1. Public Education in the U.S.
The road to No Child Left Behind – NCLB
Effective leadership at the school site level
Prospects for the future
Greg Sheppard
SPEL Presentation
Spring 2005
Future

2. The Birth of Public Education
Horace Mann argued all children should learn together in “common” schools
yet he did not take a stand against school segregation in his own city of Boston
Great influx of immigration
Mann placed a major emphasis on “moral training,” standardization, and classroom drill
Public education became an institution influenced by special interests, politicians, and needs of business
More than 100 years later
Public education continues to be arena for conflicts of interest and subject to political agendas of our time

3. Reforms of the Early and Mid 20th Century
John Dewey – against rote learning
Progressive education should offer a curriculum that is relevant to students' lives
American Legion – and the fear of Communism – sanitization of text books
Promote Americanism
Return to basics, teacher-centered learning
Russian launching of Sputnik led to National Defense Education Act of 1958
President Eisenhower warned about dangers of military industrial complex
During the 1960s, public education focus was on creating American military and economic global dominance

4. Educational Reforms of the Late 20th Century
1983 – “A Nation at Risk” published
New direction for public education defined
America needed to compete economically with other nations
Public schools were blamed and politicians came up with plans to fix schools
When schools were not doing well, they were blamed
When they succeeded, politicians took credit
Both Democrats and Republicans claim to be party that supports public education

5. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
Mandatory standards based teaching and testing
NCLB – voucher in disguise
Penalizes “under performing” - schools can be taken over by publicly funded private schools.
NCLB – encourages teaching to the test and rote learning
NCLB – with sanctions for failing schools and bonuses for improving test scores
promotes environment that leads to cheating and manipulation of test scores and drop out rate
March 21, 2005 – more than twenty Houston schools and over 400 schools in Texas are being investigated for cheating on test scores and manipulating data to show higher test scores
Story on NPR

6. Effective Leadership at the Site Level
Role of the principal is crucial to operations of the school
To be effective the principal must consider the following:
People are number one asset and educating students is goal of the school
Develop, cultivate, and establish trust with staff
Build positive relationships with staff
Communicate a vision/mission for the school
Collaborate with staff to build on that mission
Clearly define expectations of teachers and establish school norms
Be fair, supportive, and approachable to all employees
Be visible on the campus and visit all classrooms to offer support and know what is going on in the school
Respect and support teachers

7. To Be an Effective Leader, a Principal Must ….
Be familiar with district culture and norms
Get staff input on decisions that affect operation of the school
Build community and business support by reaching out to parents and organizations
Know the educational code and penal code, and be prepared to make decisions
When in doubt, seek advice
When possible, make difficult decisions later
Understand budget process, and seek advice of others on budget matters that are unclear
Be clear and thoughtful on all written communications
Memos, staff evaluations, and
Once it is written, it cannot be taken back

8. Prospects for the future
In the early 20th century, John Dewey wrote that progressive education should offer a curriculum that is relevant to students' lives
We need to make education more relevant to students’ lives and move away from high stakes testing as a measurement of a school’s success
Political quick fixes are not the answer
Merit pay
No more pendulum swings
“Anything that is labeled as a movement should be avoided like the plague” (Ravitch, 2000). Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms
Closing achievement the gap in public schools is necessary for democracy to thrive
Public schools can help close gap, but until we address systemic problems that cause inequalities, achievement gap will continue to widen
More technology is not the answer
Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer, deserves to be
David Thornburg 11/22/99