By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

On the second day of classes this week, Kansas City School Superintendent John Covington got more than a morning coffee when he stopped at a service station across the street from Central High.

Inside, he found a Fairview alternative high school student. The teen explained he had been put out of school because he didn’t have the proper uniform. He faced missing the first two weeks because he had to wait for his grandmother to receive her Social Security check so he’d have money to buy the proper clothing.

The new superintendent did what many good educators would do. He took the student to a store, bought the correct khaki attire, drove the newly outfitted youth to school and then talked with the principal to ensure that the teen could begin his classwork.

The intervention should serve as an early call to action against rules that would keep kids out of classrooms. It’s a lesson that the district needs to take to heart for Covington to have a shot at fulfilling his mission of launching poor performing schools into a new orbit of excellence.

He wasn’t the only central office official visiting schools this week, providing guidance and help. Covington emptied the downtown headquarters and insisted administrators engage students, teachers and principals in the schools. Good for him.

He’s pushing for greater visibility, customer service and accountability in the district, and it shows. Covington works 12-hour days and often more on weekends. He is right to expect other district employees to accelerate their performance, too.

Teachers can’t expect to be “the sage on the stage,” doing only what class time allows. That isn’t enough to lift the district from its provisional accreditation, close the achievement gap and lower the dropout rate.

Expectations under Covington have gone up dramatically. It’s overdue.

“If teachers are finding it difficult to keep up with this pace — and not just teachers, it’s administrators — then they may well be looking for another profession,” Covington said. “We are going to have to create a sense of urgency.”

At one of many meetings with community groups, Covington said that urgency requires more school closings, eliminating up to 1,500 of the district’s 3,800 jobs, and using the savings to boost the quality of instruction for the nearly 18,000 students. In a shrinking district, these are all good recommendations.

Covington begins with strong school board support and a pact not to micromanage. That’s a huge benefit.

“We have a mission, and we’re committed to it,” school board President Marilyn Simmons said. The turnaround will take time; resistance is inevitable. But the district is committed to achieving “in a way that is unencumbered by excuses.” Its vision is to prepare every student for higher education, a family-supporting job and an active role in civic affairs.

To reach those goals, Covington supports an innovative idea to help better prepare children for kindergarten. He wants to use federal stimulus money for Saturday classes for parents of children from birth to age 3. The district is negotiating with the Local Investment Commission to run the classes.

Stimulus money also will be used to provide coaches for teachers and principals to improve their skills. In addition, some teachers and principals will attend a National Institute for School Leadership program.

Covington’s more immediate goal is to complete his leadership team and create a strong curriculum.

School board members and Covington say the changes are designed to win community support. They plan to reach out to civic, business, faith, parent and other groups to volunteer.

A strong public response could help create a long-desired turnaround.