Dr. Gui and Cody 9
| By Mike Tenbusch - Nov 4, 2008 8:09:19 AM ET |
Comments |
Mail to a Friend
Categories: Education, Advocacy, Giving, How I Live United, The LiveUnitedSEM Network
Categories: Education, Advocacy, Giving, How I Live United, The LiveUnitedSEM Network
Recently we brought a small bus load of 15 people on an Impact Tour of our work for the Venture Fund. On the 20 minute ride to Cody 9th Grade Academy, I painted a picture of what high-performing, high-poverty high schools look like, and then walked into the school to see how it would compare. It was amazing.
Dr. Gabriela Gui, the school's infectiously enthusiastic leader, greeted us with smiles and a lot of high-octane energy. She explained that she is an immigrant from Romania: "I started out here as a substitute…No that's not right. I started out here cleaning toilets and sleeping in my car. But then I became a substitute, then a teacher, an assistant principal and a principal…I can tell you that the new Cody High School is going to be one of the best high schools in all of Michigan."
She had my heart at that cleaning toilets part. But not others.
Three of our guests had graduated from some of our region's failing schools, and they were very skeptical of her vision. One person asked, "How can you say that you will be a great school when we can't even get toilet paper and textbooks in our schools?"
Dr. Gui was unfazed. "When I was in Romania, I never even saw a calculator or a computer like our kids have here. But our kids learned. It's our team and our passion that is going to make the difference here. And, by the way, we do have toilet paper and our kids do have their textbooks too." Touché.
Another guest asked about what the new Cody would be named. Dr. Gui joked, "If you ask me, I'll name it the Barack Obama Leadership Academy, but no one's asking me. Our community will figure that out in time, but what's important is the teaching and learning that occurs here."
When asked what she needed to be successful in turning around the school, Dr. Gui nailed it:
· We need the district to give us discretion over our budget.
· We need the teachers to be flexible.
· We need our intermediary to hire the best-trained and brightest partners.
· And we need additional funding for our kids to visit colleges and universities.
Dr. Gui is the right leader in the right place at the right time. When the history of our region's success in turning around its high schools is written, there is sure to be a chapter on Dr. Gui and her team at Cody 9.
Dr. Gabriela Gui, the school's infectiously enthusiastic leader, greeted us with smiles and a lot of high-octane energy. She explained that she is an immigrant from Romania: "I started out here as a substitute…No that's not right. I started out here cleaning toilets and sleeping in my car. But then I became a substitute, then a teacher, an assistant principal and a principal…I can tell you that the new Cody High School is going to be one of the best high schools in all of Michigan."
She had my heart at that cleaning toilets part. But not others.
Three of our guests had graduated from some of our region's failing schools, and they were very skeptical of her vision. One person asked, "How can you say that you will be a great school when we can't even get toilet paper and textbooks in our schools?"
Dr. Gui was unfazed. "When I was in Romania, I never even saw a calculator or a computer like our kids have here. But our kids learned. It's our team and our passion that is going to make the difference here. And, by the way, we do have toilet paper and our kids do have their textbooks too." Touché.
Another guest asked about what the new Cody would be named. Dr. Gui joked, "If you ask me, I'll name it the Barack Obama Leadership Academy, but no one's asking me. Our community will figure that out in time, but what's important is the teaching and learning that occurs here."
When asked what she needed to be successful in turning around the school, Dr. Gui nailed it:
· We need the district to give us discretion over our budget.
· We need the teachers to be flexible.
· We need our intermediary to hire the best-trained and brightest partners.
· And we need additional funding for our kids to visit colleges and universities.
Dr. Gui is the right leader in the right place at the right time. When the history of our region's success in turning around its high schools is written, there is sure to be a chapter on Dr. Gui and her team at Cody 9.
Comments are closed for this post.
Given the support and tools she needs she will surely make Cody 9th Grade a model for urban education.