Taking School Reform to Scale
7/8/2010
| Chattarati.com
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By Aaron Collier, Chattarati.com
At the urging of community partners, Superintendent Jim Scales and his administration have engaged with outside organizations to develop a comprehensive accountability plan for the Hamilton County Department of Education.
From the onset of sweeping new education laws and Race to the Top programs to overcrowding schools and the launch of new German programs, the coming year holds a myriad of tough challenges for the school system. And many within the education community believe they present an important opportunity for the school system to amp up reform efforts.
The accountability plan, which was funded by the Benwood Foundation, is an endeavor to refocus the school system’s goals and connect initiatives, departments and employees to tangible results.
Scales explained that the plan is all about performance management. "We need to be able to manage how we do things in the district and get a positive, measurable result," he said.
The accountability plan was produced by The District Management Council (DMC), an education consulting organization out of Boston. Scales was familiar with DMC from his time in Dallas as a deputy superintendent, and he said that DMC has a national reputation for connecting districts with best practices and reforms from across the country.
From December to March, DMC reviewed student achievement data, school staffing levels and the school system's budget. The organization also interviewed board members, central office leadership and community partners — all with the aim of helping central office departments align their strategies with the overarching goals of the school system.
"Sometimes we think we're working together and we're not," Scales said. "That's why outside organizations are sometimes very helpful. Because they see things a different way."
Expanding School Reform
Though the plan comes at a critical time in his administration, Scales’ efforts to reorganize goals around expanding school reform began two years ago when the Benwood Foundation brought in the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) to evaluate the district's performance.
Since 2001, the Benwood Foundation has invested $18 million in reforming urban schools in Hamilton County through a program called the Benwood Initiative. The initiative is nationally recognized for transforming 16 schools, and because the initiative will draw to a close in the coming year, Benwood enlisted CPRE to help the administration expand reform to all Hamilton County Schools. They've termed this larger effort, "Taking it to Scale."
"It's to take the Benwood initiative and make it the way we do things in Hamilton County," Scales said. "And once the Benwood dollars are no longer there, we have a plan in place for how we can successfully educate kids who come from impoverished situations, and at the same time, we can accelerate the learning of those kids who come from affluence."
Scales described CPRE's evaluation as an audit of the school system, and he explained that their work turned up a number of strengths but found a weakness in accountability. In other words, the administration was not connecting individuals and their actions to the overall mission of the district.
"Are we really investing in the future by working in a cohesive group or are we all out there on our own working alone?" Scales asked.
CPRE's evaluation provoked the recent push for an accountability plan. While the district initially considered preparing one of their own, Benwood suggested they get the objective eye from the District Management Council, explained Scales.
For the administration, there has never been a better time to rethink performance management. In the coming school year, Hamilton County will pilot a new teacher evaluation program and develop a pay-for-performance system while tracking the progress of new programs such as Teach/Here and the Principal Leadership Academy.
"We have to figure out a way to sustain these efforts, and that's what we are working on now," said Scales. "That's why CPRE is important and that's why the District Management Council is important, because they help us shape that."
Lessons Learned
As a result of the accountability plan, central office has undergone a culture shift — from a go-it-alone mentality toward collaboration. Scales explained that he's done away with the common cliche, I don't have a dog in the fight. "If you work here, this is your fight," he said. But beyond cliches, Scales points to a much bigger lesson:
"Because an outside agency has been brought in by the superintendent, it's not about 'I gotcha.' We have to erase that fear factor, get down and work together to make sure that we can have a well-oiled machine, so to speak, where we're doing the absolute best we can to educate our kids. We can do things better. This looks a little different when someone from the outside tells us that you think you're doing this, but it looks to us like you need to reshape your focus."
The true test of school reform will come as Benwood funding ends. Throughout this year’s budget discussions, Scales emphasized the need to keep successful programs in place and ensure funding. But with revenue shortfalls projected through 2015, funding programs may become a contentious issue.
“What we haven't been able to do with Benwood is change the neighborhoods and change the homes that kids are coming from," Scales said. "So you got to have that system in place so that when kids come in, that system is there, and it will enable those kids to continue to make progress even though we're not getting any additional funds."
Benwood’s Model Classroom
One of Benwood’s most successful strategies is called the Model Classroom.
According to Superintendent Scales, lead teachers teach half the day so that colleagues can see them teaching. And during the second half of their day, lead teachers work with colleagues on instruction.
Scales referred to the Model Classroom as embedded staff development. "It's there all the time. So it's not just a drive-by," he said.