Remembering J. H. Fischer

On Friday, the New York Times reported on the passing of J. H. Fischer, who as superintendent led desegregation of Baltimore schools following the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Baltimore was the first large American city to integrate its schools, and the Times credits Fischer's low-key but firm leadership on the issue: "He showed steely resolve when faced with boycotts, strikes and protests. Any students kept at home by their parents, he warned, or engaging in strikes, would be treated as truants...by seizing the initiative, Mr. Fischer caught potential opponents off guard."

In the February 1955 issue of Educational Leadership, Fischer wrote about how he believed educators should approach the task of desegregation. Read the article "Implementing the Decision" (PDF).

He emphasizes the need for coalition-building when implementing a major reform such as desegregation:

The most admirable programs for educational change have often come to grief when educators, whether unconsciously or by design, have cut the schools loose from community support and have sought to go it alone. Conversely, the most lasting gains are those which have been achieved when school and community, jointly aware of problems but sharing common aspirations, have moved ahead at a pace and in a direction upon which both could agree.

In fact, the Times obituary notes his own efforts were successful in large part due to collaboration with the school board and Baltimore's mayor. 

He also stresses the importance of keeping reform in proper perspective. Children and their well-being, he states, should be the ends of reform efforts, rather than simply the means to achieve larger social goals.

Fischer's advice is well-crafted to apply not simply to the issue of the day, but also to all school reform implementations educators continue to grapple with.

In "My Back Pages," we look at important issues through the historical lens of the Educational Leadership archives. ASCD members can access EL issues from 1943 to the present by signing in at www.ascd.org.

On Friday, the New York Times reported on the passing of J. H. Fischer, who as superintendent led desegregation of Baltimore schools following the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Baltimore was the first large American city to integrate its schools, and the Times credits Fischer's low-key but firm leadership on the issue: "He showed steely resolve when faced with boycotts, strikes and protests. Any students kept at home by their parents, he warned, or engaging in strikes, would be treated as truants...by seizing the initiative, Mr. Fischer caught potential opponents off guard."

In the February 1955 issue of Educational Leadership, Fischer wrote about how he believed educators should approach the task of desegregation. Read the article "Implementing the Decision" (PDF).

He emphasizes the need for coalition-building when implementing a major reform such as desegregation:

The most admirable programs for educational change have often come to grief when educators, whether unconsciously or by design, have cut the schools loose from community support and have sought to go it alone. Conversely, the most lasting gains are those which have been achieved when school and community, jointly aware of problems but sharing common aspirations, have moved ahead at a pace and in a direction upon which both could agree.

In fact, the Times obituary notes his own efforts were successful in large part due to collaboration with the school board and Baltimore's mayor. 

He also stresses the importance of keeping reform in proper perspective. Children and their well-being, he states, should be the ends of reform efforts, rather than simply the means to achieve larger social goals.

Fischer's advice is well-crafted to apply not simply to the issue of the day, but also to all school reform implementations educators continue to grapple with.

In "My Back Pages," we look at important issues through the historical lens of the Educational Leadership archives. ASCD members can access EL issues from 1943 to the present by signing in at www.ascd.org.