TPS chief Foley leaves legacy, fans say

John Foley has been credited by many for dismissing politics and always doing what was right for the children in the system. THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON Enlarge | Photo Reprints

More than three decades at Toledo Public Schools comes to an end Friday for Superintendent John Foley, and his supporters say the educator's legacy is solid.

The schools superintendent - known often for his sense of humor in public and a sometimes harsh, no-nonsense management style behind the scenes - has been credited by many for dismissing politics and always doing what was right for children.

"He cared about the district and the kids more than he did himself," board member Larry Sykes said.

During the four years Mr. Foley has led the budget-troubled urban school system of about 25,660 students, the number of schools that were ranked as excellent and effective increased while the number of schools ranked in academic emergency decreased from 10 for the 2006-07 academic year to six for the 2008-09 academic year.

Before he took control, the number of students taken out of school for disciplinary reasons drew regular criticism, but since 2006, suspensions fell 33 percent and expulsions were down 43 percent. Four years ago, there were 450 TPS expulsions versus 255 during the 2009-10 school year.

For the 2006-07 school year when Mr. Foley became superintendent, the district was on academic watch, the equivalent of a D on the Ohio Department of Education annual report card.

TPS achieved a performance index score of 80.1 out of 120 possible points for the 2007-08 school year, barely making the "continuous improvement" distinction.

The district then inched up a bit more in the state index for the 2008-09 school year and scored 81 out of 120 possible points while maintaining the continuous improvement distinction.

The 2009-10 reports cards are due out next month.

Mr. Foley said he is proud of the past four years, including the slow, incremental progress.

"We have engaged parents and students in being clear in what our expectations are," he said. "The biggest challenge this past year has been funding and the ability to reduce the budget by $39 million, and that is not how you want to go out, but it is what we had."

His tenure includes "cultural changes" to the school system Mr. Foley said are not "evident every day."

Increasing parental involvement was one of his goals. On his first day as interim superintendent, he gave up the parking space reserved for the superintendent and converted it to "Preferred Parking for TPS Parents."

Mr. Foley also introduced the "Win With 10" program to encourage parents to volunteer at least 10 hours a year at their child's school. He also increased participation at parent-teacher conferences, according to TPS records.

School board President Bob Vasquez acknowledged that some of Mr. Foley's command decisions didn't show fast or immediate improvement in test scores.

"He put a lot of things in place to raise our scores, and he put things in place that he knew were long-term that would help in the long run," Mr. Vasquez said. "One of them is how he would look at the scores and look at the curriculum, and he understood and had a plan to get the most out of students and make them reach their potential."

Mr. Foley began with the district in 1977 as a junior high school teacher of behaviorally disabled students at Lagrange Achievement Center and moved into the administrative ranks in 1989 as an acting assistant principal at King Elementary School. He also was principal of Reynolds Elementary School for six years.

In 2004, he became assistant superintendent of school improvement and reform and then became chief of staff in August, 2005.

He was appointed interim superintendent in May, 2006, after former Superintendent Eugene Sanders left to lead the Cleveland school district.

Mr. Foley was selected to the post permanently a year later after some controversy with the school board's first choice for superintendent.

He admits not everything was accomplished.

"Sure, lots of regrets, but the job is never finished," Mr. Foley said. "One regret is that we were not able to make as many improvements as we would have liked, but overall we have made continued progress."

Mr. Foley took a step toward turning around some of the worst-performing schools such as Pickett Elementary by supporting a plan to change the entire staff.

"Thirty-three years of service to TPS is a legacy itself," said Lisa Sobecki, a board member and longtime Foley supporter.

"He was a special-education teacher and touched many lives there," Ms. Sobecki said. "Every time I run into someone, they have either worked with John or he has educated their kids and he has seen a whole generation grow up."

The Toledo Board of Education accepted Mr. Foley's resignation during a special meeting in December and soon after - for the second time in just more than three years - the district's elected leaders conducted a national search for a superintendent.

His resignation from the $165,000-a-year job occurred after the Toledo Board of Education offered him only a one-year contract extension. He had sought two years to complete 35 years with the district.

TPS' new superintendent, Jerome Pecko, officially starts Sunday. One of his first tests will be making sure a 7.8-mill levy on the November ballot is approved by voters. The tax would raise $21.6 million annually for a school system struggling to find long-term financial stability.

Mr. Foley said the task won't be easy.

"I think everyone has to recognize we have a great district with many great programs but with many challenges ahead," he said.

After leaving the district, Mr. Foley, 55, said he plans to "take it easy" before figuring out what's next for him.

Contact Ignazio Messina at:

imessina@theblade.com

or 419-724-6171.