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February 18, 2004
Linda W. Cropp Dear Chairman Cropp: We are writing to request your support for a change in the governance and management structure of the District of Columbia Public Schools. As you know, in the past seven years, there have been four superintendents, operating under three different governance structures. The lack of continuity, coupled with the fragmentation of accountability, has resulted in piecemeal, start-and-stop reform efforts and a lack of focus. We do not believe that extending the current governance structure does anything to move the City towards an environment that engenders the leadership or unity required to turn around the school system. Too many of the City’s children are consigned to underperforming and unsafe schools that deprive them of the surest path to opportunity: a first-class education. To rectify this situation, the District must make a serious, sustained commitment to making improved student achievement the top priority. We believe that the sine qua non of improving student achievement is the leadership of a strong school chief, supported by the District’s leadership acting in unity. Instead of agreeing to extend the current governance structure, we hope that you will lead the Council in advocating for a change in the governance system that will strengthen the authority of the schools’ chief executive, streamline political accountability, and protect the Board of Education as an important avenue for community input. We have enclosed a proposal that we believe does just that. We believe that it is possible to empower a strong Chief Schools Officer (CSO) / Superintendent through a voluntary delegation of the necessary authority by the Board of Education. We hope you will support this proposal. A number of urban school districts have found that moving to governance and management structures that empower the schools’ chief has accelerated reform. We would be happy to arrange for some of these leaders to speak with you and your colleagues. With your leadership and the cooperation of the Mayor and the Board of Education, we are certain our great city can move away from the status quo and affirm its commitment to placing children first. Respectfully, John Castellani Timothy Coughlin
H.R. Crawford
Elliott Hall
Jim Kimsey
Rusty Lindner
Frank Raines
Joseph E. Robert
Kenneth Umansky
Roger Wilkins
Terence Golden
Charlene Drew Jarvis
Barbara Lang
John Ray
Elijah Rogers
The Honorable Togo West, Jr. Floretta McKenzie
CONFIDENTIAL A PROPOSAL TO ACCELERATE SCHOOL REFORM BY EMPOWERING THE LEADER OF THE D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLSAn Education System in CrisisThe District of Columbia’s educational system is continuing to fail the City’s children. Despite incremental reform efforts over the past 15 years, students in the District lag behind their counterparts in major urban school districts in virtually every subject area. The seeming inability to improve the performance of the District’s public schools is a major threat to the future growth and stability of the City. Too many of the City’s children are consigned to underperforming and unsafe schools that deprive children of the surest path to opportunity: a first-class education. To rectify this situation, the District must make a serious, sustained commitment to making improved student achievement the top priority. We believe that the sine qua non of improving student achievement is the leadership of a strong school chief, supported by the District’s leadership acting in unity. Since 1987, on average the District has had a new school chief every 2.3 years. In the past seven years, there have been four superintendents, operating under three different governance structures. The lack of continuity, coupled with the fragmentation of accountability, has resulted in piecemeal, start-and-stop reform efforts and a lack of focus. Compounding the problem, limitations on management authority inexorably have led to an inability to take needed actions and an avoidance of responsibility. The net effect of the leadership instability of recent years, coupled with the fragmented governance structure, has been to negate true accountability, discourage teamwork, and undermine efforts to attract and retain highly qualified teachers and administrators. If the City is really committed to improving the outcomes for its children, the Mayor, the Council, and the Board of Education must move beyond posturing and political finger pointing to a system that embodies clear accountability and shared responsibility. The City’s leaders must act immediately to redefine roles and responsibilities and to depoliticize education reform. Student Achievement is Abysmal In the 2003 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), 90% of D.C.’s fourth graders and eighth graders scored below proficient in reading. Regrettably, there has been little improvement on the reading tests over the past 10 years. In mathematics, 93% of fourth graders and 94% of eighth graders scored below proficient. The comparable figures for students in major urban school districts are 80% and 83%, respectively. The comparable national figures are 69% and 72%. Despite this dismal aggregate performance, the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) does include a small number of high-performing schools and students. Their success shows that high achievement can happen although, to date, it hasn’t for the vast majority of students. Moreover, DCPS has provided little support to these exemplary schools and has demonstrated no ability to build upon their successes. Management Failures Are a Critical Element in Lack of Student Achievement DCPS is infamous for the disarray in its administrative and central support systems – budget, procurement, human resources, payroll, information services, instructional support, and facilities. The cumulative effect of these long-standing failures has been devastating. Dysfunctional working conditions cause many of the best teachers and principals to leave the system and those who are willing to stick it out are deprived of the basic tools they need to do their jobs effectively. Critical decisions at all levels, from those affecting individual students to systemwide concerns, must be made without basic information. Deficiencies in the hiring process prevent the hiring of many excellent teachers. For those who do choose to teach, the inadequacy of supplies and textbooks, the absence of safe, modern facilities, the lack of meaningful professional development opportunities -- and sometimes even a correct paycheck -drive good teachers and principals out the door. The considerable time that principals spend wrestling with these issues comes at the expense of providing instructional leadership in their schools. The message that these persistent, multiple failures sends to both teachers and students is clear and unmistakable: this community doesn’t really care whether you teach or learn. Five-Year Goal: DCPS Should Become the Country’s Best Urban School SystemAs a first step, DCPS should adopt the goal of becoming the best urban school system in the United States within five years. To reach this goal, the City’s leadership must work together to:
A Management Structure to Build a Strong School SystemStrengthen School Leadership by Empowering a Strong CEO To ensure energetic, stable, and professional leadership of the City’s public schools, the City’s leaders should create a management structure in which a strong Chief Schools Officer (CSO) / Superintendent leads the school system, unencumbered by the fragmentation of accountability and limited authority that have hamstrung previous school chiefs. To this end, it is absolutely essential that the District recruit a CSO / Superintendent with demonstrated leadership ability, broad and varied management experience, and political acumen. In recognition of the fundamental importance of strong leadership in turning around public education, the CSO must be given the broadest possible authority and maximum control over the school system, particularly in the areas of curriculum, instruction, financial management, budgeting, facilities management, contracting, procurement, and human resources. The CSO / Superintendent is responsible for preparing the annual budget for the D.C. Public Schools. After consultation with the Board of Education, the CSO / Superintendent shall submit the budget to the Mayor who, in turn, would submit it to the Council. To ensure that the CSO / Superintendent is working from a stable financial platform, for a period of five years, DCPS’s per pupil allocation for a subsequent fiscal year shall be no less than the approved per pupil allocation for the current fiscal year. As is the case today, the per pupil allocation shall be determined by the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula. The CSO / Superintendent shall be granted the authority to hire a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to manage the finances of the D.C. Public Schools. The DCPS CFO shall report directly to the CSO / Superintendent. The CSO / Superintendent also shall be responsible for coordinating with the City’s independent public charter schools to minimize program duplication, maximize facilities utilization, expand program offerings, and explore partnerships aimed at improving student achievement. Selection of the CSO / Superintendent by an Education Reform Oversight Committee A seven-member Education Reform Oversight Committee shall select the CSO / Superintendent. The Committee shall include the President of the Board of Education, one member of the Board of Education, the Mayor, the City Administrator, the Chairman of the D.C. Council, the Chairman of the Council’s Education Committee, and a representative of the private sector selected by the Mayor. The Education Reform Oversight Committee shall engage a first-class executive search firm to conduct a national search for the CSO / Superintendent. As part of its engagement, the search firm will help the Committee draft selection criteria that address the multiple challenges facing the school system. The search firm will also help structure a process for reviewing the candidates that measures candidate skill sets against the agreed-upon selection criteria. Concurrent with the search, the private sector will fund an analysis of the scope of emergency and permanent authority that should be granted to the CSO / Superintendent to ensure that reform goals are met. If the candidate selected as CSO / Superintendent is from a non-education background and if the new CSO / Superintendent requests it, a search firm will be engaged to identify candidates for a Deputy Superintendent position to provide senior level leadership with respect to instruction and learning. As is the case for all senior level executive appointees, the Council shall have the authority to approve the Committee’s CSO / Superintendent nominee. The CSO / Superintendent should report to the Education Reform Oversight Committee and should frequently consult with the Council and the Board of Education. Term of Office and Compensation for the CSO / Superintendent The CSO / Superintendent shall be appointed to a five-year term. The CSO / Superintendent may only be dismissed for cause. Dismissal requires that the Mayor first consult with the Board of Education and then submit to the Council a recommendation for dismissal, which must be agreed to by a majority vote of the Council. The compensation package and terms of employment for the CSO / Superintendent shall be set by the Mayor and approved by the Council. The compensation package shall be competitive with the salary and benefit packages of major urban school system leaders and shall be structured so as to attract exceptionally qualified candidates. Role of the Board of Education The role of the Board of Education shall be to receive citizen input on matters affecting the school system and to provide advice and counsel on such matters to the CSO / Superintendent, as well as to the Mayor and Council. Board of Education Selection Process For the next five years, the members of the Board of Education shall continue to be selected as they have been since the enactment of the School Governance Charter Amendment Act of 2000. The President of the Board shall be elected citywide, four members of the Board shall be elected from districts comprised of two wards, and four members shall be appointed by the Mayor. Board Staffing The CSO / Superintendent shall make staff available to the Board so that it might carry out its responsibilities but individual Board members will not have staff assigned to them. Accelerating Reform ImplementationIf requested by the new CSO / Superintendent, a coalition of local and national foundations and representatives of the private sector is prepared to fund a broadly based task force that would be led and directed by the new CSO / Superintendent to develop a Reform Implementation Plan. The task force would draw upon the expertise of local and national organizations and individuals familiar with best practices in education and organizational management, and accelerate progress toward the near-term goal of creating the country’s best urban school system. Among the key areas that could be addressed are the following: Creating Safe and Supportive Learning Environments
Increasing Student Achievement
Encouraging Parents / Guardians to be Active in their Child’s Education
Encouraging Innovation
Strengthening Central Office Core Role: Support for Learning
ConclusionThe District of Columbia cannot afford to allow its public school system to continue on its present trajectory. By working together to implement the proposals contained here, the City can create a new management structure that empowers its new educational CSO / Superintendent, provide the CSO / Superintendent with the resources and authority needed to get the job done, introduce greater accountability and transparency, and create a reform plan around which its citizens can rally. ResolutionThe Members of the District of Columbia Board of Education Present the Following Resolution on Strengthening the Authority of the Chief Schools Officer / Superintendent WHEREAS, the Board of Education (Board) recognizes that the sine qua non of improving student achievement is the leadership of a strong Chief Schools Officer / Superintendent (Superintendent), supported by the District’s leadership acting in unity; WHEREAS, pursuant to D.C. Code § 1-204.95 (4)(A), the Board has the authority to “govern the public schools in the District of Columbia,” BE IT RESOLVED that the Board takes the following actions to accelerate reform implementation:
This Resolution shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect for five years from the date of enactment. |
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