Enrollment in our charter schools today stands at approximately 14,000 and about 1/3 of that number are virtual school students.  It is estimated that around 7,000 students are on waiting lists statewide. Becky Stallcop, principal at Liberty Charter School in Nampa reports that there are 2,300 on that school’s waiting list.

It is obvious that there is growing evidence to support the demand by parents, by the business community and even by some in the education establishment for more charter schools and more education choice.  However, even though the demand and support for more charter schools is obvious, here in Idaho we stifle that growth by maintaining an artificial cap on the number of charter schools to be authorized in a year and to have a cap on the number of charter schools in a school district.  These two impediments to the growth of the charter school movement in Idaho must be removed and it needs to be done now.  Why?  It will provide hope for those thousands of parents and students who are currently on waiting lists, in some cases for years, and it will make Idaho’s charter school law more friendly, which will help in our application for grants and awards!   Additionally, it will give new hope for many of the potential petitioners who want to provide more education choice.  Why would we as a State deny thousands of parents and students the right to enroll in a public school of their choice?  It just makes no sense!

The opponents of the previous efforts to expand education choice have always made the claim that charter schools cost more and therefore their numbers must be controlled.  This claim makes no sense either!   Why?  Because no matter how you calculate it, charter schools are a boon for the Idaho taxpayer as charter school costs per student per year are significantly lower than their traditional school counterparts.   A few examples: According to school district profiles available on the SDE website for the 2008/2009 school year the total expenditures per student at the Middleton School District was $10,346.00, and for Caldwell $11,667.00.  Conversely, two charter schools in that same area, Liberty Charter in Nampa and Thomas Jefferson in Caldwell, had total expenditures per student of $7,723.00 and $6,804.00 respectively.

No question about it, charter schools are not only a benefit for the student as they typically outperform their traditional school counterparts, but they also do it at  a significantly less cost to the taxpayer.

“The thing that best defines a child is the total inability to receive information from anything not plugged in.” Bill Cosby

What choice should legislators make?  What choice will best accelerate our State’s economy?  What choice will get the most bang for the “buck?”  The case can certainly be made to return the full amount to the people who provided it and to scale back the personal and corporate income tax.

Others will insist that the money be used to refund our public schools.  But if that happens, the money will merely be distributed to the school districts, no strings attached!  We will basically be funding the same broken education system we had prior to the economic downturn – a system that focused on adults and not the educational needs of students.

Consider a couple of options:  First there was a time in the not too distant past when schools were in session 180 days, with prescribed hours.  There was some uniformity across the State.  Now, with the latitude provided in law, no school has 180 days of instruction.  The school year, while technically adhering to some time requirements, is significantly shorter than 180 days, due to furlough days, 4-day school weeks, parent teacher conference days, in-service days, athletic events, etc.  This is the system that the education establishment wants to throw money at and maintain!

If we are serious about “putting students first, rather than the adults, then we need to have those students in school, with a teacher and not “on vacation.”  If a student’s time with a teacher is important, and it is, then that is what the money should buy.

Secondly, in order to advance school choice in Idaho and at the same time provide some tax relief to those parents who are now paying double for their child’s education, expand our current tax credit statute to give those parents a tax credit for some of the tuition expenses they have.  This would truly be a win-win situation for parents and for k-12 education.   Parents whose students are presently enrolled in a private school would be the obvious beneficiaries.  However,  there also would be additional parents who might take advantage of tax credits by taking their student out of the traditional school and enrolling them in a private school, thus reducing the enrollment in the traditional school system.   Stated another way, tax credits will be “budget positive” in that the State will lose less in tax revenue than it would have to pay if those students attended public schools.

John Kennedy once said, “the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.” Those who support status quo in the education system hope the days of reform are over because the education system is unchangeable.  They are wrong!  Now that money has returned to the state’s coffers, I’d argue that now is the time to focus on larger reforms and expansion of education choice.

JFK also said, “There are risks and costs to a program of action.  But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”

Posted on this blog over the past few weeks has been a question/answer interview with Becky Stallcop.   Becky is currently the principal and superintendent at Liberty Charter School in Nampa.  She is the founder of the Harbor School Method which is used in whole or in part, not only by Liberty Charter but also a host of schools in Idaho.  These Harbor schools are some of the very highest academic achieving schools in the State.

Prior to her current position at Liberty Charter she served as principal at Nampa’s Lincoln, Iowa, and Central Elementary School where she improved the student’s test scores to be the best in that school district.   She has also served as a second, third, fifth grade & Title I teacher.

Becky has tremendous insight as to what it takes to have a successful school.  Stallcop stated, “You make kids think they can do anything and they do, It is all about effort and attitude!” The current catch phrase in the education arena today is “Putting Kids First.”   Becky has been putting kids first her entire career.

Following is the final segment of that interview:

Darrell:
Supplying teachers with computers and training and providing some type of computing device for all 9th graders.  Your reaction?

Becky: The jury is still out.

Darrell: Liberty charter school is highly respected in this community.  Are you able to enroll all of the students who desire to attend school here?

Becky:  No.  Our updated, current wait list stands at 2,300 students.

Darrell:
By all accounts your charter school and all charter schools spend less of the taxpayer dollars than the traditional schools. You have a nice facility, It was not built with local taxpayer dollars via a bond election. You pay teachers a higher salary than the other schools in this community.  How do you do it?

Becky:  Our building is utilitarian. It’s not fancy, but it is clean, safe and fulfills our purpose. We have no wasted space. We are frugal.  We use our 4 pots of money for their intended purposes: Instructional pays for teachers, Classified pays for educational assistants and secretaries, and Entitlement pays the mortgage and monthly bills. There is no mixing of pots or, in other words, no robbing Peter to pay Paul, which allows us to pay good salaries, etc. The 4th pot of money, Administrative, goes for limited administration so we can add to the classroom experience by adding educational assistants.  We also don’t jump onto every new educational bandwagon that comes along, so we’re adding (i.e., paying for) different programs year in and year out hoping the next greatest thing will work.  We know who we are and what we are.  We have the same, successful educational focus we did back when we began in 1999. We don’t compete with all the other charters and traditional public schools.  They have their focus and we have our focus.

Darrell:
Finally, by most accounts, our Idaho schools and our nation’s schools are NOT keeping up with our competitors around the globe.  What do you believe has been the greatest contributor to this problem?
Becky: Unfortunately, I believe somewhere along the way we, as a society, have created children who come to school today not understanding that they are at school to work.  It seems in our efforts to make school less intense, we made  schools less academic and more social. And sadly for many students, there are parents who see school as a babysitter, not as places that are paramount in their children’s success as adults. Don’t get me wrong, schools are incredibly social and can be incredibly enjoyable, but they should be those things within the context of providing a great academic environment.  We encourage our parents to not ask your children if they had fun at school but, rather, to ask them what they learned that day.

Darrell:
If you could “wave the magic want” to fix it what would you do?

Becky: Create schools where teachers can teach, parents can choose where best to have each of their children learn, parents who provide to the best of their ability a learning environment at home, and smaller overall schools where children feel safe.

Thanks Becky for the interview and on behalf of thousands of parents and students, thanks for all you do to make schools better places for kids and truly “putting students first!”

Darrel Deide

Posted on this blog over the next few weeks will be a question/ answer interview with Becky Stallcop.  Becky is currently the principal and superintendent at Liberty Charter School in Nampa.  She is the founder of the Harbor School Method which is used in whole or in part, not only by Liberty Charter but also a host of schools in Idaho.  These Harbor schools are some of the very highest academic achieving schools in the State.

Prior to her current position at Liberty Charter she served as principal at Nampa’s Lincoln, Iowa, and Central Elementary School where she improved the student’s test scores to be the best in that school district.   She has also served as a second, third, fifth grade & Title I teacher.

Becky has tremendous insight as to what it takes to have a successful school.  Stallcop stated, “You make kids think they can do anything and they do, It is all about effort and attitude!” The current catch phrase in the education arena today is “Putting Kids First.”   Becky has been putting kids first her entire career.

Following is the third segment of that interview:

Darrell:
Pay for performance is another controversial reform measure.  Do you think performance pay will motivate teachers and/or schools to do a better job for their students?

Becky: It depends on the criteria included in a Performance Pay package.  If it’s tests, I don’t think that will work. As a Harbor school, I have never put pressure on my teachers in the area of testing.  The reason?  There will be pressure put on students, which brings anxiety into their learning.  That would impact negatively the culture in a Harbor School.  What we say to students is, “If you don’t get it today, you will get it next week.  If not next week, next month.  If not next month, you’ll get it next year.”  If a student isn’t a bundle of nerves, and not worried about taking a test, along with other things kids worry about at school, such as who they will play with at recess, who might be in the bathroom there to bully them, the students learn.  Honestly, performance pay has little to do with teacher improvement. What we do in a Harbor school is not make raises automatic, but tie raises to a teacher’s attitude and effort, which we see as critical to creating a classrooms that are positive places for learning to occur.

Darrell:
Some Idaho school districts have decided that parent involvement is so important that one of the ingredients of their performance pay plan would be to give a financial bonus to the teachers who attain a certain level of participation at parent/teacher conferences and to go so far as to count any contact with parents as a way to attain the bonus, including incidental contacts with a parent in a grocery store.  How do you respond to those districts who are contemplating such a move?

Becky: Wow.  More paperwork. More “non-teaching” responsibilities.

Darrell:
Most recently, in the Idaho Press Tribune there appeared an article wherein the Superintendent of the Notus School District was touting the benefits of the 4-day school week.  He indicated that it would save the district money and few would dispute that, but he also went on to suggest that their students are still attending school for the same number of hours each week as they have just put more hours in the school day.  Further, he suggested that there appears to be no adverse academic impact.  If school funds continue to be in short supply, would you consider the 4-day school week?

Becky: I would look at every other area in which to save money before moving to a 4 day week.

Darrell:
How do you respond to the suggestion that there is not adverse academic impact by having shorter week but longer days?:

Becky: I can only speak to the effect a 4-day week would have on our educational approach at Liberty: We use direct instruction at Liberty.  As such, by the time our students leave after 6.5 hours, they are tired.  The teachers are tired.  I cannot imagine adding another 1.5 hours to the day. For us, at that point, I think we would get to a point in the day of diminishing returns. The 5-day school week works best for us and our model.

Darrell:
The real hot-button issues in Superintendent Luna’s reform legislation, along with pay for performance are limitations in the collective bargaining law, removal of tenure and buying laptops for 9th graders.  Before you react to those issues, these measurers will be on the November 2012 ballot for support or rejection.  Three different pieces of legislation and three different ballot questions.  What do you hope the Idaho electorate do?

Becky: I would hope that the voters would uphold the limitations in the collective bargaining law and the removal of tenure.  One only has to watch the documentary, “Waiting for Superman” to really understand how these two issues undermine education in our country.  The jury is still out on the 9th grade laptop issue.

Darrell:
How about tenure or more accurately continuing contract?  Over time, due to the grand fathering of existing tenured teachers, no teacher will have tenure – is this good or bad? Why?

Becky: It’s good.  In the real world, unless you are going in education, there is no tenure.  You keep your job because of “attitude and effort.”  Even in these trying times, I would guess that the majority of folks who have held on to their jobs by their fingernails are those who have demonstrated that they work hard and are positive employees. And for those hard-working employees who lost their jobs even though they had a great attitude and work ethic, they will most certainly be among the first to be re-hired as those work traits anymore seem harder and harder to come by. Why shouldn’t we in education be held to same level of accountability?

Darrell:
Limitations on collective bargaining — good or bad? Why?

Becky: Although, I understand the reason why there needs to be a union in some form, I have experienced times when the union has been the reason that poor teachers have remained in classrooms teaching our kids.

Your comments are always welcome.  More of this interview next week.

Darrel Deide

Posted on this blog over the next few weeks will be a question/ answer interview with Becky Stallcop.  Becky is currently the principal and superintendent at Liberty Charter School in Nampa.  She is the founder of the Harbor School Method which is used in whole or in part, not only by Liberty Charter but also a host of schools in Idaho.  These Harbor schools are some of the very highest academic achieving schools in the State.

Prior to her current position at Liberty Charter she served as principal at Nampa’s Lincoln, Iowa, and Central Elementary School where she improved the student’s test scores to be the best in that school district.   She has also served as a second, third, fifth grade & Title I teacher.

Becky has tremendous insight as to what it takes to have a successful school.  Stallcop stated, “You make kids think they can do anything and they do, It is all about effort and attitude!” The current catch phrase in the education arena today is “Putting Kids First.”   Becky has been putting kids first her entire career.

Following is the second segment of that interview:

Darrell:
How about your academic achievement?  How do Liberty students “stack up” against students in the typical, traditional public schools?

Becky: Liberty students have made AYP every year and are among the top scorers statewide on the ISATS & ACT.  Our charter requires us to move our students into the top quartile of student outcomes on these measurements and we have seen that success every year.

Darrell:
The dropout rate in the typical traditional high school is quite high in Canyon County.  How about Liberty?

Becky: Those schools that have stuck to the Harbor model are small overall (but with what has been larger-than-average class sizes).  It is difficult to slip through the cracks when in a small school. If we, as taxpayers, would support building more, smaller, more utilitarian schools, rather than massively large schools with grand lobbies and auditoriums, etc., more students could feel a sense of safety and security which, again, I believe is one of the reasons why Liberty students graduate at nearly 100% rates. Also, instead of before- or after-school teacher meetings, committees, recess duties, etc., our teachers are here for our students by spending time beyond the classroom working with students who are struggling.  Between having smaller school buildings and reducing activities that take teachers away from students, I believe we would see a lower dropout rate across the state.

Darrell:
I know that your school and most charter schools are criticized for being able to pick and choose their students and that is why charter schools typically out perform their traditional school counterparts.  How do you respond to that criticism?

Becky: A random lottery decides who gets in and who does not.  It is beyond our control.  We would be breaking the law if we picked our own students. By having a free and reduced meal program, busing, required special education services, and letting the community know broadly about your school, everyone has the opportunity to put their child’s name on the waiting list. It’s been interesting over the years to see how many times Liberty’s incoming kindergarteners have actually tested below the nearby school districts’ kindergartners on various tests, so if we were able to pick and choose we wouldn’t have done a very good job if we were trying to select the “cream of the crop.” I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to believe that if when you have high expectations, coupled with a safe school culture, learning soars – no matter where a child is on the learning spectrum.

Darrell:
Your school and others get a lot of criticism about your apparent lack of low-income students and most recently an article appeared in the local newspaper stating that while the Nampa school district has about  a 40% Hispanic student population, Liberty is less than 5%.  How do you respond?

Becky:  Liberty has 8% of its students who are Hispanic. And while the large school districts have higher overall minority demographics, they also have individual schools of similar size to Liberty, as well as Victory & Legacy Charter Schools, that are close in demographics. Ultimately, if those who criticize the lack of low-income or minority students in schools of choice, and they are truly interested in seeing all students have access to educational choice, then we should all work together to create a public school system whereby choice can occur at any level – whether it’s in choosing what traditional public school to attend or charter school to attend.

Darrell:
Let’s move to a larger arena and the reform efforts of the recent Idaho Legislature.  Nearly everyday there are letters to the editor, or new articles about these reform measurers. You have been involved with Idaho’s public k-12 education for a number of years.  Were these reform measurers even necessary? Specifically, let’s address some of the components:

• The most recent target of the “naysayers” to school reform has been the 2-credit on-line requirement for high school graduation.  Do you support that requirement? Yes. Why or Why not?

Becky: We live in a world where online learning is everywhere. By incorporating it into our educational system at what is really a still small requirement, it prepares our students for their future workplaces, and university and trade school courses. At Liberty, we’ve already added hybrid/online courses and our teachers, parents, and students are finding it a great tool in this preparation.

Comments are always welcome.

Darrel Deide

Posted on this blog over the next few weeks will be a question/ answer interview with Becky Stallcop. Becky is currently the principal and superintendent at Liberty Charter School in Nampa.  She is the founder of the Harbor School Method which is used in whole or in part, not only by Liberty Charter but also a host of schools in Idaho. These Harbor schools are some of the very highest academic achieving schools in the State.

Prior to her current position at Liberty Charter she served as principal at Nampa’s Lincoln, Iowa, and Central Elementary School where she improved the student’s test scores to be the best in that school district. She has also served as a second, third, fifth grade & Title I teacher.

Becky has tremendous insight as to what it takes to have a successful school. Stallcop stated, “You make kids think they can do anything and they do, It is all about effort and attitude!” The current catch phrase in the education arena today is “Putting Kids First.” Becky has been putting kids first her entire career.

Following is the first segment of that interview:

DARREL:
You have had a long and very successful career as a public school educator, teacher and administrator.  As you look back at that career, what do you consider the highs and the lows?

BECKY: The “highs” would include being authorized by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission.  There really hasn’t been many “lows.”  There have been times that were more difficult than others, but all in all, I have loved the charter journey and the school we have been able to provide to students.

DARREL:
You are the founder of the Harbor School Method, which on occasion has come under heavy criticism in that it is supposedly too regimented, and relies too much on rote learning.  How do you respond to the critics and what is the status of the Harbor Method today?

BECKY: It is regimented in terms of its expectations of students and adults in the school setting.  That is the only way to ensure the safe culture of a Harbor School.  Semi-supervised areas like hallways, lunchrooms, and unsupervised areas like bathrooms are where bullying occurs. Consistent expectations and discipline in these areas have ensured safe learning environments in those Harbor schools that have remained true to the model. It’s amazing how taking away the opportunity for bullying to occur creates a setting where students aren’t inhibited to learn and take academic risks.

As far as rote learning – it’s necessary.  One needs a foundation in order to apply knowledge.  Over the last 12 years where Harbor Schools have stuck with the model, we see how this bears out…when student achievement scores tend to flatline or go down in public schools, our students’ scores continue to go up. And the status of the Harbor Method today? Well, one only has to look at three schools currently, Liberty, Victory, and Legacy Charter School, to see that the mission, vision and philosophy of the Harbor School Method bring about great student outcomes both academically and personally.

Darrell:
Let’s look at the school in which you are administrator, Liberty Charter School, as there are many questions about your teachers’ salaries, your graduation rates, and your perceived lack of low-income and minority students.

Becky: Everyone always says that great teachers are worth “their weight in gold”…but the problem for those great teachers has always been that the average and poor teachers were getting the same salaries. Why? Why reward mediocrity to poor performance equally with those who are outstanding? And research shows time and time again that what makes the biggest difference in student learning is teacher effectiveness – i.e., great teachers. So why not put the majority of your dollars into the classroom. In other words, if you offer great salaries, you get the best teachers, and you keep the best teachers in the classroom, rather than them going into administrative roles where salaries have always been higher. But, to clarify our teachers’ salaries, it must be pointed out that our teachers aren’t given automatic raises. They must apply for those raises.  And our high salaries come with accountability.  They are given raises dependent upon their “attitude and effort.” As well, our teachers follow the same strict attendance policy as our students and receive no personal days. So while our teacher salaries are high, so are the expectations.

I didn’t realize our high graduation rate conjured up questions, so I am at a loss as to how to respond. I would hope people would want to know why that’s the case and come to find out.

Our reduced and free lunch number is at 40% and our minority students make up over 8% of our population – similar, and in some cases higher, than some of our charter school counterparts, and similar, or close to, individual traditional public schools in our area. Since our waiting list has over 2,300 students on it, and our annual lottery is random, I am not sure how we can change those numbers. But, in order to ensure that anyone who would like the opportunity to attend, we do have  free and reduced lunch, busing, and special education services so that we can welcome any student whose name comes up in the lottery.

Darrell:
Your teachers apparently are paid a much high salary than their counterparts in the Nampa system.  How much are your teachers paid and how do you do it?

Becky: Our annual salary schedule is as follows:

Year 1        $40,000.00
Years 2 – 5       $45,000.00
Years 6 – 10    $55,000.00
Years 11+    $65,000.00
Max ed/ex             5,000.00
Founding Teachers earn an additional $5,000

How do we do it? Simply, true Harbor Schools (again, what I consider Liberty, Victory & Legacy Charter Schools to be) use their Instructional dollars for teachers, their Classified dollars for EA’s and secretaries, and their Entitlement dollars to pay the mortgage and monthly bills. Additionally, we do not add administrative positions beyond one principal, which requires the principal to wear all the hats that are typically in a school district’s administration building, worn by several paid administrative types. So in my case, while I bring in more money than I am paid, I use those additional dollars for additional educational assistants to work with teachers in the primary grades, therefore having more adults in the classroom to work with students.

More next week and your comments are always welcome.

There’s little doubt that cutting the school week to 4 days will save a little money. The amount of savings is not as much as you might expect in that all teachers and administrators are not getting paid less and their salaries account for a major part of the school district’s expenditures. Cutting it even further would save even a little bit more. However, is that what schools are supposed to be doing? Schools, just like every other business and public agency in these tough times, need to be figuring out how to do more with less. Schools should be to educate kids and try to make our students competitive not only with students around the nation but around the world as well. We are way behind most of the industrialized nations now and with this shorter school year we will fall further behind.

What’s troubling about the 4-day week is the number of schools considering it and the proponents claiming there is no adverse academic impact.  Proponents claim students will still go to school the same number of hours, but they’ll just cram more hours into a school day.  That may be true, but suggesting that all the hours a student spends in the classroom are productively equal is just wrong. There truly is a point of diminishing returns, whether it is in the work place or in the schoolroom.

Another consideration is the impact on parents. With the 4-day week families will now have to pay for an extra day at the daycare when those kids should be in the classroom learning.

Is the 4-day school week going to become a standard practice?  There are a number of districts considering it, and some actually doing it. Why?  Other than saving a little money, perhaps there is another, more compelling motive. Many of our school districts, especially in the rural areas, are losing population. School enrollments are declining and with declining enrollments come reductions in revenue.  In an effort to cut their losses, the 4-day week is used to “market” their school district in order to attract students. I am sure a lot of students would view 3-day weekends favorably and many teachers would like a three-day weekend every week as well. Hopefully, this “race to the bottom” is not a sign of things to come.

Instead of “Racing to the Bottom,” we should be striving to reach the top. Instead of rewarding teachers for an activity that has little to do with the fundamental mission of the school we need to reward our great teachers who demand and achieve high performance from their students. That is what schools should be about, not whether or not the teacher can figure out a way to entice their child’s parent to show up at a conference.

I believe Superintendent Luna’s reform measurers are a giant step to move Idaho students to the top but perhaps those measures need some fine-tuning. We certainly cannot go back to the old ways!  We have been there and it has been a failure for far too many kids.

These new standards are unbelievably low!  A prospective student would have to have achieved a  7th grade level in math and reading skills.  Really; 7th grade reading level!  Students with only a 7th grade reading and math level are now enrolling in the 13th grade of Arizona’s education system.  If they can not perform at that low level the State will provide a 30 day remedial program, at no cost to the student, to attempt to bring them up to that 7th grade level.  How did they get a high school diploma in the first place with math and reading skills that low?

This situation in Arizona is not an isolated incident.  Colleges and Universities around our country are providing remedial programs for their incoming students because they are unable to do college level work.  Our current  k-12 system has failed them!

We can do better, we must do better and that is what the reform measures being implemented around our country are all about.  Schools have to become places for students, putting them first and not the adults or the employees.

The most obvious changes are the physical condition in which our students attend school.  For the most part schools have been modernized with better lighting, heating and in general are much more attractive places than at any time in our history. Today they are better equipped.  Class sizes are significantly smaller.  Additionally, our teachers are much better compensated than ever and certification standards for teachers are higher than ever before.
With all of these positive attributes accruing to elementary and secondary schools you would have to think that our schools also have become better. But not necessarily so!  In fact the opportunity for a better education and the odds that a student would graduate from high school were better then than now. Why has this happened when we have had all of those improvements?

The causes are many and varied.  There are some pockets of excellence with some traditional schools, charter schools and magnet schools. However, for the most part schools today are fraught with poor discipline and they adhere to social promotion, heterogeneous grouping, and  “fads” over basics, Schools are more interested in protecting the student’s self concept than achievement. They use dumb-downed and propagandized textbooks.

When I entered my high school science classroom for the first time there were consequences for misbehavior (yes even corporal punishment) consequences for failure, (grade retention) and our textbooks were old but accurate and challenging and we had ability grouping. There was a top group as well as an average group and a slower one.  The kids in the top group were not held back by the less able or less motivated and as a teacher I was able to push these kids to a higher level. There were few discipline problems and these kids were getting a first class education and could compete with kids anywhere and they did. I also taught the other groups as well and with ability grouping teachers more easily adjusted curriculum and methods to best fit their students.  That is not the case today because ability grouping has been destroyed by ideas from the liberal education establishment who have also won the political battle for control of our schools. This has led to the deterioration of school discipline, drifting away from the basics in favor of new exciting educational “fads.”  It seems as though the role of schools today is to make the schools exciting and entertaining. It has led to the use of unproven methods, questionable textbooks and a breakdown of what schools are supposed to be about.

Most of what has to be done in our classrooms is not necessarily entertaining or exciting, but they have to be done, because if they are not there are dire consequences and we are seeing many of those today.  We have terrible graduation rates, many of our kids can’t read, even at the high school level and huge amounts of dollars are spent on remedial education at the college level.  Our best and brightest students are surpassed by students from other countries.  If we don’t turn this “ship of education” around there will continue to be consequences for generations to come.

It is always easier to criticize than to offer solutions, but in this case it is not “rocket science” to offer something better.  We could start with a couple of “laws,” or principles. First, you can’t keep doing the same thing and somehow expect better results and secondly there is no relationship between amount of money spent per child and education quality. Yes, you must have money to pay the bills, but money does not drive improvement, policy does.  Policy is established via rules and laws by the Legislature, SDE and/or the OSBE. First and foremost  our policy makers must recognize and accept that change in the system is mandatory.  Further, they must recognize the rapidly emerging array of different education delivery systems such as home schools, schools within schools,` virtual schools, charter schools and the varying private and parochial school options.  They must enact rules and laws that enhance these alternatives to the traditional model rather than stifle them.

Much of what is written above was first written and delivered to legislators a couple of years ago.  Since that time the future for Idaho schools appears to be a little bit brighter.  In 2010 the Idaho Legislature passed a law that provides much greater opportunity for students to challenge courses, and accelerate through school in a much shorter period than previously.  In 2011, with Superintendent Luna’s reform measures the future got a whole lot brighter.  However,  those measurers are  on the 2012 ballot for approval or repeal. What will be the result, go back to business as usual or take some bold steps forward?

Obviously, that decision is months away but my forecast is that the vast majority of Idaho voters, are not happy with schools as they are and will support the positive changes that Luna’s “students come first” agenda proposes.

After 50 plus years in the “business” and watching our schools go “down-hill” more each year it is truly an exciting time to see some real improvement possibilities on the horizon.  Superintendent Luna and the Idaho legislature have taken the first step.  The Idaho voters will provide the next one.