Greg Muzik, principal of Mary Munford Elementary School, hit the nail on the head when he responded to the proposal by 26 business leaders for an appointed school board. Muzik wrote as a guest columnist for the Times Dispatch on Sunday. Someone needed to stand up for our schools and I’m glad he did.

As a principal with more than 30 years’ experience in the Richmond public school system, I have received a good deal of feedback from parents and teachers about the recent letter from 26 business leaders proposing a governance change as a solution to our urban school challenges. No one thinks this is a good idea. But I am less concerned about the proposal for an appointed board than the potential damage this kind of public criticism does to the system.

These business leaders have publicized misleading and outdated data to show that our schools are in some sort of crisis. It feeds a negative community perception that all of us in the Richmond schools have to fight every day.

The mayor in particular has been a constant, vocal critic of the schools when he should be cheering recent progress, and working with the School Board and City Council to bring about improvements. While the Richmond school system has many challenges and certainly should be working continually to improve, the progress made by the district during the past 10 years is nothing short of amazing.

Outside the Richmond area, the district is recognized as a high-performing urban system. I have seen more progress in the past 10 years than I saw in the 20 before.

I came to Mary Munford Elementary 14 years ago, at a time when there was little neighborhood support for the school and few neighborhood parents would consider it as an option. Real estate agents would never suggest a home that was in the Munford district. One of my directives from the superintendent was to work with a small group of parents who wanted to see this change.

Almost a decade and a half later there now are Munford district homes for sale, at least two-thirds of our students are from our neighborhood, and we have a waiting list of students who want to attend from out-of-zone. We are an integrated learning environment with African-American and white children as well as children with disabilities learning and playing together in a school that enjoys parental support equal to or above any school in the region.

How did these changes happen? Not by me coming into the school and sending a letter pronouncing that Munford was in a crisis and recounting all the things that were wrong.

I focused on the positive while working to improve the areas of weakness. I fought to dispel the negative perception that parents had of the school and the system in general – perceptions often based on rumors and misinformation. A significant part of my effort to make changes at Munford focused on getting the facts out to help parents understand that the school offered a good educational program.

Of course, I also worked hard to bring real improvements to the school, teaming with teachers and parents, trying to hire the best staff, forming partnerships with organizations that would help us improve, and more.

Negative stories fuel what is already a prejudgment by some outside the system that our schools are bad. This reminds me of the ads I hear for new medications; the drugs might do wonders, but there are side effects in the rapid disclaimer at the end of the ads. These business leaders have taken the fine print and made it bold. Worse, their fine print is not even accurate.

I wonder if any of the corporate leaders would consider this a good marketing strategy for their own companies. Just imagine the ads we’d see if these leaders highlighted the negative aspects of their products and services while failing to recognize – and build on – the benefits their organizations provide.
Greg Muzik is the principal of Mary Munford Elementary School.