Mothers, Sons, and Football

Just between us, I have a confession. Growing up in rural Northern California, I hated football. Mainly due to my otherwise sedate father, who would be thrown into spasms of yelling and sofa coaching all through the 80’s when his beloved Niners were playing. Shouts of “Run, Jerry, Ruuuuun!!!” would echo through the house, and I would cringe, mortified, at the insanity that clearly was unspooling in the living room.

Fast forward to three football seasons ago. Jim Harbaugh, having just left his college football coaching career to jump to the NFL, moved to the Niners. At the same time I was casting about trying to determine how to interest my son in understanding the mechanics of management. It seemed like the perfect moment to introduce him to the effects of organizational change using the Niners as the example, and Coach Harbaugh as the change agent. What happens when an organization embarks on change, keeps some key players, lets others go, and brings in new leadership?

Well, for Niners fans, I don’t need to recap. And suffice it to say that I unknowingly fanned the flames of football mania, which now includes me, to the degree that Fantasy Football and the entirety of all NFL games are mainstays at our house.

What does this have to do with education? Well two things actually. Not being afraid to change at the top. And managing change in turbulent times. Most organizations like to stay the course because frankly, it takes less energy. School districts, and their voters are no different. But, as we learned with the Niners, sometimes bringing in a fresh face with a new perspective is the best call. Sure, it can break up the old team, but it’s worth it if the team goes on to win all the way to the top.

Managing change during times of transitions is just as important. Through my work in Redwood City’s public schools, as the president of the Redwood City Education Foundation, and as a member of many community committees, I have learned how to be a leader when a system is in crisis and people need help finding their way from outrage to action. Leadership isn’t being the decider. It’s being able to understand who has the most to lose from change, and who has the most to win. More importantly, it’s understanding how to bring those two extremes together for the best possible outcome. It’s the ability to understand how decisions made at the high level affect the players on the field – what strategy makes your team a winning team, or grinds the game to a halt in a pile of flailing bodies.

I also am keenly aware that while education policy frequently tinkers on the edge of social engineering, we need to recognize that those decisions affect real kids and real families. I don’t want anyone “pulling the levers of policy,” as one Sequoia Union High School District Trustee said recently, essentially experimenting on my child, and everyone else’s.  It is important that as we talk about big questions, like moving high school boundaries, we recognize that to parents and kids, this is about upending their lives. We cannot enter lightly into those decisions without having an agreed to framework that drives our strategy as a community so that we can move the ball down the field and get to the goal for all kids.

Regular readers of this blog know I am now in a race, with two other candidates, for a seat on the Sequoia Union High School District board. I am the challenger in the race, looking to bring my fresh perspective, and seasoned experience to help our district find solutions to some complex problems that have the potential to pit schools and parents against each other in a fight over resources. What differentiates me  is my commitment to community, to working through tough issues in a way that brings people together to find common ground and builds a stronger district for everyone. Given an uncertain future of funding insecurity and rising enrollment, our district will need to be stronger than ever to make sure our children get the education excellence they need to prepare for their lives as adults in our world.

Learn more by visiting my campaign website at www.georgiajack.org, or following me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaJackSUHSD, or in the Patch!