I talk about school a lot, and when I do, I'm probably talking about 3rd grade reading. It is important to try to be fairly knowledgable and very focused.
Focus is really hard. Schools are big money, really complex, and a central part of 13 important years in everyone's life. Education isn't one issue. It is made of several multi-facteted issues. What is urgent to a high school senior is very different from a kindergarten teacher, a sixth grade music student, a freshman athlete, or about 100 other examples. People call with legitimate but completely unrelated concerns, we have major challenges at certain schools that need attention now, and as a school board member there are routine operations that always need watching.
Oh, and we have to hire a new Superintendent by next June 30. And I have a business to run. And my family is more important to me than any of this stuff. There are plenty of distractions.
Think of education policy like a supermarket aisle. There are hundreds of products competing for attention.
The product, or issue, that matters most is third grade reading proficiency. There is a ton of information on this, and a concensus that if a child is not reading profecntly by the end of third grade, future success in school is unlikely. The Campaign for Grade Level Reading makes the case in more detail here: http://vimeo.com/28314194
So, how do we get 3rd graders reading? There is plenty of information on the subject. The Campaign for Grade Level Reading makes a strong case that every community can improve using stategies to increase school readiness, chronic absenteeism and summer learning loss. These community initiatives are important. In schools, a strong commitment to use effective assessment followed with timely, tailored intervention for kids who fall behind is known to work.
So even when I try to focus on this one major issue, it morphs into many complex, far reaching needs on many fronts. And then, to complicate things even more, there's news that reading by itself wont get it done. If schools and families only attend to teaching reading well, they are on the wrong path. Studys show that students who don't have basic pre-school MATH skills by kindergarten are unlikely to succeed in school. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/28/26stipek.h31.html Another distraction? Do I need to ignore this information in order to stay focused?
I don't think so. The message is not a contradiction-it is actually common sense. School boards make policy, and schools teach children. There is a difference between what a school board member needs to focus on, and what a solid curriculum ought to be. Focus for me is about keeping the problem front and center, ensuring the district is acting with purpose and vigor, and marshalling our resources. It is not about reducing classrooms to a dry, endlessly remedial experience. Great teachers and informed families want well rounded learning for their children. From birth through age five reading 20 minutes a day is one practice that makes a huge difference. Surely there's also time to count, talk, sing and play- all this helps prepare a young child for success in school too.
