{"id":2216,"date":"2019-05-02T20:55:53","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T20:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/?p=2216"},"modified":"2024-10-15T22:02:14","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T22:02:14","slug":"fixing-education-requires-systemic-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/2019\/05\/02\/fixing-education-requires-systemic-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixing Education Requires Systemic Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

School reform has been tried and doesn\u2019t work. What is needed is systemic change.  An article on EducationNext highlights key components of select schools that implemented systemic changes in order to transform their schools. Much of which are in line with senior fellow Don Nielsen\u2019s policy propositions in his book Every School: One Citizens Guide to Transforming Education<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authors Karen Hawley Miles and Karen Baroody recognize eight\nschool systems that \u201cfocus less on specific interventions and more on the\nsystemic conditions that lead to results.\u201d They continue, \u201cto address these\nchallenges, [deplorable graduation rates and low-performing schools] they had\nchosen from a small set of clear strategic priorities such as getting the right\npeople in the right roles, differentiating and expanding student time and\nattention, organizing resources for job-embedded, curriculum-connected\nprofessional learning, and leveraging the community to support students and\nfamilies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why aren\u2019t more schools adopting these policy proposals?\nBecause hardly anyone is talking about the system itself. Much like the two\nauthors above, Nielsen argues for systemic change. He pushes for \u201ca new system\nmust be different than the \u2018one size fits all\u2019 system we have now.\u201d Examples of these ideas, in a broad manner, similar to those highlighted in the eight school systems, are, \u201cChange an adult-focused system to a student-focused system; Change an input-focused system to an output-focused system; Change a teaching-focused system to a learning-focused system; Change a group-focused system to an individual-focused system; and Change a time-focused system to a competency-focused system.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These policy proposals need not occur immediately. In fact, they should be rolled out over time in order to address change appropriately.  We also need to recognize that changing our school system will also require significant change in the American culture. That cannot happen overnight.  Nielsen has a proposed \u201cgame plan\u201d that involves two phases. The first is concerned with legislation regarding right-to-work,  school-choice, innovation schools and districts , and leadership institutes.\u201d Phase 1, which includes short-term, incremental goals, is designed to begin the creation of a \u201cmovement\u201d for change and needs 1-3 years to take hold. The second phase, given the results are positive in Phase 1, would take 4-10 years, perhaps longer.  In this phase, the goal is to \u201cuncuff\u201d the restraints on the current system to allow innovation to flourish and to enhance stability of leadership and governance.  The policy suggestions include legislation regarding appointed school boards, certification requirements, school funding, and graduation requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paramount to this \u201cgame plan\u201d is the process begins with a state\nlegislature. As Nielsen notes, \u201cIf we want sustainable change, it must occur at\nthe state level, with passage of new laws and codes.\u201d He explains,  \u201cthe state controls most of the money, who can\nand cannot teach, who can and cannot lead\u2026as in any other organization if you\ncontrol the money and the people, then you control the operation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing the system can be a daunting challenge, but if one\nstate begins this process it can transform our entire nation. As Nielsen\nproclaims, \u201cOur children and our country are counting on us.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

School reform has been tried and doesn\u2019t work. What is needed is systemic change.  An article on EducationNext highlights key components of select schools that implemented systemic changes in order to transform their schools. Much of which are in line with senior fellow Don Nielsen\u2019s policy propositions in his book Every School: One Citizens Guide to Transforming Education. Authors Karen Hawley Miles and Karen Baroody recognize eight school systems that \u201cfocus less on specific interventions and more on the systemic conditions that lead to results.\u201d They continue, \u201cto address these challenges, [deplorable graduation rates and low-performing schools] they had chosen from a small set of clear strategic priorities such as getting the right people in the right roles, differentiating and Read More ›<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":343,"featured_media":2217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1062],"class_list":["post-2216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-policy"],"acf":[],"author_names":["Bailey Takacs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/343"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2216"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2216"}],"wp:action-assign-author":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discovery.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post\/2216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}