District must look forward to unravel tangled mess

By Emily Mentzer, Lebanon Express writer

Rob Hess officially took over as Lebanon School Superintendent on Wednesday, July 1.

By Monday morning he had had 35 conversations with people interested in the school district.

His goal is to have 100 half-hour conversations before month's end, and he had nearly 50 scheduled as of Monday.

As he meets with people, Hess takes notes in a book he's titled, "The Method."

In it, he shows an illustration of the current state of the district.

"What you've got is like tangled fish wire, or electrical cords," Hess said. "In the middle are complaints, lawsuits, hurt feelings, and you have people at the ends pulling it, taking sides, making it tighter. The only way out is to take an end and work our way toward the middle."

The side Hess said he will take is for the students, encouraging everyone to do the same.

"[Improvement is] only going to happen if we work together," Hess said.

One of the problems he sees for continued upset in the district is people who focus on complaints.

He compared it to a 20-car pile-up on the freeway: when people stop to look at the accident - or complaints - it slows everyone down.

If people focus instead on positive accomplishments, Hess said the district will get better.

"We're going to get what we pay attention to," Hess said.

After analyzing a recent student survey, Hess said more than 30 percent of students answered neutral on the question, "Students at my school treat me with respect."

He tied this data with the number of complaints and behavior of adults.

"The adults are treating each other so poorly, it's no wonder kids are treating each other poorly," Hess said.

Hess said he believes in supporting people.

"The more who can help build bridges the better," he said.

The district has to look forward, Hess said.

"We can't hold on to grudges, mistreatments," Hess said. "We've got to let that go. Build a bridge."

One of Hess' mottos is, "Do the right thing - using data to understand the right way - treating others the way you want to be treated," he said.

"It's an age-old philosophy, but it works," he said.

Hess said his decisions will be based on what is in the best interests for all students and schools, both for the short and long term.

His solution is simple, he said, though he admits it's not easy.

"Be visible, be available and communicate," Hess said.

If he can succeed at these, he said he will build trust. He concedes it will take time, even more time if he's the only one working on it.

"There's been a lot of pain out there, I'm finding out," Hess said. "People are mad at people, but those people aren't here anymore."

Hess said problems are not attached to individuals, but rather systems that need improving.

One of his core philosophies is "you don't solve problems by moving them."

This is one reason he has decided to keep Principal Ed Sansom at Seven Oak Middle School and Principal Jennifer Meckley at Lacomb.

Because Seven Oak has a large population with only one administrator, Hess said he will have to spend a lot of time there, setting up systems and supporting improvement.

But first, Hess still needs 50 more people to talk to in July.

"I encourage anyone who has a question or concerns to set up a meeting: Talk to me," Hess said. "As long as everyone's willing to work toward the middle and put kids first, we'll get there."

To reach Hess, call Executive Assistant Kathy Shurr at 451-8458 or e-mail kathy.shurr@lebanon.k12.or.us.