Too Much of This....Not Enough of That

 

 

 

 

 

     For those of us who follow trends in public education, I read with interest that the interim superintendent of the Cape Elizabeth, Maine schools has begun their annual budget process a bit differently this year. Different, but it appears to be based on courage and wisdom. He reported to his school board that he began the process by asking teaching staff for ideas and was overwhelmed with both the number of ideas and the potential cost of implementing these ideas. It takes courage to ask a group of teachers what their requirements for an annual budget are and wisdom to know how to make the list manageable and feasible. It takes wisdom to begin the process with some principled decision making criteria. The principle which he brought forward was 'student need'.

 

     "We have to really stress literacy and the support for that as early as we can." Many experts agree that pre-K programming effectively reduces the achievement gaps most schools see as soon as kindergarten students walk through their doors day one. In addition, a cohesive preK-12 student support services system that responds as soon as (and as long as) students begin to experience academic and/or social problems has been cited as effective bridges to achievement and social success. Focus on reading proficiency and a strong math curriculum, his guiding words to his school board.

 

     This superintendent also spoke 'truth to power', in as much as the local school board is the beginning of a long chain of state and federal sources of power. This superintendent should lead the charge not only in Cape Elizabeth, Maine but in all Maine communities and every state across the US.  His words?

 

                "Cape Elizabeth places too much emphasis on testing. Although Cape is a high achieving school district, relying too much on getting good test results can be damaging. Rather, the district needs to experiment more in how success is measured. There is a risk of being reluctant to take risks."  He further acknowledged understanding how "some school board members or faculty may be afraid of what risk taking will do to test scores, or how it will affect parents' opinions of the district. He said that can't be the main concern. I wouldn't be too concerned with preserving a reputation. I 'd be more inclined to create a new reputation." 

 

     Additional words of wisdom? He spoke of the unhealthy levels of student stress and the importance of helping students manage 'unnecessary stress, too much stress'. He further recommended that "we need to help our school community realize that enough's enough".

 

     Wisdom and courage, universal ideals and challenges, principled leadership to guide decision making in public schools. Students are in good hands at the Cape Elizabeth schools with this school leader. He shared more pearls of wisdom with his school board. Read the Forecaster article written by Kate Gardner in its entirety here:  http://www.theforecaster.net/cape-elizabeth-school-chief-delivers-lesson-on-obvious-needs/