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Hathorn plans for school success
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Youngstown City Schools Superintendent Connie Hathorn
Next city district chief seeks to lift expectations to lift achievement
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Children do what’s expected of them, so raising expectations would be a step toward raising student achievement in city schools, says the Youngstown district’s new superintendent.
“We can’t continue to do what we’ve done before,” said Connie Hathorn, 59, who will take over as superintendent of schools upon the January retirement of Wendy Webb.
Hathorn started as deputy superintendent in the district last week. He’s been tasked with curriculum and instruction during his deputy term.
“Certainly given the fact that we’re in academic emergency, we’re all on the same page that there needs to be an instantaneous focus on raising achievement in the district,” said Anthony Catale, school board president.
“He knows going into the job it was going to be a tough job and that he would have to hit the ground running. There’s not going to be a training period.”
Hathorn’s contract is still being negotiated.
Hathorn, a native of Mississippi, earned his doctorate from Iowa State University, his master’s from the University of Arkansas and his bachelor’s at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
For the second year, the city schools were designated in academic emergency on the state report card — the lowest ranking and the only district in the state to receive it.
An Academic Distress Commission was appointed, and it devised a plan designed to raise the district out of the bottom. It includes quarterly requirements for the district. The state superintendent said in August that if the district’s performance doesn’t improve that she would come in to the district and take over.
Hathorn spent his first week meeting people and talking to school officials.
“We need to change our expectations of parents, of us, of kids,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of the time, you get what you expect.”
One strategy for improvement Hathorn plans is celebrating the small successes.
Have a banquet or a ceremony honoring students who have attendance of at least 93 percent for the year and another for those who earn a 3.0 grade- 0 point average, Hathorn said.
“Celebrate that, publicize it, call the TV stations, invite the parents, invite the newspaper,” he said.
His philosophy on discipline is similar. It must be consistent. But it also involves building a relationship with parents.
Don’t just call parents because of a problem with their child, call them to let them know when the child has a good day, Hathorn said.
“You say, ‘This a good news call,’” he said.
The new superintendent believes the improvements are possible by the next state report card.
“We’re not going to be effective in a year,” he said referring to a state report card designation. “But we could get to continuous improvement, and we would celebrate that.”
While he recognizes that school resources are scarce, he believes that investing in resources — textbooks, intervention — aimed at helping students will help improve achievement. That means working smarter to devote more resources where they are needed, Hathorn said.
Because one school needs help in a particular area, there shouldn’t be an obligation to devote those same resources to all schools, he said.
Hathorn, who served for 19 years in the Akron school district, believes he’s up to the challenge of meeting the requirements of the Academic Distress Commission’s plan.
“I have a ball of energy,” Hathorn said. “And I don’t like excuses.”
He referred to a quote from a famous football coach:
“Don’t tell me how rocky the sea is,” said former University of Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz. “Just bring the ship in.”