A Passionate Consensus Builder

Profile

Wendy Robinson could see it coming: A $9 million budget shortfall in revenue because of state tax caps implemented years earlier that forced the Fort Wayne, Ind., Community Schools to cut $2.5 million from the district’s transportation budget alone.

It was 2014, and Robinson, Fort Wayne’s superintendent, crafted alternatives that drew on her deep knowledge of school finance and the expertise of her administrative team. The diligent fiscal work swayed policymakers to settle on a more equitable distribution of education funding that benefited schools across the state.

An articulate advocate for the city’s 31,000 students (70 percent of whom are from low-income families), Robinson was named to the top district post in 2003, her 30th anniversary as a district employee. In 2016, Education Week honored her as a Leader to Learn From.

“She cares passionately for these kids,” says Ron Turpin, who chairs the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Fort Wayne. “She wants to make things better for them.”

Robinson has led the board and staff in building a successful urban system where academic rigor and magnet programs in biomedical science, engineering and business help the district hold onto students who have plentiful options among private and charter schools. The graduation rate is 89 percent.

She has dealt with her share of contentious matters — such as state legislators’ oft-stated negativity of public education as well as community concerns about lagging student achievement. “There are always complaints and she always listens,” Kathie Green, former PTA president, says. “She makes sure information is out there for parents, staff and community to understand.”

Robinson is the first graduate of Fort Wayne schools to become superintendent, the first African American and the first woman.

Editorial page editor Karen Francisco of the Journal-Gazette, who has known Robinson for 16 years, says the superintendent is highly regarded in the community. But she recalls the superintendent had the public’s eyes popping at the $500 million price tag associated with the massive building plan she proposed in 2007. It proved to be beyond their comfort zone. The bond failed and Robinson learned two valuable lessons: Leaders must earn a community’s trust and they sometimes must slow down to move ahead.

Robinson decided to rework the facility campaign in chunks and better explain what was being proposed. The community then passed a $119 million measure in 2012 for a smaller, needs-only project and a $130 million referendum last May that ensures all buildings will have air conditioning.

When poor performance threatened a state takeover of two Fort Wayne high schools a few years ago, Robinson attacked the root causes at the high schools and their nine feeder schools. She replaced principals and asked teachers to reapply for their positions. A year later, academic achievement at the two high schools had improved by 5 percent or more.

“When we found students in less-rigorous courses were unable to pass the end-of-course mastery tests, we ramped up academic rigor,” says Faye Williams-Robbins, chief of student, family and community engagement.

Robinson’s effectiveness stems from her ability to move adults from thinking that others need to be “fixed” to reflecting on ways their own behavior and attitudes can improve student outcomes.

“I focus on systems,” Robinson says. “Successful organizations have coherent processes and policies from the boardroom to the classroom that are understood by all and will survive beyond one leader.”