Delaware can kiss the problems with our schools goodbye. Here's how we can improve

For decades Delaware's public-school performance has been lacking. Currently, in the nation, Delaware ranks 4th from the bottom academically while in the top 10 for education expenditures. The remediation action to adjust this situation has focused on trying to correct the symptoms of the problem — low test scores, high costs, and discipline among them — while the cause of the problem has been ignored.

If you are experiencing a fever, runny nose or aches from a cold or the flu, and you treat only those symptoms with tissues, fluids and rest. But, take no medicine to cure the underlying cause (cold or flu), the symptoms may fluctuate and the cure may remain elusive. And so, it is with school problems. You need to treat the cause to permanently remove the performance issues.

The “cause” was identified as far back as 1995 by several sources that included the Brookings Institution; a local business consortium led by the DuPont Company (including: Verizon, Delmarva Power, Hercules, Zeneca, and Christiana Care); State Superintendent Mike Ferguson; and the U.S. Department of Education. An effective solution to the problem has not been employed because of the inability to recognize the dichotomy between teaching, which is a profession, and education, which is a system whose purpose is to support teaching. There is a dearth of recommended changes to the existing system of school boards and district bureaucracies and, yet, that is what has been identified as the “cause” of the problem. “System people” are making operational decisions. The solution is to give “teaching people” the power to correct the symptoms. After all, isn’t that why they were hired? Steve Jobs said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do”.

In a doctor’s office you’ll find a doctor who provides the needed medical services.  ou will also find people who schedule appointments, file records, handle insurance and check prescriptions. These are the folks who support the functioning of the practice so the doctor can provide the professional services. If you were scheduled for a colonoscopy, would you want it performed by the doctor or by the receptionist? Who are the professionals hired to handle the learning process for students in the schools? Shouldn’t they have accountable local operational control?

Brookings described the problem “source” as a “major obstacle” to improving public schools. The business consortium called it a “liability to the state’s economy.” The US DOE said we needed less “rules-based governance” and more “performance-based accountability.” Mike Ferguson co-authored a law (Charter Schools) to develop and pilot a change to the existing public school system of school boards and bureaucracies. A three-year study conducted by Western Michigan’s Evaluation Center showed the pilot program to be successful. Using the same failing system over and over again expecting different results would be defined by Einstein as insanity.  Operational authority should be shifted to the individual schools while school boards and district bureaucracies should assume a supportive role with oversight responsibilities.Autonomy and accountability are similar to a system that has been successful in Delaware since before 1776.

Implementation of this bold plan would necessitate preliminary action. Current and aspiring principals would need to successfully complete an approved professional leadership program or an MBA in Education Administration degree to qualify as a CEO — a chief education officer; formerly a principal — of a public school with skills to handle some new and broader responsibilities such as: hiring, budget preparation, marketing, continuous improvement plans, support services, programming inputs, etc. with teacher participation. Boards would hire CEOs and evaluate school performance, approve budgets and capital expenditures, provide requested assistance to CEOs and facilitate CEO meetings. Full implementation would be done in stages over a period of 3 to 5 years to minimize opposition.

With the shift of operational power to the individual schools, parental school choice will be expanded for accountability. Parents will no longer have to wait for board meetings to express their concerns, they can just stop by the school office to speak to the CEO. Most administrative duties will be performed by school personnel in the individual buildings. This will permit the number of districts to be significantly reduced resulting in substantial cost savings. Schools can be customized and will operate with autonomy and performance accountability. The solution is to keep it system simple. For more information see ronrusso.net .

Ron Russo is founding president of the Charter School of Wilmington and former principal of St. Mark’s High School.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware can kiss the problems with our schools goodbye. Here's how we can improve