Three are left standing in the Charlottesville Superintendent search

The City School Board chairman prefers keeping an appointed board

Does anybody know anything about Murray’s history in Albemarle?

The deal was, there were no grades in any classes in the education department; everything was pass/fail. And I never heard of anybody failing. While there may have been good education going on, an outside observer would never know it if they just wanted to rely on grades and degrees as evidence. If you showed up, you passed and got your degree.

One of the most well-known graduates of the UMass doctoral program from that era is Bill Cosby. He didn’t spend much time on campus, but somehow managed to get his degree. The rumor was that he wrote his thesis on Fat Albert and the gang, but I don’t know whether that’s true.

If the candidate with the UMass doctorate was there in that era (at age 47 that could be possible), I’d wonder how good the academic credentials really are.

That said, the gentleman probably has a 20-25 career in education. Presumably, he’s got a track record of performance that will be closely examined by the school board.

The thing is, you don’t really know the character and personal dynamics of somebody in this kind of position until you’ve observed them on the job for a year or so. That might be one reason to lean towards the local candidate.

Harry Landers

Harvard’s Graduate School of Education is indeed more highly-ranked than the others you mentioned.

Not that these rankings are everything . . .

This, of course, is (rather than the education) one of the big reasons why people shell out the big bucks for postgraduate Ivy League degrees. Even folks who openly admit to a lack of knowledge about schools see the name and are impressed. Not that they’d be wrong, necessarily. Many of those programs are very, very good.

I would submit, though, as a reminder, that there’s probably some value in looking in what the candidates have done in the, oh, 25 years since they left school.

– Detective Gomez (I swear to God I’m going to register this.)

I find it notable that Jean Murray, the local woman, has her doctorate from Harvard. … I can’t claim to know a whole lot about colleges, but I’m guessing that Harvard’s doctorates are more highly-regarded, and likely offers a better education.

This, of course, is (rather than the education) one of the big reasons why people shell out the big bucks for postgraduate Ivy League degrees. Even folks who openly admit to a lack of knowledge about schools see the name and are impressed. Not that they’d be wrong, necessarily. Many of those programs are very, very good.

I would submit, though, as a reminder, that there’s probably some value in looking in what the candidates have done in the, oh, 25 years since they left school.

– Detective Gomez (I swear to God I’m going to register this.)

Unless, of course, it hasn’t been 25 years.

Here’s a quick bibliographical clip regarding the timing and content of the candidates’ academic work:

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Top-down high school curriculum change requires bottom-up support from teachers: Factors influencing teachers’ responses. Murray, Jean Shelley, EdD. HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 1999. 174 pp. Advisor: Elmore, Richard F

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THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITARIANISM, RACIAL UNREST IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, AND CHANGE AS DEMANDED BY BLACK STUDENTS.. PUGHSLEY, JAMES LAWRENCE, EDD. THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, 1973. 101 pp.

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PERCEPTIONS OF SELECTED UPPER ELEMENTARY PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS TOWARD GROUPING AND EVALUATION OF PUPIL LEARNING PROGRESS IN READING (ABILITY GROUPING, STUDENT EVALUATION). CASH, KRINER, EDD. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, 1991. 262 pp. Advisor: SINCLAIR, ROBERT L.

Oh, sure, obviously candidates can’t be considered solely on the basis of where they got their PhDs. But when it comes to careers that involve PhDs, I’m a sucker for brand-name colleges as a method of determining quality of candidates without actually spending any time thinking about them. ;)

Sure. Fill in the blank as you wish. The point — that it’s a good idea to judge people on their work rather than on their diploma — still holds.

Unless we’re talking about Columbia or something.