If you are in Texas, Arizona or Florida...

I'll be at your state charter school conference.  I'd love to know that you are reading the blog.  Come by and see me at the Charter School Management Corporation booth. 

Also, in Texas, I'll be speaking Tuesday afternoon about following a strategic plan.  I've begun writing in the blog about my analogy of a GPS, which I'll continue and discuss in the presentation.

In Florida, I'll talk about how to write a strategic plan and why you should have one.  That is Monday morning. 

I hope to see a number of your there.  Thanks for reading.  Keep up the good work.

Innovation and charter schools: Is regulation making it an oxymoron?

I was thinking this morning--always a dangerous thing.  So, let me set the back drop to my crazy idea.  Yesterday I saw a tweet asking the question about research based education versus innovation and aren't they mutually exclusive.  I've always agreed with that idea, but hadn't thought about if for awhile.  So, one criticism I've seen lately in a few different places is that charter schools are not innovative enough; therefore, they shouldn't exit.  On top of that legislation in many states requires charter school applications to demonstrate that their academic program is research based. 

Given all of that, have we now put charter schools in a bind?  In other words, we've said that charter schools are supposed to innovate, but we are also requiring them to have research based academic programs, which (almost by definition) means that they won't be any more innovative than what is being done in the public schools around them.

I can think of a couple of examples of non-research based programs that worked extremely well.  Recently, I used The King's Speech as example for a blog.  The movie is all about an incredible relationship that formed between the King of England and a commoner because that commoner dared to used "recognized" methods to cure the King's speech impediment.  The method included using profanity as a way to get beyond the fear of speaking.  It worked so well that the King defended his speech therapist in front of the Archbishop.

One of our true innovators recently passed away.  His company now dominates the portable media market.  Steve Jobs created an entire company based on untested ideas.  He introduced products that many thought were ridiculous.  The average people didn't want to deal with technology did they?  Of course, at the time the only way to use computers was to program them yourself.  Jobs ability to see a future in which technology could be manipulated easily was not research based. 

Sometimes to get beyond mediocrity, we need to listen to those who are slightly eccentric.  It's scary.  It's not safe.  It does require risk of failure.  But when the alternative is guaranteed mediocrity and boring and meaningless instruction, why not spend some federal and state money to really innovate?  It would make it tougher on authorizers--that's for sure.  It may also increase the number of charter school failures.  On the other hand, it's unlikely that any student will be so harmed as to be rendered helpless in society.  We all know how helpless some students are in the current system.  Companies continue, even in a bad economy, to say that they can't get competent workers. 

If we expect charter schools to really innovate and not be reflections of their traditional public school counterparts, then we need to reflect on what it means to innovate and not regulate the academic program of charter schools so that the entire idea of innovative schools becomes an oxymoron.

A new report or charter school effectiveness

Here is a link to a review of the literature on charter school results by Betts and Tang. 

Does it matter where your teacher went to school?

A new study says that one of the factors in teacher quality is where the teacher went to school.  I guess not all education programs are created equally.  I wonder if it has to do with the quality of the program or the quality of the students who enter the programs? 

Miriam Freedman exposes more cheating on standardized tests!

Recently, I compared Miriam Freedman's ideas about education to Milton Friedman's in a way that made Freedman's views look bad. 

Today, I write to support Miriam Freedman in her criticism of our standardized testing systems and the fallacy that there is an objective system that gives us "valid" test results.  The burden of testing is comical, and Freedman exposes many examples of both the drama and the comedy of testing in America. 

Read the opinion piece and see for yourself.

How to use a GPS for your charter school

Last time has been too long and I wrote about your strategic plan and developing a GPS to follow it.  Once you have that GPS, how do you use it?

Think about the way you usually use a GPS.

First, you have to have it with you.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to go on a hike and leave the GPS on the counter top.  In other words, if you don't look at the tools you've developed for following your strategic plan, then they aren't going to help you.

Second, you have to make sure you bring the batteries.  I went hiking a few weeks ago, and forgot to check my GPS battery before the hike.  Fortunately, I was able to nurse the battery in the unit till the end of the hike, but about 2/3 of the way through the hike, I got the low battery warning.  Make sure that everyone is on board with using the documents because they are the right documents, not just because you said so.  Make sure that the documents have "power" to direct your decisions.

Third, you have to use the GPS appropriately.  Mark points on the trail.  Use your board minutes to note times that you've looked at the documents and noted specific deviations to your strategic plan.  Make sure you note whether or not you are on plan.  Don't just look at the documents then ignore them.  Make sure there is a written trail.

Those are just a couple of hints and you move down the path toward a successful school.

Do you have a sense of humor about school choice?

I continue to read articles and blogs "refuting" the success of charter schools.  It seems that it comes down to a few things.  First, those who fight charter schools don't like the fact that some people choose to want a different public school.  Second, they think they are opposed to risk.  I don't know how many times that I've heard that the risk of allowing charter schools isn't worth it.  They don't realize that there is a risk to staying with the current system.  Third, they don't like the fact that charter schools may change the criteria for hiring teachers or change the roles of teachers entirely.  Fourth, they think corporations are evil.  Have you seen those blogs that simply want to get corporations out of schools?  Do they not think that corporations might have some good ideas about education, especially as they are the ones that hire our mathematically illiterate kids? 

If those arguments didn't make me angry, I'd think they were funny. 

Creating a GPS for your strategic plan

In an earlier blog I compared following a strategic plan to following a map on a hike.  So, how do you create what amounts to a strategic plan GPS?

In looking at a good GPS, here are some things that I like.

• User friendly

I can't use something that I don't understand.  My GPS is so easy that I figured out almost all of the functions just by using the device.  Keep your planning report card simple.  If your plan and your reporting mechanism is complex or too detailed, then you likely will not use it.  Most volunteer board members are busy.  In addition, charter school administration is busy.  No one has the time to prepare complex reports to track the strategic plan goals.

• Allows drill down

I don't need all of the information on every screen.  It's really nice to have a basic set of information with more detail available.  On a GPS, it is right there in my hand.  In a strategic plan review, that detail may or may not need to be available right on the spot.  I've been in situations in which it is very nice to have that information handy.  However, you don't always have to have it in real time.  The key is that the detailed information is available if necessary and relevant.  You don't need to drill down if there are no problems, although someone should be combing the detail and be able to project whether or not there are problems brewing.


In addition, with my GPS, it is a one stop shop.  Board members need to have one stop.  Board members shouldn't be calling around different members of the school staff.  Their requests for additional information should be to the school leader.  Board members often forget that they as individuals do not represent the board.  Therefore, the board should have policies and procedures for how individual board members request information from school leadership.  In a large school, board members can create a free for all, especially if there is divisiveness on the board when they begin searching around for information without the larger board approval or without school leadership understanding the reason for requests.


A charter school is a public entity so strategic planning and tracking should be done in a way that the general public can follow what is going on and not be done behind closed doors or in such a way that violates sunshine laws.


The next step is what to do with the GPS once you've created it. 

To find out more about how to do this, go to Smarter Directions, LLC.

How would we know if education needed more money?

Until recently it seemed to me as if spending on public education was a bottomless pit.  The amount spent continued to grow and grow with no expectations that things would get better and no serious questioning of where money was spent.

Now that budgets are being cut, we hear more screaming than ever that we are sacrificing our future.  The problem is "how would we know?"  If you are sacrificing the future, then that's a pretty serious thing to think about.  The question is what do we really have to cut?  Where is all of the money going? 

Laura Rogers asks just such a question and gives some evidence to suggest that education spending isn't as transparent as it needs to be to make a good evaluation of whether or not public education needs more money.

I've long compared the days of my public school years in a relatively affluent area in southern California to what I see being spent around me.  The buildings are nicer, athletic fields and uniforms are nicer.  Lots of technology going into the classrooms.  At the same time, I don't see the quality of education, even in more affluent neighborhoods getting any better. 

Perhaps it's a good time to cut to the bone, then rebuild what is really necessary?

Are you encouraging negative behaviors?

Is is possible that by discussing negative behaviors in class, teachers might actually be encouraging those behaviors and making them more acceptable?  Some research has shown that it's very possible.

In business management courses, I learned that you should always discuss negative behaviors directly with those who practice them rather than a whole department because people who do things right do not want to hear about other people's negative behavior.  In addition, people feel as if you are accusing them, even if they know that they haven't exhibited any of those behaviors.  There are all sorts of good reasons to discuss positive behaviors in a group so that others will know that positive behaviors are what is expected and what most people are actually doing. 

So, it's a good lesson for classroom management as well.  Focus on the positive with groups.  Discuss negative behaviors with individuals. 

If you pass the AP exam, I'll give you $100

We all know that school isn't a game show, right?  But what if instead of piling money into special teaching programs or remedial programs, we offered money as an incentive to perform at the highest levels?

One school is trying that and managed to boost its AP enrollment in statistics. 

South High Community School, adopted a come one, come all policy for Advanced Placement courses. Today Mr. Nystrom teaches A.P. statistics to eight times as many students as he used to, and this year 70 percent of them scored high enough to qualify for college credit, compared with 50 percent before. One in four earned the top score possible, far outpacing their counterparts worldwide.

Wow, that's no little improvement.  In fact, many of those additional students were from low income and ethnic minority groups.  It's probable that the cash alone did not increase performance, but given how much money is spent per pupil on education, and given how low enrollment is in many AP courses, the $100 per student is a drop in the bucket compared to the costs of additional teachers and supplies for other courses.  The benefits are huge.

More students take and pass advanced courses.  Other courses have reduced class sizes, which either assists a teacher by having a smaller class size or eliminates sections of courses to free up teachers to do other things.  Teachers benefit from additional pay.  It seems like a win-win-win system for students, teachers, and schools.  Of course, this evidence is anecdotal for now.  We'll see how things turn out as over 300 schools are involved in the program. 

I didn't stammer

Did anyone see The King's Speech?  It's the true story of King George VI, who at the beginning of WWII took the throne in a very difficult and unexpected way.  So, here was a man who was deathly afraid of public speaking in a role in which he had to speak.  Whenever he spoke, he stammered.  With the help of a completely unlicensed speech therapist, he managed to make it through his speeches and deal with his fears.

I've been a bit reluctant at times to really say what I think here, but there is one issue that keeps coming up that I have to be extremely blunt on.  It is the issue of people criticizing for profit companies in education.  As I've said before, I'm not a supporter of any particular education company.  I'm not in favor, necessarily of education management companies.  My frustration and even sometimes anger about the opposition to for profit companies is that the arguments often are based simply because the company is for profit.

So, here I go, without stammering.

For profit companies are not inherently evil.  In fact, many for profit companies perform great services for their clients.  Profit is often the reward for great service.  We all shop at for profit companies for just about everything.  We wouldn't shop at them if we weren't getting something of value.  For profit companies provide jobs for people, and if they are good companies, then they hire good people--people who know what they are doing.  They may well have more expertise in their fields than many people at the school districts.

Moreover, it's not just the charter realm where for profit companies exist.  Public schools use for profit companies for everything, including curriculum, classroom aids, supplies, and education training and consulting. In fact, given the quality of leadership in many non-profits and public schools, it could easily be argued that the lack of a profit motive may lead some to be inefficient and ineffective.

The idea that there is really such a thing as a non-profit or an individual that is not profit motivated is simply silly.  Non-profit is a government designation that means that no one directly owns the organization and therefore does not directly get money from the bottom line.  It does not mean that employees are not paid well or do not receive substantial bonuses.  The same is true for public school leaders.  Perks and bonuses are a regular part of their compensation.  Often those perks and bonuses are based on nothing more than not getting fired.  Even if they get fired, their severance packages are often very nice.  The fact is that individuals are just as much for profit as for profit companies.  Everyone has to make their personal bottom line positive at some point (I realize that's a harsh reality for many Americans).  This is exactly why unions want more money for teachers and district employees also want more money.  It's not for the good of the children.

There is no good argument that for profit companies, simply for the reason that they are for profit, should not be managing a school or receiving state or government funds.  It's not even a prima facie reason for denying for profit companies participation in the education world.  If a school district or a school is failing, then a for profit company has every right to be considered as a means for fixing the problem.

There.  I hope I didn't stammer.

__________________________________________________________________________
Note:  I work for a for profit company that provides accounting and business services to charter schools.  We are NOT a management company in the traditional sense.  We do not manage the school.  We are an independent vendor that provides services to the school and its leadership.

Additional Note:  There is nothing that I've written here that is intended to disregard the importance of respecting all people.  I do not intend to offend anyone with a stammering problem.  I am simply using the issue of stammering as portrayed in the movie as the result of the king's fears both from childhood and of public speaking as analogy to my occasional fear of saying what I really think here in this blog.

It's not hypocritcal to demand merit pay for teachers if you practice it yourself

Walter Gardner at Education Week argues that "It's Hypocritical to Demand Merit Pay for Teachers."
His argument is based on the fact that many companies provide golden parachutes to CEOs and other execs.  Of course, this is not unique to corporations, school districts do it with superintendents that are fired all the time.  The larger point is that Gardner can't take what amounts to a practice that pertains to the smallest percentage of corporate workers and universalize it as if it's standard practice in corporations.  In addition, he specifically points out Fran Tarkenton's article as the example of hypocrisy.  He never addresses whether or not the Hall of Fame quarterback uses merit pay consistently in his company or not.  If Tarkenton does use the practice of merit pay, then he is not a hypocrite. 

The fact is that most corporations in the United State pay professional employees on some sort of merit pay system.  The systems may not be perfect.  No system that I know of is perfect.  Humans aren't perfect (at least not last time I checked).

The larger question is what is the goal of a merit pay system and what is an appropriate form of merit pay to accomplish the desired goals.  As I've written about many times, most merit pay systems, for both teachers and often in the corporate world, do not align with the real strategic goals of the organization.  Therefore, they are neither motivating nor do they align with the real tasks that management would like to see accomplished. 

The real question has little to do with hypocrisy and lots to do with how we keep teachers accountable to their profession. 

I'm not Catholic, but...

An interesting study suggest that there is something to be learned from Catholic schools.  The study done by Loyola Marymount University suggests that Catholic education, by taking care of the whole person, encourages even lower income and ethnic minority students to complete high school.  Because the schools aren't subject to all of the testing requirements and numbers, they can focus on the whole of education.  Stressing that Catholic schools do require academic discipline, the study suggests that the private schools develop both the student's academic capacity as well as the person's courage, persistence and  confidence. 

While some charter schools do focus on character, they also often succumb to the testing syndrome.  This is a lesson for everyone involved in education. 

Following the map: a lesson from hiking

I often carry a GPS and a map when I'm hiking, even if the trail is easy and well marked.  Why do I like these tools?  For one thing, my kids like to ask "how far have we gone?"  "When will we get there?"  With my tools, I can usually give them a pretty accurate answer. In addition, the map helps me plan my route and allows me to improvise if I have more time than I thought or less time than I thought I would. 

A strategic plan is a map.  It's great to have with you on your journey.  You don't just create the plan, then put it on the shelf.  So what do you do with it?  How do you use it?

If your strategic plan is done well, then you have set up measurable goals and outlined steps to meet those goals.  The first thing you need to do in following it is to set up a schedule to ask "how far have we gone and when will we get there?"  One easy way to do this is to set up a set of indicators that you can report on periodically.  I'd suggest at least once every quarter.  The key to this set of indicators is that it shouldn't be difficult to report on.  Don't make the document something that requires a lot of extra work. 

Another key is to not get too stressed about the details, and don't spend a lot of time discussing the indicators, unless there is a problem.  If you are on plan, then enjoy the journey.  If you have serious issues with the plan itself and want to make mid-plan course changes, then that should probably be a separate meeting.

If there are major hiccups in meeting the plan, then that probably warrants a separate meeting as well.  In other words, if there are big issues, don't try to solve them in a regular staff meeting or board meeting unless you have the time to resolve them.  If you need a facilitator, get one.  Big issues warrant big discussions.

So, the first steps in carrying our your plan are to: 1. set a schedule for reviewing progress and 2. set up an easy to read, easy to produce report that identifies where you are on the map.  Then you can take other actions from there.

A teacher weighs in on cheating scandals

I've been called anti-teacher.  There is nothing further from the truth as all of my kids' teachers know.  The truth is that many teachers have good ideas and are good teachers.  I do not envy the teacher who is subject to a performance review based on a single annual test.  Here is a link to a great blog by a teacher in Philadelphia explaining one perspective on why the testing scandals happen.  While I don't agree with everything that Timothy Boyle writes in the blog, I do agree that so much pressure on such a silly test that gives almost no useful information to teachers is absurd.  We have to find a way out of this testing nightmare that has been created.  The tests mean even less if adults cheat so that kids really do not know how they would score without cheating.  The system has become ridiculous.  Enjoy the read.