An avid learner dedicated to viewing education from every possible lens, Dr. Brandon recently participated in the prestigious Broad Superintendents Academy. Beyond the Book recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Brandon about her unique vision of urban public education.

BTB: You were selected to participate in the 2006 Broad Superintendents Academy—that's quite an honor, considering that just 7 percent of applicants are accepted into the program. Please tell us about your experience.

YB: It was a very intense process, from the application to the interview to fulfilling the program requirements. Broad Superintendents Academy arms participants with the knowledge they need to effectively run large urban school districts through extended weekend educational sessions, mentoring, individually tailored learning plans, and project assignments. We got to visit several urban school districts, meet superintendents, study different methods of addressing common problems, and explore current theories of action—like charter schools, for example. We also developed an overall program we could apply in our own districts. It was an unparalleled learning opportunity for me, and it greatly benefited my district.

BTB: How did your participation in the academy positively influence your district as a whole?

YB: We implemented the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in our district prior to my participation in the academy. The BSC, a strategic business management tool that can be applied to the educational arena, enabled our district to clarify our vision and translate it into action. Our goal is to become a premier learning community that is the first choice for all in Richmond and recognized nationally for student excellence.

Some of our district BSC goals are to improve student achievement; provide strong leadership for effective and efficient operations; enhance capacity building through professional development; and strengthen collaborations with stakeholders. Our BSC lays out a challenging set of process measures and targets for us, and it holds us accountable for reaching our goals. I brought back a number of targets from my Broad experience that we are integrating into our BSC to help us achieve our overall outcomes.

BTB: Why did your district adopt the BSC method of accountability?

YB: BSC is a tool that's widely used in urban districts, and is a great way to provide transparency. Urban education often suffers from lack of public trust. Our BSC is on our district website, so stakeholders can get a solid overview of what we're doing and ask more direct follow-up questions. We post our results every year, regardless of whether we've reached our targets or not.

For so long, urban education has been challenged with marketing the positive to counterbalance negative stories in the media. As urban education makes great strides in achieving outcomes, transparency will propel us beyond the pessimism and help us earn public confidence.

We've received a substantial amount of much-needed support from local businesses as a result of using the BSC. Educating our children is not a job that can be isolated to one entity. All of us need to roll up our sleeves, get into the game, and help. Education drives the economic development in cities, and we have to take it on as a group responsibility. BSC is a way to attract positive attention to the district, partner with like-minded organizations, and drive results.

BTB: Richmond Public Schools has definitely made tremendous gains in recent years.

YB: We've taken giant steps to improve student achievement. In 2003, only ten of our schools were fully accredited, and twelve made adequate yearly progress (AYP). In 2006, we had forty-four fully accredited schools, and forty made AYP. It's been a labor of love, and we’re not done yet.  

BTB: How did you achieve that level of success in such a short amount of time?

YB: We had to start from scratch. Culling data to determine what was working and what wasn't was an important first step. We had to not be discouraged by what we saw, but encouraged because it provided us with a road map to change.

We narrowed our curricula focus, aligned with state standards, and adopted scientifically based Houghton Mifflin Reading and Houghton Mifflin Math programs to give students a solid foundation. In addition, we fully invested in professional development and made sure that everyone—from our school board to our individual teachers in the classroom—knew our major focus was student achievement. We were not willing to continue to be the second-lowest-performing school district in the state of Virginia.

BTB: How does the district build on its success?

YB: We always have new challenges when state tests are administered and when benchmarks accelerate. Our recent accomplishments have helped us understand that we can do it, that we can keep up the pace. There's an undeniable spirit in our district that we will not settle for failure. With that collective spirit and energy, we sit down and evaluate everything every year. We’ve become better at collecting first data, analyzing the data, and synthesizing the story the data is telling us so we can provide intervention and remediation that are necessary to continue to improve on every level.

BTB: You started out as a teacher in Richmond Public Schools, and are now associate superintendent for instruction and accountability. Do you have any advice for educators trying to get to the next level?

YB: Take advantage of every learning and professional development opportunity you can get through your district or through fellowship. I consider my career a work in progress because I am always learning. It’s critical to stay on top of current trends and strategies in public education.

Aspiring administrators also need to attain a better understanding of how students and adults learn because you deal with both groups as you move up the ranks. You have to be a role model for students and be a teacher of teachers. Equally vital is the development of strong leadership skills. You must be able to listen, communicate, analyze, and problem solve to best serve your colleagues, students, and constituents.

BTB: What is the source of inspiration for your work?

YB: My inspiration and my passion reside in the 25,000 students in our district. Whenever the adult issues bombard me to the point that I am saddened, I visit a school. When I see one face of a child who is learning, I am instantly reminded that my problem is secondary. I think we have a moral responsibility to deliver 100 percent effective instruction 100 percent of the time to every child who walks through Richmond Public Schools' doors, and that's what drives me every day.

Click here to view Richmond Public Schools' Balanced Scorecard.