Thanks to Alexander Russo, I learned about a recent interview with the former Superintendent of Chicago Schools, Jean-Claude Brizard. He lost his job after the major Chicago teachers strike.

Here’s an excerpt:

We severely underestimated the ability of the Chicago Teachers’ Union to lead a massive grassroots campaign against our administration. It’s a lesson for all of us in the reform community. The “how” is at times more important than the “what”. We need to get closer to the people we are serving…

Duh…

The union consistently showed that parents supported their efforts (see “Striking Chicago teachers get support from parents” and Chicago Parents Set To Join Teachers On Picket Lines.

On the other hand, Brizard and his boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, consistently showed their disregard of parents (see Chicago Mayor Remains Clueless On Parent Engagement and Chicago Parents Organize Against School Closures).