[img]1551|left|Dave LaRose||no_popup[/img]From the moment Dave LaRose and his father-in-law motored into the Westside last July several weeks after his hiring, even poor judges of character could detect this chap was different from his predecessors, something special.
As the fourth superintendent of the School District in the past six years, and the first male, Mr. LaRose walked in on at least two family squabbles. Before you could snap two fingers, he settled both, with permanence and without visible scars.
Like a new step-parent crossing the family hearth for the first time, to the tune of steady quarreling inside, he seems, in just 2½ months of the school year, to have created a new order with a We Are Family theme.
All on One Side
Two explanations for the reversal are that Mr. LaRose is far more of a mesmerizing word wizard than previous supers, and he is sufficiently steeped in psychology to sell staffers on his way of superintending.
“One of the most fundamental elements (of leading),” he was saying, “is a shared and compelling sense of purpose.
“The imagery I prefer is of the aligned circles. What is the clarity of our purpose? What is the clarity of our practice? What is the clarity of our people? The intersection of those circles is the key to our success.
“At the root is the collective sense of ‘we,’” he said excitedly as he pushed across the table to his visitor a blue and white car sticker that read:
“CCUSD
“A Family of Schools.
“This is beautiful imagery for our collective sense of purpose. We consider the uniqueness of the children, whether it’s a department or a school. We are all part of one big family that is collectively committed to giving every child every opportunity to be everything he or she wants to be.
“Sometimes we like to highlight what is unique and different about our schools, which is wonderful because each child is unique and different.
“But the opportunity for us to have the greatest impact,” Mr. LaRose said, “is where we find that common bond, that common priority, and the imagery around that family of schools.”
We all can get along, he was saying, in an atmosphere of serenity and prolific production.
