| The Education Establishment: The School District; From: The Center for Education Reform | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 10 2006, 08:53 PM (343 Views) | |
| fyi | Nov 10 2006, 08:53 PM Post #1 |
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Principal
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http://www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseActi...documentID=1734 The Education Establishment: The School District From The School Reform Handbook: How to Improve Your Schools Published by The Center for Education Reform I. District School Boards and Superintendents School districts are the only place most people will ever see the education process at work. They are made up of components that most of us are familiar with: the school board, superintendents and staff, principals and teachers. Most school boards are elected, although three percent — mostly in big cities — are appointed by city councils or mayors. School boards are traditionally responsible for running the show; they review and approve budgets, help set broad policy and other program issues. Generally, the superintendent must confer with his school board before he can make any organizational or contractual changes, Such as establishing magnet schools or contracting out for food or transportation services with a private company. There are exceptions. The superintendent in New York City's District 4, the East Harlem example mentioned earlier, implemented a school choice and local management program without approval by the district's governing board. He reasoned that the bureaucracy would take so long to catch up with him that, by that time, his new choice program would already be underway and working. It was — and is. The school board should have full authority over the local public schools. However, that authority is so splintered among various office holders and special interests that its power is greatly diminished. On one hand, local school boards find their hands tied by thousands of regulations against making significant changes or even contributions to the running of the school district. On the other hand, winners of school board elections or appointments are often those who have the blessing of the education establishment. So, the boards are no longer civil servants of the community but a power in their own right. As the primary governing body of the district's schools, it is the school board that will most often challenge the unions. Often, the administrators and school board associations will be at odds with the unions. As a result, the unions put a lot of effort and money into electing their people onto school boards. Teachers unions take advantage of typical low turnouts for school board elections as "a better way to achieve their goals than striking." They get sympathizers onto the local governing bodies and try to control both the management and labor sides of the bargaining table. An election in the Deer Valley School District in Phoenix, Arizona, is a good example. Between the two candidates vying for an open seat on the school's governing board, one was a longtime resident and supporter of the state's charter school law; the other candidate had only moved into the district a year previous and was an active union member. For this tiny election, nevertheless, the union spent $15,000 to seat its candidate, versus $500 spent by the reform candidate; the union candidate won. In 1993, the NEA's Center for the Preservation of Public Education spent $50,000 to combat school board candidates whose views did not match their own. As a result, teachers unions often have greater influence over school board officials than the general public does. In obtaining control of the school boards, unions gain access to school decisions at every level. Here they influence finances, since boards are in charge of setting school budgets. Communities vote on these budgets in most places, but the process is often only a rubber stamp. For example, school boards have the authority to propose tax changes. However, in some instances a community's 'no' vote against new taxes will still result in increases. This is because states, like New York, then require school boards to enforce new budgets which are set as identical to the previous year's, plus an increase to cover inflation. Or, boards threaten cuts to "non-essential" programs for the children, like sports, rather than cutting administrative costs. Then, citizens committed to their sports programs immediately feel forced to vote for the inflated budget in an effort to save such options, even though they're in favor of the schools' trimming down. The people do vote, but their power is often limited to marginal issues or a choice between the lesser of two evils. And in some states, even that level of input is threatened. In 1994, states such as Missouri, Montana and Oregon tried to give exclusive authority to the public to decide tax rates but were defeated through establishment opposition. School boards have shown some creativity in budget matters. They have discovered that the private sector often provides more service for the money. By contracting out to the private sector for everything from busing to food services to maintenance, districts have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars while receiving a more cost-efficient, superior delivery of services. School boards can make big differences in states with charter schools. In many cases, they must approve charter proposals first. Some boards are hostile to charter schools because they are not controlled by school boards. In an effort to avoid such problems, Colorado's leaders set a good example with a message they sent to school board members. Persuasively, they suggested that members would be prudent to help with the charter movement rather than stand in its way. Who's In Charge: Administrators are represented by two national associations, the American Association of School Administrators and the American Federation of School Administrators. The National School Boards Association represents local boards' interests on a federal level and has approximately 95,000 individual school board members from over 15,000 districts. What You Can Do: As an individual, you can affect the school board in a variety of ways. You or your group can participate in elections. Through elections you can immediately influence how schools operate, in lieu of more widespread reform efforts. If you can find willing people to run, help them. If not, let candidates and current members know how you feel and what you are prepared to do in your efforts. Note, however, that most school boards have so little power that you should weigh seriously any consideration of personal involvement before jumping into a race. Another option is to serve as a resource bank for school board members. These folks often lack basic information and value your input. To learn about school board members' views and the issues, make a point of knowing your school board's meeting schedule and attending regularly, or find someone who can. School boards are required by "Sunshine" laws to hold open meetings and to inform the public of meeting times and locations. They are also required to take public comment on policy issues. Unfortunately, school board meetings are often held during the business day when they conflict with most parents' schedules. II. The School: Principals and Teachers It may come as a surprise, but principals no longer run the show in our schools. Principals are forced to run their schools as higher-ups dictate everything from quality control of teachers to scheduling the school day to disciplining the students. The principal's autonomy and authority are determined by the superintendent and by whatever restrictions are imposed on him or her through government regulation. Likewise, teachers' hands are tied by so many rules and requirements from the local, state and federal levels that they're often reduced to providing little more than damage control from one 50 minute class to the next. Teachers are frustrated by such a system, and often bear the brunt of parents who are equally frustrated with their lack of control. Teachers unions have succeeded in ensuring job security for their members, but have removed the opportunity for teachers to be rewarded for doing well. Principals' hands are also tied by contracts that forbid them to reward good teachers or sanction poor ones. This sets up a natural antagonism between two groups already facing such incredible odds. Teachers are now measured not on how well they teach, but rather on their ability to process students through the system, ready or not, from one grade to the next until they either graduate or drop out. In addition, union-set pay scales are based on teachers' levels of education, their accumulation of professional development and continuing education courses and their seniority — all things that can have little effect on how well they actually do their job. Often a first-year teacher's most valuable on-the-job training is learning how not to rock the boat and how to stick to the rules. A Southern California teacher reports that he was encouraged to spend less time before and after school with his students or he would anger the local union representatives and his principal. The extra time he was spending with the children was simply not in his contract. Another teacher in Los Angeles volunteered to type a new school newsletter. When the central administrative office learned about her extra efforts, they informed her that she was in violation of the district's employment contracts — only "classified personnel" such as secretaries were permitted to type on behalf of the school. Our system treats these teachers, who go beyond the call of duty, the same as it treats those who do not even meet basic requirements for the job. And the process that allows a principal to fire poor employees is too long and arduous for most to endure. Even when a teacher is successfully dismissed for poor performance, she or he is in most cases absorbed by the bureaucracy because the contract makes it too difficult to remove the person from the system altogether. Who's In Charge: The National Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Elementary School Principals support principals through lobbying efforts and professional development services, such as publication distribution and workshops. Teacher associations oriented around professional development and curriculum, rather than collective bargaining and civil rights issues, include the National Council of Teachers in English and the National Science Teachers Association. The National Association of Professional Educators, Coalition for Independent Education Associations and the Association of Educators in Private Practice offer alternatives to the two big unions. Teach For America and the Alliance for Catholic Education work to interest recent college graduates and those in other fields to devote two years to teaching in understaffed urban and rural areas. What You Can Do: Their frustration with their current situation is one reason you will find that teachers overwhelmingly support charter schools. Charters are normally free from collective bargaining requirements, and principals are free from constraints on hiring and firing. Many teachers relish the opportunity to enjoy a professional and productive work environment, and one in which they can be judged by the quality of their work. One thing principals and teachers can do in the current system is to request waivers from their superiors from various burdensome requirements. Or they can create their own specialized programs in which children can choose to participate. Teachers who are free to innovate in an open system have accomplished much. New ideas are often not appreciated, however, and sometimes even mistrusted in today's school climate. That is why many outstanding teachers have chosen to leave their job security and have begun to contract their services to schools that want them. The Association of Educators in Private Practice represents many of these teachers who are having success contracting to teach subjects from science to foreign language. Meaningful education reform needs their support. Find out which teachers, principals and administrators are willing to listen and work with you, and ask them to assist you with information and public support. |
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| ForMySons | Nov 11 2006, 04:53 PM Post #2 |
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Principal
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My biggest concern is how much will the MEA try to influence May's election? They certainly had a big influence in the results of last August's recall election! |
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| ILIkeLI | Nov 11 2006, 05:44 PM Post #3 |
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Principal
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This was written in a Pittsburgh paper... Special interest interference. By far the most embedded interest group is the teachers union, several researchers said. Terry Moe, a political science professor at Stanford University, found in a recent study that school board incumbents endorsed by teachers unions win 92 percent of the time. Additionally, teachers unions are the largest outside contributors to school board candidates' campaigns and the most active campaigners. "The unions get to pick the people they're going to bargain with. It's an unbelievable thing, isn't it?" Moe said. "What a break." Former Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok, who now is the nation's deputy education secretary, is a former school board member himself. But he's critical of the way boards have dealt with unions. "They're the governing boards and they need to govern," said Hickok, who served on the Carlisle Area school board in the early 1990s, "but they've given [their authority] away in contracts." |
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| cmic | Nov 12 2006, 07:35 AM Post #4 |
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Principal
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A LOT! It is their full-time job. |
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| Elisa | Nov 16 2006, 11:21 AM Post #5 |
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Principal
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Eventually you may have to go this far to assure you are represented and your voices are heard. Parent representation on local school councils in Chicago, Illinois is a powerful example. Chicago’s School Reform Act of 1987 requires elected local school councils with a majority of parents on each council. Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE) had a key role in passing the act, and now offers training to parents serving on local school councils (LSCs). Julie Woestehoff, PURE Director, explains the many impacts of these changes. Schools are now very closely scrutinized in Chicago. Monthly local school council meetings which are parent-chaired provide a place and people to whom parents can bring concerns and have them addressed. Chicago now has a special environment, a formalized process, and political machinery for parents to hold schools accountable. Parents elected to LSCs have also caused changes in the educational leadership to better reflect diversity of the community. Adourthus McDowell, a PURE parent and LSC member, invests considerable time holding the system accountable to parents. He explains that even though funds have been earmarked for public participation and support, the system tends to monopolize the process and use rhetoric. School systems need pressure to reform, and parents must be prepared for the “long haul” for real changes in the system to occur. |
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