Giving schools the autonomy and incentive to innovate

(8/1/2011)

As I flew to Salt Lake City one night, a single mother struggled with two young children who were conspicuously unpleased to be on a crowded, long flight. I could hear some adults whispering how they would solve the problem had they been the children's mother. Others, including me, put on their headphones and turned up the volume of their iPods. But then a kind, grandmotherly-appearing woman stood up, walked to the woman and asked if she could take one of the children and walk with him. The child immediately calmed, took her hand, and then they spent the next 2 hours together wandering the plane, talking with the flight attendant, and playing games in her row.

The manner in which individuals tackle problems in public education is remarkably similar to my experience on my recent flight. Some people have answers to everything (and it is typically why everything can't be done). Others ignore the problem, figuratively putting on their headphones, hoping that the problem will fix itself. But a few extend themselves to contribute solutions that address a root cause. After all, only the later path will result in substantive change.

Collectively, we face significant challenges in public education. We know kids are not learning as much as they need to succeed in an evolving economy. Simultaneously, we know that the greatest lever for change--as evidenced in improved student outcomes--exists at the classroom level.

With these common understandings, we can address public education much like the woman on the aircraft addressed the unhappy toddler--we can apply our attention and resources in areas that contribute to meaningful solutions. A bill proposed by Senator Pat Jones aims to do just that by directing an additional $300 million investment in public education to classrooms across the state. Amidst dismal spending on public education in the state of Utah, which ranks last in the nation for per-pupil spending and is declining in spending in education as a percent of personal income, the bill would direct additional resources to individual schools across the state. Each school would then have the latitude to decide how to best leverage funds to contribute to measurable growth in student performance.

Simultaneously, the state would set and maintain empirical goals toward proportional improvement and track each school's progress towards these objectives. Schools that improve would continue to receive supplemental funding, while those who fail to demonstrate improvements in learning would cease to receive the additional investment.

This approach equips those closest to the school community--including teachers and school leaders--with the capacity and power to make decisions relevant to each specific environment. This local autonomy allows for the identification of unique needs and solutions that address root causes, contradicting the one-size-fits-all approach of many top-down reform efforts.

Simultaneously, schools are held accountable for measurable improvements to secure ongoing funding. The state determines the "what" while local schools maintain autonomy to identify and implement the "how."

While the plan provides the resources to improve schools locally, it creates a venue for identifying and tracking best practices in districts across the state that drive gains in student achievement with the additional financial resources. This collection of practices will work to inform a school's ability to emulate and customize best practices, further supporting the important work of school improvement.

Through a balance of local autonomy and state accountability, this plan provides schools the appropriate flexibility and incentive to innovate. It is through this environment that effective practices will flourish, driving the improvement so desperately called for in public education.