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Patrick targets gaps in learning
Has 50 initiatives for education; Funding, support could be hurdles
Governor Deval Patrick will unveil more than 50 recommendations this week that seek to dramatically change the way education is delivered and funded in Massachusetts.
Education, union, and business leaders briefed on the plan say Patrick will propose a plethora of initiatives aimed at closing the achievement gap among students. In addition, he will recommend that a statewide teacher contract take the place of contracts negotiated town by town; suggest higher pay for teachers in hard-to-staff subjects, such as math, and geographical areas, such as inner cities; and encourage some of the state's 391 school districts to merge. He is also expected to propose making community colleges, which cost an average of $3,657 a year, free for all students.
Administration officials say many of the details, including timelines and funding, have yet to be fleshed out, but those briefed last week say that Patrick is expected to make a major announcement about financing the plan this morning at the Boys and Girls Club in Dorchester. The governor has another education-related event scheduled tomorrow in Hopkinton, and the full Readiness Report will be made available Wednesday.
"You're seeing a serious, major overhaul of our public education system," said an administration official with knowledge of the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan will not be publicly unveiled until this week. "It's very unusual and it's taking very seriously the notion that we need to offer a different long-range plan."
Several people briefed last week, including business and union leaders and advocacy groups, lauded the governor's proposals, but said that the true challenge lies in funding many of the initiatives and garnering the support of Beacon Hill lawmakers. With some of the initiatives costly to implement and others challenging a longstanding tradition of local control, there could be opposition from special-interest groups such as charter school advocates and teachers unions.
"They get an A+ in terms of completeness," said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, who was given a verbal briefing on the plan Friday. "The real hard work comes in how you get people to do it and how do you pay for it . . . there will be lobbying all over the place and the Legislature's going to play a key role. They've got to get invested."
While many of the governor's proposals challenge the status quo, Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said Patrick's agenda "issues a challenge to stakeholders to be a part of the solution" and should be embraced by local school districts and teachers unions who have long complained that they have not been treated as partners in education reforms. "He's saying to school districts, we're going to let you develop innovation from within," said Koocher, who was also briefed Friday. "There is not one idea in that package that defends public policy or seeks anything other than improved academic achievement for all students."
Listing several dozen proposals in the areas of student achievement, teacher preparation, career and college readiness, and district efficiency, the document includes recommendations to lengthen the school year, create grant-funded summer programs in high-need districts, and boost high school graduation requirements.
Likely to be one of the most controversial aspects of the plan is a proposal to implement a statewide teachers contract, as opposed to the current system where each school district engages in collective bargaining with its local teachers union. An administration official with knowledge of the plan said such a contract could save school districts significant amounts of time, provide the state with more flexibility in assigning teachers to schools, and give teachers the option of investing in a state pension system or getting paid more up front.
But Anne Wass, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the state's largest teachers union with nearly 108,000 members, said she wants more information about the proposal before taking a position on it. "We have lots of questions," said Wass, who was briefed on the plan last week.
Wass said she also wants to see more information on the governor's proposal to pay some teachers more than others. While the MTA has supported the idea of providing extra pay for teachers in hard-to-staff schools, it opposes paying teachers in one subject area more than others.
"It's very difficult to create a collegial atmosphere in a school when everyone knows that one teacher is getting paid X amount more," she said.
Launched 18 months ago, the governor's Readiness Project has had input from more than 200 educators, administrators, lawmakers, and public policy experts working on 13 subcommittees.
Led by
For example, while the plan includes allowing motivated students to take a fast-track to graduation and earn college credits in high school, it will also include proposals for universal pre-kindergarten and longer school days, which seek to aid students who need extra help.
"We need a system that tailors its approach," the official said.
Another proposal that is likely to face opposition is one that suggests offering districts financial incentives to consolidate with their neighbors. Massachusetts has 391 school districts, all but 41 of which serve fewer than 5,000 students, a number administration officials is necessary to create economies of scale. Maryland, with a similar number of students to Massachusetts, has 24 school districts; New York City has one. "There are just undeniable efficiencies of scale," said the administration official with knowledge of the plan.
However, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents is writing a research paper on the subject of district consolidation arguing that larger districts aren't more financially efficient than smaller ones because larger districts usually have more administrative positions.
"I think the big piece is what are the [financial] incentives?" Scott said. "Without incentives, it's going to be very hard politically."
In addition, charter school advocates have expressed disappointment that the governor's plan doesn't include an increase in the state's number of charter schools, as Patrick has promised. Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville have reached their limit on the number of charter schools they can have, and in his campaign Patrick pledged to lift that cap. "That is obviously a big omission," said Marc Kenen, executive director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.
The proposal does include implementing a series of Readiness Schools, modeled after pilot schools, which give districts unprecedented control over matters ranging from curriculum and hiring decisions to policies on school uniforms and the length of the school year. But whereas charter schools are usually started by third parties, a pilot or Readiness school is a conversion of an existing school and is managed by a local school committee.
The administration official said that the charter school debate has reached a stalemate in the Legislature, forcing Patrick to look for new options to provide communities with school choice and innovation. But if Readiness Schools don't take off, Patrick may revive the charter debate, the official said.
"If school districts don't embrace this, you're going to see this governor turn his attention elsewhere, possibly out of the system," the official said. "We can't wait forever."
Tania deLuzuriaga can be reached at deluzuriaga@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
