Education in California, perhaps other states as well, is going down the wrong road, into a dead end. One of our strengths has been an education system that has produced leaders and innovators. Now, between entrenched 19th century policies and our current miserly attitude, we'll raise a generation ill prepared to take their place in today's world.
Unfortunately, we can't fix it without stepping on many toes. In order to get some things, we must give up other things.
One of the things we need to give up is job security. Teacher tenure was a good concept a century ago, but it's no longer necessary. Teachers have certificates and are not political appointees.
It makes no sense to talk about teacher accountability if bad teachers, as well as good, are virtually impossible to remove. It would be better to have annual evaluations during a two to three year probation period, then evaluations every three and eventually every five years, unless a problem comes up that must be addressed quickly. A good teacher would get rubber stamped at each evaluation, a teacher with problems could be coached, and if that fails, let go.
The same thing should apply to classified staff. These people are now almost impossible to get rid of, and a poor employee can bump an employee who is doing well in a position. These people, should they get a negative evaluation, and if they don't improve their performances, should be given notice that they will not be back the following year.
Administrators shouldn't be exempt from this process. For starters, we need a law stating that no more than 15% of a district's budget can go to administration. This would stop the continual growth at the district office level. Also, these peoples' jobs should not be protected by the old boy, old girl network.
How do we decide who is doing a good job and should be rewarded, as opposed to those doing so poorly they should be fired? The current system won't do it. Generally, the school board works for the administration, even though they are elected by the voters. The reality is that most voters don't know and/or don't care about what goes on at the school district, so they vote the person who knocks on their or has a good sound bite.
School boards should be appointed. Here's a rough plan for doing so. Various stakeholders should appoint a member of the board: One from the teachers, one from the classified staff, one from administration, one from a parent advisory group, one from each political entity served by the district (one if the district is a city school district and more if the district extends to cities, county or more than one county). There should also be a member selected from the students, probably high school level.
If a teacher has been brought up for possible dismissal, the teacher member of the board would naturally oppose it, while the administration member would support it. The other board members would hear the evidence and vote with one or the other. A bad administrator, charged by the teachers with incompetence, would be defended by the administrator, prosecuted by the teachers, and the other members would hear evidence and vote accordingly.
Appointed board members, should they fail to discharge their duties, could be removed quickly by the entity that appointed them, rather than waiting for the next election. Also, being appointed by stakeholders, members would be better suited to look out for the interests of the their groups, and the mix would make sure everyone is represented.
In the end, the winners would be the students, as their education, not politics would be primary. Another winner would be the tax payers, as a better run school system would do more with less resources.
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