I could never be a reporter, mainly because I would never meet a deadline. That said, I am very good at mulling things over – which I’ve done for the last 24 hours and have finally decided to write about part of the meeting that hasn’t, as yet, been discussed: Education.
There’s been a lot of debate over the number of school districts in Delaware and whether or not consolidating them would be an effective way to cut costs. Governor Markell stated that while he’s not prepared, today, to reduce the number of school districts, the option is on the table.
Now, while I think nineteen school districts in a state the size of Delaware is excessive, I’m not ready to shrink this number without serious debate. On the surface, I can readily support trimming down the number of administrative overlaps that come with having this many districts, (which, often times, strikes me more as fiefdoms designed to benefit those making big salaries) but I don’t support making any move without all the facts. Obviously, I’m generalizing with the fiefdom comment, but given how many sacrifices our children are asked to make – from over crowded classrooms to lack of textbooks – I’d really prefer it if the next cost saving education plan didn’t take place in the classroom.
Financially transparency in relation to school districts was also discussed. As a Red Clay resident this issue is a big deal for me since I still haven’t forgotten Red Clay’s financial meltdown a little over a year ago. Governor Markell stated that transparency in regards to school districts would have to evolve over time and would probably begin with viewing check registries. And while I’d like transparency to evolve further, this seems like a good place to start.
RSmitty of Delaware Politics continued the education discussion by asking Governor Markell about performance based pay for teachers. The Governor replied by saying that performance based pay should be focused on the growth of students in each school. He continued, by adding, that we needed to measure a student’s success from the beginning of the school year to the end.
Now, here is where I jumped in. Measuring success from the beginning to the end of a school year makes perfect sense, except when you’re dealing with high poverty schools whose population tends to be transient. In these schools the measuring device can be inaccurate because the students you tested in September may not be sitting in your class by May. And even if they are, they might not have attended the school the previous year. High poverty schools suffer due to an ever changing population which hurts educational consistency. I suggested offering an incentive for teachers willing to work in these schools. The Governor nodded, and said that was a valid point. It is a valid point, and must be addressed, since all Delaware schools are not created equal.
There are still questions to be answered when it comes to education in Delaware, and that seems to be a good thing. It means we have a chance to help shape educational policy.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Governor Markell for taking the time to sit down and talk with us. I really appreciated it, and hope we can repeat the experience in the future.