This week, several sources (see here and here) have reported and blogged about the NYSED Commissioner John King and his scheduled PTA meetings scheduled around the state. While I understand citizens’ frustrations over these changes, publicly decrying and degrading Dr. King on the web is not a productive plan of action. I hope our communities rise above the fray and share their concerns in a collaborative way. We have all fallen victim to poor planning and lack of proper time management- the variable of time has compressed every aspect of these changes, increasing stress, anxiety, and resistance to these changes at home and in our schools. The rapid and premature implementation timeline has placed unnecessary pressure on the stakeholders in the system, and we are now seeing the results.
Unfortunately, these purposeful, open public meetings probably should have come before the new curricula, assessments, and teacher evaluations were unveiled as part of the state’s Race to the Top (RttT) implementation. The state leadership skipped a valuable opportunity to discuss in a positive, yet objective manner the benefits to children, teachers, taxpayers, and the nation for increasing the rigor of curriculum and accountability. They could have explained the underlying research; they could have allotted time to explain how teachers would be trained for the new curriculum and the new assessments. If you ask any school administrator in NYS, they will likely tell you they have been building the plane while it is flying, as I am sure many have shared this video at professional development sessions and faculty meetings around the state.
The NYSED leadership’s three- to five-year vision could have been clearly articulated and transparent, where the plans to manage anticipated test score reductions and resultant teacher evaluations clearly explained. Parents, school professionals, and taxpayers would have been given time to digest and understand the changes, and most importantly, be given an opportunity to weigh and consider the benefits or negative consequences. If our state leadership is now seeking to have open discourse about the state of our schools, the opportunity may be lost- key stakeholders are now angry and taking a resistant stance. Maybe we all should have been given a real opportunity to discuss these issues before NYS accepted the Race to the Top grant award.
It will be very interesting to see what this year’s results bring, especially if we use other RttT states like Kentucky as models for improvement. What will our state leaders say next year if our results mimic theirs?