Educational Leaders Must Develop Networks of Informed Stakeholders to Ensure the ESEA Reauthorization Process Promotes the Mission of Learning for All

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized as No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), requires instructional leaders utilize strategies, approaches, and program initiatives that are scientific or research based and frequently monitor to close any identified achievement gaps.  In this pursuit, educational leaders, in-service teachers, as well as teacher candidates, will benefit from understanding the seven correlates of Effective Schools Research, which includes the two variables within a holistic system.  Given any system is a "network of interdependent components that work together to accomplish the aim of the system" (Deming (1993), institutes of higher education (IHE), teacher preparation programs, and school systems will benefit from increasing expectations for its stakeholders to increase their knowledge of systems and their ability to think systemically. 

Effective Schools Research identifies the following correlates as present in all cases of an effective educational system:

1.     Clear and focused mission

2.     Climate of high expectations

3.     Instructional leadership

4.     Opportunity to learn/student time on task

5.     Frequently monitoring student progress

6.     Safe and orderly environment

7.   Home-school relations (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011)

Given the interdependency of the seven correlates of Effective Schools, educational leaders must approach these correlates with the view of implementing them holistically and interdependently.  Thus, a clear and focused mission as well as strong instructional leadership is required to move the other interdependent correlates from being an ideal to effective systemic practice.  Since Effective Schools Research demonstrates that a result of an educational system ignoring the interdependence among the seven correlates is slow progress, then a lack of strong, respected educational leadership that brings consensus for a clear and focused mission will result in confusion about simultaneously and systemically incorporating all the correlates. 

Starting with A Nation at Risk (1983) through the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, PL 98-10) known as No Child Left Behind (2001), politicians have predicated education reform on the need to fix a broken system.  While far past due, Congress has undertaken the reauthorization process for ESEA.  This process will either provide another opportunity for true reform or simply offer politicians more chances to use education as a means for power.  To mitigate the latter and promote the former, effective educational leaders must proactively ensure ESEA is “rewritten to reflect its original purpose: success for all children, especially disadvantaged children” (American Association of School Administrators, 2010). 

The power to guide professional development, promote professional learning communities, and encourage active collaboration between all stakeholders, provides the educational leader a tremendous opportunity to engage networks of stakeholders to become informed and proactive during the current ESEA reauthorization process.  One goal for educational leaders will be to help networks of stakeholders understand the need for ESEA reauthorization to address the primary mission of ESEA.  The related action plan would be for the effective educational leader to develop stakeholders into informed networks that willingly seek to promote the mission of learning for all.  As a result, the reauthorization process will more likely focus upon education of the whole child while ensuring upward mobility for all Americans.  "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government;... whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights" (Jefferson, 1789). 

References:

Lezotte, L. W. (1991) Correlates of effective schools: The first and second generation.

               http://www.effectiveschools.com/images/stories/escorrelates.pdf

Lezotte, L. W., & Snyder, K. M. (2011). What effective schools do: Re-envisioning the

correlates. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Purkey, W. W., & Siegel, B. L. (2013). Becoming an invitational leader: A new approach to

               professional and personal success. Atlanta, GA: Humanics. Retrieved from:

               http://invitationaleducation.net/featuredbooks.html

Schmoker, J, (1999) The Key to Continuous School Improvement (2nd edition) ASCD

To Cite:

Anderson, C.J. (July 31, 2015) Educational leaders must develop networks of informed stakeholders to

               ensure the ESEA reauthorization process promotes the mission of learning for all.  

               [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/

Long Live the Prince: a sign of things to come as an outcome of the Supreme Court’s rejection of corporate spending limits

In a February 2 editorial, the NY Post noted, “Gov. Cuomo yesterday challenged the Albany establishment to accept "change" and pass a $133 billion budget -- the first in 15 years meant to actually shrink and not grow.” The same day, Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle editorialized that, “Cuomo is proposing radical change. It's political heavy lifting that threatens to turn the Albany establishment upside down." With the passage of the state’s budget before the April 1 deadline, New York made tremendous progress toward achieving the goals of putting the state’s fiscal house in order and getting New York’s economy running again. The budget includes historic reforms that eliminate a $10 billion deficit with no new taxes or borrowing, redesign government to cut waste and inefficiency, and deliver real results for hard-working families across New York State. As noted in the January post to this blog, undoubtedly difficult decisions needed to be made in the current budget and during future budget debates-both at the federal, state, and local levels. However, education and research must be encouraged and supported rather than cut simply for the sake of reducing a deficit. Education and research are both aimed for improving the future thereby support for both are an investment. On January 7, Charles Bagli for the NY Times reported, “powerful real estate moguls, bankers and business executives behind the Committee to Save New York are moving ahead and expect to run their first television commercial early next week supporting Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s campaign to oppose tax increases, reduce the size of government and reform Medicaid and public employee pensions. The governor has already called for a one-year salary freeze for state workers.” Although “corporations” have been given carte blanche over our government due to the January 2011 Supreme Court decision, our elected officials need to vote with their minds not with any single organization’s wallet. The problem will be in actually deciphering the truth among the deceptive and misleading statements and materials that can now bombard the average citizen and politician as a result of this unwise Supreme Court decision and the control of media markets allowed since 2003, when the Bush Administration changed the FCC ownership rules, (see the August post) Last week I received a mailer paid by the Committee to Save New York, Inc. The pamphlet exhibited politics of the worst sort: using hyperbole to make one group the enemy to forward a group's covert agenda. The aforementioned pamphlet noted: “Behind closed doors superintendents and administrators are taking money out of classrooms-but putting hundreds of thousands of dollars in their own pockets.” Let's ignore the intended message- that the proposed layoffs of school teachers are being caused by superintendents' bloated salaries and instead examine the reality that the Committee to Save New York seems intent on implementing a lobbying and marketing approach whereby their own preferences, behaviors, and advocacy, should not be seen as a source of blame for pain inflicted upon others when a suitable scapegoat can be identified. Alas, Machiavellian philosophy is being exhibited with insidious perfection. Mr. Cuomo, has previously exhibited collaboration with union officials representing health care workers in his effort to overhaul the state Medicaid program. Everyone is encouraged to help him maintain a desire for collaboration and reject, as suspicious and deceptive, the marketing and lobbying plan being utilized by groups such as the Committee to Save New York, which no longer need to identify their political agenda or affiliation. Education is the only protection against a system that is being stacked to allow misinformation to manipulate, distract, and confuse the masses. Stay informed, act locally, think globally, and remain life-long learners! Otherwise, soon all can be lost!