President's Perspective
Is there any there there?
Feb 15, 2007 12:53 PM
Two leaders, two visions for educational “reform.” On the surface, they appear to share common goals. Yet the plans revealed last month by Gov. Spitzer and Chancellor Klein reflect starkly different values and approaches.
Spitzer’s initiatives, though far from perfect, provide a powerful example of the importance of listening to stakeholders, relying on proven policy and pushing for strong and fair accountability measures — backed by the tools and funding necessary to help educators meet the high standards we all want.
The governor made good on his promise to implement the CFE award and puts the money to good use. The $3.2 billion in state school funding he has proposed over the next four years (not including the city’s share) is well above the $2 billion court-ordered minimum. And he wants to tie that money to proven reforms — like lowering class sizes, expanding pre-kindergarten and improving teacher training.
In contrast, Chancellor Klein proposes to fund his new school allocations by robbing Peter to pay Paul, reducing the funding for schools with stable, experienced staffs so that schools with less senior staffs might attract more experienced teachers, if they so choose.
Both Spitzer and Klein say they want to enhance teacher quality by “strengthening” the teacher tenure process. But while Spitzer wants to look at all the facts, both quantitative and qualitative, including peer review, Klein wants teachers judged on their students’ test scores.
Similarly, though both seek greater accountability, their paths to get there diverge sharply. Spitzer uses accountability as a tool; Klein uses it as a weapon. For instance, Spitzer sets up strict rules to hold everyone accountable, from chancellors and superintendents on down. The chancellor would abdicate his own responsibility and disband many central functions, transferring all responsibility for education — and all accountability — onto principals (and therefore teachers).
One of the most striking differences is their attention (or lack thereof) to what matters most — what happens in the classroom. Gov. Spitzer wants to require districts to submit school improvement plans utilizing choices from a short list of proven instructional strategies, including class size reduction. Chancellor Klein gives schools choices, too, but they are false choices. In the guise of more freedom, schools can choose one of three sources for advice and support: a still-undefined provider from the private sector; a “support” superintendent from within the school system; or to have no support at all (“empowerment”). In other words, the school system has thrown up its hands and admitted it doesn’t know what to do to help schools meet the expectations it has set. To me, that is simply walking away from responsibility.
And the so-called “plan” is still being planned. Asked at one public forum on the reorganization whether high schools would have a separate superintendent, Chancellor Klein said it was undecided. And, as reported in the Sun, at a bidders’ conference for potential service providers (both nonprofit and for-profit) last week, the Tweed bureaucrats were at a loss to answer many of the vendors’ most basic questions. “It’s like they’re building the plane as they’re flying it,” said one frustrated attendee.
Now we learn that this reorganization has always been in the cards, that this is phase 2 of a grand plan. If that is so, there should have been ample time for consultation. More important, why didn’t the mayor articulate Phase 2 when running for a second term? Parents and staffers from those schools losing funding would have been quite interested.
So the question is: Is there any there there?
By the time the DOE plan is finalized in April, I’m sure it will look quite pretty on paper. I suppose the new bus routes did, too. Indeed, the bus fiasco is a good analogy. The new routes were designed by private consultants without regard for the concerns of families, street configurations or the realities of travel in the city. And why? To solve what? At what cost?
Just like that attempt to reorganize the school busing system, I fear this systemwide reorganization won’t stand up to a real-life test. It will cause confusion and chaos that will leave our children shivering in the cold. Again I ask the question: Where is the evidence that it will work?
And, even if this year’s reorganization were the best ever, what will happen to instruction next school year while everybody learns how to navigate the system? As I wrote in January, our members will provide the only stability because of a strong, locked-up contract, but schools will be destabilized and our students will suffer.
One thing is becoming clear: This administration is out of touch with our classrooms and our communities. “Let us in,” parents chanted at one Brooklyn forum, inadvertently echoing our own campaign, “Our voices deserve to be heard.” Parents would have seen the incongruities in the bus plans, had they been asked, just as teachers can see even now that the new structure is pocked with pitfalls.
Not that asking is the be-all and end-all. Listening to what we say is equally important. Dozens of our members, shoulder to shoulder with parents and other community members, have been expressing their opinions to the chancellor at his forums. You may still have time to attend one yourself; check the schedule on page 5. And if you go, remember to wear your “Have you listened to a teacher today?” button. (If you don’t have a button, ask your UFT chapter leader for one.)
Meanwhile, in accordance with the resolutions approved at our February Delegate Assembly, we are mobilizing our members and planning actions to express our opposition to the aspects of the reorganization plan that we believe hurt our ability to give children a quality education.
Concerns about this new structure reach way beyond our union’s ranks. On Feb. 28 the Working Families Party is convening a meeting of parents, teachers and students to tell the administration to “put the public back in public education.” I urge you to mark Feb. 28 (the Wednesday of the week we return from the midwinter break) on your calendar to make your voice heard.
