It's her first day of school, and already there are tests Steve Brandt; Staff Writer Publication

Date: September 1, 2004 Page: 01A Section: NEWS Edition: METRO

New Superintendent Thandiwe Peebles welcomes her first crop of Minneapolis students today with huge expectations hanging over her - none bigger than her own. She exhorted the district's teachers earlier this week to win the hearts and minds of Minneapolis families with their work. But she made clear where the ultimate responsibility lies. "If we fail, it is I that will have failed you," Peebles told them at a back-to-school gathering. With Minneapolis schools seemingly at a make-or-break point, the skill with which Peebles deals with the issues that are causing some families to leave the district is crucial. The district estimates that it will start school today with 3,000 fewer students than last year because more parents are opting out, fewer immigrants are getting in, and the birthrate is only now rebounding from a dip in the late 1990s. Peebles told teachers she doesn't plan to offer her strategic plan for the district for a while. She wants to do more looking and listening. Peebles also wants to wait until after the distractions related to school-closing decisions this fall have passed. She has been less visible than anticipated so far outside district circles. Aides say she's not willing to sit for interviews until after school opens today, and she has delayed her promised series of town hall meetings. But she's already had an impact, if nowhere else but the imaginations of those who work for her. Rumors have been rampant about her predilections since she took the job. Her early chiding of one district employee for nonprofessional dress mushroomed via the rumor mill into a full-fledged dress code, which she has had to debunk. She's also gained a reputation for bluntness that contrasts dramatically with the tact of predecessor Carol Johnson. "You're mine," she told the principals of seven schools that have consistently failed to meet state testing standards. But she also

urged them to call on her for help. . Ready for Thandiwe? Peebles also seems to have gained some important allies. Teachers union president Louise Sundin stood at Peebles' shoulder as she gave her first speech to teachers, and new state Education Commissioner Alice Seagren also spoke at the meeting at Peebles' behest. A get-acquainted session between Seagren and Peebles ran three times as long as scheduled. Sundin, no shrinking violet herself, shared with teachers the reaction of her counterpart in Cleveland when Peebles was plucked from that city to be appointed superintendent here. "Louise, I honestly don't know if Minneapolis is ready for Thandiwe Peebles," she was told. "If you want sugar and spice, she ain't it." Peebles was hired foremost to attempt to narrow the district's persistent racial-achievement gap. She has disclosed at least part of her strategy on that issue in back-to-school talks with teachers and principals. One key element will be a concerted attempt to align what the district teaches with what the state tests for and what grantmakers expect. She intends to beef up teacher training to improve the odds that students reach test goals. She plans to offer teacher training at the school level that meets the needs of individual teachers. She'll insist on regular assessment of what students aren't learning to gear instruction to their needs. Whether that's enough to close an achievement gap that arrives with every class of incoming kindergartners remains to be seen. Indeed, some argue that it's not the superintendent but the system that needs to change if the district is to show significant progress. . `I'm a teacher' Nevetheless, Peebles arrives with a reputation for command of the elements of pedagogy - the craft and knowledge of teaching. She has taken a keen interest in curriculum. She led the school board in a discussion of where the district should focus its school-readiness efforts to get all incoming kindergartners on the same footing.

She has loudly proclaimed her teaching roots. "My name is Thandiwe Peebles, and I'm a teacher. I always have been. I always will be," she told teachers and principals Monday at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The 61-year-old educator said she has been in their shoes during her long career. "I know how it feels when your test scores go down and you've killed yourself all year," she told principals. She promised that they won't be badgered with excessive paperwork from district headquarters. She encouraged them to develop as leaders, rather than as mere managers. "I need to serve you well if you are to serve the children well," she told teachers. She drew cheers from teachers when she pledged that persistent troublemakers in their classes would be disciplined. "When she talks about what teachers know and do, you can tell by how she talks about that it's something she knows and has experienced herself. It's not superficial. It's not something she read in a manual," Sundin said. With descriptions about her frank style - some have called it abrupt and even rude - making the rounds, Peebles addressed that perception head-on. "I'm too short to be a bully. It's not in my professional ethics, and it's not in my Christian ethics," she said. Some board members say that, given Peebles' bluntness and the conflict-averse style of many Minnesotans, an adjustment period will be needed. . New to the spotlight Peebles admitted to teachers and principals that she's still adjusting to the spotlight. Since she moved to the Loring Park area with her dog, she has been repeatedly welcomed by strangers. She has expressed amazement at the speed with which information travels on the informal district grapevine. Indeed, one principal compared the rumors among principals to those of a junior-high lunchroom. And amid rumors of a dress code, principals showed up for their first meeting with Peebles with more ties among the men and suits among the women than had been the norm before.

She's gravitated to her background so far by emphasizing teaching and curriculum. "She's actually going to be a very strong instructional leader," Seagren said. "That's her strength." Her readiness to give intensive supervision to the seven most academically troubled schools plays to her strengths. But unlike in her administrative post in Cleveland, she has taken on a much broader range of responsibilities as superintendent. "I worry she may take on too much," Seagren said. Her administrative burden could be eased if she hires a chief operating officer to assume the non-academic side of running a district, the role the departed David Jennings played for Johnson. Board members expect her to do so, but that would require a reallocation of money because the position wasn't in the budget. She has been noticeably leery of reporters so far. She has refused sit-down interviews and has restricted access to district experts. In gatherings with teachers, she has used news reporters as a foil. At one grant-announcement news conference, she chided the two reporters who did attend for the failure of others to show up. Peebles has largely stuck to internal district business so far, despite promising in job interviews a series of town hall meetings. She told the school board in late July she planned one such meeting on the North Side, where many parents are choosing alternatives to Minneapolis public schools - charter schools, private schools and open enrollment in suburban schools - but apparently changed her plans because the board was in the midst of a series of community meetings on planning the district's future. "She's working incredibly hard to start the school year with her agenda, her team," Sundin said. Yet her public presence could be important to rallying families who have defected. That's especially true because black families, who make up the largest single bloc of district enrollment, are choosing other options in significant numbers. Perhaps Peebles' biggest booster is board Chairwoman Sharon Henry-Blythe, the sole minority member of the school board. She said she has learned much already from Peebles and is impressed by her energy. "She's just a driven woman," Henry-Blythe said. She's so passionate about public education."

. Steve Brandt is at sbrandt@startribune.com and 612-673-4438. . Thandiwe M.C. Peebles Job: Minneapolis schools superintendent since July. Born: Jan. 4, 1943, in Baltimore. Name: Means "the beloved one" in a South African dialect. Professional experience: Superintendent for 11 schools in the 77,000-student Cleveland Municipal School District, 2001-2004. Executive director for academic affairs, Cleveland Municipal School District, 1999-2001. Principal in the Bronx in New York City, 1997-99. Educational administrator and assistant principal in Brooklyn, New York City, 1990-97. Educational consultant, McGraw-Hill publishing company, 1988-90. Teacher and administrator, Brooklyn, 1975-88. Day-care director, the Bronx, 1973-75. Teacher, Brooklyn and Harlem, 1964-69. Education: Bachelor's degree in education, St. John's University, Jamaica, N.Y. Master's degree in education, Hunter College, New York. Expects to earn a doctorate in education this month from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Fellow, Broad Urban Superintendents Academy.