelle Rhee, head of DC's public schools, considers Klein a mentor, and he strongly recommended her for the job in the nation's capital.
If you're like me and excited about what's happening in NYC, you have reason to smile about the future. Its seeds have taken root in other locations. Expect them to bear fruit for years to come.
?Andy Smarick
Update: Thanks to the readers who've pointed out that lots of others now doing important ed reform work also did time with Klein, including?Chris Cerf and Rajeev Bajav; Marcia Lyles; LaVerne Srinivasan, Julie Horowitz, and Jean Desravines; Cate Swinburn; Dan Wesiberg; Jemina Bernard