Don't forget the poorest pupils

By RICK BAKER, Mayor of St. Petersburg
Published November 12, 2007

We are at a critical moment for the future of public education in Pinellas County, especially for the schools in St. Petersburg. As we come to the close of an era that began with court-ordered integration and is ending with school choice, it is a good time to focus on why we have public schools.

My belief is that we have public schools because we want every child of every background to have an opportunity to learn enough by age 18 so that they can find success in launching their life. Generally, I believe that the best person to decide how to go about providing a child with the right learning environment is that child's parent. So what do the parents think?

The survey results recently published in the Times reflect comments I have received from parents. First, parents want their child's school to provide a safe environment with quality teachers and dedicated school leadership. The safe, quality school may be in the form of a fundamental, magnet, charter, or traditional program, and the parent would like some degree of choice.

Second, most parents would like their child to go to school near their home, so long as it is a safe, quality school. Finally, as a community and as parents, we agree it is best to learn in an environment with children of diverse backgrounds.

A contradiction of objectives exists because our county's neighborhoods are not as integrated as our schools have been over the past three decades. If our children return to neighborhood schools, our schools will become more segregated. There is a need to constantly seek ways to promote diversity within our schools. That need will continue beyond the present debate, and diversity efforts should not stop after a new assignment plan is in place.

The need at the moment is to design a plan that achieves the primary objective of every parent for their child to attend a safe, quality school. This is especially important for the parents of children in our community who have been at the wrong end of a well-documented and much-discussed achievement gap.

The central issue for deciding what will happen at our schools, and where our students will go, is the same issue that ultimately drove the Brown vs. Board of Education decision 53 years ago. Where and how is the money being spent?

All students do not step off the bus in the morning with the same advantages. The hard truth is that less than half of Florida's children in free or reduced lunch programs (our lowest income children) graduate from high school. For those who do not understand the significant challenges facing these kids, I suggest you mentor one. You will learn a lot.

If a new assignment plan is to succeed, it must include written commitments to dedicate extra resources needed to address the issues of our lowest income children. Simply put, it will cost more money, on a per student basis, to help compensate for the challenges that many students bring to school.

There are models to consider, such as the 90/90/90 schools. These schools have student populations where 90 percent are low-income, 90 percent are minorities and 90 percent are achieving at or above grade level. A recent book on 90/90/90 schools argues that while socioeconomic demographics have an impact on school performance, they are outweighed in importance by teaching, curriculum and leadership. In short, the story concludes that "poverty is not destiny."

While our school system currently provides increased funding to schools with high free or reduced lunch student ratios, more will be needed if we are to achieve success as these ratios grow. In order to make success more likely for schools with high concentrations of low-income children, funds should be applied to ensure smaller teacher-pupil ratios, add significant extra pay for teachers and administrators, expand administrative staffing to address behavioral and social issues, and target programs that have had proven success at lifting student achievement in core learning areas. If we want our best administrators and teachers to lead and teach in our most difficult schools, we must pay them more, and we must provide them with the necessary tools to succeed.

A specific commitment for providing these resources should be included along with the plan to change student assignment.Permanent community monitoring is critical. We must continue to review the progress of our students by evaluating achievement, rewarding success, and holding those at all levels and all schools accountable for improvement.

Hopefully, the funds for the enhanced programs described above could come from reductions in bus transportation costs. One bus plan that is estimated to be far less costly is the transition plan initially recommended by the superintendent and supported by the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association. Whatever plan is chosen, it seems logical that spending more money within the schools is preferable to spending more money on buses.

Moving to a system where parents may choose to send their child to a school close to home is appropriate, but it must not result in winners and losers. In America we have accepted a moral responsibility to leave behind no child, and no group of children. If we live up to that responsibility in Pinellas County, we will all have a better public school system, and a better community.

Rick Baker is the mayor of St. Petersburg.

[Last modified November 11, 2007, 20:34:36]