Reducing the racial learning gap
I think the Star Tribune was right on in its editorial and the MPS Board has shown courage and real leadership in perusing interview and select.
Interview and select will not by itself reduce the learning gap or solve the financial and enrollment problems the district faces. But it is one important component of several others that are necessary to get MPS back on the road to recovery. I haven't seen any direct evidence that interview and select reduces by itself the learning gap. I've heard from members of the Minneapolis teachers union that it doesn't and that there is no evidence that it does. I have no reason to doubt them. Maybe someone better informed than me can help us with better data. But I can see how it can help improve student retention in the district and building community trust. I've heard from many parents upset when some of their favorite MPS teachers were replaced by teachers just because of seniority after layoffs. One way to retain students and the trust of parents is if the teachers they are happy with are kept in their kids schools.
The Minneapolis school board will face on Tuesday one of the most important votes it has faced in many years. It will vote on a proposed strategicplan that the board has been working on with Mckinsey for several months. The preparation of this plan has included intense listening and extensive research of best practices that have been observed in schools around the country that have been successful in reducing the racial achievement gap.
When we look at successful schools around the country in reducing the racial learning gap we see several common themes:We see well trained and very strong school principals. We see longer school days and school years. We see strong teacher training on how to educate at risk kids of color. We see high expectations for students. We see principals that set clear expectations to their teachers and who have the power to hire and fire the as they see necessary to achieve school goals. We see schools that demand, expect and enforce high levels of discipline from their students. These schools also find ways to make school enjoyable to teachers and students. They usually involve a cooperative rather than confrontative relationship between principals and teachers.
The strategic plan that the board will vote for on Tuesday addresses many of these issues. None of the factors listed above will reduce the learning gap by itself. It will be a combination of ALL these factors. Probably the most significant recommendation of the strategic plan and the one that will have the biggest impact in reducing the learning gap is:
"Restart or replace the lowest-performing 25 percent of Minneapolis public schools to dramatically improve their performance by 2012. All schools in this segment would be strengthened regardless of type. Each would require a different strategy, and an Office of New Schools would be created to launch sponsored charters, self-governed schools, and internal restart models. Restarted schools may include enhancements such as all-day Kindergarten, pre-K program or partnership, longer school day or year and/or more staffing. In addition, the highest-performing schools would be given more autonomy to innovate in order to further improve their achievement."
It has been shown that new schools are more effective at making the necessary changes than existing schools. If this recommendation is not approved I have serious doubts that the rest of the plan will be effective. It would be great for MPS to have schools that will attract parents back to MPS rather than feeling they have to go to independent charters or other school districts. Not only does MPS need the per pupil funding but Minneapolis needs to keep its tax base. The office of new schools would also make sure effective innovation is not trampled by bureaucracy.
The board is looking from teachers for some flexibility in allowing principals to hire and fire teachers based on the school needs and not just seniority. This would not be an issue if many of MPS students weren't leaving the district and teachers were not being laid off. But as schools close and less teachers are needed, many staffing decisions of teachers are not based on their talents, effectiveness, or how they fit the schools they teach at. They are decided by seniority. This is what the board is trying to do. It also seeks more flexibility from the union so that schools that require longer school days (not all MPs schools need this) that teachers will be allowed to work the necessary hours.
The Minneapolis teachers union MFT has to be commended for presenting a plan to improve the education of all our kids. They have demonstrated this is an important issue to them. Unfortunately their plan falls short. Its proposal on reducing class size that has not been proven to have a big enough effect in reducing the learning gap and the current MPS budget shortfalls would not allow it. I do agree with their recommendations of increasing funding of early childhood education. This would have a significant effect on achievement. I also support their proposal to bring more decision making to the school level and that will show a cooperative decision making model between staff and management. They also propose more cooperation between other government agencies that will intervene with the lives of students at risk. Good recommendations but the School board plan is more complete and will have a bigger impact in reducing the gap and retaining students in MPS.I see and understand the concern from teachers about principal quality.
It needs to be part of the plan that good principals are hired and rewarded when succesful and fired when not. They should receive effective training. Principals have a very very tough job, and they need to be equiped with the necessary skills and tools to be succesful.I urge the board to aprove THE ENTIRE strategic plan on Tuesday and then do ALL they need to to make sure it is implemented.
Interview and select will not by itself reduce the learning gap or solve the financial and enrollment problems the district faces. But it is one important component of several others that are necessary to get MPS back on the road to recovery. I haven't seen any direct evidence that interview and select reduces by itself the learning gap. I've heard from members of the Minneapolis teachers union that it doesn't and that there is no evidence that it does. I have no reason to doubt them. Maybe someone better informed than me can help us with better data. But I can see how it can help improve student retention in the district and building community trust. I've heard from many parents upset when some of their favorite MPS teachers were replaced by teachers just because of seniority after layoffs. One way to retain students and the trust of parents is if the teachers they are happy with are kept in their kids schools.
The Minneapolis school board will face on Tuesday one of the most important votes it has faced in many years. It will vote on a proposed strategicplan that the board has been working on with Mckinsey for several months. The preparation of this plan has included intense listening and extensive research of best practices that have been observed in schools around the country that have been successful in reducing the racial achievement gap.
When we look at successful schools around the country in reducing the racial learning gap we see several common themes:We see well trained and very strong school principals. We see longer school days and school years. We see strong teacher training on how to educate at risk kids of color. We see high expectations for students. We see principals that set clear expectations to their teachers and who have the power to hire and fire the as they see necessary to achieve school goals. We see schools that demand, expect and enforce high levels of discipline from their students. These schools also find ways to make school enjoyable to teachers and students. They usually involve a cooperative rather than confrontative relationship between principals and teachers.
The strategic plan that the board will vote for on Tuesday addresses many of these issues. None of the factors listed above will reduce the learning gap by itself. It will be a combination of ALL these factors. Probably the most significant recommendation of the strategic plan and the one that will have the biggest impact in reducing the learning gap is:
"Restart or replace the lowest-performing 25 percent of Minneapolis public schools to dramatically improve their performance by 2012. All schools in this segment would be strengthened regardless of type. Each would require a different strategy, and an Office of New Schools would be created to launch sponsored charters, self-governed schools, and internal restart models. Restarted schools may include enhancements such as all-day Kindergarten, pre-K program or partnership, longer school day or year and/or more staffing. In addition, the highest-performing schools would be given more autonomy to innovate in order to further improve their achievement."
It has been shown that new schools are more effective at making the necessary changes than existing schools. If this recommendation is not approved I have serious doubts that the rest of the plan will be effective. It would be great for MPS to have schools that will attract parents back to MPS rather than feeling they have to go to independent charters or other school districts. Not only does MPS need the per pupil funding but Minneapolis needs to keep its tax base. The office of new schools would also make sure effective innovation is not trampled by bureaucracy.
The board is looking from teachers for some flexibility in allowing principals to hire and fire teachers based on the school needs and not just seniority. This would not be an issue if many of MPS students weren't leaving the district and teachers were not being laid off. But as schools close and less teachers are needed, many staffing decisions of teachers are not based on their talents, effectiveness, or how they fit the schools they teach at. They are decided by seniority. This is what the board is trying to do. It also seeks more flexibility from the union so that schools that require longer school days (not all MPs schools need this) that teachers will be allowed to work the necessary hours.
The Minneapolis teachers union MFT has to be commended for presenting a plan to improve the education of all our kids. They have demonstrated this is an important issue to them. Unfortunately their plan falls short. Its proposal on reducing class size that has not been proven to have a big enough effect in reducing the learning gap and the current MPS budget shortfalls would not allow it. I do agree with their recommendations of increasing funding of early childhood education. This would have a significant effect on achievement. I also support their proposal to bring more decision making to the school level and that will show a cooperative decision making model between staff and management. They also propose more cooperation between other government agencies that will intervene with the lives of students at risk. Good recommendations but the School board plan is more complete and will have a bigger impact in reducing the gap and retaining students in MPS.I see and understand the concern from teachers about principal quality.
It needs to be part of the plan that good principals are hired and rewarded when succesful and fired when not. They should receive effective training. Principals have a very very tough job, and they need to be equiped with the necessary skills and tools to be succesful.I urge the board to aprove THE ENTIRE strategic plan on Tuesday and then do ALL they need to to make sure it is implemented.
posted by reportesur at 1:46 AM
2 Comments:
No, no, no. That gap closure plan is all wrong. Here is the correct approach (any resemblance to the current plan in Rochester, MN, is purely coincidental):
Fire your superintendent. Hire a new one, at a much higher salary, one whose recent experience is all in the state of Connecticut, a state which has one of the worst Achievement_Gaps in the country, if not THE absolute worst. Make certain this progressive and capable new superintendent makes "closing The _Gap" his/her main priority (with mainstream education being secondary?). Authorize the new superintendent to spend $185,000 with a Connecticut consulting firm to find out "how to close The_Gap." Make certain the new superintendent also brings in a highly-paid aide, also from Connecticut, for even more well-spent taxpayer dollars, to act as a dynamic focal point for managing the certain-to-occur Gap_Closure. Pat yourself on the back for being on the ever-broadening frontiers of political correctne$$. Then just hold your over-taxed breath (and your wallet)...
Well said.
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