Focus on Furr High

Back to basics

Regarding “Furr flap” (Page A11, Tuesday), I am a graduate of Furr High School and a former HISD trustee. I appreciate the focus the Chronicle has given to the situation at Furr not only because I want to see Furr continue to improve and succeed but also because of my concern for the implications of the actions there for the entire district.

When I served on the board, the one thing that the superintendents and my board colleagues agreed on was the importance of excellent principals. A good principal attracts and retains good teachers who in turn motivate and inspire students. That is the bottom line.

We were so convinced that empowering principals was the key to success that we supported the creation of the Principal Leadership Institute. It was created and led by Sharon Kounce who I understand is part of the team at Furr to manage the $10 million grant that the school was rewarded.

That principal training program was visited by districts from all over the country and beyond to try and understand how to support and enhance the skills of principal leaders. Our goal was to encourage principals to be creative risk takers. During my time on the board, there were many examples of schools with awesome leaders that achieved success in neighborhoods where no one expected excellence.

I have seen risk-takers targeted for reasons that had little to do with student achievement. The result of that targeting has far-reaching effects on the entire system. I hope that the focus of attention on the Furr situation will shine a light and help everyone get back to the bottom line. Paula Arnold, Houston