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 | SAVE OUR SCHOOLS! April 14, 1997 |
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Questions asked
OUTSIDE LINKS
in this forum:
Would equal funding for all schools solve the problems in low-income area public schools? A prospective teacher asks about strategies to improve teacher quality. Are vouchers or school choice the answer? Is it time to rethink the traditional classroom structure? How do education labor unions effect the reform process? What role does parental participation play? How can communities foster constructive public dialogue on education issues? Additional questions and comments .
Council of the Great City Schools
Hoover High School
Principal Alvarez Web siteWe are hearing a lot these days about plans to solve America's educational woes. Promises of wiring schools, new technologies, and curriculum standards are hopeful, but a concrete vision has yet to be articulated, let alone implemented. The problems in urban schools are basic and immediate. A steady flow of immigrants has severely crowded schools in many U.S. cities. In some inner-city schools, chairs are not available for all, and desks double as storage areas. School buildings are in disrepair, many lack the bare necessities: windows, ventilation and heat.
Nearly half of all U.S. children who live in poverty are enrolled in urban schools.
These students receive on average $500 less per child than students in suburban schools. That means $10,500 less per urban classroom (averaging 21 students per classroom) in books, computers and other resources. And the disparity leads to lower test scores and lower graduation rates in urban schools than in suburban ones, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
The problems are daunting. Although there are many dedicated people are working to fix the situation, there is no single panacea.
To get a handle on the issues, our forum focuses on several approaches towards reform.
Our guests are Michael Casserly, Executive Director of the Coucil of the Great City Schools and Dr. Doris Alvarez, Principal of Hoover High School in San Diego.
Mr. Casserly's organization has just released a "Marshall Plan" which would set high academic standards for all children and design assessments for greater accountability tied to results for schools and staff. His council's "American Cities Education Act" would provide urban school block grants tied to progress in student achievement and decreased safety problems. Mr. Casserly believes that President Clinton's School Infrastructure Initiative should be extended to provide at least $112 billion for repair and renovation of urban schools. The Council is also seeking to develop judicial action to create "fair and adequate" state financing of urban schools.
For over ten years, Dr. Doris Alvarez has worked to solve the problems at Hoover High School with creative programs and her own unique philosophy. As recognition for her remarkable achievements, she was chosen as the principal of the year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
The 1,900 students that attend Hoover High live in the highest poverty and crime area of the country. 93% of the students are immigrants or minorities and 83% live in poverty. 28 foreign languages are spoken at school. Since Alvarez took the helm in 1987, the dropout rate has fallen from 13% to 2.3%, compared with the national rate of 5.3%. 50% now continue to college after graduation.
Alvarez's strategy includes reforms in curriculum, scheduling, technology, community outreach. One of the first changes she made was to start an on-site health clinic in partnership with a local hospital, since many students were uninsured and needed treatment in order to stay in school and learn. She has implemented Saturday schooling and marshalled local business support for a "career strand" program for 10th graders. But she is most keen on motivating and training teachers. Teachers at Hoover participate in seminars and are encouraged to take "mini-sabbaticals."
"You just can't expect change to happen. You have to set up a structure-- a way to think, talk, and go about change. My way was Personalized Professional Growth Seminars (for teachers)," says Alvarez. About 12 teachers at a time are released for three class periods a day for six weeks to attend seminars on school change and peer-to-peer workshops. By organizing teams of teachers responsible for the intellectual growth of discrete sets of students, Alvarez energized Hoover High School and achieved what every principal dreams about: measurable positive change.
Our forum asks you to think about what you would do if you were in charge of urban schools in America. Which method of reform do you thinks work best, or is it a combination of several? Is federal funding the answer, or should change come from the schools themselves, and the principals who run them?
Questions asked in this forum:
Would equal funding for all schools solve the problems in low-income area public schools? A prospective teacher asks about strategies to improve teacher quality. Are vouchers or school choice the answer? Is it time to rethink the traditional classroom structure? How do education labor unions effect the reform process? What role does parental participation play? How can communities foster constructive public dialogue on education issues? Additional questions and comments .
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