Colorado Springs School District 11 Superintendent Michael Gaal fired four high-ranking members of his administration last week. It was a bold move for a relatively new leader, who took the helm of D-11 only last year.

Great gall, Mr. Gaal. Or, maybe he cares more about educating children than the heat he will take for doing so.

During his short time, Gaal has made one thing clear to those who know him. He has a profound, almost revolutionary educational doctrine, which he previously brought to schools in Washington and Detroit. It comes down to four words.

“It’s about the kids!” Gaal typically says, with body language that underscores his passion.

Gaal made his kids-first doctrine clear during an hourlong visit he and other applicants had separately with a Gazette editorial board member last year. All finalists were chosen carefully by the school board and each expressed genuine care for students. Gaal went further, explaining he would enact personnel changes and other hard measures to quickly improve schools that had been failing to educate children. He had a plan.

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The failures of D-11 are no secret. By the time the board hired Gaal in the spring of 2022, only 34% of students performed at state “proficiency” in English Language Arts. The state deemed only 21% proficient in math.

Fifteen schools were on the state’s watch list for poor outcomes and in danger of the state taking them over.

Then there’s the matter of racial/ethnic equity, which has long been absent from D-11 schools. The district has left most minority children with proficiency rates significantly below an already troubling average.

With his bold agenda to improve the schools, Gaal might be the person to achieve real equity.

The past superintendent attempted to achieve equity by establishing an equity office that told minorities they were oppressed – a message that robbed young children of confidence and hope.

Blame for inequitable outcomes rests with the district’s past administrations, boards, and union contracts. Combined, they have held down the remuneration of extraordinary teachers and ensconced mediocrity.

State data tells of unacceptable outcomes throughout Colorado’s public education system. That’s likely because most school districts, including D-11, have been run by a union that elects school board members with funds deducted from the take-home pay of teachers.

When Black and Hispanic children get worse results than the majority’s low performance – the case at D-11 for at least the past decade – the district has failed them. Gaal took the helm with only 5% of Black children proficient in math and 21% in English Language Arts.

In just one year, student performance has improved under Gaal. Seven of the 15 underperforming schools are off the state’s list.

Gaal, with the support of a solid kids-first board majority, has made bold moves to direct time, dollars, personnel, political capital, and other resources to achieve higher outcomes for all students. Gaal will not tolerate inequitable results for minorities or poor children.

To redirect resources, Gaal needs a sea change. Toward that, he fired Chief Communications Officer Devra Ashby, Phoebe Bailey, chief of personnel support services, and Toni Schone, executive director of human resources. The Gazette could not confirm the identity of the fourth administrator.

Change is hard, but is necessary to realize growth. Clearly, the pre-Gaal status quo was not serving D-11 students or taxpayers. To solve the challenges ahead, D-11 needs a cohesive team where everyone is bought into the central mission and vision – to improve academic outcomes for students. As the recent school board election shows, improved academic outcomes are what the community wants from D-11.

We are happy to see Gaal and his bosses on the school board taking difficult actions to turn things around. The children of D-11 deserve adult leaders who fearlessly fight for them and the future they represent.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board