windhamweek.blogspot.com: Education: Windham Public Schools Part 3 of 8

Education Windham Schools, Part 3

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Windham schools are not alone missing goals set by the government's No Child Left Behind mandate.

Forty seven percent of Connecticut Schools did not achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (FY 2010-11), nor did these schools meet the requirements of the law. This is a long way from the benchmarks the state department of education is required to meet.

Windham region schools, including Coventry, Bolton, Lebanon, Mansfield, Willington, Reg.#8 (RHAM), and Region #19 (E.O. Smith) failed to reach goal.

As the school years progress, expect more schools statewide to join the ranks of Windham and other schools not achieving AYP, because, in 2014, every student in the US is expected to achieve the goal set by the Federal Government — an unrealistic expectation.

Many Connecticut schools have suffered or will suffer a bump or two in their progression to meet government goals. In all likelihood, those bumps will occur in the districts’ middle schools. Middle school is a difficult time in a student's educational career, as they begin the path to adulthood. Unlike in Windham, these bumps manifest as more of an inconvenience that will be acknowledged and solved with proper management tools, skills and a willingness to use one’s imaginations.

Windham's path to goal has been disappointing. Where many schools have experienced a "bad school year," Windham's test scores have not improved since the enactment of NCLB in 2002.

While the district elementary schools have shown some improvement, that improvement has not been sustainable.

The middle and high schools have performed poorly since 2002 and have never come off NCLB. Rules state that if a school has poor test scores for three years in a row parents can opt to send their children to another district school. However, there is no place for our kids to go as all schools are failing in district.

In early 2011, the State Board of Education released a comprehensive report on the failings of Windham schools. The report focused on Windham’s Board of Education. Unlike Greenwich, New London and Bridgeport's failing districts where personality conflicts on boards of education are identified as contributing factors to the districts’ failures, Windham's board of education works together, respects and is considerate of fellow members, and contributes an inordinate amount of time to our students.

Windham's problems are centered on management techniques — or a disregard for them.(Read the State Report)

Management is both an art and a science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without a good manager. The science is in how you do that.

There are four basic pillars to good management: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.

These four lynchpins apply not only to educational management, but to everything from a child's lemonade stand to the Pentagon.

If applied and followed, chances of success improve.

While the Windham board of education would hardly qualify to manage the Pentagon, there is little likelihood they would succeed in managing a simple lemonade stand, either.

However, the Windham board of education would make an excellent case study in how not to manage an educational organization.(Read the State Report)

School board members DO NOT:

· Implement policy; school boards make policy and superintendents carry it out.

· Manage the day-to-day operations of the school district; school boards see to it that the district is managed by professionals.

· Evaluate staff, other than the superintendent, nor do they become involved in employment interviews, other than those for superintendent.

School board members DO:

· Hire and evaluate the district superintendent.

· Provide guidance in the development of the budget to ensure funding needed to meet board established goals.

· Approve the budget.

· Monitor the budget.

· Set salaries for employees.

· Approve purchases.

· Establish and approving policies.

· Approve curriculum materials.

· Adopt the school calendar.

· Review regulations for compliance with policy.

· Approve personnel actions based on the superintendent's recommendation.

· Close or construct schools.

· Assess board effectiveness.

· Monitor progress toward goals.

Windham school board members DO NOT:

· Communicate between school district officials and town officials (mayor, town council members, town manager). Communications range from non-existent to unproductive, and often lead to tensions and hostility, making difficult problems even more severe.

· Take criticism lightly. Every criticism is viewed as an insult; each opinion is viewed as a challenge to authority. Conversely, the board of education is quick to lay blame away from its door and on to factors like adverse media coverage, state mandates, parents, taxpayers, town hall, and the state board of education.

· Project a cooperative attitude. The school board must reach out to external stakeholders and constituencies. The Board should play a key role in soliciting community support to both inform the public of important school matters and to build public confidence in the efficacy of the schools to reach established goals. Unfortunately this has never been the Board's strong suit. (Read State Report)

· Stand up and admit they have made mistakes in managing our schools. To their credit, Greenwich, Bridgeport and New London's boards of education take the brunt of the blame for their failed school districts and dysfunctional boards. They understand their immense responsibility and admit they have failed their children. On no occasion has Windham's school board admitted a mistake or wrong decision.