Adel Sefrioui
1/21/11
For every three students that enter high school in Seattle Public Schools, one will not graduate at the end of their senior year. People throughout the region are hungry for new ideas and viable solutions. As community activists, policymakers, educators, parents and business leaders, we owe the next generation an excellent education that prepares them for whatever path they may choose; an education that puts a dent in the opportunity gap.
Although we still need to improve our urban and rural economies and strengthen social services, successful educational reforms implemented in schools across the country are showing us that we don't need to wait for that to happen to begin impacting student lives now. We have the ability to improve student achievement and provide more equitable outcomes. The timing is right. Our children’s futures rest in our hands—and ours is in theirs.
I've outlined four focus areas for improving our schools. They are rooted in pragmatism, not politics. They are offered as plausible solutions, not as band-aids. I hope our community representatives can begin discussing the merits of educational reforms soon, as Washington State has fallen far behind others in their implementation of them.
1. Financial Oversight:
Since the 1970s, America's growth in education has flat-lined, while spending has consistently increased. Our country currently spends more money on education than any other. Rather than putting the blame on inadequate school funding -though I do believe we should continue to outspend other countries in education - there should be greater accountability for how our money is being spent. Financial accountability will force schools to invest money in areas that actually help students succeed; best practices that are proven by research. By producing the outcomes we expect, we will be on the path towards a better future.
2.
Programming Oversight:
-Limiting class size: Although there is some discussion about the significance of class size, as a former teacher, I can confidently say that teaching a class of 20 is much better for both teacher and student than a class of 35.
-Improving teacher effectiveness: This may be the single most important factor in determining student outcomes; thus, a system that recruits talented individuals into education schools that are actually competitive and meaningful is necessary. Throw in productive professional development sessions for teachers once they are in the profession, and we will create a corps of teachers that is better prepared to face challenges in the classroom.
-Making meaningful tenure decisions: Why should a teacher be guaranteed their position after three years of teacher – or 30 years of teaching for that matter? If a teacher is still ineffective after several attempts to help that teacher improve, should that teacher still remain in the profession? In Chicago, teachers are evaluated on a scale of 4. You may either be ranked “superior,” “excellent,” “satisfactory,” or “unsatisfactory.” 97% of tenured teachers receive a “superior” rating in Chicago, yet a 50% dropout rate exists. Either this is the fault of all the untenured teachers (hard to imagine), or the math just doesn’t add up. Let’s push teachers unions to protect good teachers regardless of their experience rather than protect experienced teachers regardless of their performance.
-Increasing time on task for students: The most successful charter networks realize that their students are coming in, on average, behind many of their middle and upper income peers. Thus they’ve increased the school day and year to accommodate for this. If students are behind, doesn’t it make sense for them to be on task for more time? Under current union laws in many urban neighborhoods, schools cannot opt for a longer day or year – even if the teachers and administrators are for it. Go figure…
-Introducing merit pay: Instead of paying teachers more for their level of experience or degrees, let’s pay them for their performance. If students in Class A are disproportionately outperforming students in Class B, wouldn’t one want to reward the teacher in class A? Raises and bonuses are ideal, but teachers also appreciate being rewarded in other ways: decision-making authority and leadership positions within the school incentivize performance.
-Introducing universal pre-K: Many of our neediest students fall behind much earlier than we think. Statistics are showing that many low-income youths are falling behind by the second grade. A universal pre-K system would allow students of all income levels the opportunity of being prepared before formal schooling begins.
3. Performance Accountability:
If a student fails, we must hold the adults accountable. Accountability means consequences, both good and bad, for successes and failures. We’ve already discussed ways to reward teachers for success. Similarly, you can reward schools for successes with greater funding. Poor performance at the teacher level means demotion if interventions do not work, and elimination if continued poor performance prevails. At the school level, parallel reasoning is in order – probation, then closure.
4.
Charters: Parents need OPTIONS for their kids’ schools. Options mean different types of schools, competing for the same funding, thus creating an incentive for each school or district to do better in order to qualify for funding. Currently, the options we are talking about come in the form of charter schools. Charter schools in 40 of 50 states are an alternative to the traditional public school model, and give parents the choices they deserve. Does the public system need to be abolished – no. It just so happens that when working in tandem with charter schools and other progressive reforms, the public education system actually does better.
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