Improving America's schools

Both sides of the political spectrum know that America's schools need to improve, especially at educating at risk populations.  The recent report from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former New York City Schools Commissioner Joel Klein even asserts that the current educational failures create a drain on the US economy.  They applaud many of the efforts by President Obama. 

The problem is that society has to want to change.  While I often throw bombs (figuratively) at the public school system and the many problems it has, the school system is only part of the problem.  Another huge issue is that students and parents do not want their children to have to work hard.  The fact is that if home life truly supported education, then the quality of the schools would be less important.  Of course, there are families who emphasize the importance of their children doing well in school, but our society is geared toward fun and entertainment.  That isn't the case with many of the nations at the top of the education world. 

In less fortunate communities families often don't know what a good education is or what it could mean.  Some of the education has to affect the home.  This is the main reason that wrap around programs have been popular and successful, especially in alternative schools.  Until we decide that education for at risk children is more than just providing the same thing that we provide in affluent schools, we are doomed to failure.  Longer school days have proven effective and a group called Generation Schools is even playing with the school calendar and ways of using teachers to provide more education and the same cost as a typical school. 

Rethinking education will have to happen before major change takes place for at risk kids.  Charter schools can be part of that only if they do something different.  If charter schools simply try to be a better version of the existing schools, then they will fail.  While I believe that many schools in low income areas have simply given up, I don't think that's true of all of them or perhaps even most of them.  The problem is that even in those high poverty schools in which teachers are working hard results are not good.  The key to the future isn't working harder.  It's working smarter.  That's a terribly trite thing to say, I know.  In this case, it's the truth.  Schools and schools systems need to find ways to change to meet the real needs of students and families and not confine themselves to ideas about school days, seat time, summer vacation, or even what a teacher is.  Low income students and their families need to be educated about education.  What is a good education?  What should they expect from their student? their teacher? their principal?  This isn't easy.  I deal with an alternative school and I see the difficulties in getting parents to attend events, which is why it's important in many situations for the event to go to the home.  Many charter schools do this.  More should. 

I believe in our country's ability to do what is necessary to make these changes.  I'm concerned that we don't have the will to make them.  Forces oppose change. Bureaucracy opposes change.  Many within the existing systems are comfortable.  They know their place.  They have good salaries.  They fit in the structure.  My proposal could put many people's jobs at risk.  But the goal of education isn't providing jobs for the employed.  It is to educate so that the unemployable become employable, so that the disadvantaged can become advantaged.  In our world, when things change very quickly, our education system has been operating in the early twentieth century.  Let's enter the twenty first century and use the ideas of the twenty first century, otherwise our country could end up with an economy similar to the early twentieth century as well.

Denver faces entitlement payments to teachers

So, if the Michigan situation didn't set me off enough, my own state's decision to change teacher evaluation and tenure has caused Denver Public Schools to develop a plan to pay teachers who aren't needed or wanted.  The interpretation of an arbitrator is due out in a month or two, but it appears that DPS may have to pay $7 million for teachers that they've dismissed.  Now, in a time when school budgets are being cut and many are crying for increased taxes, taxpayers also are being asked to foot the bill of $7 million for teachers not to work.

Here in Colorado those of us who vote against tax increases are seen as cold-hearted.  Given the number of people that I've helped recently because they've lost jobs or homes, I'd say that I'm pretty warm-hearted.  I'm warm-hearted for those who believe that at least most of their livelihood is their responsibility.  I'm cold-hearted to people who want to just take other people's hard earned money for no good reason.

I'm more than happy to pay taxes for items that are both needed and for those things that the government does well.  At this point, it's become obvious that neither is the case in Denver or in our state that will be in the colorado if this kind of thing continues.  Providence surely seems to be shining on those dismissed teachers.  God help the rest of us.

Whose fault are dropout factories?

With the recent report by Civic Enterprises, Everyone Graduates Center, America’s Promise Alliance and the Alliance for Excellent Education on high school graduation statistics, the debate about "dropout factories" has fresh fuel.  Thirty-five states have more high schools with greater than 60% drop out rates than they did ten years ago. 

While I'm no fan of rising high school drop out rates, especially in the communities that need kids in school the most, I have to wonder how the anger has been directed.  According to one writer of the report, "The zip code into which you’re born should not determine where you end up in life.”  I wholehearted agree with this statement.  The difference between Mr. Bridgeland, who made the comment, and me is that I am not sure that it applies in this situation.  I've long been one to criticize traditional public schools for not doing a better job.  I've long argued that school choice is one way to combat the bureaucracy and the surrender that seems to have happened in many low income area schools.  However, this can't all be the schools' fault.

Schools can only educate those who stay in schools.  Students ultimately choose whether or not to stay in school.  They are the ones who can change the dropout rate.  If it is found that they are dropping out because they aren't learning anything in school, that would be a different matter, but my guess is that students who drop out do no drop out because of their intense desire for a proper education. 

My co-blogger wrote a piece a while back on when it might be time to blame the students.  He was writing about a different issue, but the question is a good one when it comes to drop out rates.  Perhaps instead of calling this a societal evil, we ought to be asking students why they are dropping out and IF there is anything the schools could have done to prevent it.  If we do find that incompetent staff or foolish school rules are to blame, then we have a basis on which to blame the schools and perhaps the rest of society for this problem.  Until then, we need to at least consider that its the students themselves that need to reconsider their decisions and their impact on society and not the other way around.

Another entitlement program: It's called "tenure"

In Michigan, the teachers' union is going after tenure reform claiming that case law considers tenure a property right.  What is up with that?  A property right?  I'm not lawyer, so I won't comment on the merits of the case, but if the courts uphold this, what is next?  Oh, my!

What else will be a right and where has our society gone?  Will everyone in every profession eventually have a right to a job no matter what?  This is the silliest thing I've ever heard of short of communism.  I read tons of Marx in grad school and got my fill there for sure.  The obvious contradictions within Marx's own writings were just plain funny, but to see this happening in a "free" country is simply staggering.  You can probably tell that I'm struggling for words here.

How can a job be a property right? A job has a contingent existence based on demand.  A person's quality of work is also contingent.  It changes over time.  The assumption behind tenure (or at least I hope it was when it was developed) was that the value of a teacher actually increased over time.  That view of tenure makes perfect sense to me.  Teachers with a lot of experience are worth more than a younger, less experienced teacher, even if they have similar attributes and teacher quality.  However, just because a teacher has a lot of time in on the job does not mean that the teacher is worth anything. (I'm not talking about human worth.  I'm talking about worth for a given position.)  Any employee needs to provide a contribution to the job equal to the pay received, which under current step and lane system for teachers increases automatically over time beyond just inflation. 

Turning the teaching profession into a welfare program will not help the American education system improve.  In fact, it will allow it to continue on the current path of mediocrity.  There is nothing wrong with protecting against wrongful dismissal, but that's not what tenure does.  Do not be mistaken.  This debate is not about due process.  Even in employment at will states, there is no such thing as true employment at will.  Having been part of a large charter school for five years, I can tell horror stories of employees who received unemployment who didn't deserve it.  Imagine if those same employees were protected by tenure.

Another topic is the issue of teachers' salary and tenure.  For now, ask yourself what other profession receives both a guaranteed job and guaranteed increases in pay for doing nothing but staying in the same job for 30 years and then receives a full pension? Even in the public sector accountants only advance to a certain point before they max out on the scale.  There are steps, but no lanes.  An accountant doesn't get a raise just because he or she gets a master's degree, for example.

I'm not sure what the courts are thinking, but this is a terrible precedent for both our kids and our country.

Charter Schools looking to outsource? Here is help

So, you’ve made the decision to outsource a department or function of your charter school.  You’ve researched the competitors, finished a bid process, and signed a contract.  Now, reality sets in.  You have to give up that portion of your school activities to the provider.  This is easier said than done because it requires both a change in your processes and a change in your attitude.   Change is always difficult.  It’s even more difficult when you have to trust activities to an outside agency.  It may feel uncomfortable or even risky.   

Here are some tips to adjust to the change.

First, change your mind about the way that you’ve been doing things.  Especially if you or your staff are resistant to change, prepare to change your mind about what has to be done and how things have to be done.  It’s very likely that the company that you hire will not do things the way you are used to having them done.  The process will be different, paperwork and reports will likely look slightly different, and even the results may be slightly different.

Make up your mind and help your staff understand that things may not happen the way that they are used to.  Some people will worry about giving up control.  If someone on staff used to perform these functions, he or she may be concerned about losing a job or perhaps feel not as busy.   You may feel as if you have less to supervise.  The good news is that you can use that additional time to think of ways to focus on your teachers and students.

You also need to rely on the outsourcing company for help.  Depending on which functions you are outsourcing, the company should be able to walk you through the new processes.  Your internal processes will need to change as well.  In some cases, it may simply be eliminating internal procedures and making information available to the outsourcing company.  In others, you may have to perform some processes prior to the outsourcing company taking on the tasks.  Find out what is required.  Companies will often be able to tell you how they work with other clients.  Often the outsourcing company will have written procedures for you.

Also, the company likely has suggestions for your school’s internal processes.  Most companies have worked with enough clients to have seen what works on the client end and what doesn’t.  Ask them for suggestions.

Once you’ve begun to make the internal change, you need to let the outsourcing company do its job.  You don’t go to a restaurant and go tell the chef how to cook.  Perhaps a better example is that you don’t go to the restaurant and order an entrée, but then prepare your own appetizer and dessert.  It’s almost certain that the company you are outsourcing to knows how to do the tasks better than you do.  Their personnel are going to be more efficient and more knowledgeable.  In a case in which you are outsourcing simply to gain efficiency or extra capacity, and in which you know the tasks well, you should still allow them to do things their way.  If you have suggestions, most companies will listen, but it’s their model and that’s why you’ve contracted with them. 

This is part of the giving up process.  It’s often more difficult than you would think.  If you are used to performing tasks internally, all of a sudden it’s like throwing a bunch of paperwork or information into a magic black box.  Many people want to peek inside the box.  It’s ok to peek, but it’s not ok to try to manipulate the box.  The outsourcing company is the magic.  Just enjoy the magic.

To enjoy the magic, you have to make sure that your expectations are clear.  This should be done prior to the contract, but communication is important throughout the contract period.  Depending on the complexity of the services, your needs may change.  The outsourcing company may change its staffing or procedures.  If some of those affect you, the company needs to know.  Most outsourcing companies work because they are efficient, but that doesn’t mean that they always know what you are thinking.

It is especially important to let an outsourcing company know right away if you are not getting what you think you are paying for.  There is nothing worse for a vendor to be doing what they always do for clients and then find out it isn’t what you wanted, especially if it’s three to six months into the contract.  Depending on the size of the outsourcing company, they may not have someone that checks in on you to see how things are going.  

In order for the transition to be really successful, you have to buy in to the programs and processes of the outsourcing company.  Hopefully, you would have made that decision prior to signing the contract.  Once you are up and running, it’s important to fully acknowledge that within your school.   Change your processes, let internal personnel know that it’s OK to let go and that you still value them.  Most of all give it up and enjoy the fact that someone else has to do that work so that you can focus on your students.

Will PA do the right thing by kids?

Pennsylvania's charter law still relies on local school districts to approve charter schools.  While I'm all for local control and local decision making, putting that decision in the hands of those who are biased against charter schools is almost humorous.  In fact, I'll be many charter opponents in Pennsylvania laugh every time a charter school applicant is denied a charter.  It's a little racket that those in the system want to keep going.  It's worse that normal bureaucracy that gets nothing done.  This bureaucracy impedes progress. 

Being in a state that has a state authorizing body, I can assure you that it is no panacea for charter school applicants or operators.  The Colorado Charter School Institute has its issue.  It is clearly still a political organization with a politically motivated board (by statute half Democrats and half Republicans on the board).  The advantage that such a body has is that it is still about as impartial as one can get in the present national debate on charter schools. 

Pennsylvania's legislature should at least try to level the playing field as much as it can.  There is no perfect solution, but a state body could at least develop some standards for authorizing charter schools and the need for their existence.