"At every crossing on the road that leads to the
future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand appointed to
guard the past."
Maurice Maeterlink
The Center For Public School Renewal
Fenton, Michigan
Contact us at: bmcghan@charter.net
Last
revised 6/29/2008
Free public K-12 education is an essential part of the social, political, and economic life of the American people. Public education will work best when all the following are true:
citizens are free to know how public schools operate -- their successes and failures;
- parents are free to send their children to any publicly funded school;
- teachers are free to teach without unnecessary constraints on their professional judgment. [See CPSR Philosophy for a more complete explanation of these three interlocking freedoms.]
The drive for standards and accountability is moving us in the direction of the first freedom. The development of various forms of public school choice are moving us toward the second. The third freedom -- for teachers to teach -- is the least well understood and supported.
The primary goal of this website is to provide support for the belief that teachers' freedom to exercise independent professional judgment is at the heart of school improvement.
Teaching cannot be made "teacher-proof," nor can good teaching be commanded from outside the classroom. Teachers must be empowered to fix their own teaching, to become free to teach. See Teacher-led Schools.
The items and links below indicate our recommendations for the
best thinking on teacher leadership and empowerment
* * * * *
Teacher Leadership
The theme of the September, 2007 issue of Educational Leadership (the principal publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is "Teachers As Leaders." The magazine contains more than a dozen articles on this worthy topic. Our favorite -- the lead aticle on "Overcoming the Obstacles to Leadership" by Johnson and Donaldson.
A Phoenix rising from the ashes of Teacher Magazine?
On 5/9/2007 Education Week announced the termination of its sister journal Teacher Magazine. Editorial Projects in Education (EPIE) said it would continue to support teachers sharing ideas through a new website that debuts in the fall of 2007. "The site ... will help connect teachers from across the country in a new professional network devoted to collaboration among teacher-leaders."
On 5/2/07 Education Week carried the article "Giving Teachers A Voice" recounting some teacher empowerment activities in North Carolina in recent years. For example, The Center for Teaching Quality is documenting best practices where principals and teachers work together on reforms.
Recent Empowerment Stirrings
Fordham, Again
April, 2007 brought yet another report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on the general theme of school district decentralization, this one entitled The Autonomy Gap: Barriers to Effective School Leadership. See our review by clicking here. [Click here for PDF version ] See below ("Two worthy additions") for our take on an earlier Fordham publication.
Desert Flowers?
Fall, 2006 brought news of empowered schools being created in Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas and environs). See "The Freedom to Teach" by Emily Richmond, Las Vegas Sun, 9/10/06.
Then, came a report in early 2007 that Jim Gibbons, the new Republican Governor of Nevada, included support for a pilot program for 100 empowered schools in his first State of the State address (Education Week, "State of the States," 1/31/07).
Meanwhile .... Back East
More recently, we found a report on eastern locales interested in the same general concept (in the 3/21/07 edition of Education Week: "Easing Rules Over Schools Gains Favor" by Catherine Gewertz).
But, Beware
In view of the foregoing, it may be time to issue an Overenthusiasm Alert! Many a decent reform idea has been ruined by incautious expansion. Such a radical change in school governance relationships as is demanded by empowerment is surely ripe for mishandling.
In addition to the above ...
Two worthy additions (click here) to our recommended readings appeared in the first half of 2006.
"The Agony of American Education: How per-student funding can revolutionize schools," by Lisa Snell in Reason Magazine (April, 2006)
Fund The Child: Tackling Inequity and Antiquity in School Finance, from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute (June, 2006)
Before All That We Found ...
The two best books on school reform (so far)
copyright 2007
Center for Public School Renewal
www.publicschoolrenewal.org
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