Dear Thomas Jefferson,

 

What can you tell me about your evenings at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, the capital of the Virginia colony before it was moved to Richmond?  Would you be surprised to learn that some people say that the independence of the United States began in that tavern?

 

When you were a law student, you wrote about dancing in the tavern’s Apollo room.  Were you inspired by the words that were painted above the mantle in that room: Jollity, the offspring of wisdom and good living?

 

We hear that George Washington, George Mason, Patrick Henry, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Peyton Randolph were frequent visitors of the tavern, and that all of you gathered there to drink, gossip, and complain about King George III. 

 

I understand that Lord Dunmore, the Virginia governor appointed by the King, did many things to undermine the growing possibility of a patriot revolt and all of you were really angry.  Is it true that you all went to the Raleigh Tavern after Dunmore dissolved the House of Burgess, the elected, legislative body in the Virginia General assembly?

 

When Patrick Henry shouted ‘Give me liberty of give me death’ was he at the Raleigh Tavern or was he at the Capitol?

 

What would have happened if you and your friends had not decided to declare independence from England?

 

It is very strange to think that this country could still be beholden to decision-making done in England.  To be subservient to another country is unthinkable.  Actually, it is so strange to think about it, it is impossible to imagine.  The United States would not have become what we are today if we had not started making our own decisions.

 

In a way, when you think about decision-making in public schools, the opposite happened for teachers in this country.  When the administrative progressives and the centralizers moved decision-making so far away from the teachers and the classrooms, it was a little bit like when England imposed a tax on tea and the colonists in Boston threw the tea into the Boston harbor.

 

After that tea ended up in the water, I understand that eighty-nine lawmakers marched from the Williamsburg capitol to the Apollo Room at the Raleigh and passed a measure to bar tea imports from England.

 

When we get together, I want to talk about what happens when teachers decide that they want to call the shots at their school.  It is an interesting story that includes distributive leadership, accountability, measurable results, and high performance for everyone in the school.

 

I want to share some examples of teachers who not only have authority over their classrooms, but they also became a part of the school’s decision-making structure.   I want to tell you about school districts who embrace teacher decision-making.  When work is pushed downward to the teachers instead of upward to administration, good things happen for the students and the school communities.

 

If you and your friends were able to start a revolution in a tavern, I think it is possible that teachers can have a huge impact on the success and sustainability of democracy.

 

Are you free next week?  We can talk about trusting teachers with school success. 

 

Sincerely,

Katy Dalgleish