There is a storm brewing in the world of education, and a unique opportunity for reform is on the horizon.
For a variety of reasons, more and more leaders in education recognize that flexibility is a critical component of any plan to improve student achievement because there is no one-size-fits-all education model.
Students’ needs differ from classroom to classroom, educators’ strengths differ from school to school, and community demands differ from neighborhood to neighborhood.
In order to have real flexibility, however, schools need to operate under conditions that give teachers the freedom to respond to the unique conditions of their schools and put students'” needs first.
Colorado Succeeds, a coalition of business leaders working to improve education for workforce development and economic growth, along with Metro Organizations for People (MOP), a local community organization, have come together to call on Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) to create a teacher contract that is flexible and student-based.
With DPS and the DCTA currently renegotiating the contract, Denver is in the storm’s path. This is our city’s moment to shift from “consistency for consistency’s sake” to flexibility for the students’ sake.
A number of forces are already pushing for this kind of dramatic culture shift. Bruce Randolph School received autonomy from district regulations and the union contract. DPS also released Manual High School from certain requirements in order to build a new school in the old container.
In January, MOP held a public meeting in northeast Denver where hundreds of parents, teachers and principals asked Superintendent Bennett and school board members to support a zone of innovation and autonomy for more schools in their area. In February, a group of 18 schools in far northeast Denver unveiled a plan to become their own autonomous network.
And recently, Denver Sen. Peter Groff introduced legislation that would exempt qualifying schools from some school laws and district collective bargaining agreements. The Innovative Schools Act of 2008 has passed out of the State Senate with unanimous support.
Many of these changes have been teacher-led in response to a community cry for accountable schools that improve student performance and close the achievement gap. There is an emphasis on putting students first by giving their teachers and principals the opportunity to fully respond to their needs.
Autonomy paired with high accountability resonates with the parents and community members of MOP because schools need to be able to innovate for the unique population they are serving. As MOP member’s children languish under the current “business as usual” system, parents are growing increasingly impatient with incremental adjustments to a system that is badly broken, especially for high-poverty, low-performing schools.
Autonomy resonates with business leaders who understand that decision-making needs to happen as close to the customer – in this case, the students – as possible. This translates into giving schools more control over budgeting, curriculum, hiring and firing, length of the school day and compensation. Bureaucratic barriers should be removed, incentives should be put in place, improved performance measurement techniques should be installed, and accountability should be required.
With both DPS and DCTA supportive of some degree of autonomy, they should seize the opportunity to establish this in the contract in order to make it public, transparent and fair. It seems logical to build flexibility into the new contract rather than rebuild an agreement that requires constant waivers like the ones at Bruce Randolph and Manual.
Ideally, any new agreement would move away from the kind of detailed procedures and policies that have turned many teacher-district contracts into thick textbooks. The ultimate goal is a flexible agreement that helps schools move towards autonomy with an emphasis on a few core elements:
1) Putting student learning first;
2) Maximizing site flexibility by giving each school control over people, time, money and curriculum;
3) Using outside expertise to help evaluate school plans to improve student achievement;
4) Treating staff as professionals; and
5) Crafting responsible and responsive budgets.
DPS and the DCTA have an opportunity to lead Colorado and the nation in building a flexible contract that allows each school to focus on student learning. We encourage them to embrace the winds of change.
Bob Deibel is president and owner of OfficeScapes, and Karla Loaiza is a parent leader of the organizing committee at Maria Mitchell Elementary School, which is affiliated with Metro Organizations for People. Also contributing to this column were Rick Rivers, executive vice president of Great-West Healthcare, on behalf of Colorado Succeeds, and Jessica Buckley, teacher at Harrington Elementary on behalf of Metro Organizations for People.
