Back to School Reform

Education reform is thrown around in the media so often these days that it’s almost become white noise in the face of all the heated debates on the topic. Everyone has a position. And everyone is participating in the blame game. Teachers, administrators, parents, children, school districts, and the states are all getting sharing in the blame. Realistically though, we have forgotten on simple truth – School is all about the children. Many decisions have been made over the years that consider what is best for teachers, administrators, etc. But somewhere we lost our focus…what is best for the children? When we begin to frame everything around that question, the answers become clearer.
Quality teachers make a tremendous difference in their students’ lives. Research indicates that four consecutive years with an effective teacher can erase the racial back-white testing gap. Attracting, training and retaining such teachers should be a priority for all schools. Teachers report that a supportive and effective principal is essential to their performance and job satisfaction.
So what should we do?
School systems must develop ways to measure the effectiveness of teachers and principals. Without such a measure, we can not be certain that we are attracting and retaining our best teachers and principals. Developing and implementing these measures is in the best interest of the children.
Teachers who are not able to contribute to the success of their students should be removed from the classroom. It is in the best interest of the children.
When we put children first and consider them in every decision that is made, school reform can happen.