Stories Unveil a Storied Career with Joe Batory

An Imperfect Leader

NEW EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

"What do we want to create together?" So proud to have co-written the foreword with Zach Taylor to this essential book on Human-Centered School Transformation. If you're a school leader looking to make sense of what you know to be true about schools, check it out. If you're a corporate leader, you will find a pathway to better results in every page.

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INTRO:

From 1998-2004, I worked as a teacher and administrator in the Oakland Public Schools. I loved my time in Oakland. In fact, it was in Oakland where I arrived at my moral focus (like Simon Sinek’s WHY – why I get up every single morning). I even dedicated my recent book, An Imperfect Leader: Human-Centered Leadership in (After) Action, to the children of Trailer C. Trailer C was my home away from home. It was a magical place with some of the smartest, most creative, and curious children I have ever met. Their families were among the hardest working and loving humans, all of them working tirelessly to provide their child a promising future.

In cities across the country, the resources found in public schools have EVERYTHING to do with the socioeconomics of the neighborhood. If you have visited a city school, like the one I taught at in Oakland, you are not likely to find a music program or an art program or library/media program (or even a full-time nurse!). If art or music or library/media existed, it was because the teachers brought them to their classrooms or to the school.

In my third year in Oakland, I was a roving teacher. This meant I had my own class of children, but because of overcrowding, I didn’t have my own classroom. Our school had 750 kids, but only room for 550, so every 3 weeks, one quarter of the school went “off cycle” and like the volleyball games of my youth, the teachers without classrooms would rotate to a new space. That was me! My kids and I would pack everything up, every three weeks, and move to a different classroom. Whenever I see a line of ants on a sidewalk, it makes me think of my class following me as I pushed two massive rolling cabinets to our next temporary home. And it was in that year, my third year, that I had a chance meeting with a guy named David Fattig from the US Coast Guard.

He was assigned to me for a Junior Achievement ‘Done in a Day’ event. After a full day of teaching lessons on civics and economics (which by the way, my favorite part of the day was walking the kids to lunch and Dave’s astonishment that we’d need to eat, use the bathroom, and prep for the afternoon lessons in only 25 min – with his eyes wide, he asked, “You do this every day??”). After a full day, seated on an old wooden chair, he watched as fourth and fifth graders arrived in my classroom for instrumental music lessons. You see, my public school on Long Island, NY, started teaching instrumental music in 4th grade. I played woodwinds throughout high school and college. Even now, I play alto sax in a pep band for the Seattle’s OL Reign. Dave Fattig played trumpet in the Coast Guard Band and together (with 5 of his bandmates), we started teaching instrumental music. The Allendale Band was even highlighted on the CBS Sunday morning with Charles Osgood. [Note: I still stay in touch with Alma who played clarinet for the nation all those years ago and then continued to excel in school, putting herself through college at SFSU].

Such a heartwarming story, right? I’ve always been so proud of the music program we brought to Allendale. And then after recording a conversation for this podcast with Joe Batory, I felt conflicted. He told me about the successful lawsuit Pennsylvania school districts brought against the state’s legislature because of how the Pennsylvania Legislature broke its promise of equitable funding. It raised my hopes that other states might choose to follow a similar path. And I was frustrated that for all these years, I looked at our little band and thought about how wonderful it was (and it was!), but it didn’t have to be this way (looking at you, CA Prop13).

We all know we are lucky to whom we are born. But public education shouldn’t rely on luck. Every child is entitled to attend a well-funded, well-resourced public school. I’ve always said that you can’t aspire unless you’ve been inspired. When you systematically cut funding to the most vulnerable, you get EXACTLY what the system was designed to create: systems of inequity, hopelessness, a reliance on charity and grants. I will ALWAYS look back on my time in Oakland with fondness. I loved being part of the creation of an elementary school band with the US Coast Guard. And, you know what? We owe it to our children and their children to do better.

My guest today, Joe Batory, is a celebration of an incredible career. It’s an episode of great stories and reflections. Thanks for tuning in.

BIO: Joe Batory is an unusual superintendent. To begin, he had a 15-year run as the superintendent of Upper Darby School District, located just west of Philadelphia, which is somewhat unusual. Secondly, although Joe has written many academic pieces and given many such speeches, he much prefers “telling stories” about his real world superintendent adventures. Rising up from the inner-city streets of Philadelphia, Joe had a remarkable career as one of Pennsylvania’s largest school systems. When he retired, one newspaper called him “a legend” and another termed him “a champion for children and education.”

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An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

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AN IMPERFECT LEADER IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.