Published: Sunday, March 6, 2011
In our view / New education department
Students need action now
Gov. Chris Gregoire insists that old approaches to reforming education have failed, and that there's no time to left waste. Students here and across the United States are falling further behind their international counterparts, and the rest of the world isn't letting up on the accelerator.
"Everybody understands the system is broken," she noted during a press briefing last week, inducing nods of agreement from lawmakers in attendance. She was pressing her solution, the creation of a Department of Education to oversee the entire education system, from preschool through college, with a secretary who reports directly to the governor.
Her sense of urgency is well-placed. The governing culture of our state is inclusive to a fault. We're long on discussion, debate and study, and -- in the case of K-12 education, particularly -- short on results.
Washington's high-school graduation rate remains one of the nation's worst. Of those who do graduate and go on to college, a third require remedial courses in math or reading. Tougher graduation requirements in math and science may be delayed because the system hasn't adequately prepared students to meet them.
Part of the problem is a fragmented system where various components -- the Department of Early Learning, State Board of Education, Professional Educator Standards Board and Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, among others -- operate independently, often with too little coordination. Gregoire's proposal would streamline most of that under one department that's accountable to her. Voters would be clear about where ultimate accountability sits -- with the governor.
To begin such a transition, we favor a structure similar to that passed by the Senate education committee in SB 5639, which would leave higher education out of the consolidation, at least for now. The state's college and university systems are highly complex and varied, and other fresh ideas for reform there should be considered first.
The Senate bill also would retain the elected superintendent of public instruction, and call on that office to coordinate and cooperate with the new executive department. That's not an optimal arrangement, but it clears a near-term political hurdle.
Some House members apparently still favor a go-slow approach. They complain that the governor's plan came with a predetermined outcome, and they'd like to appoint a council to study the matter.
That's so, well, Washington of them. The last thing our students need is another council to study a good idea to death -- literally.
Gregoire is right, everyone understands the system is broken, and there's even broad agreement in Olympia about how it's broken. Our students can't afford to wait.
Putting one highly qualified, energetic and forward-thinking secretary of education in charge of the preschool-through-high-school system, a leader whose constant focus would be on coordination, effectiveness and student results, is an idea whose time has come.
"Everybody understands the system is broken," she noted during a press briefing last week, inducing nods of agreement from lawmakers in attendance. She was pressing her solution, the creation of a Department of Education to oversee the entire education system, from preschool through college, with a secretary who reports directly to the governor.
Her sense of urgency is well-placed. The governing culture of our state is inclusive to a fault. We're long on discussion, debate and study, and -- in the case of K-12 education, particularly -- short on results.
Washington's high-school graduation rate remains one of the nation's worst. Of those who do graduate and go on to college, a third require remedial courses in math or reading. Tougher graduation requirements in math and science may be delayed because the system hasn't adequately prepared students to meet them.
Part of the problem is a fragmented system where various components -- the Department of Early Learning, State Board of Education, Professional Educator Standards Board and Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, among others -- operate independently, often with too little coordination. Gregoire's proposal would streamline most of that under one department that's accountable to her. Voters would be clear about where ultimate accountability sits -- with the governor.
To begin such a transition, we favor a structure similar to that passed by the Senate education committee in SB 5639, which would leave higher education out of the consolidation, at least for now. The state's college and university systems are highly complex and varied, and other fresh ideas for reform there should be considered first.
The Senate bill also would retain the elected superintendent of public instruction, and call on that office to coordinate and cooperate with the new executive department. That's not an optimal arrangement, but it clears a near-term political hurdle.
Some House members apparently still favor a go-slow approach. They complain that the governor's plan came with a predetermined outcome, and they'd like to appoint a council to study the matter.
That's so, well, Washington of them. The last thing our students need is another council to study a good idea to death -- literally.
Gregoire is right, everyone understands the system is broken, and there's even broad agreement in Olympia about how it's broken. Our students can't afford to wait.
Putting one highly qualified, energetic and forward-thinking secretary of education in charge of the preschool-through-high-school system, a leader whose constant focus would be on coordination, effectiveness and student results, is an idea whose time has come.
Comments
(