BTB: We hear so much about data-driven decisions in the schools. How has your district focused on data to improve instruction?

PM: Our principals, teachers, and staff all use data to inform and drive instruction. We use a Baldrige approach, which focuses on data- and results-driven, systematic organizational reform to continually improve. The approach allows the district to study and review student performance data to determine where students are doing well and where they are not. We perform item analysis, looking at which questions all students are getting right and which ones they're missing. Then, a data team analyzes these numbers, and teachers and staff use the data to improve instructional practices. It's not about what we feel is taking place, it's what we know is taking place.

BTB: How has your plan of using data to establish and measure expectations affected your district's results?

PM: Everybody—from the superintendent to the principals, teachers, and staff—needs to know the expectations. We made it a very clear process. We shared the expectations and goals; we shared how to evaluate good instruction through the use of data; and we shared how to help them reach those who need help.

Although I want our principals taking the lead to make our schools successful, everyone must operate with the mentality that the buck stops with him or her. No excuses are allowed, because someone has to be accountable.

For example, both the staff and leadership at Fairview Elementary came together and worked collaboratively to redesign their school based on performance data, and now the school is seeing improvement. Similarly, Van Cleve Elementary has experienced remarkable growth due to the principal's leadership, her adherence to our plan, and her accountability measures.

BTB: With planning and data analysis being key, how hands-on are your building-level administrators?

PM: We require that all principals spend ninety minutes every day—about twenty percent of their day—in classrooms, observing instruction and providing feedback. Principals must have first-hand knowledge of what's going on in the classrooms. Fulfilling this requirement is a tough balance, but if we are going to move forward with results, it's a necessary component. We're not just looking at academic aspects and data to improve performance. Principals must be out there taking a pulse of the instructional day to improve student achievement and provide a safe and orderly environment.

BTB: With an aggressive plan in place and some very encouraging results, what is your biggest ongoing challenge?

PM: Our biggest challenge is getting the community to understand the importance of focusing on academics. For example, parents need to realize how important it is for their students to be good readers. Support from both home and the community has to be in place. We've had to focus on this concept in schools and reinforce it through media coverage. Our written correspondence and messages on TV and radio are all geared toward getting people to understand how significant their roles are. We've also partnered with our mayor and the city council, as well as with local ministers, to help them better understand and share this concept.

BTB: Given the steps you've taken in the past four years, what decision has had the most impact on your district's success?

PM: Our decision to implement managed instruction has had the greatest impact. This instruction includes the Four-Blocks Literacy Model (guided reading, self-selected reading, writing, and working with words) in every school, ninety minutes of daily reading instruction in the classroom, and a keen focus on data to drive instructional decisions. It incorporates all these things to make each school similar by providing a consistent, quality learning experience for all students.

Our newly implemented truancy campaign also contributes to our success. After all, if the students aren't in school, we can't teach them. Aligning resources across all classrooms and ensuring attendance—these things are the undergirding for managed instruction and improved achievement.

BTB: What small piece of advice would you give your colleagues who face similar challenges to those you’ve faced in Dayton?

PM: As a district, it is important to have a staff of high-level thinking, competent individuals. You must hire an experienced executive cabinet with members who have expertise in their fields of study, who share the district's vision, and who can work with schools to make reform happen. You must set expectations and establish accountability measures. To turn challenges into successes, your staff must exist for the schoolhouse, and—no matter what each person's title is—be willing to work individually or collectively with schools so that students succeed. The staff must be knowledgeable about using data and effectively communicate with schools that are implementing reform.

The chief academic officer must have the knowledge and ability to lead academics. My deputy superintendent and my chief academic officer have done a tremendous job in managing the total academic program of the district. For eighteen months, our cabinet and school board members met monthly to improve our leadership skills. We met with community leaders and national consultants, and we also read books about varied leadership styles and learned how CEOs create change in their companies. These meetings helped to build and establish a cohesive team.

BTB: Are there any particular pitfalls that administrators should try to avoid?

PM: Many administrators fail because they don't stay the course. They put programs in place and then change them every six months, which can interfere with or prevent evaluating the effectiveness of previous programs. However, sometimes it's not their choice, and the community changes the system or changes the administration, leaving many superintendents with only two or two-and-a-half years before they are replaced. It's important for all of us to remember that there's no pill for success. Rather, it comes from consistency and commitment.

BTB: As you approach each new challenge, where do you look for inspiration?

PM: I find the performance of students and administrators to be the most inspiring. Our reading and math scores have improved over the past three years. Last year, we had $14 million in scholarships offered to our students. Our attendance is on the rise, and our READing Jamboree has grown from 1,500 to nearly 5,000 participants. To see the community rally around what we're accomplishing here in Dayton Public Schools also has been a highlight for the district, and for me personally.

Of course, a key component of our success has been our board of education. Board members have been very supportive throughout this process, and are a big reason for the district's achievement. Unfortunately, the board often does not get the recognition it deserves for the leadership and cooperation that enable us to get the job done.

BTB: What's on your desk right now, or what are you reading?

PM: I'm reading Good to Great by Jim Collins. You need to have the right people on the bus and in the right seats. Really, it's about setting realistic goals that are measurable. It's about being constant as well as being constantly not satisfied.