VADM David Brewer - Bravo Zulu

Now this is what Flag Officers can do for their nation when they retire.

"To everybody in this community, you can expect one thing: I am not a reformer; I am a transformer. I am going to transform this district into — not a No Child Left Behind Act district. That is a low star. This is a global, global economy. This is a world in which our children have to compete globally. We're going to shoot for world-class."

-- David L. Brewer III

David Brewer has a distinguished military career, and now he's transforming into the latest hope for the public schools of Los Angeles. In a rather extraordinary political move, The LA Board of Ed has made their choice for the new Superintendent of the LA Unified School District and as the LA Times reports, they're very excited about him:

And he is making all the right enemies.

The top local teachers union official was in no mood to celebrate. "The idea that he has no grounding in K-12 is disturbing," said A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. "And the idea that UTLA and the broader community were not consulted. I don't want to hear that his wife and family were teachers. That doesn't do it."

"A classroom is different from a battlefield," he added. "The goals and objectives are completely different. And it's disconcerting to a certain portion of teachers who are fighting against military recruitment on campus."

Just a side note from the love fest. If I could offer one bit of advice to VADM Brewer; your reputation while on active duty was a bit tainted due to your appearance of favoritism towards those of your same ethnic group. Affirmative action, or positive discrimination - neither is benign in a zero-sum game. I hope for your sake in LA that you avoid such appearances. I doubt many confronted you directly, but in the background the talk was there. Good luck, sir. LA needs good leadership and management.

Hat tip Chap.