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A
TALE OF THREE CITIES
Introduction...
 Several
major American cities have accepted the challenge of school reform,
but none with more energy, commitment and public attention than Philadelphia,
Chicago and Seattle. Those three cities, however, have taken dramatically
different approaches to solving the problems of urban public education:
Philadelphia brought in a minister/lawyer as Superintendent; Seattle
turned its schools over to a retired 4-Star Army General; in Chicago
the Mayor took what some have called "a businessman's approach" to
school reform. |
 The
Minister...The General...The Politician/Businessman. Has any of these
three approaches actually worked? In each city student test scores
have risen, but achievement scores do not tell the full story. While
Chicago has been celebrating its success, questions remain about that
city as well as Seattle and Philadelphia. Most notably, is there actual
structural change in the system itself? That is, have any of these
reform efforts succeeded in genuine, permanent reform, or is it merely
business-as-usual, albeit with slightly higher test scores? |
 The
three teacher unions have played very different roles in reform. Philadelphia's
Federation of Teachers has battled Superintendent David Hornbeck almost
from Day One, five years ago. Seattle's union has, on some issues
at least, been more reform-minded than some reformers. The Illinois
State Legislature passed a law stripping the Chicago union of much
of its power, which meant that the Mayor could, in effect, start from
scratch. |
 Observers
of the school reform scene already know that the so-called "Mayoral
Takeover Approach" is gaining favor nationally. President Clinton
called Chicago's approach "a model for the nation" in his recent State
of the Union speech, and a number of cities (most recently Detroit)
are emulating Chicago--or think they are. However, Chicago's school
reform story actually began in 1988, when legislation allowed every
Chicago school to elect a Local School Council, which had the power
to hire and fire the school principal. That same law gave principals
the power to hire teachers, regardless of seniority. Then, in 1995,
the Illinois legislature handed immense power to the city's Mayor.
Both sides, the local reformers and the central office, are claiming
credit for improvements. We'll give you the full story in November. |
 Seattle's
efforts to improve its mediocre schools took off when John Stanford
was hired in 1995. The charismatic former General took the city by
storm. With laser-like intensity, he categorized issues very simply:
everything was either a children's issue (like academic achievement
or equitable funding) or an adult issue (such as seniority or teachers'
hours) and demanded that everyone concentrate on the former. General
Stanford identified a few central issues and, with a great deal of
support from community and business organizations, never stopped pushing
for improvements. His death from cancer in November, 1998, does not
seem to have derailed the city's efforts, particularly its focus on
reading, but whether new Superintendent Joseph Olchefske can maintain
the effort is an open question. |
 Philadelphia
has been a battleground. David Hornbeck, the minister/lawyer turned
educator, arrived in Philadelphia in the summer of 1994 with a 10-point
plan he called "Children Achieving" and a deep belief in the possibility
of urban school reform. He wanted to restructure the system, overturn
prejudice and apathy, and introduce accountability and new standards.
To his critics, Hornbeck has been rigid and moralistic; they said
that he gave little or no credit to those working for change but demanded,
in effect, that everyone start over and do it his way. Hornbeck's
supporters, including Mayor Ed Rendell, maintain that he has been
resolute and brave in his willingness to challenge vested interests
and the status quo. As the Mayor has said many times, "Our schools
were failing, and we needed radical change." |
 Today
Philadelphia students are achieving at higher levels, but along the
way Superintendent Hornbeck has made many enemies, among them Pennsylvania's
Governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature. Over the objections
of most of the candidates vying to succeed Rendell as Mayor, the School
Board recently extended Hornbeck's contract for an additional two
years, through school year 2000-01.
The stakes are high in all three cities----and in cities all across
America. Most of our children go to school in the city, and if public
education cannot succeed, our future is in doubt. |
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Original
Airdate: November, 1999
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