Dellick fits CEO profile

First, an admission: This writer has not discussed the premise of today’s column with Mahoning County Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick. Therefore, what is being suggested may be all for naught.

Nonetheless, the characteristics that make Dellick the ideal choice for chief executive officer of the academically imploding Youngstown City School District could serve as a guide for the newly formed academic distress commission.

The commission, mandated by state law because the Youngstown district is in state-designated academic watch after being in academic emergency, will appoint the chief executive officer.

The district has worn the cloak of academic failure for four years, prompting the Ohio General Assembly to take the extreme step of enacting the so-called Youngstown Plan. The centerpiece of the plan is the complete authority granted to the CEO over every aspect of the school district’s operation.

With three of the commission members appointed by the state superintendent of public instruction, one by the mayor of Youngstown and one by the president of the Youngstown Board of Education, it’s clear that finding a consensus candidate will be a challenge. A national search is an absolute necessity, but Judge Dellick, who has served on the juvenile court bench for 14 years, would have little problem making the cut.

She has spent an inordinate amount of time coming up with solutions to the problems that have plagued the children of the inner city for years.

These are the children who are failing academically and face bleak futures. Many come from dysfunctional families and lack the parental or adult guidance that is so important to the social and academic well-being of the young.

Last week’s column delved into this aspect of the Youngstown school district’s failure and put forth the proposition that black leaders have been guilty of not aggressively tackling the underlying problems plaguing the black community.

JUDGE’S KNOWLEDGE

It could be argued that Judge Dellick knows more about what’s going on with the lives of young blacks than all the so-called leaders put together. That’s because she talks to the juveniles who come through her court and has realized that they crave a stable, drug-free home environment.

It is no accident that the judge was instrumental in the formation of the Mahoning County High School, which is a lifesaver for high school students in area school districts who have been expelled or have dropped out. The enrollment has grown each year since the school was formed in 2008.

It is also not surprising that when the juvenile court received a $600,000 federal grant, the first thought was to come up with a program to keep students in school.

The so-called early warning system was unveiled last week and involves several local high school districts: Youngstown, Mahoning County High, Struthers, Boardman and Austintown.

The goal is to intervene with at-risk students before they drop out of school.

“This is a three-year plan to change the way education is done in the Mahoning Valley,” Dellick said at a news conference attended by superintendents, other educators and juvenile court personnel.

Intervention would be provided for families and students and could include tutoring, student or family counseling or other services provided by the court.

But it is the following comment from Dellick that demonstrates her deep understanding of what is going on in this community: “The research shows that the first step into the juvenile court is most damaging. Once they have that criminal taint, it affects them for life.”

Beyond her record as a judge, Dellick has another important aspect to her career that would stand her in good stead as the chief executive officer of the Youngstown school district: She enjoys support from grass-roots organizations, the business community and from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

She is also well respected on the state level, having served on numerous commissions, and as a Republican would certainly be in a strong position to persuade Republican Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-controlled General Assembly to financially support the Youngstown system as it begins its climb out of the academic cellar.

There are prominent individuals in the Mahoning Valley who have worked with Judge Dellick in her push to save the city’s children from falling through the social and academic cracks. One of them is Dr. Rashid Abdu, who founded the Joanie Abdu Breast Cancer Center at St. Elizabeth hospital.

Dr. Abdu sent this writer an email in response to last week’s column that reflects his interest in what’s going on in the city of Youngstown. Here’s what it said:

“I thought that your column in The Vindicator hit the nail on the head! I don’t believe that any CEO or any man, or woman of miracles can solve the education problem in our city as long as kids are raised without families, or in dysfunctional families.

“A few years ago, I tried to start a program whereby educated and successful black men and women form an organization to do just that: mentor, educate, and be role models for both parents and children.

“It did not take!”

Then there was this from an individual who preferred to remain anonymous:

“The child learns many things in a well-functioning family environment, not the least of which is discipline. Discipline is a fact of life, needed to succeed in every aspect of human experience, in learning, in maintaining health, in exercising to stay in good shape, to follow the law, and most importantly, in dealing with others socially in order to have a good society.”

Judge Dellick understands that – and more.