Should San Jose’s public schools have to compete for students? (2/2)
Everybody knows that SJUSD public schools will start to shutter soon, as alternative schooling and a crashing birth rate drag down enrollment. So says John Muir Middle School SSC member Shane Lewis in an Opp Now exclusive Q&A: rather than hike taxes for “self-preservation,” the district might learn a thing or two from charter schools about accountability and healthy competition.
Opportunity Now: Why do schools ask for more money even as enrollment is dropping?
Shane Lewis: Everyone in the public school system knows that attendance is going to drop significantly, through 2030 or 2035. That means you’re going to have school closures, and they’re going to have to lay off teachers.
But if they’re able to go to the ballot box and ask people for additional funds to support the schools, then they can offset some of the funds they're going to lose from the County Board of Education and still retain teachers.
So, it’s a kind of self-preservation, regardless of whether the teachers or the schools are performing well.
ON: What’s causing the drop in enrollment, where are all the students going?
SL: Our birth rates are down, and that's primarily the reason why the schools will lose students.
The other reason is that students are going to private, charter, and home schools. If we want students back in public schools with birth rates dropping, this is really the time for public schools to learn that they have to compete with charter schools and home schoolers. This means schools need to prioritize correctly. Core competencies must come first.
ON: How do you think SJUSD schools would benefit from accountability measures used in charter schools?
SL: Charter schools are required to meet state standards or individual charter schools cease to exist. Every school should be assessed based on the performance of the students according to state standards. Parents are assessed according to their child’s performance, Charter schools are as well, there is no reason why traditional public schools should not be held to the same standard.
Currently, the school district, California Teacher’s Association, other unions and the Santa Clara County Board of Education each have their own priorities which are not the students. State and local education policies are meant to encourage students to achieve state standards. The current state of our schools suggests that much of the policies that are passed and implemented have very little to do with student performance. This suggests that there is tremendous waste in what the County and districts are doing to help students. In many cases, we’re defending a policy idea rather than a material outcome. Adhering to state standards will help to align outside influences on teachers to focus on core competencies. Each of the above external influences simply do not have a uniform and intentional focus on student performance.
But again, it’s not just core curriculum, it’s outcomes, so that we’re not only meeting test scores, but we’re actually making a difference in our community and what these individual students are achieving, and this simply cannot happen unless we have a well-defined and central purpose focused on student achievement.
ON: What other steps could public schools take to improve accountability?
SL: Some schools use three different online apps to communicate with parents. This is inefficient, cumbersome, and encourages apathy. The county should define the app to be used for SCC traditional public schools.
ON: What about school choice?
SL: Vouchers would be a great way to encourage accountability, by allowing parents to truly prioritize their child's education and give them options to allow their children to attend a school that is best suited for their needs.
ON: What would you improve about the school safety plans and procedures?
SL: State education code requires each School Site Council (SSC) to primarily oversee the Comprehensive Site Safety Plan (CSSP). This plan covers many important topics like earthquake preparedness, school dress code, and school shootings.
However, right now the SJUSD primarily takes over the plan and leaves the SSC with overseeing dress code. The SSC is not allowed to speak with local fire and police precincts to evaluate response times, and resource officers are not allocated to schools.
Also, long and short-term strategy, logistics, and maintenance are missing from the plan. So, there is no way to build upon a long-term CSSP from one year to the next. The SSC doesn’t even look at neighborhood crime.
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