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Vote looms on
accountability
The goal is to formulate rewards,
sanctions and help for
public schoolsTeacher raises depend on revenues
By Crystal Kua
From the perspective of parents
Star-BulletinAccountability will likely translate into students being taught by teachers better prepared to use the latest, most innovative instructional techniques in the classroom.
It may also mean that troubled schools get the best and brightest faculty and administrators.
It could even mean -- but not necessarily -- that schools will be shut down if they continue to fail students.
Details of an accountability system have not been determined as state lawmakers prepare to vote on a measure that sets up a framework for rewards, assistance and sanctions to hold public schools accountable for student achievement.
But setting up an accountability system is one piece of Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu's package to establish high academic standards, using tests and other methods to measure if standards are being met and holding schools accountable.
He plans to bring together different groups with a stake in public education to develop a program seen by parents and others as an important step toward reform.
Parents such as Admiral Jefferson, Pam Barklow and John Heckathorn say their experiences with the public school system leads them to believe that accountability is a missing ingredient. "To be brutally honest, I don't see a whole lot of accountability," said Barklow of Kauai, an active parent in her son's high school.
Gov. Ben Cayetano sees accountability as a critical component in educational reform needed to help Hawaii become part of the technology-based new economy. "Hawaii does not have a good accountability system. Our educators are recognizing this."
Added LeMahieu: "There are no answers for some things, but that doesn't mean there won't be. That means they don't exist right now because people have to get together and make them."
But the framework does provide some clues on what might be expected in the future.
"If you're a parent, your child's progress through the system will depend upon his demonstrating the accomplishment of the standards. Specifically what will happen is what is yet to be worked out," LeMahieu said.
"But my prediction is that at those benchmark years, if she does, he does perfectly well, they'll just sail through. If they have trouble, something will happen, like additional assistance, until they get it."
For example, the bill mandates continuing professional education for teachers and principals, which will have direct impact on student learning in the classroom, LeMahieu said.
"Does that mean folks will be better prepared, better equipped to innovate and know about and have recourse to current appropriate innovative instructional techniques? The answer is, to a very great extent, yes. That's a good thing," LeMahieu said.
Incentives for challenges
The majority of teachers and principals already take part in professional training, so this mandate will not be new to most, he said."The challenge is that it's hard to make a whole school effective when there are those who don't do it," LeMahieu said. "A blanket requirement is needed to make sure that everyone is doing it. So this means, as you help the school improve, you help the practice improve throughout the system."
Under LeMahieu's plan, rewards and recognition will go to schools for meeting goals, assistance and time will be given to schools that fall short and options will be available for schools who still aren't serving children well after receiving help and time.
"Does that mean shut down the school? I don't think so necessarily cause I don't think that's a good answer to the question what are you going to do to serve kids well," LeMahieu said.
"Does it mean reassignment of people? Perhaps, but only if it's the smart thing to do, the right thing to do," LeMahieu said. "How do you do that so as to treat people fairly and well," he said.
Incentives may also be needed to draw good teachers and administrators to take up the challenge of going out to troubled schools, he said.
"Schools need individually to do whatever makes the most sense in their context, given their kids, the needs of their kids," LeMahieu said. "What we need to do is make available a number of options and choices potentially for dealing with them."
Consumers of education
The kinds of things parents here are looking for in school accountability is not unusual, said Dave DeSchryver, director of research at the Washington-based Center for Education Reform. "The common theme is that parents want schools to view them as consumers of education."Lessons learned from other states show that setting up accountability is a long and arduous process that can last several years before a solid system is in place, DeSchryver said.
The politics of accountability is also a familiar theme.
"You can see how it can be political," DeSchryver said. "It's political because at the bottom of it you're talking about money and who can control the money."
Union issues -- such as the opposition by labor to LeMahieu's earlier plans to develop the details of an accountability system outside of collective bargaining -- is an example of politics in accountability.
While schools want flexibility in personnel issues, unions are there to oversee issues relating to their members' livelihood, he said.
But as shown in the compromise that resulted in the version of the accountability bill that lawmakers will vote on today, it is possible for those competing interests to seek a resolution.
"These things are not absolutely at odds," he said.
Accountability
in education from
parents’ perspective:
Everyone has role
Teachers should challenge,
By Crystal Kua
motivate students to make
them eager to learn
Star-BulletinWhen Admiral Jefferson became active in his son's public school education, the goal was to do his part to keep students enthusiastic about learning.
"The job has not been completed," he said. "Some of the schooling was good and some was not up to standards."
Jefferson said his now-grown son lost his enthusiasm for learning after graduating, a problem Jefferson pegged on teachers not prepared for the job.
"It looked like they had not prepared for the subjects so that the students would be energized into the subject," the Oahu parent said. "So I think the teachers could have made it more interesting, put the desire in him to learn something."
With unprepared teachers, kids were encouraged to fool around because they didn't have enough to keep them busy. His son was bored.
The expectation that the teachers know the right stuff wasn't there, he said. "It appeared they weren't accountable. They just put in the time."
When his son graduated from high school, he didn't want to continue with his education. Jefferson eventually convinced his son to attend community college, where his son's enthusiasm for learning blossomed again -- to Jefferson's delight. Jefferson said community college instructors motivated and challenged students.
"That's what's missing from the public schools. My son said, 'Why don't they teach this way in high school?' "
Even though his son graduated years ago, Jefferson said his mission continues.
"There's a long way to go," he said.
Parents must ensure
By Crystal Kua
children attend school and
do their homework
Star-BulletinWhen Pam Barklow sees youngsters out of high school unprepared for an entry-level job or unable to fill out a job application, she believes everyone should be held accountable for what students learn.
"It's not just the schools and parents," said Barklow, the mother of a Kauai sophomore.
Barklow said she's seen high school students who can't read above a third-grade comprehension level and who can't write a proper essay.
Barklow believes that an accountability plan shouldn't be developed through collective bargaining.
"As it is right now, the teachers don't have a performance-based system. I think it needs to be performance-based."
Another important group in the formula is parents.
"I think we need parents. A lot of our parents are not making their kids attend school, making sure they do their homework. Parents need to be sure that their children attend school and do their homework."
Businesses also have a role. They need to let schools know what they are looking for in a future work force, she said.
"They need to tell the school what they need in the way of skills when kids leave school.
"If we enable kids, especially with high-tech skills, then we don't have to pull workers from the mainland."
Schools over time have become disenfranchised from the community and there needs to be a move back toward putting schools at the center.
"What is our vision for school, what should it achieve and what should students be capable of doing out of high school?"
Schools not doing the
By Crystal Kua
job should be closed; student
performance the key
Star-BulletinFor John Heckathorn, the subject of accountability is simple:
"A school that wasn't doing the job would be shut down and schools that would do good would prosper."
The editor of Honolulu magazine was an active parent in Waialae Elementary School's early efforts as one of Hawaii's first two charter schools.
These schools are funded by public dollars but are freed of many government constraints through a charter or contract that holds them accountable for student learning.
"When we were talking about accountability, we meant we were taking the state's money so we want to show everybody we were doing a decent job with it," Heckathorn said.
While he views Waialae as one of the progressive public schools, it often struggled with a weak charter school law and an established Department of Education bureaucracy, he said.
"We were trying very hard to create tests that reflected our standards. There is a disinclination in the DOE to be accountable to actual student performance."
In the process, Heckathorn's daughters, then in the third and fifth grades, became unhappy.
The girls decided they wanted to transfer into a private school, he said.
"It was a difficult decision for me," Heckathorn said. "Let me say that my kids are happy and performing well."
Heckathorn said the biggest difference he sees in the private school is in the responsiveness to parents and children's concerns, which was missing in his public school experience.
You can track bills, hearings and other Legislature action via: Get involved
The Legislative Reference Bureau's public access room, state Capitol, room 401. Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Phone: 587-0478; fax, 587-0793; TTY, 538-9670.
Neighbor islanders, call toll-free and enter ext. 70478 after the number:
Big Island, 974-4000; Maui,
984-2400; Kauai, 274-3141;
Molokai and Lanai, 468-4644.
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