A Fresno Unified Superintendent Finally Says It: ‘Our Kids Can Learn. No More Excuses’

Fresno Unified Superintendent Misty Her says the decades-old excusing of the district’s academic shortcomings are over.

There will be no more excuses for failing to teach students how to read. No more attributing dismal test scores to the challenges of teaching impoverished students, many of whom are also learning English.

Why is Her raising the bar for student achievement when previous superintendents served up excuses for academic failure like prawns on a platter at a seafood buffet?

One, it’s the right thing to do.

Two, in her first year as superintendent, Her committed two hours a week to helping teach reading at Mayfair Elementary School in east-central Fresno. By June, a team of lead first-grade teacher Ana Bustos, Her, and others had 21 of their 24 students reading at grade level.

Three, the superintendent believes these impressive results can be duplicated and surpassed throughout the state’s third-largest school district.

Not by mandate. But by providing teachers with the training necessary to achieve those results. It’s also worth noting that Her doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Teachers will have the freedom to use their preferred methods and instructional plans built around the Science of Reading.

Don’t misunderstand. Her isn’t saying that it will be easy. She recognizes the challenges presented by chronically absent students and those with emotional problems. But she’s ending Fresno Unified’s past practice of wiping its hands and saying that’s just the way it is when students fall short.

Superintendent Wants to Surpass Literacy Goals

Already there are signs that the district’s commitment to and investment in early literacy is working. Seventy percent of Fresno Unified kindergarteners mastered their foundational reading skills after the district began the year at 2%.

“It was so important for us to meet this goal because for the longest time people said our kids couldn’t do it,” Her said Tuesday night on GV Wire’s “Unfiltered” podcast. “Going from 2% to 70% tells you that our kids can do it. We just have to shift our mindset about the way we think about our kids. I want to get to 90% next year.”

These early results also reflect sound thinking by the School Board and its commitment to building the budget around initiatives proven to accelerate learning. Gone are the dozens and dozens of “special” programs launched on a wing and a prayer that drained taxpayer dollars while allowing legions of administrators to expand their empires.

Some of this breaking away from past failures is the result of the superintendent and the board’s focus on students. However, the district’s budget challenges are also requiring them to strip away the fluff and invest only in what works.

Another Big Challenge

The reality is, new hurdles will appear out of nowhere and there will be setbacks at times. The key is maintaining this early momentum and pulling off a turnaround ASAP. Fresno Unified has lost far too many students to the streets, prison, and to futures lacking hope.

A final thought. The district must forge a discipline policy that allows students to make mistakes while creating safe and nurturing classrooms. Teachers want it. Students who go to school to learn want it. Restorative justice, implemented by the district nearly a decade ago, has proven to be a disaster, teachers tell me.

I bet if district leaders, teachers, students, and parents team up, they can author an effective discipline plan unique to Fresno Unified. Yes, this is a difficult assignment. But not an impossible one.

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