Q&A With New Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr

It's the first day of school for students in Montgomery County, and it's also the first day of classes for new superintendent Joshua Starr. Starr took over in July for former superintendent Jerry Weast, who retired after nearly 12 years in the position. WAMU Maryland reporter Matt Bush sat down with Starr to discuss his plans for a school system consistently ranked among the best in the country.

What would you say your philosophy is on education?

My philosophy is that education is about development. It's not about competition, it's about development, it's about discovery, it's about learning skills and knowledge and content with others that will enable you to make choices for yourself in the world.

James Baldwin, one of my favorite writers, said in 1963 or 1964 in "A Talk to Teachers," that the purpose of education is to ask questions of the universe and to learn to live with those questions. And we need our kids to become critical thinkers that can help tackle the challenges that the 21st century provides. I want the kids in Montgomery County to graduate leading the effort, and not just be doers but be active thinkers and to really enjoy it.

Before coming here you worked in a district that was very similar, a suburban district in Stamford, Conn. Why come here?

Montgomery County Public Schools is one of the best districts in the country. It's really been a model for the nation; it's really been able to show folks how you can raise standards for all kids and provide the kinds of supports that all kids need to achieve those standards. When the opportunity came up I jumped at it, and I'm thrilled and privileged to be the new superintendent.

In Stamford some people said that you were a little rough around the edges when dealing with the community. You're coming here to this community which is so much bigger than Stamford; how are you planning on interacting with them?

We we have a number of 'listen and learn' events coming up: 10 of them with the community and six with staff. The situation in Stamford was a little different in that there weren't the kind of systems in place that I have here. I had to break a lot of eggs there. It's a little different here. I have an opportunity here for people to get to know me in a different basis. There isn't the same kind of need to make radical significant changes.

You come into this after a previous superintendent that received numerous awards, and the school district, consistently ranks in the top 10 or top 5 when it comes to best districts in the country. What do you see as needing to change?

Certainly the current economic circumstances are going to force us to focus our efforts to make sure everything is aligned strategically. When we talk about change, we're not talking about doing a 180 reform job in Montgomery County. It's more about taking a look at what strengths we have and building on those to ensure that we can address the challenges that still remain.

We are growing by 2,000 to 3,000 students every year. Most of those kids are black and brown, many of those kids are English language learners. We have to make sure that we're just constantly getting better. When you're already really good, then it's a great time to say, 'Well how do we get even better.'

What is your take on No Child Left Behind? When you look at these rankings, many school districts do not look good, even ones in this area considered to be top notch districts. What needs to be fixed in it?

Look at the contradiction: we're having more schools labeled failing, yet 2,000 to 3,000 students are moving in every year just for our schools. No Child Left Behind has really run its course. It's done some good things for us, it's made us accountable for ensuring that we're attending to the needs of some kids that quite frankly were not attended to for some time in America. But it's really run its course.

On discipline issues, the Montgomery County Council looking at a bill that would impose a teen curfew. Obviously this would have a major impact on your students. What are your thoughts on that?

I don't know all of the particulars, but I certainly know that County Executive Ike Leggett has given significant thought to the issue. You can't have a curfew bill without having significant supports in place for kids, and I know that he and the council are working very hard to make sure the kids are engaged and supported in other positive ways.

I don't know that I really like it, but I also understand why it's being proposed, and we'll see how it plays out. I think it's more important to make sure our parents understand their roles in engaging their children and setting limits and creating curfews for them and making sure that they're doing the right thing.