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Patti Harrington wasn’t talking. The state superintendent of education was in duck-and-cover mode as she swatted at yet another trial balloon floating through Utah’s educational community. n
Another day, another initiative. Another governor. If she keeps quiet, maybe there won’t be another superintendent. n
Harrington told City Weekly late last year that she didn’t want to talk about the latest education fix-it plan. This, even though she was one of 100 individuals who spent the past summer in 5,000 hours of grueling, facilitated discussions on the future of education in Utah. They called them SMART sessions. That’s probably because you had to be supersmart just to figure out the acronym—Stakeholder-focused, Measure and data-driven, Action-oriented, Responsive to customers and Time-bounded—a long and cumbersome adjective for this time spent navel-gazing. n
But since the talks were all about education, presumably the people involved were comfortable with awkward acronyms. Sadly, they may be accustomed to dead-end initiatives, too. There should be a graveyard of them somewhere in the country. n
The question is, in fact, about digging graves. Will this latest effort be another exercise in futility or is there something significantly different that can power it through the personal agendas, political competitiveness and territorial attitudes that characterize the great American education system? n
Harrington is right to tread softly. A 2007 legislative bill sought to make her position—as well as the elected state board—a political appointment. State lawmakers still simmer over public education’s outspoken role in a state referendum that defeated legislative-approved school vouchers in 2007. And they continue to create new education mandates, adding confusion to the bureaucratic stockpile of regulations already in force. n
Any wholesale change of the system will require a buy-in from myriad groups, already polarized politically and intellectually. Or it will require leadership that goes beyond rhetoric and perhaps beyond the democratic model for change. n
This latest iteration of school reform is dubbed the 21st Century Workforce Initiative, perhaps in hopes that it doesn’t elude those Americans who think they’re living in the 20th century. Just before this rollout came the governor’s blue ribbon panel on assessment, which produced a stunning recommendation of “more testing,” albeit more “productive” testing once the system is rid of criterion-referenced tests, Utah Basic Skills Competency Tests and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. At this point, the recommendations appear to be on ice because they all come with a price tag—and the charge was to, ahem, streamline testing. n
Back in 2005, the state board of education created a task force to look at educator quality. This was on the heels of another panel in 2003 that focused on supply and demand. Cost is still a problem. Yet, even in this dire economy, the state board still plans to work on quality initiatives. n
Shortly after the 2002 Winter Games and still during Gov. Mike Leavitt’s administration, the Employer’s Education Coalition issued a report amid all the giddiness over tuition tax credits, recommending the tax-credit plan along with a more businesslike approach to education. That ostensibly would have given the state board of education greater authority in a system that was moving ever closer toward local control. n
There have been less ambitious efforts, too, such as Leavitt’s centennial schools, the new century schools and on and on. We won’t even mention the many and disparate national programs. (Remember No Child Left Behind?) Now comes Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and his own sweeping initiative, purportedly a uniquely Utah view of education based around, yes, another report—“Tough Choices, Tough Times,” from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. The emphasis on this panel’s name is on “new,” as the old one had been mothballed since 1990. n
The old report warned that low-skilled workers in foreign countries would push the United States out of the global market. Leave it behind, the commission said, and go for the high skills. “The first commission never dreamed that we would end up competing with countries that could offer large numbers of highly educated workers willing to work for low wages,” according to the Tough Choices report. n
And because the United States still wasn’t competitive, the report called for wholesale change—revolution, in fact. Things like graduating kids when they’re 16, making school districts contract with independent schools, and recruiting teachers from the top students (think money here). n
“Students who score well enough will be guaranteed the right to go to their community college to begin a program leading to a two-year technical degree or a two-year program designed to enable the student to transfer later into a four-year state college,” the report says. “The students who get a good enough score can stay in high school to prepare for a second Board Exam, like the ones given by the International Baccalaureate program or the Advanced Placement exams, or another state or private equivalent. When those students are finished with their program, assuming they do well enough on their second set of Board Exams, they can go off to a selective college or university and might or might not be given college credit for the courses they took in high school.” n
In October 2007, Bill Brock, a former U.S. Labor Secretary and commission member, and some of his dark-suited friends flew into Utah to help bring the state on board with the recommendations. Their visit to the Legislature’s interim education committee was met with active disinterest, as legislators popped up and down, held personal conferences at their desks and spoke on cell phones. So, it’s any wonder that Utah is now considered one of three states—along with Massachusetts and New Hampshire—to commit to a major overhaul of their education systems. n
That was Huntsman’s move. Huntsman, who places education as a high priority, went gaga over the commission report. But let’s not forget the Legislature. Then-Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble and others had been captivated by something called the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and, of course, aspired to be a major part of the education solution in Utah.n
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How is high school relevant to real life?
nHuntsman set out on his task by tapping a reluctant soldier in his battle against ignorance: Gayle McKeachnie, a four-term legislator from Vernal and lieutenant governor during Gov. Olene Walker’s 14-month term. He would marshal the forces to participate in those SMART sessions and create a report on outcomes. n
McKeachnie likes to call himself a good ol’ rural boy, but he’s about as backward as an armed missile. A graduate of the College of Southern Utah (now Southern Utah State University), he earned his law degree from the University of Utah and was an adjunct professor of law at Brigham Young University. n
In his years of focus on rural issues, McKeachnie’s knowledge of oil and gas issues won him a place running the Huntsman administration’s Rural Affairs Office. He’s also on the board of the School and Institutional Trust Lands Association (SITLA)—a funding mechanism for public education. SITLA manages lands deeded to Utah by the federal government at statehood. Income from the lands is used, in part, for the benefit of public education, which gets about 0.5 percent (or more than $8 million) of its state funding this way. n
“Were we just blowing holes in public education? We hope not,” McKeachnie says of the 21st Century report. The report, with results expected to go public in late January, was issued just before Christmas. “Pervading all of our SMART sessions was this notion that we don’t have support from parents, the community, and the students do not feel high school is relevant to their future lives.” n
Not that this is news. And the sticking point, it seems, is that task force after task force, report after report, identify the same problems over and over. They seem to ask the same questions, and while their solutions may differ, they have no clear path to implementation. n
“The 21st Century Initiative does argue for the need for a long-term plan and sticking with it, but that was brought forward in the middle of other long-term plans,” says McKell Withers, superintendent of the Salt Lake City School District. Withers did not participate in the SMART sessions, he says, because he was informed too late to juggle his schedule. n
Withers looks back to the Employers’ Coalition and its admonition against piecemealing its recommendations. “They said, ‘We’ll tell you what needs to happen, and you have to support the whole thing’ … and then it was cut into pieces. If you don’t create any clear pathways, then it has to be muddled through.” n
Perhaps it’s the fear of muddling through that has silenced state superintendent Harrington on the issue. “It has been very difficult for [Harrington],” McKeachnie says. “While they have participated, they have not been happy. And while the leadership of public education has been not easily brought along, the people under them—the principals, teachers and superintendents—have been very enthusiastic about it.” n
So, as for specifics, the 21st Century report offers both observations in the “no-brainer” category, and findings in a field of dreams. Observations appear to be all about “aligning” things. Utah needs to “build the capacity of talent in our citizens,” it says. n
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“Budget and finance processes need to be changed and aligned across all workforce development activities. n
“The policies and data within management systems need to be aligned in order to support and inform statewide workforce objectives. n
“There is a need for establishing a process for leadership training and continuous improvement, as well as research-based evaluation tools for monitoring leadership performance.” n
The report also mentions recruiting and compensating teachers, supporting early-childhood education, determining why students drop out, acknowledging the fact that curriculum was built pretty much by committee, and of course, reviewing—again—the system for testing. n
But one of the most problematic observations is this: “The session looked at the potential to integrate education, economic development and the development of Utah’s talent pool through identified clusters and occupations and clear career pathways that lead to high skill levels necessary for the 21st Century workforce. The approach should encourage personal creativity and innovation while increasing a system-wide focus on science, math and technology.” n
Salt Lake district’s Withers worries that this approach, as well as one suggested in “Tough Choices” would actually stifle creativity by placing students on career tracks too soon. “Tough Choices” suggests testing early to determine academic or vocational tracks for students. Such “gatekeeping” tests are a hallmark of many European educational models and have historically been frowned upon in the United States. It’s unclear just how rigid the American model would be. n
“Tough Choices” states that testing could take place continually throughout a lifetime. “It almost appears like a cop-out,” Withers says. “I’ve not yet seen the right test in other systems to help them open doors to their own future.” n
But Withers acknowledges he’s confused over how much the 21st Century recommendations are tied to the “Tough Choices” report. National pundits aren’t too fond of either paradigm. n
Gerald Bracey, a psychologist and associate professor at George Mason University’s Graduate School of Education, runs a Website to slam stuff like early tracking of students. He calls it the Education Disinformation Detection and Reporting Agency (America-Tomorrow.com/bracey/EDDRA), and in his 17th report, he damns “Tough Choices” as delusional. n
The National Education Association wasn’t too fond of it, either, concerned that poorer communities would be disenfranchised and that the “Tough Choices” weighted school-funding formula would not help struggling schools. Utah legislators continue the dialogue about how to equalize funding for schools, and the issue is set to come up again in the 2009 session. n
Jay Mathews, a Washington Post education reporter, takes on the 21st Century skills idea as “the hottest trend in pedagogy.” He takes this from a report of the Tucson, Ariz.-based Partnership for 21st Century Skills, to which Utah has yet to sign onto. “Every aspect of our education system—pre-K to 12, postsecondary and adult education, after-school and youth development, workforce development and training, and teacher preparation programs—must be aligned to prepare citizens with the 21st century skills they need to compete,” and calls it “the all-at-once syndrome, a common failing of reform movements.”n
No need for a new wheel
nKim Campbell, head of the Utah Education Association, really wants to do away with the term “reform.” States that are successful in massive overhauls of public education are those that have stopped talking reform and started talking about “transformation,” she says. n
Campbell was involved in most of the SMART sessions and liked the idea of systemic change. “But the struggles over structural things got the conversation a little off-track,” she says. “Constitutionally, the state school board is responsible for K-12 education.” The state’s Workforce Services, in fact, has been at the forefront of the SMART sessions, and the 21st Century report notes that some participants felt it was improper for groups like these to dictate to the state board. n
“Is there not a way to modify the state office to reflect those agendas without a complete paradigm shift?” asks Rep. Steven Mascaro, R-West Jordan, a member of the governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Assessment. “Can’t we fix the wheel we’ve got without a new wheel?” n
Ohio, for one, found it impossible. Ohio went for the transformation model for its high schools only after a successful ballot initiative changed its constitution. This year, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland plans to broaden the scope and present a funding plan to the state legislature. Nothing happens without money, and both the KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have contributed substantial dollars to Ohio’s “transformation” effort. n
Dropout rates have declined dramatically after creating “small, personalized schools in previously failing traditional high schools.” n
But what’s possible in Ohio may be a stretch for Utah, even after its summer of SMART session dialogue. “I don’t know where it’s going right now,” Campbell says. “My biggest fear is that we change the structure without looking at it as a systemic effort or it becomes a political football.” n
McKeachnie, meanwhile, is ever the cheerleader. He has to be, since Huntsman has yet to speak up on the process. Calls to the governor’s office routinely get routed to Workforce Services and then to McKeachnie, who frankly is ready to be retired. n
“Our part was the report and now it goes to the governor, who has to decide what to do with it,” McKeachnie says. “They have to decide which plays to run and who’s going to run them. If nothing happens on the implementation side, we’ll end up like ‘A Nation at Risk.’” n
“A Nation at Risk,” a 1983 “Imperative for Education Reform” under then-President Ronald Reagan, was fueled by decades of concern that American schools are failing and touched off the scattershot reform efforts that mark education today. Former University of Utah President David P. Gardner led the study, which has been both praised and denigrated for its consequences. n
That’s the sort of thing that rankles Withers. “With all the criticisms of public education, it continues to be ironic that we’ve had 200 years of the most productive, effective economy the world has ever known. If we’re doing so poorly, those things don’t match,” he says. n
Utah is still last in the nation for per-pupil funding, but student test scores remain OK—or at least not terrible. But watch the sky fall anyway. n
McKeachnie notes that the glass can be half full or half empty. While Utah prides itself on graduating up to 87 percent of its high school students, there are still 5,500 who drop out every year. And half of Utah graduates don’t enroll in any post-secondary school or training center. Half of the remaining half don’t go on to a second year of college. n
Then there’s the question of remediation. Utah’s higher ed community is spending resources to prepare high school graduates for college work. This, McKeachnie believes, is due to the grade promotion system that doesn’t require proficiency first. n
“If we say you’re not going to move to the next subject until you’ve mastered this one, then school becomes relevant,” he says. n
The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce wants to ensure that mastery. Chamber President Lane Beattie sings the praises of Utah’s educated workforce, but nonetheless, says the chamber is about to formally recommend a statewide math curriculum. n
Kim Campbell and other educators take note of the recurring emphasis on business, maybe even on vocational education, perhaps at the expense of the whole picture, including the arts. And now, even after the SMART sessions and their call for a unified effort, entities like the chamber are forging ahead with their own agendas. n
“Each one of these entities—higher ed, the chamber—they’re all well-intentioned,” McKeachnie says. “But each have their own constituency, their own turf and kingdom; they compete for the same resources, and it’s a rare bureaucrat who’ll say you can do it better than I can.” n
Being a former legislator, he says he knows about the magnetism of micromanaging. “Every legislator is an expert on education because we all went to school,” he quips. Legislators need to focus on implementing one plan rather than instituting a new one every year, he says. n
As Utah looks at the opening weeks of the 2009 legislative session, the tension between the Legislature and Huntsman, the executive, is palpable. They’ve already come to virtual blows over changing the liquor laws, and lawmakers are talking about passing a budget early for the chance to override any gubernatorial veto. n
Thus the most important finding of the 21st Century report: “A more fundamental point participants highlighted was the absence of a coordinating, governing structure and the lack of a central, organizing principle,” the report says. “A vital yet missing element necessary for a statewide workforce plan, according to session participants, is a leadership structure with focused accountability.” n
OK, here’s where it gets fuzzier as the report suggests further study and more assessments, all led by a nine-member State Workforce Alliance Council Core Group “with three private sector members appointed by the governor and other members representing leadership of public education, higher education, DWS, GOED, USTAR, and UCAT,” to use a few acronyms. If not members of those acronyms, then maybe the Board of Regents could take part, the report says. n
There wasn’t really a consensus on the council idea, and the constitutional problem hung over the recommendation like a cloud. But one point was clear: Leadership—from someone—is necessary to effect change. n
You’d think you were hearing about the “Nation at Risk” all over again. Twenty-five years after the “Risk” report, the nonpartisan organization Strong American Schools noted that few of the report’s recommendations had been implemented. Heard that before? “Without vigorous national leadership to improve education, states and local school systems simply cannot overcome the obstacles to making the big changes necessary to significantly improve our nation’s K-12 schools.” n
So, what is different about the 21st Century report than any other of those gathering archival dust? McKeachnie says it depends on someone actually taking action. n
Patti Harrington is staying quiet. So is the governor. Leadership—however you define it—must be waiting for its special moment. tttt
