New Green Bay School District superintendent has ambitious goals for his first year

GREEN BAY — It's rare that you'll catch Claude Tiller wearing something other than a three-piece suit with a bowtie. If you do, he's likely wearing merch from one of the over 40 schools in the Green Bay School District, which he's in his third month of leading.

A self-described grassroots superintendent, his favorite part of the district so far is the community.

"I love to get out and meet the people, and the way they embraced me, everyone has been so gracious and so kind," he said.

Tiller is starting his tenure with ambitious goals

Tiller started as superintendent July 1, and he has ambitious goals for his first year: He wants to raise reading scores by 5% and math scores by 10%.

Only 23% of the district's students tested proficient in reading on the 2021-22 state Forward Exams, compared with 37% statewide.

He also wants to give teachers access to more "real-time" data on how their students are performing and share that with parents as well as the students themselves. Tiller started an initiative called "I'm more than a number," which loops students into the conversation so they know where they stand and where they need to improve, he said.

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There's also a shift to getting district administrators into schools to hear feedback from teachers on instruction, and he wants more focus on literacy coaching.

"Everything is student centered around coaching to focus on specific strategies," he said.

The district is moving to a model of instruction called Gradual Release of Responsibility, or GRR, which progressively moves the child to becoming an independent learner. Teachers present the lesson, and then work through it with students collaboratively. Then students break out into peer groups to work on the lesson together, and ultimately, they work individually on the skills.

"That whole model, it debunks that 'sage on the stage,'" Tiller said.

The biggest thing for him is to get dependent learners to become independent learners. This year the district is focusing on training principals on this model and then getting staff trained to fully implement it.

Before coming to Green Bay, Tiller was the assistant superintendent over high school transformation with the Detroit Public Schools Community District, a district of 53,000 students and more than 100 schools.

He also brings experience boosting test scores from his time at the Michigan Department of Education, where he helped low-performing high schools achieve higher SAT scores.

He also has an extensive education background with a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, a master's of education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, an education specialist certificate from Wayne State University in Detroit and a doctorate in education from the American College of Education in Indiana.

Historic moment as first superintendent of color to lead the district

Tiller is the first person of color to lead the school district in its over 150-year history, something that holds significance for him, both personally and professionally.

As a single father, it's important that his daughter, who is now 29, is proud of him, he said.

"I always wanted people in my family to be proud of their uncle or their father or their husband, so that's very personal to me," he explained

And, with a school district that has 60% students of color, Tiller wants to be a role model for all of Green Bay's students, but specifically Black and brown kids.

"Instead of always seeing us in different positions, being (in) lower positions if you will, they can look at me and say, 'Hey, I can strive to be superintendent. I can run a district.' And, yes, you can,'" he said.

That's part of the reason Tiller dresses in suits most days. In Detroit, he had to combat the image of what he called "street pharmacists" or drug dealers.

"They're always dressed. They always drive nice cars," he said. "When my students in Detroit say 'Hey, I want to be (like them).' I want them to see me and say, 'I'd rather be like him than like that individual right there."

Tiller plans to get attendance up to 95% and graduation to 100%

The district's chronic absenteeism rate was 30% for the 2021-22 school year, the most recent date available from the Department of Public Instruction. Chronic absenteeism is when a student misses at least 10% of school. That's about two days of school a month, according to the district.

Green Bay's overall attendance rate was 89% for the 2021-22 school year; Tiller plans to get that to 95%.

How? To start, it takes engaging parents, sending out attendance letters and educating them on what is considered chronic absenteeism, he said.

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He wants to use data to track absences and intervene early to get students back on track. "I'm a big data-driven person," he said.

The district is also issuing a student climate survey to understand students' sense of belonging and how they feel at school. Then the district can get a better picture of what might be causing absenteeism.

Tiller knows his goal to bring the graduation rate from 87% (2021-22) to 100% is lofty.

"I always shoot high," he said. "... I've never been in a district in my life that has been that high graduation rate. I've been in the 60s and 50s."

His goal is to identify which students are not going to graduate and give them the resources and the chance to get back on track. Tiller plans to use a credit recovery program, so students can get the credits they need to graduate.

"Shame on us that we allow our senior (to) be off track because somewhere they fell in a crack, if they've been with us in a cohort for four years," he said.

By connecting students with counselors early, they can identify any gaps in their credits before they fall too far behind.

Tiller commits to bringing the community along through school closure process

Tiller joins the district as it battles declining enrollment and surging costs leading to a $6.5 million budget deficit by next school year. The district is also looking to close 10 schools to consolidate student populations and reduce operating costs.

The district and Green Bay School Board came under fire in May for a lack of demographic representation in developing the plan and not enough transparency throughout the process.

"What you do is you bring people along with you. I believe in working through people and not by people," he said. "... People have to trust you. People have to see that you're out there. I'm not somebody that sits in the district office building that I'm not touchable. I want you to come up to me and talk to me."

While Tiller wants the community to "expect some ants at the picnic," he's committed to being transparent with the community.

"All decisions are made in the best interests of children. That has been my mantra from the very first time," he said.

Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay's new superintendent has ambitious goals for his first year