Clearly, dollars alone aren’t the answer to improving education, although no one would deny funding matters. And that’s what is so sad. For while the conservative majority just pumped hundreds of millions into an average $3300 raise for teachers with more to come, the News and Observer and the other reflexive critics won’t even consider other reforms to make dollars more effective.
What are these schools parents choose and the establishment hates doing right? What are lower rated choice schools doing wrong? Will giving parents the power to choose a school promote more parental involvement?
The report cards show a correlation between poor children and failing schools, a ready made out for the fund the status quo and shut up excuse makers on the left. But here’s a fact exploding the myth of class bigots who think poor children can’t learn . 13% of A graded schools are high poverty schools and 23% of B grades are in high poverty schools. What are they doing right?
And while conservative reformers are working against a hail storm of opposition to change tenure, we find half the schools where less than half the teachers met student learning expectations are rated D D or F. Any system defending the protection of mediocrity is a bad system.
In a world changing at mouse click speed, money without reform won’t work. Unfortunately, only one side gets it and that’s why the conservative reform Legislature needs our help. We need boat rockers committed to results first.