We’ve been dealing with the “whys” of school success and school failure for decades. Spending more money has been a key element in finding the solution. It has now again come to the fore.
Both parent groups, and a survey of 5,000 teachers propose that a change in the ECS Grant and raising teacher salaries — echoes of the past — would be a mighty step in the right direction. If granted we have to ask not only how much money, but how is it to be spent?
The data clearly indicates that our raising of teacher salaries, changing the ECS Grant, maintaining race as a causal issue, funding DEI, changing curriculum, more money for Alliance Districts — none of those innovations have resulted in any changes.
A true non-political analysis shows that children coming from middle class homes, regardless of the school district or the quality of the teacher, do well in our K-12 system.
Further, when we look into the hub of poor achievement, into the cities where 70 to 80% of the children are not on goal, the prime cause of their failure is “non-attendance,” or disruptive behavior when they do attend. All previously funded initiatives have been designed to bolster programs within the schools. The problem is that the children who are perennially failing at the greatest rate don’t come to school. Hence, the push for more programs like preschool will further benefit middle-class families who do send their children to school. However, if the children of poverty do not attend, these programs will go un-used, and the problem still will not be solved.
If money is going to be the prime mover of education reform, then we need to spend it directly affecting the homes, assisting parents and elevating the conditions that children live in on a 24/7 basis.
Our laws that now are strong in parental rights have to be tweaked to better protect children in households where there is an incapacity to provide suitable, safe, healthy environments.
Everything we have done in the past was designed to make changes within the school. These programs can have no effect on families who don’t attend them. We must provide out-of-school, family programs that go house-to-house, in order to protect our most vulnerable children. Changes in the home environment are the key to getting our neediest children to school so they can avail themselves of a Free Appropriate Public Education.
Matthew Borrelli of Manchester is Former Interim Superintendent – Waterbury, Hartford and Bloomfield Public Schools.