By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON, Ind. — The incoming superintendent of Anderson Community Schools said Thursday that a decision on whether there will be one or two high schools should be made methodically and dispassionately, decided on the basis of what’s best for education in the long run.
“Let’s put it on the table so everyone can see it,” Felix Chow said of analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Chow, who will take charge of the school system on Jan. 1, said he also would offer services to the school board as a consultant if the board chose to have a workshop on the future of the schools.
Chow on Thursday spoke with representatives of The Herald Bulletin as part of his introduction to the community. His arrival comes as the Anderson school board, facing millions of dollars in future budget deficits and declining enrollment, prepares to choose a new school structure, possibly at its meeting on Dec. 8.
The options are:
* Option A: One high school, grades 10-12; one middle school, grades 7-9; seven elementary schools: five K-3 schools, and two 4-6 schools in the existing middle school buildings.
* Option B: Two high schools with grades 7-12. Five K-3 schools and two 4-6 in the existing middle school buildings.
Chow said the decision should be dictated by projected enrollment. He said he had come to no conclusion about a one- or two-high school recommendation, but said that if enrollment is projected to decline significantly, “then at that level, one high school makes sense.”
A veteran superintendent in the public school systems of Flint and Hamtramck, Mich., Chow has dealt with school systems in deeper debt and losing more students than is ACS. “I did not come in here basically blind,” Chow said. “My expectation is a lot of challenges. By the same token, the Chinese word for ‘crisis’ is danger and opportunity.”
Chow has earned seven post-graduate degrees and a reputation as an analytical administrator and tough negotiator. He has urged previous boards to take a long view when dealing with budget cuts, though he said boards haven’t always followed such recommendations. He warned against “postponing the pain until another year, two years, three years later.”
“We know if we do nothing, that won’t work,” he said. “We’re all in the same boat. We all want the same thing.”
Chow said he wants to be in Anderson for years to come, and hopes that improving the schools will become his legacy.
“I’m humbled to say that no matter how much education a person has, the most important thing is to fit in and be part of the community,” he said.
Board member Irma Hampton Stewart accompanied Chow on Thursday, and said “he very much informed himself” about the community, the schools and the challenges ahead.
Stewart said Chow was among four finalists the school board interviewed — all of them outside Indiana.
“We need to do something that’s drastic, something that’s significant,” she said. “We have to save our schools if we are able to have growth in our community that we deserve. ... Our children are not succeeding as we know they are capable of doing.”
Chow said he sees the mission of public education extending beyond how children score on standardized tests. He stressed a “pyramid for student growth” that has at its foundation character and ethical education, topped by physical and mental health; skills and knowledge; teamwork; and building leadership skills.
“There is no test for music, sports, or ethical behavior,” he said, but these are valuable for a child’s development and for society at large. “True education deals with the entire five levels.”
“Our job in Anderson to develop every child is to maximize his potential,” Chow said. Teachers, he said, must challenge students to set goals and then help them get there with encouragement: “this is what you need to do to show me.”
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
About Felix Chow
* Former superintendent of schools in Flint and Hamtramck, Mich.
* Former chief financial officer for Pontiac, Mich., schools.
* Principal of a vocational/technical center and alternative high school in Battle Creek, Mich.
* Holds seven post-secondary degrees, including master’s degrees in English from the University of Puerto Rico; computational linguistics from Georgetown University; business administration from Boston University; and a doctor of education degree from Boston University.
* Speaks six languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Wu, Spanish and Italian.
* Owns and plays a French violin made in 1886.
