A rock in a hard place: Elmer McPherson transformed a troubled school district into a model of achievement

In the end, the board cut only $7 million, but that still meant an enormous loss. Voters approved a referendum in February 2001. Arndt left Decatur at the end of the school year for a post in Carpentersville.

And Elmer "Mac" McPherson was named Decatur's new superintendent in May 2001.

McPherson will retire in June, and in the five years he has been superintendent, the district has seen a whirlwind of change.

His proudest achievement, he said, is the steady decline in dropouts. In the most recent annual report to the community, the dropout rate had hit a 20-year low of 6.8 percent, down from 9.6 percent the year before.

"There are other implications, other factors that would lead to increased student achievement, but one of them has to be having kids in school and keeping kids in school," McPherson said.

Of Decatur's 17 elementary schools, 13 have shown marked progress in student achievement. McPherson declines to take sole credit for it, citing the help of his colleagues, his wife and his church family as well as the community's support.

"Decatur needs to be proud of its public schools," he said. "It needs to be proud of the culture in this community. This is a giving community."

One of McPherson's first acts as superintendent was the formation of a strategic plan with his staff. Laying out the district's priorities, he said at the time, and using those priorities to drive all decisions, would ensure that everyone - students, parents, employees and the community - would all be pulling in the same direction.

"I'm always watching the school board meetings on television," said the Rev. C.D. Stuart, pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, where the McPhersons are members. "I have seen under his leadership and administration (the district) enhance the overall school system, update school buildings and make improvements that affect teachers. And he has let us know that he doesn't want any child left behind."

McPherson's faith gives him the spiritual strength to interact with people on every level, Stuart said - religious, professional and social.

Director of Human Resources Marla Robinson said McPherson's heart is in Decatur schools.

"No one from the outside can understand how he cares about the kids," she said. "How much passion he has and how much compassion he has. He's not jaded. We speak to kids, and (his enthusiasm) is like he's a brand-new superintendent."

Filling the position is possibly the most important task the Decatur school board will ever face, board President Jan Mandernach told the board after McPherson announced his intention to retire. She agrees with McPherson that higher student achievement is a significant achievement of the past five years.

"One of the real accomplishments is being able to have some elementary schools that were not making adequate yearly progress now meeting (that goal)," she said. "That represents a tremendous amount of work on the part of teachers and administrators, recognizing what needs to be changed in their buildings so students can learn."

Some of the significant changes in the past five years:

* The education fund went from a deficit of $11.5 million to a balance of more than $7 million.

* Hope Academy, the first new school in 30 years, opened in August 2005.

* Mound and Sunnyside schools were closed and the land sold to the city for the shopping center occupied by Target. The $5 million price helped the district with a construction project that included Hope and remodeling work on Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Dennis and Pershing schools, French Academy and MacArthur High School.

* Southeast and Washington schools closed.

* Phoenix Enrichment Center, an alternative school for grades K-12, opened in the former Southeast School building and is one of a very few alternative schools in the state serving all grades in the same building.

* District boundaries were redrawn to allow students to attend a school building as close to home as possible.

* Minority hiring has increased until 12.2 percent of district employees are minorities, the highest percentage in the 20 years the numbers have been tracked.

* Beginning in the fall, Eisenhower High School will reorganize into small learning communities, keeping students in a "house" of about 300 students who will stay together with the same teachers throughout their high school years.

* The middle schools adopted a true middle school model, similar to small learning academies, allowing students and teachers to form closer relationships to increase achievement and accountability.

* The Professional Development Institute, near the Keil Administration Building downtown, consolidated most employee training and continuing education in a central location.

"Student achievement is the No. 1 priority of this district," McPherson said. "If we continue to keep student achievement in the forefront of our minds, we are likely to stay focused and achieve the goals the district has set out to do in meeting the needs of our students."

One innovative idea, he said, is the annual "customer satisfaction survey."

"We don't do it just to say we did it," he said. "We do it because we look at it to see what areas are in need of improvement."

Cable Channel 22 is another innovation of which he's proud, he said, because not only does it keep the community informed of what goes on in the district and highlights events and students, but Decatur students actually produce a large portion of the content and get on-the-job experience in the process.

McPherson said he has no plans to leave Decatur, and is thinking of getting involved in helping Eisenhower make the transition to small learning communities next year. In the meantime, he's not in a hurry to leave his job, either.

"I still find myself leaving here at 5:30 or 6 in the evening," he said. "Until I'm asked to turn in my keys, I'm still going to be superintendent."

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@;herald-review.com or 421-7982. Staff writer Sheila Smith contributed to this story.