As the Obama Administration, the 111th Congress, and statehouses all over the country begin to address and debate public policy, please do not overlook the need for education reform.
The large achievement gap between the poor and the rich and between whites and minorities truly is a civil rights issue. As Joel Klein, the head of New York City public schools, and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton explain in a letter to President Barack Obama, the average African-American or Hispanic high school senior trails white students by four years in reading, writing, and math skills. Surely people from all walks of life can find this unacceptable.
Fundamental education reform should be a bipartisan issue. In order for true change in education to occur, elected officials from both sides of the aisle must work together to overthrow the education establishment and push through some radical changes. The foundation for change is being laid with the help of a new organization with an ambitious agenda.
The Education Equality Project, founded by Klein and Sharpton, is assembling an impressive roster of odd bedfellows supporting fundamental change in education. The list is a “who’s who” of prominent local, state, and federal policymakers from both sides of the aisle.
The list includes Democrats such as the new U.S. Senator from Colorado, Michael Bennet; the new U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan; Mayor Richard Daly of Chicago; the former U.S. Secretary of Housing & Urban Development, Henry Cisneros; and Democratic Leadership Council Chairman Harold Ford. Well-known Republicans on the list include former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Sen. John McCain, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Several urban mayors and urban superintendents have signed on, representing the areas of Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Newark, and Washington D.C.
The Education Equality Project wants all education policies and spending to be measured by the simple question: does it increase student learning?
They call for getting rid of the outdated teacher salary schedule, removing teacher tenure, and allowing principals to fire ineffective teachers. They suggest that superintendents woo talent from the private sector with higher salaries and differential pay.
WOW. These suggestions are music to my ears. I hope more leaders will join the movement and that public officials at all levels of government will take these recommendations to heart. Let the market work to improve education.
– Brooke Terry