I hold a Doctorate in Education with a specialty in school improvement. I have worked with every school system in the state of Alabama. I was one of the authors of Alabama’s state accountability system, the state and federal report cards, and Alabama’s ESSA plan. I authored guidance for school systems at both the state and federal levels. I taught at Dothan High School. I worked with teachers, support staff, administration, and students to get two schools out of school improvement. In other words, I am not speculating from the sidelines. I helped design the very frameworks being cited to justify the decisions in the 100 day plan. I understand what it takes to make systemic change to improve schools.
External consultants are not, by default, a best practice. They are a tool, sometimes appropriate, sometimes unnecessary, and often misused. When districts repeatedly turn outward without first stabilizing, supporting, and empowering internal capacity, it is not innovation; it is avoidance.
The persistent challenges in Dothan City Schools are not a mystery that requires national discovery. They are well-documented, well-understood, and deeply rooted in systemic decisions, resource allocation, and organizational priorities, many of which originate at the central office level. Hiring consultants while simultaneously expanding central office positions does not relieve pressure on classrooms, does not reduce teacher workload, and does not directly address the daily realities faced by students and educators. Reducing teacher planning time or continuously taking teachers’ planning time is a recipe for continued undesirable results.
Poverty, mobility, and community challenges are real. However, they are not unique to Dothan, nor do they absolve leadership of responsibility. Alabama has districts with similar demographics that are making progress without creating layers of external dependency. Sustainable improvement comes from strong internal leadership, clear instructional coherence, and direct investment in school-based staff, not from outsourcing responsibility under the banner of “best practice.”
Invoking accountability systems I helped build to justify these choices is especially troubling when those same systems emphasize capacity building, local ownership, and fiscal responsibility. Consultants do not teach children. Teachers do. Principals do. Support staff do. And when resources are diverted away from them, we should be honest about the consequences.
This is not an indictment of educators. I have spent my career advocating for them. It is a call for integrity in decision-making. True leadership does not chase national names for cover; it does the hard work of fixing what is broken from within.
Our students deserve more than expensive symbolism. They deserve relief where the work actually happens and leadership that trusts, equips, and respects the professionals already serving them every day.
