Education is a partnership of many
With a simple but forceful bureaucratic statement, the US Department of Education recently announced that 63 schools in our region are considered under performing and would be placed on a federal watch list. In the language of education, that's the equivalent of a failing grade, the result of failing to meet MCAS standards in math and English over two years.
Brockton had the highest number of under performing schools -- 20 -- but schools in Easton, Norton, Holbrook, Middleborough, Plymouth, Randolph, Rockland, and Taunton were also on the list. Randolph Community School got the ultimate black mark when it was described as needing a complete overhaul.
Statewide, the number of schools, including charters, that failed to meet federal standards for at least two years jumped from 420 last year to 617 this year.
Regionally, there were some bright spots. Four schools in Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Plymouth, and Whitman improved enough to be taken off the watch list. While that is good news for those schools, the story is rightfully on the 63 that were underperforming.
The Department of Education report will certainly initiate a debate within the schools and the school districts over what went wrong and how to fix it. Look for school committee meetings at which superintendents and principals are taken to task for shortcomings, perceived or real. Expect, too, that meetings of parents will produce anguished discussions about how to meet their children's most basic educational needs. And around town there will be complaints from taxpayers that their money has been wasted despite all those overrides and debt-exclusion votes.
When education goes wrong in a town, the blame game becomes the most popular sport around. The usual suspects are the principals and the teachers; after all, they are on the front lines of the MCAS testing and they are the ones who are seen as responsible for getting the students ready to show their mastery of test-taking skills.
But is blame so clear and certain? Are educational professionals the only ones responsible for our educational failures?
When MCAS scores head south, there are very few critics who look to the students as contributing to the problem. They are seen as victims of the testing game; it's not their fault if their school didn't prepare them adequately. No mention is made about whether the students listen attentively in class, do homework, or take the whole learning process seriously.
Then there are the parents. If parents want to be part of the educational process, as many do , then they have the obligation to insist that their son and daughter put all their effort into the MCAS test. If parents hover over the shoulder of the principal and the teacher, they should also hover over the shoulder of their son or daughter.
And what about the townspeople? Are they without blame? If a school in a community is not doing well, could it be that a lack of resources is a contributing factor? We have too often seen voters fail to provide the foundation upon which a solid education is built -- reasonable class size, adequate technology, and buildings that are modern and welcoming. This failure amounts to educational negligence.
Winning the MCAS challenge is a partnership among school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and townspeople. It is not a one-dimensional blame game that leaves important partners out of the mix. For those 63 schools in our region to get off the watch list, it will take a maximum effort of all the partners in education.
Michael Kryzanek of Whitman is professor of political science at Bridgewater State College. He can be reached at mkryzanek@bridgew.edu 
