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Dr. By David Hornbeck
The author is Maryland, a lifetime teacher, founder of Strong Schools, who has served as Maryland State Superintendent Schools, Philadelphia School Superintendent and Pennsylvania’s Executive Deputy Secretary Education.
As the founder of Strong Schools Maryland, no one is a strong supporter of Bloprint for the future of Maryland. This is the best education law in the country in the last half century. But this reflects a great lapse. It clearly does not deal with school culture. This is an example of excellent strategies. they include:
- Precinder for children aged 3 and 4 years.
- Important tuition for struggling students.
- More payments for teachers, more emphasis on a career ladder and professional status of teaching.
- It is believed that all poverty is not entitled to all schools with a strong concentration of poverty factor and with 55% or less income students, which are community schools with greater resources.
- High standard for graduation.
- In the last two years of high school for academic acceleration, in the last two years, including two -year college degree and/or parameters of excellence in career tech fields, industry can lead to recognized certification.
- And much more, including historically unprecedented harmony on equity and systemic changes.
Extraordinary!
However, as the legendary management expert Peter Droker saw, “Culture eats a strategy for breakfast!” Poor culture gives rise to failure; There is a lot of success in good culture in an institution. This is not just the truth of schools. This is true about businesses, law firms, churches, government, even families… all institutions. Without a change in culture, the promise of the blueprint will be reduced.
So what is the situation of culture in Maryland schools? As usual, look at the evidence:
- Maryland had 56,000 suspension last year: 60% of them were black students; 27% were disabled students. We feed the school to the jail pipeline.
- 197,000 students were absent last year. This is about a quarter of all students. A big reason – they do not want to stay in a place where they do not feel safe, where they feel humiliated; Where his voice is not heard.
- 14% of our new teachers leave before the end of their third year, many more before the end of their seventh. With students, many teachers do not just want to live in schools where disruption makes class management a major issue and where they too, hearing and not respected.
- One -third of our middle and high school people report annually mental health challenges, a major issue before epidemic, now very bad.
- All these elements of poor school culture affect black and brown students unevenly. Thus, only 34% black students, for example, are skilled in English/language art while 60% are white students. In mathematics, 14% of black students are efficient than 40% white students.
Such a number is unacceptable, and the blueprint will not be almost effective in changing them if we do not change the school culture at the same time.
Fortunately, there is a research-based solution that will dramatically replace the school’s culture. This is called restructural practices. House Bill 1257, Dell. Sponsored by Cheryl Pasteur (D-Baltimore County) and now under consideration in Wes and Means Committee, and Senate Bill 917, Sen. These two bills ask for all Maryland schools to become restructural schools over the next 12 years, which are phased parallel to the blueprint.
A restaurant creates the school community and promotes positive relationships. It is a safe school. This is a one that practice and celebrates racial justice, where interaction, decisions and instructions are made with equity as a compelling priority. Employees and students value each other, listen to each other. A restructural school is one that has principal and leadership team model restaurant behavior.
Call HB 1257 and SB 917 for three essential things:
- Bills establish restorative schools as an essential feature of a successful school as a case of state policy. The Maryland State Department of Education is accused of developing a comprehensive plan in consultation with stakeholders to bring restore schools over 12 years.
- They say for a restorative coach in each restructural school. The primary responsibility of a restructural coach is to work with all other employees in understanding and creating the way of equipment, brain-set, life-way, which reflects a restructural school.
- Bills ask for expected training. As each school starts its change, all employees … Principal, teacher, bus driver, cafeteria workers will all get at least two days of training. The refresher training will be annually.
Changing culture is difficult. It does not happen overnight. This requires perseverance and perseverance. But this is a full condition for achieving the goal goals; In fact, it is important to make Maryland a place where we can all flourish and, as the village has called Ves Moore, has not been left behind.
Re -published