^{The Bottom Line} It’s Past Time for a K-12 Redesign

[Editor’s Note: Other articles in the K-12 Redesign series include: A Financial Overhaul, School Calendar, Achievement Instead of Time, Retooling Testing, and Graduation Requirements. Future articles will explore additional components of a K-12 educational redesign.]

K-12 public education, already in crisis pre-COVID-19, is on a steep downward trajectory — with the severe lack of instruction time, staggering learning loss, alarming dropout numbers, and serious student disengagement. With half of the schools closed nationwide a full year without providing in-person instruction, and only returning with reduced instruction hours despite heaps of additional funding, it’s overdue time for a K-12 redesign.

Before considering what a redesign might look like, we should first recognize that implementing the needed changes will require skilled and courageous leadership. It demands that leaders ask what needs to be done for students and then develop associated action plans. It requires responsibility for decisions and communication. It warrants working together with a “we” versus an “I” mindset. And, most importantly, it necessitates a focus on opportunities rather than problems.

Emphasizing problems can quickly become discouraging, overwhelming, and result in blame casting. Instead, we need to devote intense thought and energy to identifying and leveraging present opportunities that can open the door to a future, more successful K-12 education.

Pre-pandemic, a K-12 redesign was in order, as the existing system was outdated — the educational approaches were not producing robust student learning for the majority of students. Seventy percent of students did not receive the education required for success in the 21^st Century.