Orange County Schools superintendent gets $10K bonus after ‘unbelievable’ COVID year
Superintendent Monique Felder’s first year in the Orange County Schools was unprecedented, board members said after giving her a $10,000 bonus last week and another year on her contract.
The county school board voted unanimously after a closed-door evaluation to reward Felder’s “diligence and commitment to the students of Orange County, especially in a year of crisis that has required the superintendent to take on an unprecedented workload,” Chair Hillary Mackenzie said Friday in a text message.
She and other board members contacted this week declined to talk about details of the superintendent’s evaluation, citing personnel laws. Board members Jennifer Moore and Bonnie Hauser agreed to speak only in general terms about the superintendent’s work.
Felder’s contract, which now runs through 2024, showed that she earns over $175,000 a year, plus benefits.
It’s about $10,000 less than she was earning previously as chief academic officer for the 86,000-student Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools district in Tennessee, Felder said. While Orange County is a much smaller district, with only 7,500 students, Felder said she was interested in the superintendent’s job because of the district’s approach to equity.
“That is my passion,” Felder said. “Equity in education means we are focused on ensuring all students have what they need to succeed, and I sensed from my review and my research that this was a district that is serious about that.”
Hauser, who joined the school board in July, said Felder impressed her early on by holding a series of public listen-and-learn sessions. Felder then focused immediately on how to address the district’s racial disparities in student achievement and discipline, Hauser said.
“She brought the entire senior staff out to every school to hear what parents and teachers had to say,” she said. “That, to me, was amazing.”
Teachers, curriculum keys to student achievement
Felder, a 25-year teacher, principal and school administrator, said research shows quality teachers are critical to student achievement, but students and curriculum also play key roles. Orange County Schools officials are analyzing how those factors work together to see what additional steps the district might take, she said.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of professional development, sometimes it’s the curriculum, but it’s not the student,” Felder said. “Are there students who may have some learning disabilities that get in their way? Absolutely, but that’s not the majority of why data would look the way that it’s looking.”
COVID-19 has created additional challenges for everyone, she said, and while some students are thriving in remote learning, it will never replace in-person education.
“Everyone is truly doing their best; I have no doubt about that,” Felder said. “Our parents have shown us a lot of grace and patience. We’ve got parents that will send their kids back tomorrow. We’ve got some who, until there’s a vaccine, they’re not sending their kids back to school, so there’s this wide spectrum.”
The Orange County Health Department and the ABC Science Collaborative, a medical and research group, have been invaluable resources as they consider the safest path for students and teachers, Felder said.
“We’re educators. We’re not health and medical experts, nor do we try to be, nor do we want to be,” Felder said. “In this environment, we have to turn to them. We have to look at the science and what medicine is telling us, and we’ve learned a lot and they’ve learned a lot about what we can do to mitigate COVID-19 in our schools.”
Orange County also has learned from districts that have reopened to students, she said. Some have reported COVID-19 cases, she said, but most have avoided big clusters by ensuring everyone wears a mask, washes their hands and maintains a physical distance.
Felder recommended to the board in September that the district reopen for pre-K students and some students in exceptional children’s classes. The district reopened for those students on Oct. 27 using a Plan B mix of remote and in-person classes.
The district also has tested the waters with small groups of older students returning for short-term classes, labs and in-person help, as well as in its learning labs, which have served about 45 students since September, she said.
Other K-12 students are expected to return for the second semester, starting in late January. The board has not yet determined how to phase in that return to class.
While the superintendent and the board appear to have a congenial relationship, Felder has taken a more firm hand when necessary. In September, she pushed back against the board’s concerns to argue that teachers should return by mid-November to get ready for students, “because I don’t know when we’ll all ever get comfortable enough.”
Her job is to make recommendations, and the board’s job is to decide whether to support those recommendations, Felder said. Although it can be frustrating at times, she knows that the board shares her interest in doing what’s best for students, she said.
Hauser noted that Felder was quick to engage her as a new board member, saying the superintendent has “done an amazing job” over the last year with an “unbelievable situation.”
Moore also praised Felder’s leadership during the pandemic.
“I know Dr. Felder believes in making our students and staff a priority when it comes to safety, which is why she was working very hard with the health department and the task force on metrics, to try to see a plan for returning to school,” Moore said.
Addressing racial bias, inequities
When students do return, the district will pick up again its strategic plan to address racial bias and educational inequities. In the last few years, that work has resulted in a ban on the Confederate flag and the appointment of an Equity Task Force.
Last year, the district hired its first chief equity officer, Dena Keeling, and adopted an equity policy acknowledging racial intolerance and academic inequities. District staff and teachers continue to receive training, and courses in the history of African-American, Latinx and indigenous peoples are in place or being planned.
The district is doing good work, Felder said, but there is much more to do, from shaping a rigorous curriculum to making sure students get what they need for success.
“We are in the business of improving outcomes for children. We are in the business of being change agents for students and their families, and we have the ability to impact families for generations,” she said. “My goal is to increase achievement and ensure equity, access and opportunities for our students.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 10:11 AM.
