Frankfort, Ky. - Virginia B. Edwards, publisher of Education Week, editor of Edweek.org and president of Editorial Projects in Education, provided a national journalistic perspective on 21st century elementary and secondary education issues at the Prichard Committee's Fall Meeting. Held at the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort on November 18th, the meeting celebrated successful initiatives and fostered priority-setting for Committee members, setting the stage for the academic year's endeavors.
A national heavyweight in educational publishing, Edwards has strong ties to Kentucky. Her journalism career began at Ballard High School in Louisville, where she was editor of the school newspaper. At the University of Kentucky, double-majoring in journalism and political science, she rose to become editor of the Kentucky Kernel. Afterwards, Edwards was an editor and reporter at The Courier-Journal in Louisville for nearly ten years. She covered education in the State House as the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) took shape, then left Kentucky to spend two years with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Edwards left no room for doubt about her belief in the need for change, saying, "An educational system born in the Industrial Age can no longer serve students effectively." She spoke clearly and passionately about the importance of raising levels of discourse on planning and policy for education and highlighted the following issues, which she sees as the most significant in education now:
1. Implementation of the Common Core standards (which Kentucky has adopted, as have most other states and U.S. territories) is leading to curriculum change meant to enhance college and career readiness. At the same time, Edwards posited, the test-based accountability system meant to assess student learning is broken. Schools nationwide are experiencing a difficult academic transition as they grapple with both of these factors.
2. Pre-school through third grade education: national discussions are focusing on the pipeline leading from cradle to career, with increased emphasis on the importance of early literacy and academic development. Implicit in these discussions is the role of parent involvement, as well as civic engagement.
3. Tough budget times are getting tougher. Federal stimulus dollars are drying up; schools are trying to figure out how to do more with less. See #1; then think of how to accomplish productive change with diminished funding. Think, too, of how this affects accommodating special needs in educational settings, and the support so sorely needed to continue to serve these students.
4. Watershed federal political and policy changes made several years ago are just now being assimilated: No Child Left Behind, for example, with its significant emphasis on uniform assessment. Stand by for more change as the Senate moves the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011 forward with the possibility of greater local input into best practices.
5. The conjunction of entrepreneurship and innovation is bringing about new programs, products and services. As the marketplace of education changes, venture capitalists see opportunities. Edwards reported that startups are developing new educational products and software, and one large educational publishing house, Pearson, has acquired 18 companies in recent months. Schools in Silicon Valley are benefiting from a number of public-private partnerships. Online learning is increasingly seen as mainstream, particularly when viewed as part of a hybrid educational model. Innovations of this magnitude could bring about disruptive change; teachers and administrators need to be prepared to embrace such change, rather than reel from it.
6. The international dimension is more significant than ever, and the importance of comparing our educational results to overseas competitors continues to grow. Edwards discussed visits to some of the highest-achieving (educationally speaking) cities, provinces and countries in the world: Finland, Ontario, Singapore, and Shanghai. In each of these settings, Edwards said, three crucial factors are present: citizens value education, society holds a firm belief that each child should have educational opportunities, and teachers are held in high esteem. Further, STEM education receives significant attention in these high-achieving schools.
Suggestions for change
Edwards articulated what so many have observed: in the U.S., "Kids don't feel like school is relevant. They are not engaged." Among the changes our policy-makers need to move toward, she said, is the elimination of seat time requirements. Not all students require the same number of classroom hours to master course material, and by insisting on standardized seat time we lose many students' interest. She also favors eliminating standardized textbook adoption policies as here, too, one size does not fit all. Further, she suggests that schools ought to identify how to deploy human resources differently than is now allowed, and how to deploy the right technology at the right times, and for the right purposes. She perceives that schools are open to new approaches and ready to change, provided that the right support and resources can be brought to bear.
Prichard Committee promotes positive partnerships
The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, led by former Fayette County Public Schools superintendent Stu Silberman, maintains its focus on productive educational reforms. The Committee disseminates information about schools and student achievement to parents, educators and policy-makers state-wide, and trains interested citizens to become effective partners in schools and school systems. Both Edwards and the Committee understand that democratization of, and easy access to, information that is clear and unbiased can lead to significant improvements in what our schools do for kids. Last week's keynote address about global awareness, challenges, opportunity and change exemplified the Prichard Committee's interest in improving Kentucky's schools with a big-picture context in mind.
Jane S. Shropshire guides students and families through the college search process and is Business Lexington's Higher Ed. Matters columnist. Contact her at Jshrop@att.net.