Dr. Adamowski

The Hartford Courant reports that Steven Adamowski will become the "Special Master" of Windham Public Schools. While I have never met Mr. Adamowski, the choice is intriguing on a number of levels.
First, what exactly will his role become over the course of the year. Adamowski is known for helping to turn around Hartford Public Schools, though the actual numbers are still not great. But it can't be denied that Hartford improved during his tenure there. However, one glaring difference between Hartford and Windham lies in the support of education by the town as a whole. In Hartford, everyone could clearly see a problem, and people were generally willing to explore change. That Windham has yet to pass an education budget speaks to the general feel among a loud and vocal part of the town.
Second, how will the district respond to Mr. Adamowski, who seems to have been given a great deal of control by the State. Because President Obama and Secretary Duncan have fostered an atmosphere conducive to blaming teachers for student failure (almost to the exclusion of all else), teachers are predictably wary of yet another outsider heaping scorn on them. Adamowski's relationship with Hartford's teacher union was contentious, especially considering his support of eradicating first in, first out policies--something that he and I would agree on.
Ultimately, I predict modest improvements in Windham unless the system itself is revamped completely. Unfortunately, Windham is too small to break up into magnet schools like Hartford did--though I envision an attempt to create smaller learning communities. Adamowski will bring with him the weight of the State, whatever that means considering the State still does not have an actual Education Commissioner.
I hope that Mr. Adamowski begins with more than just cosmetic shifts. He should recognize that after a year of being abused by the community and the local media, teachers need a leader who will cast a vision and bring hope. We recognize the failures of the past, but we want to enact the type of change that makes us a model of reform.