The Echo

It's time for another dissection.  My comments are in RED.http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120110/NEWS03/201100331/Culture-change-urged-schools

Culture change urged in schools

Reform leader seeks better cooperation  (A better headline would've read:  Deform leader seeks better submission)

WILMINGTON -- In a speech to the state's business and political leaders Monday night, Marvin N. Schoenhals, leader of the Vision 2015 school reform project, outlined his vision for Delaware's public schools, called on the teachers union to make changes and challenged those in attendance to get involved in education reform.  Funny, I keep reading in the NJ how DSEA is right there at the table with DOE in crafting the reforms that need to happen.  DOE even went so far as to appoint a former union leader to a powerful position (and well-paid) position within the teacher evaluation unit.

In short, he said, there needs to be a culture change.  I agree:  my children need big business to stop needling and poking around in education.  If business wants to have a role in schools, it needs to be one of supporting the teachers in the classroom and schools in their community.

"A vibrant state economy depends on a vibrant banking community," said Schoenhals, who is also WSFS chairman. "But that dependence is dwarfed by the influence our education system has on the long-term growth of our state, our quality of life and the dignity of our communities." Whoa... Slow down there skipper, a vibrant economy doesn't have to built on banking.  It needs to built on the business and enterprises that thrive in that particular state.  Frankly, I don't want a TARP guzzling two-face bank directing what education my children receive.

The speech came during the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce's 175th Annual Dinner -- one of the largest events of its kind in the state -- at the Chase Center. The annual event drew an estimated 900 people, including some of the biggest players in business and politics. Just asking, but how many school board members in this state received invitations to pay $200 a pop for a seat at the indoctrination?  My guess is maybe a handful of compliant ones and I would even go as far to say that I bet Skip and friends didn't waive the cost for these unpaid public servants.

Calling his work with WSFS and the education system "the great passions of my life," Schoenhals outlined ways to improve Delaware's schools and asked the teachers union to work to change state law surrounding staffing rules. Citing Delaware's mediocre test scores on reading and math tests and a high school dropout rate that he called unacceptable, he said the education system must be improved. Now, Skip, we might be on the same page here, if you're asking the unions to work to change the unit formula that generates the number of teachers in a district/building.  If you're advocating for more teachers in more classrooms with fewer students, I'm all for it.  The longitudinal data shows that these type of intervention especially in the early years make the biggest impact on achievement. (But, I doubt this story is heading that way.)

"For most in this room, the education system worked fine and has continued to do so for your children and grandchildren," he said. "That is not the case for many in our society. As a result of that discrepancy, we are often complacent about the hard work required to make our schools effective for all children."

Schoenhals is credited with successfully steering WSFS in the 1990s as the bank faced significant financial problems. In his speech, he said there are similarities between the work that had to be done to restore WSFS and the challenges that face the state's public schools. Really, Skip? 

"WSFS was an organization that had many nice people working there, but we did not have a culture of performance," he said. "As a result, we were the No. 7 bank in a six-bank market. We were not much of a blip on the radar screen. Today, WSFS is arguably one of the leading financial institutions in our state and the region. That did not happen overnight. It took us 15 years to change the culture to one that encourages people to perform at their best."  What's missing from this statement?  WSFS was No. 7.  What rank do you now hold?  Just because you may hold a substantial market share in Delaware, doesn't mean that share is as great outside this local footprint.

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That improvement in WSFS came as one person was in charge for 15 years, reporting to a board of directors. In education, that's not the case, he noted. Stakeholders -- the governor, Legislature, teachers union, school boards, parents and superintendents -- each hold significant veto power. So, Skip, let me share how this is supposed to work and why it doesn't:
1) Parents are the stakeholders.  They vote in elections to select who will be on their school board.
2) School board members set the governance tone in a district.  As a body of seven that can only function when at least 4 agree (in CSD for example) the board has one employee, the superintendent.  We can feel ownership for all employees of the district, but at the end of the day, we evaluate only ONE.  Meanwhile, board members must continue to listen to their constituents and take the tempurature of their community or they risk being voted out.
3) District employees take their lead from the tone set by the board and superintendent. 
4) Unions are an outside organization with a very important focus - they protect collective bargaining rights to ensure fairness, they provide a checks and balance system for the HR culture of district/school, and finally they ensure due process for their membership.
5) The Legislature writes and passes the laws that govern education initiatives statewide.  It's hopeful that they are communicating with the school boards and constituents to receive direction on where the education laws need strengthening and/or amendment.
6) The Gov's job is to either veto the bills that get passed or sign them into law.

Why this system isn't working:
1) You left the Department of Education off your list of veto holders.  The DOE is led by a Secretary of Education that is appointed by the Governor.  He gives his Secretary direction regarding the education policies he wants to see (in this case, he's promoting the education reform INDUSTRY and ignoring the lack of data and research in the process.) 
2) The DOE has been given, especially under this governor, unmatched power in regards to their meddling within school districts.  They've successfully utilized the Delphi principle and coercion to reinforce this power shift. They issue mandates to superintendents to withhold information from their boards, inserting themselves into a management role over superintendents that does not belong to them.  They have usurped power from the local control elected by the people.
3) The DOE has been extremely successful in influencing legislation and regulation that comes before our legislature.  But, they only tell one side of the story.  They rely on the legislature to have a large deficit in their knowledge of education policy and they have carved out a niche influence.

"It is a very political system," Schoenhals said. "I don't mean that in a bad way. It just means that our school system is subject to the uncertain process of making decisions in a political environment." That's why school board elections are non-partison.  I would hazard a guess that these elections were designed to protect school systems from political influence.  When DOE - led by a partisan a governor - overstepped their authority and encroached local control by issuing edicts to school boards and superintendents, they politicized the system.

Singling out the Delaware State Education Association as supporting policies that hurt the ability of some schools to makes choices in staffing decisions that make the most sense, Schoenhals called on the union to support changes to state law that is "more appropriate for a factory floor than in a profession like teaching." A statewide system focused on seniority for pay systems and staffing procedures is hurting schools, he said. Factory Floor?  Skip, that's just shameful!  How can you denigrate good teachers like that?  Don't you understand that without teachers, there are no schools?  Now, I can't say I am pro-union or anti-union, I'm not.  But, I respect the laws that allow unions to operate and support those employees who feel there is a need.  RTTT and PZ allowed for bargaining unit carve-outs.  Those schools that truly need the freedeom the traditional union contract (PZ schools) now have the ability to go back to the table and bargain in good faith with the select group of personnel who are most affected by one of the four models of RTTT/PZ destabilization.   The mechanism already exists. I also know just how sticky this can get from my own first-hand experience of course correction for one the PZ schools.  Mind you - the Gov. didn't take well to course corrections back then and withdrew all RTTT funding for all schools until our board was bullied into submission. Then, magically, the money was returned.  Thank You Great Merlin, I mean... Gov.

"One size in our system of pay does not fit all," Schoenhals said. "Let the districts and the local union determine what would work best for them. With a system that is more reflective of the profession that teaching is, we can then work to get teacher pay to a level worthy of the task teachers perform -- educating the next generation." Really, can any teacher take you seriously after you denigrated an entire profession by reducing teachers, many with multiple degrees and certifications and histories of achievement success, to the factory floor worker - a seemingly lesser educated professional.  Furthermore, each district has its own local E.A.  Each district sits down and negotiates with the local E.A.  If flexibility is what is needed to written into the contract, it requires all parties to negotiate in good faith, not just unions! 

Union leader reacts
Union president Frederika Jenner said she did not find the speech to be revolutionary. She believes the union is working to improve the system, and that several of the problems cited were founded on misrepresentations of the issues.

For instance, Jenner said, teacher seniority issues are not always based on last-in, first-out, and other staffing rules are the result of a collective bargaining agreement. As for the "factory floor" reference, Jenner said she was offended. "He has taken the conversation in the wrong direction," she said.  So, all along the RTTT way, we've been led to believe that DSEA and its associated locals have been intimately involved withe development of the latest reform craze.  Skip's unabashed statements lead me to believe that there is something much deeper afoot.  Are you accusing the DOE and Gov. of lying everytime they sang the DSEA's praises for their collaboration?

Schoenhals asked those in attendance to focus on five key areas as a way to make changes: develop a better system for reporting school quality to the public; create performance standards that will allow students to compete globally; reward high- performing schools; allow the state to force changes on struggling schools, but without withholding funding; and institute a system that provides spending flexibility so school leaders can spend funds in ways that make the most sense for that locality.

1) A better system for reporting school quality to the public?  We had that.  The DOE threw it under the bus and now issues AYP rankings for growth in addition to achievement. These changes were made in the dark with no prep to the public before the system was implemented.  The Public has been reduced to interpretting the DOE's website - Gee, did my feeder school make AYP based on actual proficiency or is it a low-performing school that has managed to goad growth (not proficiency and in some cases nowhere near proficiency) to earn their ranking?

2) Performance Standards?  Go read the Common Core Standards!  These are supposed to be the be all and end all of education standards.  It's already here, buddy.

3) What type of rewards are you looking for at our high performing schools?  Maybe permit them to opt out of RTTT and keep doing what's working for the school and its community?

4) Allow the state to force changes without withholding funding!  Amen.  We can agree on this one.  However, the state doesn't have the best record for turning around schools... Just look at Moyer.

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All schools can succeed given the right attention and tools, he said. He named the Indian River School District as a model, citing sustained progress there. The successes of districts and charter schools must be celebrated, he said, but there needs to be a continued focus on those who struggle.  This is not new or revolutionary.  No matter which side of the ed reform debate you take, we already know and agree that there needs to be a continued focus on those who struggle.  Once again, a day late and dollar short.

The state has had some other major successes, notably winning $119 million from the U.S. Department of Education in President Barack Obama's signature education reform program, he said. But even that award is not going to be enough to fix the problems that the public school system faces, he said.  I agree.  But, that money would have been much better spent getting more teachers into more classrooms.  Instead it's being parcelled out the reform INDUSTRY and you, Skip, helped that happen when you sang those RTTT praises!

Within a mile of where the Chamber of Commerce dinner was taking place, there are schools where two-thirds of the children cannot read on grade level, and children who show up to kindergarten without the skills they need to succeed. I take issue.  Those are my schools and my kids.  And you conveniently left out just how hard our district is working to mediate the kindergarten acheivement gap for which the only faulty party is parents who fail to engage education for their children early enough to prevent the gap form occuring.  As for reading, maybe if we weren't required to teach the reform du jour perhaps my teachers could have implemented best practices to reach those children - maybe even adjust their teaching style to accomodate a child's learning style.

"And if you're not convinced that education quality is either an economic or a sustainability issue, please consider that it is a moral imperative," Schoenhals said. "The ZIP code in which a child lives should have no bearing on whether their education will help them reach their potential. It is cruel, and flies in the face of America's foundation of equal opportunity for all." Hey, Skip, poverty knows no zip code.  It doesn't matter where you live - poverty is the great divider, the achievement roadblock.  Sure there are secondary issues such as racial isolation based upon the neighborhood a child lives within, but it's everywhere, both urban and suburban.  It's my belief that public education is the greatest entitlement program ever, both in the dollars spent and the sheer number of people it touches.