ACPS Superintendent Resigns

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's get back to Hutchings. I think he was fired. Why else would he be receiving severance?

Can someone post the link to the separation agreement - I am bad at goggling.

It's under the Board Meeting for June 10, 2022
https://alexandriapublic.ic-board.com/attachments/c7742bf2-144d-454c-b9f3-07467530ddde.pdf

I do not think the terms of the agreement on their face provide a basis to conclude the School Board fired Hutchings. I would guess the School Board agreed to the severance in exchange for the some of obligations put on Hutchings in the agreement such as the cooperation clause as to questions after he leaves his job.

Also, if he was fired why was Meagan Alderton praising him so? She was practically gushing. And if the School Board fired him, why allow him to stay on for two-plus months? That doesn't make sense.

Here's the renewed contract from June 2021:
https://alexandriapublic.ic-board.com/attachments/87af16a5-06c6-4451-8a17-eb00b284e8aa.pdf

Alderton has always been pro-Hutchings. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the board disagreed with her. Hopefully she will not be re-elected Chair in the fall.

Also there is so much irony in the fact that she talked to the post about Hutchings after all those statements about not talking to the press. Did the school board and ACPS comms approve everything she said?

Kind of surprised she’s such fan given that his departure after only 4 years contributes to one of public schools’ “greatest challenges”:
“One of the greatest challenges in today’s public schools in general is what I call the revolving door. We really reached a critical juncture in which we can’t even expect and plan to our support personnel — teachers, principals, leadership, superintendents… To not stick around for at least five years is devastating to our potential for progress.”
https://www.alxnow.com/2021/09/28/school-board-chair-meagan-alderton-says-acps-leadership-will-be-challenged-by-high-board-turnover/

She blames parents for his desire to resign.

It's too bad the separation agreement also didn't prohibit the parties from disparaging ACPS parents.

[Anonymous]

Dump the School Board too. They should have fired him for several disasters during his tenure but they are 100% right behind him and cut from the same cloth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dump the School Board too. They should have fired him for several disasters during his tenure but they are 100% right behind him and cut from the same cloth.

A majority of the school board is new and if you read between the lines, it appears they did get rid of him. Or at least enough wanted to. Firing him is a pretty high bar. In the end this was probably the best option for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dump the School Board too. They should have fired him for several disasters during his tenure but they are 100% right behind him and cut from the same cloth.

A majority of the school board is new and if you read between the lines, it appears they did get rid of him. Or at least enough wanted to. Firing him is a pretty high bar. In the end this was probably the best option for everyone.

Hmm. Good thing his consulting company’s website was ready to launch. Can’t decide how this departure impacts the book, which is being released sometime this month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dump the School Board too. They should have fired him for several disasters during his tenure but they are 100% right behind him and cut from the same cloth.

A majority of the school board is new and if you read between the lines, it appears they did get rid of him. Or at least enough wanted to. Firing him is a pretty high bar. In the end this was probably the best option for everyone.

It’s the same school board by any other name. They were 100% behind the virtue signaling of for example SROs and renaming schools.

I’m not against renaming the schools, one was appropriately done, but they spent more time focused on that, than reopening them, and then all padded themselves on the back.

They should have fired him. Like the CEO of WMATA. That board doesn’t get any credit either because any one of the disasters that happened under his watch were a fireable offense. He only looks good in contrast to trains on fire. Good news! Trains that don’t run because half are out of commission, and half the drivers are no longer qualified, means there is less risk of fire!

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that one newly-elected SB member was a longtime ACPS insider both at central office and TC, and thus is in a large part responsible for the mess this whole thing has become. Be careful who you vote for, folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dump the School Board too. They should have fired him for several disasters during his tenure but they are 100% right behind him and cut from the same cloth.

A majority of the school board is new and if you read between the lines, it appears they did get rid of him. Or at least enough wanted to. Firing him is a pretty high bar. In the end this was probably the best option for everyone.

Hmm. Good thing his consulting company’s website was ready to launch. Can’t decide how this departure impacts the book, which is being released sometime this month.

The publication date has been pushed back for the fourth time. It's now out July 1st. Was supposed to be out May 10th.

I think it's likely that he'll still use ACPS resources (comms team, his vanity podcast, staff time) to promote his book and his LLC.

[Anonymous]

The bigger question moving forward is how much will his consulting contract be for ACPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that one newly-elected SB member was a longtime ACPS insider both at central office and TC, and thus is in a large part responsible for the mess this whole thing has become. Be careful who you vote for, folks.

So who voted to keep him and who voted for him to go (I don't believe the "resigned" narrative)? They all fundamentally agree with his "vision" so this is kind of tough.

Here are my bets:

A:

Bailey - Keep
Green - Keep (she was on a speaking tour of Alexandria churches with him just a few weeks ago)
Rief - Go - (she clearly agrees with his world view but if it was a secret vote, I bet she'd be brave. Wasn't she the only school board member with kids at ACPS during the shut down? I don't like her but it was clear at the school board meetings, she was living it with the rest of us. )

B:

Booz - Go
Ignacio - Go (I think she's the former ACPS staffer being referenced by the PP but on a SB election thread the point was made that she has an ax to grind at central office)
Baird - Go (she got very chummy with "Greg" very quickly but I think she would just do whatever Booz was doing)

C:

Alderton - Keep (they are two peas in a pod especially in their strong support of private education )
Elnoubi - Go (he's the only school board member with a spine)
Harris - Keep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that one newly-elected SB member was a longtime ACPS insider both at central office and TC, and thus is in a large part responsible for the mess this whole thing has become. Be careful who you vote for, folks.

So who voted to keep him and who voted for him to go (I don't believe the "resigned" narrative)? They all fundamentally agree with his "vision" so this is kind of tough.

Here are my bets:

A:

Bailey - Keep
Green - Keep (she was on a speaking tour of Alexandria churches with him just a few weeks ago)
Rief - Go - (she clearly agrees with his world view but if it was a secret vote, I bet she'd be brave. Wasn't she the only school board member with kids at ACPS during the shut down? I don't like her but it was clear at the school board meetings, she was living it with the rest of us. )

B:

Booz - Go
Ignacio - Go (I think she's the former ACPS staffer being referenced by the PP but on a SB election thread the point was made that she has an ax to grind at central office)
Baird - Go (she got very chummy with "Greg" very quickly but I think she would just do whatever Booz was doing)

C:

Alderton - Keep (they are two peas in a pod especially in their strong support of private education )
Elnoubi - Go (he's the only school board member with a spine)
Harris - Keep

Force them to go on record, or force them to vote now, not wait until August.

Even asking them what are their (our) priorities. None will have a real answer.

Let alone a search and timeline for a replacement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This makes me so happy. I'm really hoping for some serious change with ACPS finally. It's long over due.

Unless the school board finds someone interested in educating all children and not their own brand and personal agenda, we will continue down the same path we’ve been on all along. A public school district’s philosophy, mission, and reason for being should be to provide a high quality education for all children. Full stop. Anything else is a distraction. Anti-racism, safety issues, equity issues, all of those mean nothing if you fail to provide a high quality education for everyone. If you somehow managed to provide a high quality education for everyone, it’s because you’ve achieved equity in your schools. Equity isn’t a goal, it’s a means to an end. Safety in schools isn’t a goal, but if you don’t have it, how can you provide a high quality education for everyone when teachers, staff and children aren’t safe?

I’m glad Hutchings is gone, but his biggest cheerleaders and enablers are still there. So I still feel pessimistic about the future of ACPS.

How dare you prioritize educating children in school! I thought this was some charade for political advancement.

You’re 100% right. The cancer is still there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dump the School Board too. They should have fired him for several disasters during his tenure but they are 100% right behind him and cut from the same cloth.

A majority of the school board is new and if you read between the lines, it appears they did get rid of him. Or at least enough wanted to. Firing him is a pretty high bar. In the end this was probably the best option for everyone.

Hmm. Good thing his consulting company’s website was ready to launch. Can’t decide how this departure impacts the book, which is being released sometime this month.

The publication date has been pushed back for the fourth time. It's now out July 1st. Was supposed to be out May 10th.

I think it's likely that he'll still use ACPS resources (comms team, his vanity podcast, staff time) to promote his book and his LLC.

I think that's right. I had no idea he was doing so many for-profit activities outside of his superintendent duties! Adjunct teaching, podcast, book, etc. All with the blessing of the school board so technically not doing anything wrong, but it sure feels wrong from the point of view of a parent whose children were affected by the school closure. AlexNow says he skipped the council meeting and is out of the office until June 21st. I guess we can't expect much from now until August 31st, despite his still receiving a salary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bigger question moving forward is how much will his consulting contract be for ACPS?

Bingo. Watch them hire his business for some overpriced race equity assessment.

[Anonymous]

Wow - did anyone know about this??

https://www.alxnow.com/2022/03/21/suspect-breaks-into-lyles-crouch-traditional-academy-through-roof/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dump the School Board too. They should have fired him for several disasters during his tenure but they are 100% right behind him and cut from the same cloth.

A majority of the school board is new and if you read between the lines, it appears they did get rid of him. Or at least enough wanted to. Firing him is a pretty high bar. In the end this was probably the best option for everyone.

Hmm. Good thing his consulting company’s website was ready to launch. Can’t decide how this departure impacts the book, which is being released sometime this month.

The publication date has been pushed back for the fourth time. It's now out July 1st. Was supposed to be out May 10th.

I think it's likely that he'll still use ACPS resources (comms team, his vanity podcast, staff time) to promote his book and his LLC.

I think that's right. I had no idea he was doing so many for-profit activities outside of his superintendent duties! Adjunct teaching, podcast, book, etc. All with the blessing of the school board so technically not doing anything wrong, but it sure feels wrong from the point of view of a parent whose children were affected by the school closure. AlexNow says he skipped the council meeting and is out of the office until June 21st. I guess we can't expect much from now until August 31st, despite his still receiving a salary

So like everything but his job.