Common-sense school reform in a post-Vergara world: Guest commentary
If you are of a certain age, as we are, you will recall the days when your buddies all wanted to put “headers” on their V-8 Chevy, Dodge, or Ford. The effect was a loud, thumping rumble that turned heads in the school parking lot or at the drive-in theater. Headers didn’t add much performance, but they sure sounded great.
The current school reform debate reminds us of those thumping V-8s. All of the attention is focused on firing or laying off teachers, and tenure, thanks to a recent court ruling in the Vergara v. California lawsuit. This lawsuit isn’t over and the case will be appealed. But are we discussing the policy changes that will improve our schools?
We firmly believe that all students deserve a highly qualified teacher. And revisiting the parameters of teacher tenure could be helpful, as long as we keep things in perspective. The focus on removing ineffective teachers will affect a relatively miniscule number of employees, no matter what system is devised, and these processes are a very small part of what makes for a great school system. And building a great school system in California is where the dialogue around school reform belongs.
For example, we need funding equity in our schools. The recent change to the Local Control Funding Formula is real reform. We need to institutionalize it and adequately fund it. We also need stable funding that doesn’t result in teacher layoffs every decade or so. School districts can’t effectively plan for the future because they can’t depend on stable state revenue.
Also troubling is the number of teachers who voluntarily leave the profession — about 30 percent within the first five years, and more than half in many urban assignments. This suggests that the focus on teacher tenure, dismissal and layoffs is misdirected. Recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers and providing them with adequate support would have significantly more impact on school improvement.
There’s evidence to show that successful schools worldwide are those where teachers and school leaders receive the resources and support Common-sense school reform in a post-Vergara world: Guest commentary: