Monroe City School Superintendent Sam Moore, III is a man with a golden heart. His desire to improve education for our students is genuine, and his career path reflects a deep commitment to children—counselor, pastor, principal, and now superintendent.
Yet there is one experience missing from his résumé: classroom teacher.
That absence matters. While Superintendent Moore has worked diligently to surround himself with advisors who once taught, time has a way of pulling “former teachers” away from the daily realities of the classroom.
When careers shift into spreadsheets, pie charts, and test scores, the passion that comes from facing 25 restless students on a Monday morning can fade. And when decisions are driven more by numbers than by needs, students—real children with real struggles—can fall through the cracks.
This is why Superintendent Moore must be careful.
Administrators have their place, but administrators think differently. They ask how much a program costs, how many checkboxes it fills, how efficient it looks on paper. If the numbers don’t balance, they kill a program. That’s their training. That’s their job.
Rev. Moore’s job is to pull away from the table and ask a few teachers what they think? Ask a few pastors like himself what will happen if home alternative is best for troubled African-American kids. Ask board members, even those who differ with him, pray on it, and then act.
The superintendent must keep close to him the voices of those who still teach, who still wrestle daily with classroom challenges, and who know that not everything of value can be plotted on a chart.
Two recent decisions highlight the danger of listening only to the inner circle. The district’s Accelerated Reading Program was dropped because Moore’s team said it wasn’t producing enough “bang for the buck” and was out of date. It would have been nice to have an alternative or hybrid; that’s what teachers would have told Rev. Moore.
An in-person alternative school program at Sherrouse was abandoned in favor of a home-based approach because administrators reported that “other districts are doing it.” Neither decision reflected the reality of students in Monroe, not other districts. Teachers and parents who know children facing dysfunctional homes or struggling to stay engaged in school could have explained the risks—but their voices were not sought.
This is not to say Superintendent Moore is blind to community concerns. As a pastor, he is attuned to the hearts of people. But as superintendent, he must guard against being swayed only by those whose expertise has shifted from the classroom to the conference room.
If he truly wishes to bring seismic change for the good of Monroe’s children, Superintendent Moore must broaden his circle. He must invite parents, teachers, and those still working in the trenches to sit at the decision-making table before programs are cut or restructured.
He needs input from his board and others.
Administrators balance budgets. Parents and teachers balance lives.
For the sake of our students, both voices must be heard.
