Warren Drake, who was selected unanimously by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board early last month to take over the superintendent’s post from Bernard Taylor, has laid out an ambitious plan for his first 100 days in office.
As presented to the school board during his interview process, Drake’s plan calls for him to begin visiting all EBR schools—including all principals, assistant principals and other school leaders—beginning this week.
“The board, superintendent and staff will have a retreat to discuss a shared vision, mission and core values that will lead us into the future, as well as revisit the strategic plan,” says Drake in a letter accompanying his plan. “During this time, the office of public relations/communications will be strengthened to disseminate the successes of our schools to the public. Reviving a sense of pride in our schools is vital to achieving the goals of student recruitment and retention.”
Along with visiting all of the 78 schools in the system during his first 100 days, Drake’s plan calls for him to meet with school board members, review the strategic plan, meet with organizers of the city of St. George incorporation effort, review curriculum and processes, and take the board on a retreat.
“My ultimate goal is to change the way we do business in Baton Rouge,” Drake says in the letter accompanying his plan. “We must be the choice of parents for their children’s education. … We must create learning environments of such a high quality that parents don’t choose other educational options. … My goal is to never again lose a school to state control, because I feel that we can be and will be a better choice.”
Drake’s plan identifies his first 100 days in office as May 1 through the opening of school on August 6, even though Taylor’s contract runs through June 30 and he has not indicated he’ll leave the post early.
Drake says that achieving his goals “will not be easy or quick, but we can begin to immediately lay a foundation that will be strong and lasting. Systematic change will occur, and capacity in leadership will grow.”
Prior to being tapped to lead East Baton Rouge Parish schools, Drake was Zachary Community School District superintendent. As the lone finalist for the job, he was the only person the Baton Rouge school board seriously considered for the job.
