Real change needed in education

Americans voted for change in 2008. But it is one thing to vote for change and quite another to embrace it. For this reason, efforts to improve the academic achievement of poor and minority students in underfunded school districts have become a slippery slope. Around the country, public school districts that receive federal education funding walk a tight rope to achieve balance between what people say they want – and our children deserve – what people are willing to give up and what the White House expects us to do.

Thornton Township High Schools District 205, where I am superintendent, has been grappling with these issues since the district was awarded an $18 million School Improvement Grant last fall. The grant will pay for technical assistance and academic improvements and support systems for students, teachers and parents. Opposition, however, has centered on one component: a proposal to transform Thornridge High School in Dolton into a Freshmen Center.

District 205 covers 13 south suburban communities including Harvey, Dolton, Dixmoor, Burnham, South Holland, Phoenix, Riverdale and Calumet City. It was one of five districts statewide to win funding under the grant. Recipients were selected by the Illinois Board of Education, but the money comes from Washington. The grant targets districts with high numbers of low-performing students and stipulates radical change. District 205 has received School Improvement Grants in the past, but this particular grant marks the first time it actually received the full amount being sought. Typically, we are awarded about a third of what we ask for, allowing for piecemeal changes but nothing close to a major overhaul. The state applauded our proposals, in particular, the freshmen academy. Thornwood in South Holland and Thornton Township high school in Harvey would become upper-class academies.

Single-grade-focused schools provide numerous benefits for students with low math and reading scores. Currently, 43 percent of our incoming freshmen read at a 5^th grade level. Testing shows that more than 80 percent are not high school ready in reading and math. While some children excel others struggle to overcome a myriad of social and economic challenges that impact their performance in school.

Parents opposed to the plan filed a lawsuit against the Illinois State Board of Education, Dr. Christopher A. Koch, State Superintendent of Education, Thornton Township High School District 205 and Dr. J. Kamala Buckner, Superintendent of Thornton Township High School District 205 seeking an injunction, saying the district did not provide sufficient notice and participation by parents, students and community leaders. I graduated from Thornton Township High School. I understand the passion and affinity community members feel for these institutions. They are a source of pride. But I ask those who oppose the changes to consider what our children are up against. The high school model in Illinois has been the same since 1899. We must change for the 21

st Century if our students are to compete in a world that is still being defined by the global market.

Our grade-center proposals have been called too drastic. Some have said they want things to remain as they are. But the White House has put school districts and Boards of Education nationwide on notice that the federal government will no longer fund the status quo in education. “Radical” and “dramatic change,” those are their words, their mandates. Frankly, it is about time that national education policy grew some teeth and financed proven models of reform before our children slide further into decline.

As adults and educators, our most important responsibility is to educate and prepare our youth for the future, and we take that seriously. I’ve been with District 205 for 38 years. Education is my passion. Careful thought and well-researched, proven strategies went into the development of the district’s proposed changes. We did not take this process lightly.

Regrettably, because the application period was so short, there was no time to host town hall meetings with the community to discuss the proposals developed in cooperation with the District 205 Board of Education, District 205 teachers, principals and other administrators. Furthermore, the likelihood of us receiving the full amount of the grant was slim due to statewide competition. The District began to hold town hall meetings with parents and the community upon notification of receiving the grant.

On the positive side, the community is engaged and students are learning a valuable lesson about how change is made. The villagers do not always agree. We expected that. To disagree adds to the richness of the change. But make no mistake, the change is necessary. We cannot continue educating children with an 1899 model. The children have different challenges socially, emotionally and academically. They know more, and more is required of them.

Anything that is worthwhile comes with its challenges. It is my hope that the students and parents who are against our proposals apply the same passion they have shown during this process to starting new traditions and achieving educational excellence.

Dr. J. Kamala Buckner is superintendent of Thornton Township High Schools District 205.