Cincinnati Public Schools on Tuesday received the lowest of five state rankings for student achievement. Enquirer reporter Jennifer Mrozowski spoke Wednesday with Superintendent Alton Frailey:

QUESTION: What were your biggest challenges in your first year?

ANSWER: Expectations, which are unfortunately very low. This city has no reason to have such low expectations. There are extremely talented people and numerous resources available. The challenge has been helping folks understand that it's OK to imagine success.

Q: Why haven't we seen a number of new reform programs being launched like under the past administration?

A: We need to put a big focus on the state standards. It's not my style to have a lot of new programs. With more programs, there's a risk of fragmentation. When you fragment the system, the system is less efficient and the costs will go up.

Q: Are you rolling back any of the reforms lauded under the past administration, like high school restructuring and the school accountability system?

A: I do support having small high schools. There are different ways of doing it, so we'll look and see if the way we're doing it is the best way. But I'm not going to undo the way we're doing it until we determine something is better.

We also have decentralized (given schools more autonomy over school budgets and programs) and the board has asked me to look at that process to see if the decentralization is working. With a standards-based model, you might have to tighten those parameters. When I say that, it's not a decision arbitrarily made. It's a decision made after having had conversations with stakeholders, such as principals, teachers, parents and community members.

Q: CPS this week received a rating of academic emergency. Is that good enough?

A: Considering the talent of our students and talent of our staff, the rating is not good enough. We have to keep striving for more. I know we can do it. I'd like the top.

Q: What will it take?

A: Our main thing has to be high student academic performance. There are a number of things we can do. The first thing is to acknowledge where we are and articulate where we want to go.

Q: What are some of your priorities?

A: I want to create more consistency among the schools in pursuit and instruction of those (state) standards. Our children stay within CPS but they move around. If school A is learning a certain curriculum and then a student moves to school B - and some our children move to school C, D and E -- they may have five different instructional approaches and five different curriculums they've gone though in a year's times. Then they take the same state standards test in the spring.

It's not that we've had poor teaching. It's not we've had unskilled students. It's that we've had inconsistency on what we want them to learn. I also want to put in place benchmark assessments (quarterly tests) on predetermined skills that must be taught during a certain period of time.

Q: What are some key things you want parents, teachers and community members to know?

A: The first thing is we're going to tighten up our curriculum. This is where I talk about our product. We have to be able to say to the parents that if you use our stuff and our product you will be able to hit the proficiencies and the standards.

Second, I'd like to have some conversations with parents about what those things beyond the standards should be (for students). There's more to schooling than just academics. I think children who are engaged in what I call co-curricular activities have a better connection to the school and that engages them in school in a positive way and it impacts the learning environment.

Q: Anything else?

A: I really want us - the entire community - to focus on working together. It's not just a matter of saying what you want us to put in the schools. It's a matter of saying I have these things to help you and let me show you how it can be used. It's a matter of having these conversations about what our expectations are - not in isolation - (and) create some kind of shared vision of what we want to have in our school system. What is it that would make folks choose to stay in or come to CPS? I want us to truly become the school system of preference in Hamilton County.

E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com