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| From the classroom to the school board: A star teacher still leaves his mark | From the classroom to the school board: A star teacher still leaves his mark |
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| I met Frazier O’Leary in 1998 when I was following one of his students at what was then known as Cardozo High School in the District. I was trying to figure out why the teen was doing so well. The answer in large part was O’Leary, her English teacher, one of the most challenging educators I had ever seen. | I met Frazier O’Leary in 1998 when I was following one of his students at what was then known as Cardozo High School in the District. I was trying to figure out why the teen was doing so well. The answer in large part was O’Leary, her English teacher, one of the most challenging educators I had ever seen. |
| O’Leary retired at age 73 in 2017. I figured he would take it easy. Instead, he sought election to the D.C. State Board of Education. He never liked D.C. school politics, but he won a December 2018 special election for the Ward 4 seat. I told him I would eventually write a piece about his life on the board, unless he had already resigned in disgust. | O’Leary retired at age 73 in 2017. I figured he would take it easy. Instead, he sought election to the D.C. State Board of Education. He never liked D.C. school politics, but he won a December 2018 special election for the Ward 4 seat. I told him I would eventually write a piece about his life on the board, unless he had already resigned in disgust. |
| I was joking; O’Leary is not a quitter. He has been sticking with his students since 1971. His Advanced Placement English program at Cardozo expected much and regularly welcomed literary luminaries such as George Pelecanos. O’Leary still tries to keep track of every former student and holds an annual reunion party. | I was joking; O’Leary is not a quitter. He has been sticking with his students since 1971. His Advanced Placement English program at Cardozo expected much and regularly welcomed literary luminaries such as George Pelecanos. O’Leary still tries to keep track of every former student and holds an annual reunion party. |
| His students rarely passed the three-hour AP exam. They started too far behind. Overwhelmingly, Cardozo students are economically disadvantaged, but his former students told me they were better prepared for college having had to struggle in his class. He took them deep into the novels of Edward P. Jones and Toni Morrison. He told students who resisted that they had no choice but to dig in. | |
| He knows the school board has little power, but he said in his campaign that he wanted to create a mentoring system to help new teachers. “We have one of the highest percentages of teachers leaving the system in the country,” he said. “There needs to be a mentor system set up to allow new teachers to learn from veterans.” | He knows the school board has little power, but he said in his campaign that he wanted to create a mentoring system to help new teachers. “We have one of the highest percentages of teachers leaving the system in the country,” he said. “There needs to be a mentor system set up to allow new teachers to learn from veterans.” |
| He also hoped to replace the annual Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests — widely known as PARCC — with something that might motivate students and focus more on reading and writing. | He also hoped to replace the annual Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests — widely known as PARCC — with something that might motivate students and focus more on reading and writing. |
| PARCC is based on the Common Core State Standards, which O’Leary likes, but in his view, the test squeezes the juice out of a good English class. The test turns 10th-grade teachers who must teach to it into robots, he said. Since 2010, the number of states using PARCC has dropped from 24 to three, plus the District. | PARCC is based on the Common Core State Standards, which O’Leary likes, but in his view, the test squeezes the juice out of a good English class. The test turns 10th-grade teachers who must teach to it into robots, he said. Since 2010, the number of states using PARCC has dropped from 24 to three, plus the District. |
| There have been gains in PARCC scores in the District, but the results overall remain low. “No one seems to be looking at what should be going on,” he said. “If we are to prepare our students for the real world, then they need to be able to read and write.” | There have been gains in PARCC scores in the District, but the results overall remain low. “No one seems to be looking at what should be going on,” he said. “If we are to prepare our students for the real world, then they need to be able to read and write.” |
| His last year at Cardozo, all seniors had to take the AP English course and exam. He had them constantly reading or writing about great literature. Their average reading scores increased three grade levels on a standardized reading test he gave them. | His last year at Cardozo, all seniors had to take the AP English course and exam. He had them constantly reading or writing about great literature. Their average reading scores increased three grade levels on a standardized reading test he gave them. |
| PARCC, however, is “a score for the school and has nothing to do with their future,” he said. He would prefer all students take the PSAT because colleges see it and, like the SAT and ACT, it motivates his kids. | PARCC, however, is “a score for the school and has nothing to do with their future,” he said. He would prefer all students take the PSAT because colleges see it and, like the SAT and ACT, it motivates his kids. |
| “Students need to be reading all the time in class,” he said. “There are several like-minded people on the board, but we have little power. There needs to be a revolution in how teachers teach, not an evolution. As long as teachers are driven by PARCC results and don’t get to teach their subjects, there may be incremental improvement, but that’s not what we need.” | “Students need to be reading all the time in class,” he said. “There are several like-minded people on the board, but we have little power. There needs to be a revolution in how teachers teach, not an evolution. As long as teachers are driven by PARCC results and don’t get to teach their subjects, there may be incremental improvement, but that’s not what we need.” |
| O’Leary decided to run for the school board only after his wife, Myra, whom he calls “the greatest person I have ever known,” died of colon cancer Sept. 28, 2017. If she had lived, he said, “we would be somewhere on an island,” and the school board would be far from his mind. | O’Leary decided to run for the school board only after his wife, Myra, whom he calls “the greatest person I have ever known,” died of colon cancer Sept. 28, 2017. If she had lived, he said, “we would be somewhere on an island,” and the school board would be far from his mind. |
| He said he will keep looking for ways to make the schools better. He told his students that persistence was essential, no matter what the scores. That is why he so loved the triumph this year of his beloved Nats. | He said he will keep looking for ways to make the schools better. He told his students that persistence was essential, no matter what the scores. That is why he so loved the triumph this year of his beloved Nats. |
| One of his former students, biologist Shermaine Mitchell-Ryan, told me that if she had never encountered O’Leary’s “wisdom, incessant encouragement and dedication, my life would have taken a much different turn.” | One of his former students, biologist Shermaine Mitchell-Ryan, told me that if she had never encountered O’Leary’s “wisdom, incessant encouragement and dedication, my life would have taken a much different turn.” |
| O’Leary said one advantage for him is he no longer has an all-encompassing job in a classroom. He has time to nudge bureaucrats in the right direction. He knows that many will disappoint him, but if he keeps pushing, as he did with his students, he thinks change will come. | O’Leary said one advantage for him is he no longer has an all-encompassing job in a classroom. He has time to nudge bureaucrats in the right direction. He knows that many will disappoint him, but if he keeps pushing, as he did with his students, he thinks change will come. |
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