Wednesday, January 17, 2001
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Wednesday, January 17, 2001 |
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1 year later, school reform reexamined By AMY RILEY It has been a year since Governor Barnes' hotly contested A-plus Education Reform Act was unveiled. It eventually passed muster and became law. Since the 2000 legislative session, educators and parents have scrambled to understand the law and just how the new rules may impact their local systems. What a difference a year makes. This year's legislative session has opened with an eye for compromise and redress of some of last year's missteps. Now I think Barnes has not only an eye for education reform in theory, but a better feel for how to make that reform reality. In his budget address to state legislators on Thursday, Gov. Barnes has shown that he's willing to listen to educators and parents on some key areas of concern. There are still areas from last year's Education Reform Act that give me great pause, such as the Office of Education Accountability, which is an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and spending that is not truly "accountable" to the taxpayers at all, and only one of Gov. Barnes' power-grabbing superbabies. But by and large I have a better sense that our governor now knows that he has to look to the people, specifically the teachers and parents, to really understand what Georgia students need to improve. Exhibit A in Gov. Barnes' transformation is a proposed $68 million to put teacher aides, or paraprofessionals, back in to kindergarten classrooms. Arguably, we could use them in the first grade classrooms, too, but clearly the kindergarten classroom is a critical need area. Fayette students are fortunate to have a superintendent and Board of Education who recognize that parapros are invaluable teaching resources and have kept them in our classrooms even without an allowance from the governor. This is a big win for our youngest students, and a great way to enhance teaching at a relatively low cost to taxpayers. Another area that was reexamined was last year's unfunded mandate to reduce class size. Just as the Fayette County Board of Education was grappling with how to squeeze more students into already crowded schools, the state was telling us to put even fewer students in each classroom. Solution? The governor has proposed spending $468 million on school construction to address the lower pupil-to-teacher ratio the Education Reform Act demands. This will likely have a substantial impact for Fayette County schools, as we have a consistently climbing student population. One of the most egregious examples of good intentions wrongly applied in last year's Education Reform Act was the one that would reward teachers with bonuses for students' performance on standardized tests. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for rewarding teachers for outstanding teaching. I also support better pay for teachers and incentives for experienced teachers to remain in their teaching jobs beyond 30 years. But the program as written last year, to pay bonuses to teachers based on how their students perform on standardized tests, has the potential to devastate underperforming schools whose students need the best teachers of all. It was easy to see that the bonus program would have sent teachers running from underperforming schools, a real spit in the face for equal education. While the Office of Education Accountability hints that this aspect of the reform bill probably won't be addressed this session, it will be addressed in the coming year. The pay for performance program was to be one of the last aspects of the A-plus Reform Act to come on line. It is expected that the new bonus plan will include extra incentives to keep teachers in underperforming schools. That's good business, and crucial to providing the best educational environment for all students. It remains to be seen if Gov. Barnes' conciliatory measures will boost his approval rating among educators. Last years' ardent debates over how best to improve education in Georgia rang off-key for many educators who felt that the legislative action was one big indictment on teaching. Let's hope that the climate will remain open, and the dialogue sincere, so that real issues can be addressed in a realistic way. [Your comments are welcome: ARileyFreePress@aol.com.]
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