The changes in the two charts appear primarily in the tier of positions that report directly (and exclusively) to the Superintendent of Schools. Reading from left to right, the position of Coordinator for School Improvement in 2023 has been replaced in 2024 by Executive Director of Teaching and Learning. The person who holds the latter position was hired in May 2024. The press release announcing the hire was issued on June 4. It reads in part:
Dr. Elsa Kortright-Torres has been hired by the Hudson City School District as Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, bringing extensive experience as an elementary school bilingual classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent, Hudson Superintendent Dr. Juliette Pennyman announced. . . .
The Hudson City School District Board of Education approved Dr. Kortright-Torres' hire during its May 21, 2024, meeting. She starts on July 1. . . .
Kortright-Torres will oversee three vital areas: the curriculum being taught; teaching methods and practices; and assessments. "I will lend a lot of support to students, families, and teachers," she said. "My job is to look at the instructional aspect of the school district and determine how we're supporting the priorities of the Superintendent and Board of Education, how we're in compliance with New York State Education Department expectations, and how we ensure students are successful." . . .
Two more positions that are new in 2024 to this tier on the organizational chart are Safety Coordinator, who reports to the Superintendent but to whom no one reports, and the Executive Director of Human Resources, to whom the Human Resources Staff reports. Another change is that the title Business Manager is now Chief Financial Officer.
Payroll information available on SeeThroughNY reveals that a number of the people holding positions in that tier on the organizational chart have salaries of more than $100,000 a year. Perhaps they all do. One wonders if all these administrative positions are really necessary in a school district with an enrollment of only about 1,500 students.
COPYRIGHT 2O24 CAROLE OSTERINK
Organizational charts are about as relevant to organizational success as tea leaves. In my studies of struggling schools these last 20 years (as we know, Hudson has one of the worst academic records in the state), the things that count the most toward student success is curriculum -- in successful schools the curriculum is written, taught, and tested -- and discipline, the presence of which is defined as a student's ability to access the curriculum in the classroom. In good schools organizational charts can be used to build good C&D; in bad schools, the same chart can be used to impede such C&D. --peter meyer
ReplyDeleteThese charts show a bloated pension and healthcare organization that does a bit of teaching on the side, while guarding against charter schools.
ReplyDeleteVery smart, Ruralist. How do you explain why our local taxpayers and parents put up with such a "bloated" and non-educational school system?
DeleteLocal taxpayers have discarded the values of reason and observation in service to party loyalty. “Yes, the school administration is failing my children, but I’ll vote for them anyways.”
ReplyDeleteRuralist is very astute and, unfortunately, describes a very true--and disheartening--reality. Many residents care less about education than about loyalty to family and party. It reminds me of a survey I once passed out to our school community (parents, teachers, etc), which had a question (#5), "do you think it's the primary job of hcsd to make children smarter?" The majority said NO. So,who is Hudson Deserves Better? thank you, peter meyer
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