Reform in Action
The depth of business involvement in school reform varies widely. By examiningbusiness-advocated school reforms in action, educators and policymakers can determine what is appropriate for their schools.
Lessons from Texas
In 1990, realizing a need for reform, several members of the Board of Education of the Houston, Texas, Independent School District (HISD) set out to implement change in the district’s schools. Their first assignment was to create a mission statement, which they titled Beliefs and Visions. The statement stressed four points:
- HISD exists to support the relationship between the teacher and the student.
- HISD must decentralize.
- HISD must focus on performance, not compliance.
- HISD must require a common core of academic subjects for all students.
The school-reform efforts in Houston continue today. The struggles and successes of the Houston experience have been chronicled by school board member Donald R. McAdams in a book Fighting To Save Our Urban Schools… and Winning! Lessons from Houston.
Some of McAdams’ ideas for reform are controversial, but he believes that all school districts can learn from twelve important points that came from the reform efforts of the Houston Independent School District:
- The superintendent and the majority of the school board members must share a common vision and work together for an extended period to make urban school reform possible.
- Boards of education cannot reform urban school districts, or probably any school districts, without superintendent leadership. Only superintendents can lead change; boards can create environments in which reform can take place.
- Nontraditional superintendents might be the most effective reformers. These would include strong leaders with political and management skills as well as broad experience in areas other than education.
- Only minority leaders can reform America’s urban school districts, with a few rare exceptions. Race matters.
- School district administrators and building principals are the people who develop reform policies, put them into practice, and make them work.
- The focus on school reform should be on results, not methods.
- School trustees must not accept low levels of performance from poor children.
- Partisan politics must stay out of the board of education room.
- Business leaders play an important role in urban school reform.
- Urban school reformers need help from the state.
- The core issue in urban school reform is governance.
- The root cause of failing urban schools is apathetic citizens who do not vote and have a limited understanding of the realities of urban education. (Delisio 2001)
A Study from Michigan
John W. Sipple of Cornell University examined the actions and efforts of a group of business leaders from several large corporations in Michigan called the MI-Roundtable. Specifically, he explored "the direct and indirect influences and constraints on the formation and activity of the MI-Roundtable as it attempted to alter educational policy in Michigan" (Sipple 1999).
A study of a coalition of business and education groups in Michigan suggested that, given sufficient information and time to reflect on the complex issues of school reform, it is possible for leaders in business and in education to agree and to work together on improvement in the schools.
The Michigan Roundtable, like other state Business Roundtables, is an association of chief executive officers of major corporations who examine public issues, including educational issues, that affect economic performance. The Business Roundtables advocate vigorous economic growth, a dynamic global economy, and a well-trained and productive American work force.
Although Sipple’s study focused mainly on organizational activity within institutional sectors, he discovered that coalitions of leaders in education and business working together for school reform can be a strong positive force. Furthermore, he found that the goals of business, often assumed to be self-serving, can shift to be more attuned to those of its partners in education. "The MI-Roundtable, after coming into contact with university consultants, shifted its view of the problems from inefficiency and lack of effort to a lack of high-quality curriculum and assessment program" (Sipple 1999).
Based on his study, Sipple recommended three policy reforms for educators:
- Policy reform advocated by business should not be blindly criticized and ignored. This study showed that business leaders functioning within the education sector–much to the surprise of some educators and policy leaders–are capable of developing a thoughtful and long-term approach to school reform.
- Laying blanket criticism on business groups getting involved in education reform may serve only to antagonize the business leaders and heighten their mistrust of educators.
- Garnering the support of business leaders for a given set of reform ideas (also supported by educators) broadens the support base and influence in policy arenas. (Sipple 1999)
Sipple acknowledged that his Michigan study, however comprehensive, dealt with only a single interest group. He recommended further studies of corporate involvement in school reform.
Recording Achievement in Maryland
The Maryland Business Roundtable (MRT) and its partners have launched a school-reform effort called Achievement Counts. The statewide campaign was created to demonstrate the connection between achievement in school and success in the workplace.
One of the major goals of the Achievement Counts campaign is to make student educational records more meaningful, helpful, and available to students and employers. (N.B.: The privacy of student records is protected by the Buckley Amendment, a federal law. The statute provides that personally identifiable education records can be released only with the consent of an adult student or parents of younger students.)
Making transcripts part of the hiring process will let students know that what–and how well–they do in school is important to prospective employers. It also tells them that the harder they work, the better their chances are for a good job. Too often, students don’t see the relevance of what they are learning in school to their life after school. Business needs to help make that connection. (Maryland Business Roundtable 2002)
Led by volunteers from the business community, committees were formed to gather input from human-resources directors and to answer their questions about student records. MRT also conducted workshops for human-resources directors and educators to help develop a transcript policy. As a result, many Maryland employers, large and small, have established or indicated they are interested in establishing a policy to use high school transcripts in their hiring decisions.
Making the transcript more meaningful is not the only goal of the Achievement Counts campaign:
The campaign is designed not only to send a strong message to students that their performance in school matters, but also to provide opportunities for graduates. We see the campaign as a win-win-win situation: students will work harder and be better prepared to succeed in the workplace and in college; more opportunities will be available to high school graduates; and employers will get a better qualified workforce. (Maryland Business Roundtable 2002)
The Achievement Counts campaign is supported by a large coalition of businesses of all sizes, chambers of commerce, charitable foundations, professional and trade organizations, and local governments. Cash and in-kind contributions come from such diverse groups as Bank of America, State Farm Insurance Company, Allegheny Energy, the Aber D. Unger Foundation, Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals, and Maryland State Teachers Association, all under the guidance and administration of MRT.
Learning… to Work in Illinois
One school district responded in a unique way to the business community’s all-too-familiar call for a trained work force to help the United States compete in the global marketplace. The response of policymakers, teachers, and parents in School District 21 in Wheeling, Illinois, was a three-year initiative called Learning... To Work.
Learning... To Work was unique in that it was designed for middle-school students and teachers, a segment usually passed over in most school-reform efforts. The program "exposes middle school students and their teachers to an education rich in both academic and practical work-related experiences" (National Alliance of Business 1999).
Learning... To Work offered students opportunities to:
- Explore career options through in-class activities and business-sponsored lessons in the workplace.
- Learn the skills and knowledge they’ll need to excel in the 21st century.
- Cultivate an early respect for academic excellence and develop the self-confidence to master more advanced skills in high school. (National Alliance of Business 1999)
Businesses large and small–such as Apple Computer, Motorola, United Airlines, LaSalle National Bank, and Le Francais Restaurant–were deeply involved in the program. Each business partner worked with three middle schools in the district:
- Offering structured work-based learning experiences for teachers over the summer.
- Providing staff with job shadowing and teacher-in-residence opportunities.
- Conducting tours of facilities.
- Teaching classes.
- Helping to develop school-based curricula.
- Delivering presentations about work to students. (National Alliance of Business 1999)
Teacher involvement and development were an important component of Learning... To Work. Teachers spent time in the workplace observing business processes and meeting with managers and workers to discuss work and school issues. One seventh-grade teacher, for example, spent several days at a hospital and came away with ideas on how to better design math lessons based on the day-to-day challenges in the health-care field.
From their short sabbaticals in the workplace, teachers also developed curricula, called "problem-based learning units," that integrated academic and work-based learning. One unit established a catering service, in which students learned food preparation and accounting, marketing, and other business skills. These instructional initiatives have gained acceptance, and one has received special recognition from the National Middle School Association.
The experience of School District 21 has shown that by working together, educators and business leaders can create reform measures that produce positive results.
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