Teacher spy assassin, p.29
Teacher, Spy, Assassin, page 29
“I would like to know how sharp and connected the military looks,” Jim added.
“We need to know if anybody is angry, Who? Why? At whom?” Alexander said. “Fundamentally we want you to detect evidence to help us see where this is going. We don’t want to back the wrong horse. I don’t know whether we should encourage rebellion or central authority. We’ll be asked that question. You will not be our only source on this matter, but we always value your analysis.”
“What do you want me to figure out at the Eastern Europe meeting?” I asked.
“Well, first you will be in Prague. We want to hear your take on Czechoslovakia. We have people there and we know the facts, but what is your impression?” Alexander said. “I know you’ve not been there before, but it is a center of the new resistance. It was the heart of the 1968 and 1969 resistance. We want to know the mood of the people. Will they buckle in a Soviet show of force? Also, you have access to the school people. What are they thinking and feeling? Are they afraid?”
“We believe that there is a crackdown coming. We are surprised it hasn’t come yet. We don’t know how, or even whether to support the resisters. We’re puzzled,” Jim said.
The next morning after breakfast, a limousine came for me. We drove to Andrews Air Force base where an unmarked CIA jet took me to the conference. I moved into a recently vacated hotel room. There was a report waiting for me about what had already occurred at the conference. The upcoming sessions were highlighted and my conference ID was waiting. There were tickets to that evening’s receptions.
I was to present the next day about accreditation and the school improvement process. I decided to stay in and polish my presentation. I ordered dinner in my room. I turned in early after calling home.
I presented that afternoon. It went well. A lot of old friends came, and people were thinking about doing something different with accreditation, which too often had been a pro forma exercise.
I turned in early again and flew home.
By this time, I had been in Owego for over 4 years. It very much felt like home. The school reform efforts were carrying on with the leadership of teachers and administrators. I was beginning to feel, happily, like a coach, not a sweaty player.
I began to think of moving on. That spring, the accreditation visit was going to happen and we had strong results to share with them. The number of disciplinary events had plummeted. The dropout rate was hovering at or just above zero. Scores on tests at all levels were rising. We went from 60% going to college to 87%. Participation in extracurriculars was soaring. There were more AP courses taught and the test scores on the AP tests had gone up. A less selective group of students were doing better on these tests than the previously more elite population. We had done a preliminary sample of follow-up interviews with the multiple publics and found that the concerns people expressed when I first arrived had diminished, and the list of things people felt good about their schools had grown.
Each year the District’s budgets were consistently approved by a vote of the citizens, after years of community warfare on this topic.
In the last few years, Bill Keough had died of ALS. Jim and his family visited on their way to vacation, fairly regularly. And the drunken talk at night, from Jim, ranged from racist rants to rants against Democrats. I just listened. A quote from Will Rogers came to mind, “diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice doggy’, ‘nice doggy’ while you look for a stick.”
Chapter 47: Belgrade and Prague
The trip to speak at the Eastern European Conference and to do a five-year accreditation review at the International School of Belgrade could not have come at a worse time. I had just gotten home from the national conference. When I returned from Europe, we would soon have our own K-12 complete accreditation visit. I had asked the State to send someone to do a reregistration review at the same time so that that quality review was not another burden. I would need roller-skates to make it through the next few months.
I made it to JFK, where my lowly economy seat was upgraded to first class. On the plane, a flight attendant served me a beverage, and under the coaster was an envelope. In the envelope was the diplomatic passport that I hoped not to use.
In Belgrade, I presented my ordinary passport and was sent through to customs. They barely looked at my baggage. Petar brought me directly to the school, where I was warmly received by the teachers and staff. I met the new director and talked for a few minutes to all the teachers and staff about what I would be doing at the school for the next few days.
I had sent all of this to the director in advance of my visit. Yet, I think it was reassuring to the faculty and staff to hear of my plans. As in my pre-visit letter, I indicated that the time would be short for me and there was no time for dinners or other social occasions. During the day I would examine documents, Interview staff and students, and visit classes. At night I would interpret my notes and write a draft of my report. In three days, I would make a preliminary verbal report. Then I would board a plane to Prague for the Eastern European Conference, where I would see a few of them again.
The real reason for the strict boundaries was to give me time to poke around Belgrade to see what was going on for my other agency.
That afternoon, when Petar dropped me off at the hotel, my body was screaming for sleep, but I had a job to do.
I went shopping. I went to stores where I had known the clerks from when I lived here. I bought some things, gifts mostly, but asked these Croatians, ethnic Albanians, Bosnians, and Serbs about what was going on, and importantly, how they felt about it.
I was able to ask about salaries by saying, “What do most clerks make now?” or “Your brother is a Doctor, (or professor), what do you think he makes? I checked the prices of what I was looking at against salaries.”
I watched how people dressed and looked for evidence of unemployment, or poverty. I went to a classy restaurant my first night and a middle-of-the-road restaurant next. I looked at who was there and how they were dressed. I looked for changes in the ratio of people who drove to town vs bus riders. I checked the price of gas. I bought a loaf of bread and some cheese and sausage to check the prices.
I watched what people wore and what they carried in shopping bags.
I got in early the next day and went into classrooms to visit the teachers. I spent two hours in the faculty lounge, just listening. I talked to parents and students. I called the Ambassador and his wife. I met with the PTA Board. I had lunch with Petar and the director. I reviewed attendance records, discipline reports, teacher salaries, board minutes, and random teacher and staff evaluations. I read their accreditation self-report again. I watched the children on the playground, together with Braco, who continued to feel well. I asked him about his finances and the economy’s impact on his family and friends I examined the physical plant.
On Friday I made my report to the faculty, administration, School Board, and staff. I was pleased. The school seemed to be living up to its high aspirations. Privately, I thought the new director was a bit pedestrian, but I have come to feel institutions can endure an obsessive change agent only so long, then they need a consolidator or two before getting a new change agent.
I could not tell them, but I would strongly be recommending the extension of the accreditation period for five more years before a full reaccreditation review. Petar took me to the airport to fly to Prague. It was hard to leave.
I got to Prague late Friday afternoon. I had asked to stay in any small European Hotel, not a big shiny Hilton or Holiday Inn. I wanted to be near the school. The headmaster in Prague met me at the airport with his wife. They took me on a useful automobile tour of the city, and dropped me off at the hotel, asking again If I wanted to join them for dinner. I protested that I needed to write up my notes from the Belgrade accreditation visit. (I didn’t.)
After I had settled in my room, I wandered around the city on that Friday evening. Prague is beautiful. I had never been because the Czech government would not issue me a visa when I lived in Eastern Europe. (They were fearful I was CIA.) I did not speak Czech but I could understand and be understood with some effort because Czech and Serbian are closely linked languages. There were people on the streets looking like hippies. There were long dresses on young women. There were beards, and I smelled pot everywhere at night. The theater scene was lively and the music was western and loud.
I found a first-rate art and craft marketplace. The art was free-form and loose, not formulaic. Everywhere a poster could be hung, it was. And the posters advertised gatherings that were anything but socialist. There was active youth culture.
That night after a meal, in a young hip bar that featured bean and alfalfa sprouts in a mixed salad, I thought, this thing cannot be put back in the box.
The next morning, I got to the school and reconnected with the few school directors who remained from my time and met the new ones. Teachers were also there, and I enjoyed extending the visit with some of my old staff who came here to meet with the other teachers from Eastern Europe.
I gave my session that day, to the eight directors who had come to the conference, about making the transition back to the US. The talk included my experience, and also the experiences of others who had successfully moved their careers homeward, who I had met along the way. The directors found it interesting that, after getting home, people seemed to give credit to my overseas experience and see value in it. Most of the directors I met who had transitioned home went first for an advanced degree, then applied for work. The idea seemed not to have occurred to many of the directors.
My next presentation about the value and use of accreditation was to a mixed group of teachers and administrators. Some of my Belgrade staff attended. I was able to solicit their views about their experience with the accreditation process informally as a part of the conversation. I talked about how accreditation could be a lever to pry school and school boards into positive change. I used Belgrade as an example, fresh as I was after the recent visit. I talked about how they had used accreditation to create a sense of urgency. Accreditation had eased the troubled minds of parents, fearful of their child’s overseas schooling. I showed, by example, how the School facing a five-year review had to be a “Mission forward” institution and continue to preserve the valuable aspects of their change efforts. I shared examples of accreditation reports from Belgrade and Owego.
I told them about the flexibility, and low costs of working with the Middle States Association, and emphasized my role as an Elementary Commissioner. I was able to assure them that if they signed up with the Middle States Association, I would be the chair of their visiting team. The others would be teachers or school leaders from other European International Schools. We broke for lunch and there was an afternoon session that was mostly discussion. As it was drawing to a close, I was able to ask each of them about conditions in their country and what they saw coming. As we were closing the session, three directors signed up for accreditation with the Middle States Association.
After the session was over and the rest had left, Maria Thomas stayed after. I did not know her. Her school had joined the Eastern European Group after I had left. She was the Director of a School called Roberts College in Istanbul, Turkey. This pre-k-12 school was associated with the American College in Istanbul, of the same name. The school was not Eastern European but was assigned to our group by the Office of Overseas Schools. The Eastern European group was tightly knit and closer and cheaper to belong to than the European Council. The Teachers, Director, and staff at Roberts were a bit disconnected from contemporary American Educational practice. Maria and her faculty had been residents in Istanbul for 20 or more years.
“I have been given, in my grant this year, from the Department of State, a ‘School to School’ grant. I have to find a US partner School district. I am looking for a district that I can relate to, that understands overseas schools. Do you have any ideas?”
“I would be willing to have my district be a partner district for you. This would be a plum for us. I feel we could be of service,” I responded. The partner school became a US reference point for overseas schools. The overseas school could call or email the US partner to find a vendor for a product. They could send teachers to us to see contemporary practice. We could send teachers there to demonstrate some new methods. And they could use our district as a platform to recruit new American staff when needed.
The decision was made on the spot. She was given $5,000 the first year. I proposed that she visit us first, to make sure she wanted to partner with us and to formalize the partnership, then I would visit Istanbul, to present something of interest and perform that important ceremonial role. After, we could move on to short-term teacher exchanges.
That night I went to bars and cafes to speak with Czechs. I was probing the economy, the role of government in their lives, their view toward the USSR, and their hopes and aspirations. It was easy, many wanted to practice their English. I crashed back into my hotel at 11:00 p.m. and rose at 7:00 a.m., still tired. I packed quickly, grabbed a cab, and took my bags to the school. I would leave in two hours for the airport. My function this morning was to be social without disrupting the sessions.
I enjoyed breakfast with the teachers and directors and paid particular attention to Maria, getting to know her better, while enjoying the interaction with the directors and the teachers who were with us. I spent a few minutes with the directors in a mini session, then accepted a ride to the airport with the Prague School Director. He told me that the session went well and he expected other Eastern European schools to sign up for a Middle States Accreditation review the following year.
I boarded the CSA plane to Frankfort. My ticket was upgraded to first-class while I was at the airport in Frankfort. I had a light lunch on the plane, nodded off, and woke up on Long Island. After a short wait, I boarded a flight to Binghamton, where I was greeted by Linda and Liam. It was good to be home.
Chapter 48: Owego shines in accreditation
Starting on time at the office the next day took a heroic effort, despite my long sleep on the plane across the Atlantic. The trip had been beneficial from several perspectives. I felt I had something of value to report to Jim and my associates at the CIA. I had brought home the bacon for the Middle States and given them a strong foothold in Eastern Europe, and by extension, Europe. And, I even had an overseas school partner for Owego, something I had not anticipated. The school-to-school partner would play well in the local papers and certainly impress the community, and Istanbul was one of my favorite cities.
Two days later my secretary, Barbara, buzzed me, “There is a parent by the name of Jim on the phone. He says his son has a personal issue he wants to discuss with you. He says it is confidential.”
She transferred the call.
“I can be in Ithaca today or tomorrow. Can you meet me some time?” Jim asked.
I checked my calendar. “How is tomorrow lunch? Let’s make it 12:30 p.m.”
“I’ll have lunch delivered to my room, at the Statler. I’ll be registered under the name David Davis. Plan two hours.”
“I’ll meet you then.”
I put the meeting with a parent (confidential) on my calendar from 11:45 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. in Ithaca.
I left my calendar with my secretary when I left later that morning to have her sync our calendars. When I got back, she commented on the length of the meeting. I told her his problem with his son was going to take some real attention and he worked out of town. I had to go there to meet him. “You know, messy divorce.”
That was about as close as I ever got to being discovered and it was not very close. Barbara loved gossip and had difficulty being kept at arms distance from this ‘poor child,’ though she would never say it.
I rang David Davis’ room from the lobby of the Statler. He gave me his room number. I went up. When the door opened, I was surprised to see not only Jim Shultz but Alexander. A table was set. A waiter entered and carved some prime rib and artfully arranged the vegetables and salad on our plates. He quietly left, after being presented with a rather large tip.
“Alexander,” I began. “I am surprised to see you here.”
“Graduated Cornell. Couldn’t pass up the trip. Did you see anything worthwhile on your travels?”
“I think so,” I said.
“What did you learn about Yugoslavia first? “Jim asked.
“There has been a general collapse of the economy. Gasoline prices are out of sight, particularly against local salaries. Hard currency is unavailable. There are almost no imported goods. What there are, have been left from the time before inflation exploded, and are now priced beyond anyone’s salary. Doctors are making $400 per month. Ordinary workers, $200.”
“Bread is still subsidized, as are many basic foodstuffs. So, people eat, although they eat humbly. People simply can’t keep up with inflation, unless the government subsidizes the price. I saw decently dressed peasant women searching through dumpsters, looking for edible food, behind hotels and restaurants. I had never seen that before.”
“There is, at the same time, a new class of people who seem to have been unaffected. In addition to government and Party leaders, hovering above the collapse, there are now people who are commonly called pirates. They have established new enclaves for themselves. I am not clear what these people do. They may be smugglers. The people say they are mafia. They are not shy about displaying their wealth. They drive only cars that cost $100,000 or more.”
“How is the government keeping the people at bay?” Jim asked.
“They are stoking hatred between the ethnic groups. People seem to be so mad at each other that they don’t have the time or energy to be mad at the government. The Slovenes seem sick of it all. They are pushing this idea that they are indigenous Europeans, and not Slavs at all. No one in Serbia seems to be paying attention to it, but the Slovenes appear to want total autonomy from Yugoslavia. The Croats are watching this carefully and mirroring the same moves a few months later.”
