Hathorn’s honesty was his undoing

When Dr. Connie Hathorn had the audacity to publicly criticize parents and guardians in the city of Youngstown who have shown little interest in the education of their children, his days as superintendent of the academically challenged school district were numbered.

Hathorn, who announced recently that he is leaving June 30 to become superintendent of the Watson Chapel School District in Arkansas, came to Youngstown from Akron with all the credentials, knowledge and experience to steer the troubled school system through the academic and fiscal storms that had been battering it for years. But what the black educator did not anticipate was push-back from self-styled black leaders in the city whose agenda was at odds with his vision — and the vision of the state-mandated academic distress commission.

As was pointed out in this space on Feb. 22, while Hathorn was viewed as a turncoat by some in the black community, his predecessor, Dr. Wendy Webb, whose background was in library science, was treated as a favorite daughter. Why? Because she curried favor with members of the board of education and did not rock the boat.

Unpardonable sin

She led the system down the path of destruction. When Hathorn, who had served as assistant superintendent for three months, took over the top job, he committed an unpardonable sin — in the eyes of some. He gave the community an honest appraisal of the urban school district, which endeared him to political, business and community leaders who have the best interest of the children at heart, but angered others in the city.

It is revealing that Hathorn enjoys the strong support of the Youngstown School District distress commission, the state superintendent of public instruction, Richard Ross, and most importantly, Gov. John Kasich.

But when you’re constantly being second-guessed, when your every move is criticized, and when you’re given little credit for reorganizing the schools so students have a real chance to learn, and teachers have the freedom to teach, friends can’t erase the hurt.

Hathorn, who has been superintendent for four years, kept telling the community that the city school district didn’t implode overnight and, therefore, can’t be revived overnight.

And, he kept insisting that whatever is taking place in the homes — or not taking place, in the case of many inner city residences — has a direct bearing on how the students perform in school.

It should be pointed out that his message about parental involvement in the lives of young people has been clearly articulated by one of the most famous black entertainers in the world.

Comedian Bill Cosby has not been shy about criticizing what is occurring in the black community around the country.

Referring to the civil rights movement in which blacks demanded education equality, Cosby said: “These people marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education and now we’ve got these knuckleheads walking around. I can’t even talk the way these people talk: ‘Why you ain’t,’ ‘Where you is’ …” He said he blamed the child until he heard the mother and father talk.

Local affirmation

Closer to home, an individual with greater involvement in the Youngstown school system than any of the current board members also confirmed what Superintendent Hathorn has been preaching.

“We can’t continue losing students,” Lock Beacham, a former principal in the Youngstown schools system and former member of city council, told his colleagues on the board of education in 2013. “You’re losing the best students. You can’t climb out of academic emergency losing your best students. I doubt we’ll climb out of academic watch this year. If we do, it’s going to be almost a miracle.”

Beachum who has a reputation for speaking the truth even if it hurts, added this comment that triggered a backlash from some in the black community: “Board members, you have to understand, you need a diversified student population. The perception is that Youngstown is an all-black school district.”

Beachum’s comments were labeled racist — even though he’s black.

Superintendent Hathorn has been telling the truth, for which he has been crucified. And so, he’s leaving.

Here’s some advice for the next superintendent: Learn how to grovel.