☆ A culture of competition: Shane Lewis on how to fix SJUSD schools (1/2)
Test scores are falling, but teachers unions still want more money to shore up job security and pay all members equitably, regardless of results. So says former Santa Clara County Board of Education candidate Shane Lewis in an Opp Now exclusive Q&A. He argues the county should protect the schools from disruptive state policies, while teachers and schools could benefit from incentive pay and a focus on outcomes.
Opportunity Now: SJUSD's academic achievement standards are only dropping. What is the most important problem to fix?
Shane Lewis: There needs to be alignment on core competencies county-wide such as math, English, science, history, and the arts. The Santa Clara County Board of Education has the ability to set priorities for the public schools in our county, but the way it is right now, the districts are only accountable to the state.
ON: Are you saying that individual schools and districts don’t get direction from the county board?
SL: When I was running for the County Board of Education, I was told that the school districts are islands, and the county has nothing to do with the education system: the county’s primary responsibility is charter schools and some other programs.
ON: So public school districts bypass the county and get direction from the state. How is that affecting test scores?
SL: There’s no accountability at the county level. There's no feedback from the county to get the school districts to act on something uniform and credible. Because of that, teachers are being pulled in a lot of different directions from local issues going on.
ON: And they default to excessive focus on equity and social justice issues?
SL: That’s right, there’s no clear vision for public schools.
ON: But doesn’t the state impose academic standards?
SL: There's a lot of education code coming down from the state that centers on equity and individual rights and social issues. When I was running for the county, I didn't see any state ed code come down that focused on getting student test scores up to speed. The standard is set, but there don’t seem to be expectations associated with the standard. Additionally, a school only receives additional funds if it is failing exceptionally. The state does not reward schools for excelling.
ON: Do you consider that giving the county more control, even though it is a step up from the district in the hierarchy, is a move towards more local control?
SL: That is correct. The County Board of Education should be the gatekeeper to our local community, because they are representatives of the people in the community. Right now, they don't see that as their role.
They just make sure that state policy is implemented locally instead of getting buy-in and making sure state policy is not adversely impacting the schools. A lot of times, parents and teachers and administrators don't actually know everything that's being implemented at the county level, because it's behind the scenes. Some teachers and administrators are aware, but the parents certainly are not.
ON: Until it’s too late?
SL: Many policies at the school district level could be resolved at the County Board of Education. Once it passes and the individual school districts incorporate it, then it requires tremendous time and resources from parents to correct the policy. Since the County BOE Trustees is an elected office, this board has the authority of the community to push back against state policy that is disruptive to the community where it violates either state or federal law. And yes, in some cases that would mean taking the state to court. It’s much harder for individual districts to fight back against a massive state entity which has infinitely more power than a school district.
ON: Why are schools always asking for money?
SL: Teachers should get bonuses and incentives when they get good results. But I was shocked to learn that if there’s any extra money in the budget, the unions want it.
ON: Meaning, pay increases for all teaching staff regardless of results, so that the union collects more dues.
SL: Exactly. The pay increases are uniform, so there’s no structure for incentive pay.
ON: But does incentive pay actually work? Won’t great teachers still be hamstrung by the lack of accountability and overall underperformance?
SL: When you work in an environment like that, you're basically trapped in a job. No amount of money is worth staying there longer than you have to. Teachers would much rather just go home.
ON: Are you saying it’s not just a pay increase, but that you would need that cultural shift too? Meaning, the county needs to get involved, promote a culture of excellence, move away from social justice stuff and get back to the basics?
SL: Yes, and schools need to possess tools that encourage teachers to excel and promote healthy competition with one another. It’s not just incentive pay, it’s healthy competition between teachers.
It’s also not just the core curriculum. In addition to test scores, we’ve got to prepare our students for the future, and there’s lots of opportunity for that in this community.
If students were exceling, businesses could pull people graduating from local schools and local colleges. People could afford to live in this area long term, rather than move out while companies have to bring talent in from across the globe.
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity
We prize letters from our thoughtful readers. Typed on a Smith Corona. Written in longhand on fine stationery. Scribbled on a napkin. Hey, even composed on email. Feel free to send your comments to us at opportunitynowsv@gmail.com or (snail mail) 1590 Calaveras Ave., SJ, CA 95126. Remember to be thoughtful and polite. We will post letters on an irregular basis on the main Opp Now site.