Gathering Places
Gathering Places
School complexes
are a better model
for K-12 reformsI want to express my grave concern over Gov. Linda Lingle's proposal to drastically change the governance system of the Department of Education by establishing seven individual school boards and districts. Anyone who takes time to research school finance will realize that Hawaii is the envy of other states in the nation because our state educational system ensures equity of funding and resources.
I began my educational career in Washington state, which has individual school districts and boards. Washington also has a system of haves and have- nots, depending upon the socioeconomic level of each district. There was inequity in funding, supplies, personnel and salaries.
William Bainbridge, a distinguished research professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio, recently wrote: "Hawaii is the only state to have systematically solved the salary and recruitment inequity problems with its statewide salary schedule and human-resource management system. Hawaii took the extreme measure of creating a unitary school system for the state."
The advantages of Hawaii's state system far outweigh its disadvantages. Our island community is too small, our personnel and economic resources are too fragile, to operate as seven fragmented, competitive and inevitably dysfunctional school boards.
If the motivation behind the proposal is to increase parent and community involvement in our schools, then let's do that by building and strengthening the DOE's current complex area structure.
I am one of 15 complex area superintendents. My area consists of 16 schools located from Mokapu to Waimanalo, including Olomana Alternative School, the Windward School for Adults and two public charter schools. As a former teacher, counselor and elementary principal in the area for almost 30 years, I have many friends and colleagues, and have established parent and community relationships.
Under the leadership of Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto, I am working closely with my schools to implement the DOE's strategic plan for standards-based reform in the context of a strong, viable K-12 complex structure. We are developing Complex Action Plans to achieve the DOE vision of producing well-prepared high school students who graduate with multiple academic and career options.
As an educator and a parent, my experience has always been that parents who wish to be involved in their child's education -- in partnership with the school -- are more than welcomed by our teachers and administrators. A variety of opportunities and activities are offered for both parent and community involvement in the school, including School/Community-Based Management. Our schools can each list a number of community partnerships and grants they have developed.
As a complex area superintendent, I intend to build upon these school-level partnerships and extend them to other schools in the complex area.
Hawaii's public schools are at the tipping point in the process of implementing standards-based reform. The Performance Standards Review Commission recently recommended that complex area superintendents should continue to strengthen their roles and responsibilities in support of standards-based reform.
This is no time to veer off course by supporting an entirely different educational governance system -- one which will undoubtedly result in chaos and confusion. Rather, it is time to maintain and strengthen our current complex area structure to best meet the needs of our students and our schools.
Louise Wolcott is superintendent for the Kailua/Kalaheo complex area.