Some Thoughts on Schools Gone Wrong

Schools have problems for different reasons. Seldom is it the teachers who are solely responsible for the problems.

More often, the problems start at the district level. Most - not all, but most - of the really stupid directives are imposed on principals, teachers, and schools from on top.

Here is one example.

The most important thing to remember about this (and most other things in life):

There is no Quick Fix for problems

There are quick solutions - but they only provide the appearance of working. They will mask the true situation, and bite you in the a$$ later.
There are inexpensive solutions - but, they usually are less effective than the model on which they were based.
There are solutions developed by the people closest to the ground - they don't often scale well.
There are solutions that take time - often, the most effective. However, when the problem is not solved quick enough, these are usually summarily dumped for something else.

I'm going to suggest something radical. So radical, that it is unlikely to ever be given a fair test.

Start with the teaching staff. Let them form self-selected teams, with NO attempt to 'balance' them, racially, sexually (either birth sex or sexual orientation), or culturally. Stick with teams of 3-6 people.

Give them the budget, and the authority to implement discipline plans for their team. As long as it doesn't involve violation of state law, let 'er rip.

Where will they get the budget?

This part will accomplish TWO aims. Take the money from non-teaching staff/departments/centers. That would include:

• Guidance - return that department to the original idea - their major task is to (1) get students into college (2) help them qualify for the military (3) get them a job. Anything else is NOT what they were trained for, or should be doing. Yeah, I know, they need to 'counsel' the students. No, they don't. If you need a social service person, contract for their services. Same with psychologists. Make the public services do their freaking job.
• Test coordinators, academic coaches, reading teachers, clerks, secretaries, etc. MOST of these jobs could be done by outside contractors - who, when not working, will not be around to gum up the works and justify their salary/benefits. MOST of the professional non-teaching staff are those teachers who are burnt out, but don't want to give up the money. Too many clerks make their job bigger than it is. 
• Custodial/Janitorial staff. If the school is clean and maintained well, keep them. If - as it more common - the physical environment is both filthy and poorly maintained, hire outside companies. And, let this be done by the TEACHING staff of the school, by anonymized (no identifying information about race, sex, etc.) bid, and on a yearly vote. Nothing makes a contractor work harder than to be aware that their services depend on their performance. Poor performance makes a company ineligible to make a bid.

What's the other outcome of this?

Reduction of office politics. Too many staffers with too little to do make trouble.

Have performance reviews/evaluations conducted by outsiders, who will work with video feeds (randomly selected) from classrooms, unannounced visits to personally observe, and scores on standardized tests. Yes, I know the complaints against the tests, but - it's the only check on the outrageous grade inflation that is rampant in classrooms.

No teacher fired on the spot, unless the review uncovers truly awful behavior or incompetent work. Pair sub-par teachers with mentors, give them some time to improve, and - when necessary - get rid of them, not just from that school, but the system.

BTW, new teacher retention plan:

• One extra free period a day, or 2-3 blocks a week, they can use to observe other teachers. Nothing teaches you as much as comparing yourself with a master of the craft. Mentor teachers have time to observe, or - use video to keep them aware of the new guy's struggles.
• NO extra duties (lunch, bus, committee, etc.) for the first semester.
• ALL teachers in that grade level/subject area must share lessons with the new guy. Assistance with setting up labs, using the equipment, and managing the software by those teachers, too. Help with some grading would be nice.
• 5 extra personal days off their first year. MUST be taken - they often try to bull through, not taking off days when they're stressed/tired. Don't let them do it.

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