Alan Coverstone Redux
We had an interesting Pith post last week about the District 9 school board candidacy of Alan Coverstone, an MBA teacher and administrator, a public school parent and someone whose oldest son will be attending the private University School of Nashville next fall.
The Scene talked with Coverstone more in depth this week to get his thoughts on both the dreaded private school dilemma—a litmus test of sorts for some voters—and a host of other issues about the Nashville public school system. After the jump is a partial transcript of that interview. (We will update this post later in the day with the entire transcript, which will also be cross-posted at nashvillescene.com.)
UPDATE: Extended version here.
Scene: Speak to the question of sending your kid to private school, which has gotten some attention on our blog and elsewhere.
Coverstone: I am a public school parent, and I will remain a public school parent…. My younger son will still be at Hull-Jackson. Going back even further, my life is about public education. My mom was a public school teacher, my two sisters are both public school teachers. And that’s what I set out to do. Along the way, in public high school, I found debate. That took me to Wake Forest, and that brought me to Nashville because as debate coach at MBA, that’s how I got my job. I actually had to be persuaded by [headmaster] Brad Gioia that he was serious about a commitment to the community, that he was serious about a commitment to MBA being more diverse and that he would support my being involved in public education. And he has been the whole time.... I want to say to people that every parent wants what’s best for their child. Period. And not enough parents have as many choices, and that is too much based on income or what neighborhood you live in, and that’s one of the core reasons we have to do better with our public schools and why I’m so involved and eager.
Scene: How do you institute choice—over time or as you go? How can parents in Nashville start to get choice and quickly?
Coverstone: I do think you have to do some stuff quickly. The better stuff is stuff that’s done over time. But things change so fast in school because every four years you’ve got a completely new student body in most of your schools. You shouldn’t shrink from trying to make changes that are rapid. And I think the redrawing of the lines that has to happen is a perfect opportunity—not just to redraw the lines but to pair up some schools. You sort of have a natural transition because you’ve got people in schools that are not in their neighborhoods now. So if you can rebuild some neighborhood schools and develop some connections to those, you can say to them, ‘You can keep going where you are or you can go to this school that’s opening up or improving in your neighborhood, and here are the things that are going to be there.’
Scene: How do you feel about other mechanisms for choice like charter schools?
Coverstone: I work closely with [founder] Jeremy Kane on LEAD Academy, and I think those are great options if they’re done well. We just need to make sure they’re done well. I think we’re overly discouraging of charter schools, but at the same time we need to be careful that they’re expanding options that people have and not destroying options that already exist.
Scene: Back to the private school question. Why is your son going to USN next year?
Coverstone: You know, basically he fell in love with it, and I have good friends who teach there. I think a lot of the program. He really likes Meigs too. Had we gotten in the lottery, he would have gone there. The reality of the situation is, by working at MBA, I have the opportunity for my kid to go to a school that I could never have gone to, to learn from great colleagues I respect and maybe even to teach my own kids. And the best preparation to inspire him for that transition was at University School. I never thought he would get in because maybe it’s a two-year gig. [Because he’s on staff at MBA, Coverstone’s two sons are eligible to enroll in MBA free of charge once they reach the seventh grade.] So that’s it.
Do I think he could get a quality education in the public schools in Nashville? Absolutely. Without question. Does he have a particular opportunity that some other kids don’t have? Absolutely. Without question. There’s always going to be that disparity. But he has that opportunity because I’m a teacher, not because I’m a member of the elite particularly.
Comments
Bravo! Great responses. Though family support is important, the decision to run for office is a personal one; a choice of schools is one that is shared by both parents as well as the child. It would be wrong of Coverstone to force his kid to go to a school because of his father's career ambitions. And kudos to more choice.
HOWEVER, there is still a question or two that all these district 9 candidates need to answer:
What's the matter with H. G. Hill and Hillwood?
More choice is great, but is that code for we don't have a solution, shut these schools down?
Both schools are still feeling pains of forced desegregation. Are too many kids being bused in? Is it okay that 37205 has all but abandoned these schools? Can a leader like a board member step up and help these two very different "customers" succeed in a shared school? Does the fact that the Coverstone family has three schools in their lives outside of district 9 make it more difficult for him to be that uniter?
What's to be done with these 2 schools?
Posted 05/21/2008 at 11:22:21 AMVoters in Davidson County apparently didn't think so when they elected Mayor Dean whose three children never attended public schools. I think someone who has experienced both sides of the aisle is just the sort of person the school board needs because it gives you a broader perspective about what private schools do better that pulls kids from public schools besides the basics we all know - smaller classrooms, more cirriculum choices, etc. Let's face it, we have lots of parents applying for the lottery schools and applying for a private school at the same time so that if one doesn't work out, hopefully the other option will. It's no longer the Nashville elite that are pinching pennies to send their children to private schools in an effort to get them a good education.
Posted 05/21/2008 at 02:53:28 PMFirst off, will the Scene and Pith please give some coverage to the other candidates in this race? It's impossible to hearing about anyone BUT Alan Coverstone.
Second, Liz, you statement "Get back to us when your kid is headed for Whites Creek, Maplewood or Stratford high schools," doesn't cut it. I highly doubt most of Nashville's movers and shakers are even zoned for those schools. Karl Dean for example - his kids are zoned to Hillsboro, with rigorous academic programs and rave reviews from parents. The elementary schools in Green Hills, where he lives, are widely known as second to none. So why did his family, having excellent public options, never utilize them? These are questions that voters should have answers to from people who would run our school system.
Posted 05/21/2008 at 09:18:41 PMAs for "parent said," would she end one of her's to LG's blacklisted schools; of course not.
Coverstone has created the perfect storm:
He has all this family public school teacher stuff. Even includes himself.
Posted 05/22/2008 at 05:54:38 PMHe teaches at MBA.
One child goes to that mecca of the progressive, USN.
Damn, one even goes to a magnet school; good draw Alan.
But, at the end of the day it's on to MBA.
After my complaining that it's impossible to get any news on the other candidates, I thought I'd share a website I found for Lee Limbird.
http://www.electlimbird.com/
Posted 05/28/2008 at 04:17:16 PMWe're fortunate that we have four of five decent candidates in the District 9 race. I've met & talked with them all. My vote has been & continues to be for Limbird bc overall, I think she's the most qualified & will be a uniter.
Here are my concerns about Coverstone -- a nice guy....Do we once have again a covert alliance like the one that got behind Pedro and outsed his opposition during the last election? Look what that got us, more years of Garcia agony and neglect and arrogance. Why are all these seemingly monied parties, a pr firm, etc., backing this particular candidate? Is it something to do w/ his private school ties & his stated interest in charter schools? I'm not knocking him & his positions. But what are the interests behind him? That's concerning me. Drive through Bellemeade & Green Hills. These can't all be District 9 supporters...I know they are not. Public school success does affect all of us whether our children are sent to private schools or not. But do we have another contingent of private school backers once again backing a candidate for some kind of gain in their private school or charter school interests? I wish I knew bc something seems a tad bothersome....
Posted 05/31/2008 at 04:15:33 PM"Why are all these seemingly monied parties, a pr firm, etc., backing this particular candidate?"
They like to bet on winners?
Posted 06/01/2008 at 01:45:42 PMI had to respond to the earlier comments regarding concerns with Coverstone. I met Alan Coverstone several years ago bc he volunteered to coach t-ball and my son ended up on his team. I checked him out then bc he was going to be working with my 4yo and learned that he has been very involved in working to better Nashville public schools for some time, just in his role as a parent. Google him yourself and check out some of the articles he has written over the years. This isn't a passing fancy with him - he's passionate about it. The reasons that he is the front-runner in this election is a no brainer. He is intelligient, articulate, hard-working and driven. He has a passionate following bc he makes sense and he has what it takes to win this election and make a difference on the school board. Suggesting a covert alliance to crowd out the opposition is ridiculous. He has been working hard so that people know who he is. I've seen him numerous times around town campaigning. Any potential opposition has failed to show up yet.
Posted 06/01/2008 at 09:15:08 PMAlan Coverstone is not the only person running for the District 9 seat. James Lech has a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt. He has been an instructor of graduate courses for several Metro teachers and principals. As a chess instructor, he has accumulated years of experience working with over 3000 children, and their respective schools, in the Nashville area. As an urban planner for several middle TN cities, he has a fervent work ethic and an enormous amount of experience working with local community members and their leaders.
Among his policy objectives include increasing the number of guidance counselors and support staff in middle schools, hiring teaching assistants for the poorest performing classrooms, and increasing teacher quality. He has also made a campaign promise that if he is elected, he will visit each of the eleven schools in District 9 one day, every month of the school year for the next four years.
Alan Coverstone having more money or expensive fundraising events doesn’t make him a more qualified candidate. Let’s speak on issues that exist outside of the financial realm. Don’t get me wrong, money can and does help in many ways, but what our schools need far surpasses anything that a fund raising event can accomplish. Fund raising events will allow you to buy more distracting yard signs and the ability to purchase an obscene number of t-shirts with your name on them to pass out at community events. Politically sponsored fundraisers will not improve our schools’ academics standings and achievements, their teacher quality, or their safety.
The red flag comes up for me when a majority of a candidate’s first communications to the public regarding their candidacy consists of press releases about fundraising and campaign staffing. People want to know about a candidate’s objectives for the job in which they are applying and how they aspire to meet those objectives. Not everyone cares how many thousands of dollars you can raise to buy personalized t-shirts and balloons.
Another controversial issue for me is his decision to send his son who is zoned for H.G. Hill Middle School to a private school. I hold a firm belief that where parents send their child to school is and should be a personal decision. Due to Mr. Coverstone’s position at MBA, his children qualify to attend MBA for free once they reach seventh grade. That is a great opportunity that all District 9 families do not have. I couldn’t blame him for enrolling both of his sons at MBA when they reached the appropriate grade level where they could receive a good private school education for free. To pay a substantial amount of money, out of pocket, to avoid your own-zoned middle school says a lot about what the Coverstone’s think of H.G. Hill Middle School. I am of the opinion that people work harder when they have a vested interest in the project. In a show of his commitment to really help improve District 9 schools, it would mean a lot if he made those improvements while his son actually attended his zoned public school. When asked, Coverstone stated that his son could "absolutely" get a good education in public school. What better way to prove to constituents that you are serious about your claims than by stepping in the water with both feet? I am not sure about anyone else but I know that I would have an uneasy feeling about dining in a restaurant that the head chef wouldn’t eat at.
Whoever is chosen for this very important post is someone that District 9 is going to have to live and work with for four years. It would be ill advised to vote for someone simply because they have more yard signs or because they have a lot of money. The person who gets this job should be elected based on their qualifications and their ability to work with the rest of the board in order to make Metro schools the best that they can be.
James Lech has made a commitment to be on the ground and involved in District 9 schools. By making a campaign promise that if he is elected, he will visit each of the eleven schools in District 9 one day, every month of the school year for the next four years, he has put himself in a position to be a leader in changing things to a positive from a negative. By being onsite and involved, he will be accessible to school staff, teachers, students, parents, and community members. We need someone who can work for us and with us. We need someone who can work with the Board, the schools and the community at large. We need James Lech.
Posted 06/10/2008 at 12:19:40 PMJames is that you? Nice post.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 12:50:16 AM