The consequences of not having a K-12 education plan

I don't know why there is so much "outrage," over continued failures by the DC Public Schools system, such as that engendered by the good articles in the Examiner, "Shadd setback hobbles broader special-ed overhaul," and "Councilwoman challenges Rhee on special-ed ‘disaster’" about failures of the special education program at Shadd Elementary.

The failures are pre-ordained. The blog entry below is reprinted from March 14th, 2008:

GAO says city should have a plan to reform K-12 schools; city says they don't need a plan...

(Doesn't say a lot for the field of public administration and urban planning now, does it?)

See "Fenty Should Broaden Schools Strategy, Federal Officials Say," subtitled "
At Hearing, D.C. Urged to Work More Closely With Community," from the Washington Post.

From the GAO report, "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: While Early Reform Efforts Tackle Critical Management Issues, a District-Wide Strategic Education Plan Would Help Guide Long-Term Efforts":

What GAO Recommends

To sustain D.C.’s efforts to transform its public school system, GAO recommends that the D.C. Department of Education develop a long-term districtwide education strategic plan. In response, the District supported the need for a strategy, but preferred a formal process rather than a written document to coordinate and sustain its efforts.

From the Post article:

Rhee suggested that her time would be better spent taking action rather than sitting around making plans. She said she has seen shelves at the central office filled with "binders and binders of plans" that were never implemented.

From testimony by Clarence Stone, a professor at UMD and GWU, February 13, 2007 on urban education "reform" in DC:

It is important to ask why a new cast of players or a change in governance structure by itself makes so little difference. The answer lies in the nature of education and the issue of who really matters. At its core, education is about children and their families and about teachers and principals. If you cannot align these four factors constructively, then you have lost. It does not matter if you construct new buildings, put in a fresh curriculum, end social promotion, change the school calendar, or contract out multiple services - it will amount to little. Better managed schools systems do not necessarily produce better academic performances. Lasting education reform is not a top-down matter.

Here are my recommendations:

1. Put in place resources and an organized structure to see that parents in lower-income areas are organized and engaged. Too often in urban school districts, the schools serving poorer communities have been the places where the weak and inexperienced teachers are placed and the lackluster and burnt-out principals are put. Parents are the best line of defense against such practices. That is why sub-par teachers and principals don't last long in middle-class communities.

2. Go over the collective-bargaining agreement and eliminate every provision that stands in the way directly or indirectly of the placement and retention of good principals and teachers in schools serving lower-income neighborhoods. If the mayor's office cannot do this, then the battle is at least half lost from the beginning. If the mayor is not willing to take on such tough challenges, then there is not much point of putting that office in charge. If it is a barrier, embedded privilege has to be tackled.

3. Expand and upgrade the quality of pre-K child care to make the most of early childhood development. The mayor's responsibility in education is much broader than K-12. For those eager to see what contracting out (particularly to the nonprofit sector) might yield, this would be a good area for testing its capacity to produce significant results.

4. Expand and upgrade the quality of after-school programs. Enlist the recreation department, the library system, museums, the voluntary sector, and anyone else who can help create a youth culture that has a healthy dose of adult involvement and that is able to move youth toward the acceptance of adult responsibilities.

The mayor's opportunity to improve education extends well beyond the official bounds of the school system. Consider why secondary education is harder to improve than elementary education, and incorporate that consideration into a broad plan of action for youth. As adolescents become more involved in peer-group activities, the influence of the classroom may diminish. Community plays an increasing role. Therefore it is well to bear in mind that the mayor can be an education leader without controlling the school system, and, even if the mayor has direct responsibility for schools, his leadership role in education is wider than that.

5. Pay particularly close attention to the training, professional development, and placement of principals. They are the squad commanders who will determine on the ground how the campaign for school reform is waged.

The final thing I would say is to beware of razzle-dazzle, quick-fix solutions. To speak bluntly, this means to be careful about excessive reliance on bright young aides, particularly those who bring an abundance of largely untested ideas onto the scene, who are impatient about building for the long haul, and who lack familiarity with the distinct features of the District of Columbia as a civic community.

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As it says in In Search of Excellence, what gets measured gets done. The authors also coined the phrase "bias for action" and lauded it. But if your actions are mis-directed, you can do a lot without accomplishing anything...