K-12 Education Reform

Kentucky Overhauls State Tests; State Again Cited as a National Leader

Caroline — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:34:57 -0500

Kentucky, the first state to develop comprehensive state standards and assessments in 1990, is again leading the country, this time with the “next generation” of accountability reforms.

The state’s legislature recently approved a series of tests aligned to new standards that are to be internationally benchmarked and designed to ensure students are prepared to enter the workforce or go to college.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has already singled out college-work ready standards and assessments that enable international comparisons of student performance as the type of reforms he intends to fund through the $5 billion “Race to the Top” fund created by the federal stimulus package.

Looks like Kentucky will be well-positioned to compete for Duncan’s discretionary dollars. We hope Superintendent Randy Dorn’s proposed changes to the Washington assessment system will also improve our state’s chances of winning the Race to the Top by showing our state’s commitment to developing a world-class education system.

Read more about Kentucky’s new state tests here. Read more about Superintendent Dorn’s proposed changes to the WASL here.

Pamelia Valentine: School Improvement—The Mission for a Vision Continues

maureen — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:05:59 -0600

Vision Statement! Mission Statement! Step by Step Goals and Objectives! What’s so important about this process that we started developing more than two months ago? If we paint over the old vision “providing a quality education in an academically supportive and safe environment” will our students suddenly break out in song and score straight 4’s on all the WASL’s? Probably not--but working through this process is certainly forcing us to take a realistic look at the barriers to learning that our kids face. Poverty, drug abuse, and lack of motivation plague our kids and stalk our community. This is about more than some words painted on the wall. This is about our dreams and our students! This is about success for tomorrow and hope for the future.

Our staff takes this seriously. We’ve worked together and individuals have come forward with ideas. Our school improvement committee has developed a partial vision statement that came from our staff in-service day: “Building Responsibility, Respect and Resilience with inspiration; Every One! Every Day!” This is a vision that rings true for us and resonates with our community, but it says nothing about student achievement and according to the research that I looked at, it may just be too broad.

One of the best sites I found had been posted in 1995. I read through the article and discovered that at Hollibrook Elementary School in Eastbrook, Texas, the school members worked together to make the school a high-achieving learning environment where the culture of the students is valued and supported. I looked further and found the Audubon Elementary in Baton Rouge, Louisiana which has set a mission statement that includes in part that: “The school has a shared mission to serve all students with high-quality, interactive, in-depth, and engaging instructional approaches.” This work was researched and written by Kent Peterson, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

All of us worry--if we spend too long on the vision statement will we ever get to the mission? Both of the schools I read about included student learning in their statement. Perhaps the addition of those words will push our statement into life:

Building Responsibility, Respect and Resilience to inspire student learning; Every One! Every Day!

We’ll get out the ladders and we’ll stir up the paint–we won’t just be painting words. We’ll be painting a vision that can and should change our lives and the lives of our students.

Pamelia Valentine is a guest blogger and teacher in the Shelton School District.

Previous Blogs:

Gettin' Visionary with School Improvement

Improving My Notion of School Improvement

The AYP Blues

Promising Education News from the Washington Legislature

larry — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:15:40 -0600

Promising Education News from the Washington Legislature
Basic Education Finance Bills and Reform: What Might the Impact be for Teachers?
Maintaining High school Assessments Critical to Students' Future
A Conversation with Superintendent Randy Dorn

Promising Education News from the Washington Legislature

There has been some encouraging legislative news in education over the past few weeks. Last Monday, the Senate Education Committee amended two bills that were of significant concern to us. The first, Senate Bill 5260, previously included language that called for eliminating the WASL as a requirement for high school graduation. That section was struck from the bill. The second bill, Senate Bill 5498, previously included language that delayed implementation of the math and science requirements slated for 2013. The amended version keeps math and science as scheduled.

Clearly, it's still early, with two-thirds of the session left to go and two weeks until the first cut-off, anything can happen. However, at the Partnership, we are increasingly encouraged that our concerns regarding implementation of the graduation requirements are being taken seriously by key legislators and that the governor continues to be a very helpful advocate on these issues.

Basic Education Finance Bills and Reform: What Might the Impact be on Teachers?

Although the Basic Education Finance bills (Senate Bill 5444 and House Bill 1410) proposed by the Basic Education Task Force (BETF) are large and complex, they represent an incredible opportunity for education reform by providing funding for the State Board of Education’s CORE 24 proposal and rewarding teachers for boosting student achievement. The bills have, however, raised many questions on the effects they will have on Washington teachers. Thankfully, BETF Member Sen. Fred Jarrett has put together a list of frequently asked questions about the bills to help citizens and teachers better understand the potential impact of the proposal.

Q. Does this bill make the state one big school district?
A. No. It makes the accounting system, implementation and results transparent for local voters while still allowing individual school districts to allocate resources to best accommodate local conditions.

Q. Are you taking away any part of teachers' pay?
A. We don't propose to take pay. We intend for the state to pay the TRI pay currently funded by local levies and increase compensation to competitive levels in the labor markets the teacher teaches in. (TRI pay is compensation in addition to the state's salary schedule, paid from local levies, for "time, responsibility and incentive.")

Q. Does the bill take away TRI pay?
A. No. The BETF proposal does not eliminate TRI pay.

In the BETF proposal, TRI pay is "bought back" by the state and becomes a part of the state salary apportionment. We eliminate "R" and "I", leaving only "T." When we looked at the data around TRI pay, what we learned was that it correlated very closely to cost of living or housing costs. That suggested to us that the local bargaining process had correctly forced local districts to adjust the flat state apportionment for salaries to a more reasonable level for the districts based on local economic conditions. So, in fact, local levies are inappropriately funding basic education.

Q. What is the proposed evaluation system?
A. The movement from student to resident and from resident to professional would be based on a rich peer evaluation. Individual teacher compensation increases significantly when teachers receive certification through peer evaluations. Peer evaluations would involve multiple measures of performance, including in-class visits and reviews of lesson plans, student work, and possibly video of actual teaching. The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) would oversee this system.

The PESB and the colleges of education have expressed concerns about some of the elements of 5444 and we are working with them to correct deficiencies and improve the career ladder. Our intent is to build on the work they are doing, not drive off in a different direction.

Q. Will this bill require accomplished teachers with advanced degrees to go through National Board Certification in order to attain the highest salary?
A. Experienced teachers with investments in education and degrees will continue to be paid under the current system unless they choose to migrate to the new system. The proposal suggested a ten year period for dual compensation, but that's an arbitrary number. We do not expect that there will be a disadvantage for teachers in the old system, though the additional compensation for the National Board Certification may provide motivation to make the change.

To find out more, read State Board of Education Chair Mary Jean Ryan's editorial on the basic education bills in the Seattle Times, view a comparison of the two sets of basic education proposals by the League or Education Voters, and learn about the issues surrounding Washington education finance through Funding Washington Schools.

Maintaining High School Assessments Critical to Students' Future

Despite the promising efforts mentioned earlier by the legislature to defend Washington’s assessment system, there remain two proposals that would eliminate or delay high school assessments as a graduation requirement for Washington students.

Although House Bill 1341 is intended to create savings that could be used to “motivate students to pursue postsecondary education,” the bill would eliminate the high school assessment as a graduation requirement. And, though in 2007, the legislature delayed the implementation of the math and science high school assessment as a graduation requirement until the class of 2013, HB 1646 would further delay the requirement to the class of 2014 and potentially further out—if decided by the State Board of Education.

Both proposals send the message to students that the state isn’t serious about making sure they master the skills needed to succeed in college, work and life.

Year after year, more and more students are succeeding and passing the high school assessments. Last year, 93 percent of graduating seniors met the requirement, and the number one reason for seniors not graduating on time was a lack of necessary credits--not the high school assessment. Our state has made the commitment to Washington students that attaining a high school diploma means they are ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead—be it in a job, apprenticeship training or college classroom. Eliminating the high school assessment or delaying the math and science assessments as a graduation requirement would renege on this commitment and weaken Washington’s promise to provide a meaningful diploma to its students.

A Conversation with Superintendent Randy Dorn

A Community Lunch

In November, voters elected Randy Dorn for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. How does Dorn see his leadership style and how has he been approaching the transition from 12-year Superintendent Terry Bergeson? Can we expect new directives and funding coming from the other Washington to help? And how does he plan to make sure we have the global education to match Washington's global economy? To answer these questions and yours, join us as we meet the new Superintendent!

Date: Thurs. Feb. 26, 2009
Time: noon to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Washington Athletic Club, Seattle, WA
To RSVP visit: City Club's website.

Improving education – with and without more funding

larry — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:18:34 -0600

A list of seven ideas for improving student achievement that require no funding is welcome news amid the doom and gloom of state budget impacts on K-12 education.

Washington Post education columnist Jay Matthews suggests devoting more attention to reading, increasing parent-teacher and student-teacher communications (more positive encouragement all around) and unleashing charter schools. Of course the latter would apply only to the 40 states that allow charter schools, not Washington and the other nine states that maintain their quaint opposition to innovative school models.

On the other hand, the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristoff believes that increased funding for and innovations in K-12 education should be the country’s number one priority. His solution is increased funding coupled with reforming teacher evaluation and certification, increased pay for the more effective teachers, and providing disadvantaged kids with a higher number of effective teachers. Kristoff believes “…the existing national school system is broken and we’re not trying hard enough to fix it”.

These opinions, along with those of President Obama, reflect a growing consensus that the “business-as-usual” approach to improving our schools cannot continue, and a growing frustration with those in education who want only more funding to maintain the status quo.

Read about a local academy and its parent foundation who ARE breaking the mold, enjoying success, and have big plans for scaling up their work.

Questions Answered: Senate Bill 5444 and House Bill 1410

laura — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:59:52 -0600

Are you unsure about whether Senate Bill 5444 and House Bill 1410 makes the state one big district? And are you still wondering what the proposed evaluation system is? Well, you’re not alone. Many people have been left with questions regarding the proposals of the Basic Education Task Force that are embodied in the Bills. And rightfully so, there is a lot to dissect. Therefore, we thought it would be helpful to share a partial list of FAQ’s drafted by Wash. Senator Fred Jarrett, who serves on the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

Q. Does this bill make the state one big school district?

A. No, what it does is make the accounting system implementation and results transparent for local voters while still allowing individual school districts to allocate resources to best accommodate local conditions.

Q. Does the bill take away TRI pay?

A. No. The BETF proposal does not eliminate TRI pay.

TRI pay is compensation in addition to the state's salary schedule, paid from local levies, for "time, responsibility and incentive."

Q. Are you taking away any part of teachers' pay?

A. We don't propose to take pay. We intend for the state to pay the TRI pay currently funded by local levies and increase compensation to competitive levels in the labor markets the teacher teaches in.

Q. Will this bill require accomplished teachers with advanced degrees to go through National Board Certification in order to attain the highest salary?

A. Experienced teachers with investments in education and degrees will continue to be paid under the current system unless they choose to migrate to the new system. The proposal suggested a ten year period for dual compensation, but that's an arbitrary number. We do not expect that there will be a disadvantage for teachers in old system, though the additional compensation for the National Board certification level may provide motivation to make the change.

Q. What is the proposed evaluation system?

A. The movement from student to resident and from resident to professional would be based on a rich peer evaluation. Individual teacher compensation increases significantly when teachers receive certification through peer evaluations. Peer evaluations would involve multiple measures of performance, including in-class visits and reviews of lesson plans, student work, and possibly video of actual teaching. The Professional Educator Standards Board would oversee this system.

Understanding what this legislation means to you as a citizen can be a little daunting. Hopefully, this FAQ helped answer some of your questions. But if you still have a thirst for more, click here, here, and here, as these bills continue to be a lively debate at our states Capitol.

Much Ado about Education Finance

maureen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:53:50 -0600

Yesterday, I posted Peter Callaghan’s TNT article on this week’s legislative testimonies on the Basic Education Finance Task Force bills (SB 5444 and HB 1410) with a quick skim. But on a closer read this morning, I discovered Callaghan’s simple, but effective synthesis of the issue: These bills offer something for everyone, but some groups just can’t stand the carrot AND the stick.

“Perhaps the sticks in the task force plan are more certain than the carrots. But the task force plan offers a 54 percent increase in funding at a time when inadequate funding has been the [Washington Education Association’s] major complaint for decades,” writes Callaghan. “That should make teachers want to sit down and talk about it, not reject it with a wave of the hand and a heavy dose of rhetoric.”

Sure, the bills call for substantial increase in state funding to education, as well as all-day kindergarten, more professional days and in many cases higher pay for teachers and the addition of early learning to the definition of basic education (hooray!). But the bills also call for increased accountability through a statewide data system and the phase-in of a pay-for-performance system for teachers.

Carrots and sticks are fundamental parts of life, politics and the education system, in general. And, for some reason, the phrase “to whom much is given, much is required” keeps coming to mind (wait, isn’t that from Spiderman?).

These bills certainly aren’t the silver bullet to education reform, but they do represent a HUGE step in the right direction. And left and right parents, citizen groups and even superintendents are stepping up to express their support for SB 5444 and HB 1410. But unfortunately, there remain groups who want to throw these bills out (baby and bathwater) and fail to recognize how many benefits the legislation could provide to educators.

To quote Callaghan: “Did I mention a 54 percent – at least – increase in state funding? That’s $3.53 billion more each year for K-12 education.”

Wouldn’t a better strategy for education finance reform involve all groups coming to the table to support the bills’ process and working together to make changes that everyone can live with? This may sound politically naïve, but I’m still hopeful.

To learn more about the bills supporting the recommendations of the Basic Education Finance Task Force visit, Rep. Ross Hunter’s blog: What it Takes for Kids.

New Superintendent Brings New Reforms to Washington Assessment

maureen — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:03:00 -0600

Superintendent Randy Dorn Announces Plans to Replace the WASL
Washington's First STEM High School to Open this Fall
The WASL: Who, what, why and how
League Education Voters Releases Citizen's Report Card
Building a Movement: Excellent Schools Now

Superintendent Randy Dorn Announces Plans to Replace the WASL

Superintendent Randy Dorn unveiled his plans for a new state assessment system Wednesday, including the replacement of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. The new system will begin to take effect in the 2010-2011 school year.

“I was elected on a promise to replace the WASL with a fairer, less expensive system of measuring student learning. This announcement today affirms my intention to do what’s right for our kids and our schools and to deliver on that promise as quickly as is possible,” said Dorn, who was sworn in as the state’s 15th superintendent of public instruction on January 13.

Because of time constraints, Dorn said no changes can be made to the WASL during this school year. However, beginning in spring 2010, the state will replace the WASL with two new tests: the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) in grades 3-8 and the High School Proficiency Exams (HPSE).

The new state assessment system will be called the Washington Comprehensive Assessment Program (WCAP). Dorn has six goals related to state testing:

Shorten the tests
Reduce the amount of time students spend on written responses
Return scores more quickly
Increase the use of technology (statewide computer testing)
Provide more diagnostic information (strengths and weaknesses) to teachers/families
Minimize costs

Dorn’s plan calls for computer-delivered reading, math and science tests to be available as an option to school districts beginning in 2010 with the goal of statewide implementation by 2012. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) will look closely at the feasibility of computerized scoring of the writing test. That would further reduce costs.

“We need a state testing system that makes sense to teachers, students and families,” Dorn said. “Our tests need to be tied to technology and provide immediate feedback to teachers so they can better assist their students. Computerizing the tests will also require far less resources, both in time and money.”

The grades 3-8 Measurements of Student Progress tests will be offered twice each school year, beginning in the fall of 2010. This allows students the opportunity to show proficiency more than once and provides diagnostic and educational growth information to better support individualized teaching plans.

The High School Proficiency Exams will be shorter and contain fewer extended answer questions, although Supt. Dorn is comitted to retaining the test as a graduation requirement.

Computerizing the tests will also allow a much faster turnaround on results, allowing students, teachers and families more timely information on those students who need to be retested. Additionally, computerizing the tests will save school districts significant resources in time, money and staffing when administering the tests.

At Partnership for Learning, we're encouraged that Supt. Dorn and his team share in the belief that there are certain basic skills students should master before graduating. Maintaining a state assessment system that ensures students master those basic skills is important, and we look forward to working with Supt. Dorn on the WASL and other improvements to our education system in the future.

To learn more about Superintendent Dorn’s plan for a new state assessment system, please visit OSPI’s website.

Washington's First STEM High School to Open this Fall

After two years of planning, funding difficulties, and location challenges, Tri-Cities will open the region’s first Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) high school. Recently named “Delta High School,” the cutting-edge institution—which is open to all students in the area—will provide an environment where students can learn the skills necessary to succeed in 21st Century careers.

The road that led to one of Washington’s first STEM high schools has not been easy. Until recently, due to a lack of funding, the opening of the school was in question. However, Battelle recently closed the gap and donated the remaining $1.2 million needed. Now the school plans to be up and running in the fall. So with all of the setbacks and challenges behind, students in Tri-Cities can look ahead and “put on their innovative thinking caps.”

The school, which is located at Columbia Basin College’s Richland campus, will open its doors in August to 100 freshmen. Thereafter, one grade per year will be added until the school serves 400 students. Delta High School will have innovative curriculum and professional development programs, and students will also have learning opportunities outside the classroom.

With technology rapidly advancing and more nations competing in the global economy, it is essential students learn how to gather and analyze data, think critically, and solve complex problems. One only has to look at how President Barack Obama communicated digitally throughout his campaign, to imagine how technology will continue to advance. What lies ahead is uncertain. But what is certain, is students in Tri-Cities have greater opportunity through STEM for gaining the 21st Century skills they’ll need.

To learn more about Delta High School, visit its website.

The WASL: Who, what, why and how

Ever wonder how many students passed the high school WASL (93%)? Or what's happened to our drop-out rate since the dawn of the WASL (it's gone down), or graduation rate (it's gone up). Or how the test is changing? Or why we even have a test like the WASL?

We're here to help. This week, Partnership for Learning released an updated "Frequently Asked Questions about the WASL" on our website. Learn more about the WASL visiting our "Assessments" page.

League Education Voters Releases Citizen's Report Card

Curious about the grades a Washington education would get if states were given report cards? The League of Education Voters Citizen's Report Card lets you know. Published every two years, the report shows where Washington has made progress from early learning through higher education and where there is plenty to improve upon.

To view this great tool designed to empower citizens with information, visit the League of Education Voters website.

Building a Movement: Excellent Schools Now

A Community Breakfast

Join us for the launch of a dynamic, new statewide coalition, Excellent Schools Now, co-led by Partnership for Learning and the League of Education Voters. This new coalition brings together a unique blend of the state's education, business and community-based organizations. At the breakfast, hear some of the state's most influential figures in education reform talk about their priorities for transforming our schools and learn more about what you can do to help prepare every Washington student for college, work and life.

Date: Thurs. Jan. 29, 2009
Time: 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Location: Governor's Hotel, Olympia, WA
To RSVP email: Susan Pollack

Obama’s Slam Dunk: Arne Duncan Appointed Secretary of Education

Caroline — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:52:58 -0600

During President-elect Barack Obama’s press conference introducing Arne Duncan as his pick for U.S. Secretary of Education, Obama suggested that “If we want to out-compete the world tomorrow, then we have to out-educate the world today.”

We couldn’t agree more.

And we couldn’t be happier with Obama’s choice. As CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 2001-present, Duncan has turned the nation’s third-largest school system into a hotbed of reform with relatively smooth labor relations--a rare combination these days—and most importantly, an inner city where kids are learning. During Duncan’s tenure, the number of kids meeting state standards soared from 39 percent to 67 percent and graduation and college-going rates topped 50 percent for the first time.

Sure, Duncan took the job under some of the most favorable conditions in the country: mayoral control, a strong predecessor who kick-started reforms (Paul Vallas), a teacher’s union that lost the right to strike during the mayoral takeover, robust philanthropic and research communities who desperately want the school system to succeed (think Obama Campaign Finance Chair Penny Priztker who heads up a venture philanthropy fund to seed innovation and improvement in the Chicago school system), and families and students clamoring for good schooling that leads to better life opportunities.

Duncan whole-heartedly deserves the praise he’s attracted for pushing through contentious reforms—charter schools, closing low-performing schools and opening 100 new schools in their stead, and a pay-for-performance pilot—without embittering the teacher’s union.

But what I think is most interesting about Duncan is how he makes lemonade out of lemons. Even though each school’s local governing board hires its principal (not Duncan), Duncan and his team tightened up the selection criteria to ensure only highly qualified candidates can apply. Same with curricula – each school selects their own reading program for example, but now a school must choose from a district-approved list. And when Chicago had granted all of its 30 charters allowed under Illinois state law, Duncan and his team created a new category of school – the contract school – that operates within the school system but enjoys many of the flexibilities held by charters.

It is refreshing to have someone who can effectively and creatively work around constraints leading our nation’s education policy. Because while we’ve tinkered around the edges with charter schools, small schools, vouchers, and the like (not all bad by the way, just not scalable) the majority of children in this country, particularly low-income and minority students—attend traditional public schools operating under the formidable constraints of powerful unions, limited resources and bureaucratic central offices that often obstruct the hiring of the best and brightest teachers rather than help.

Duncan, a former professional basketball player, is at the top of his game. If he can win the equivalent of a few NBA tournaments over the next four years (maintaining strong accountability; scaling up effective teacher and principal recruitment and mentoring programs; and incentivizing charters, pay for performance and other innovations to name a few) our nation’s kids—and our country’s long-term prosperity—will be the big victors.

Open the School House Gates: Non-traditional teachers boosting student achievement

Caroline — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:53:26 -0600

Exciting new research praised by The Wall Street Journal editorial board suggests that states with robust alternative teaching routes—pathways that allow a seasoned industry professional, like an engineer or banker, to make an easy entry into the classroom—are making faster student achievement gains. Sounds a lot like a topic of much debate from earlier this year.

Out of the 47 states with alternative teacher certification routes, Harvard researchers Paul Peterson and Daniel Nadler found that the 21 states deemed to have “genuine” versus “symbolic” routes posted higher gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) between 2003 and 2007. African-American test-score gains were also higher in the states with “genuine” alternative certification. All of these findings held up even after controlling for race, ethnicity, poverty, class size and per-pupil state spending.

In addition to boosting student learning, alternative certification helps diversify the teaching corps and meet the rising demand for teachers. Washington, like many states, needs many more effective teachers—particularly for math and science—than our colleges of education are providing. Nationwide, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics projects a shortfall of 280,000 qualified math and science teachers by 2015.

While it is possible that some other education reform produced these “disproportionately large gains in test-score performance,” we agree with Peterson and Nadler’s argument that “the burden of proof” is now on alternative certification’s opponents to prove that traditional state certification is necessary to ensure teacher effectiveness.

Along with the Harvard study, a new value-added study of teacher effectiveness in Louisiana has found that teachers certified under non-traditional programs, The New Teacher Project’s training program in particular, are more likely to be effective than other teachers with two years of classroom experience. Upholding Louisiana’s alternative routes as a potential model for other states, the New York Times editorial board “suggest[s] that high-quality programs like Teach for America and The New Teacher Project have a big role to play in the effort to improve teacher preparation nationally.”

With mounting evidence in favor of the positive impact of alternative routes and high-quality alternatively certified teachers, why shouldn’t states open the gates into the teaching profession as wide as possible, and then put in place performance-based evaluations enabling us to identify excellent teachers based on their track records of helping students learn? We need to shift the teacher effectiveness conversation from one focused on inputs (e.g. credentials) to one that demands results. The next generation of students will thank us.

Teacher-driven education reform?

maureen — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:42:01 -0600

In the world of education reform, we hear a lot from the various organizations that represent educators, but hardly ever from teachers themselves. Which is why a succinct, targeted editorial by James Behrend—a retired history teacher from Bainbridge Island—caught my eye in this morning’s Seattle P-I. And remarkably, Behrend actually had some pretty helpful, money-saving advice for our elected officials in Olympia (remarkable not because he’s a teacher, but because it seems like no one else has any suggestions).

His no-nonsense approach?

“Reduce the number of school districts. How about 39 counties equal 39 school districts? Or, base a school district on population density.” Way easier said than done, but this makes sense.

“Abandon all the expensive, time-consuming, always disruptive and often mindless experimentations in education. Establish teacher-operated and student-centered schools with, not under, a teaching principal (that's tradition in Europe; my elementary principal taught full time).” Without experiments, we would have no innovation. BUT, we need to be thoughtful about the implementation, funding and true goals of education experiments.

“Allow for teacher-operated, student-centered charter schools. If thousands of private schools perform well, public charter schools can do so, too. Teacher-run schools may also take care of some of the problems Olympia can do nothing about: rude behavior, drug use and low performance.” It’s worked in other states…all I’m say…

“The OSPI must establish standards for accepting B.A. and M.A. degrees and close the endorsements loopholes.” Ummm…here, here!

“The OSPI must contemplate alternatives to the existing system for becoming a teacher.” Preach it!

While I can’t say I completely agree with all his suggestions, the majority sound pretty good to me. Legislators, a key constituent is talking about helping you save money, are you listening?