Committee on Education and Labor : U.S. House of Representatives

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Setting High Standards and Ensuring All Students Have Outstanding Teachers Will Close the Achievement Gap, Witnesses Tell House Education Committee
Bold Reforms Boosting Student Achievement in Major U.S. Cities Can Serve as a Model for Schools across the Country

Thursday, July 17, 2008

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- Setting high standards, ensuring that all children have access to outstanding teachers, holding educators accountable for their schools’ progress, and restructuring chronically struggling schools, are vital to creating a world-class public education system, mayors and superintendents of major U.S. cities told the House Education and Labor Committee today.

 

Each of the four cities represented at today’s hearing – New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Atlanta – have made impressive gains in recent years in boosting student proficiency in reading and math and narrowing the achievement gap between groups of students.

 

“We won’t be able to build the world-class public education system that America needs and deserves unless we can close the achievement gap that holds too many of our students back,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee. “If we are truly committed to realizing our vision of an equal and excellent public education for every child in this country, there is no question that we need to build on these bold and effective reforms that are turning around some of our most challenging schools.”

 

As the witnesses explained, many of these gains are the result of the innovative reforms being pursued through mayor-superintendent partnerships, including performance pay initiatives for teachers and principals, increased accountability, and community-wide partnerships that can help strengthen schools and provide better support for teachers.

 

“Studies have shown that if our best teachers taught our lowest-performing students, we could close the achievement gap within five years,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, of New York City. “I believe we should be treating teachers like the professionals they are. And that means not only paying them as professionals, but also holding them accountable as professionals. That would go a long way toward ensuring we have top-quality teachers in high-needs schools – the single most important factor in closing the achievement gap.”

 

“When the right people are held to high standards and expected to meet them, you see results,” said Joel I. Klein, the Chancellor of New York City’s schools, who discussed the importance of accountability and using growth models to track students’ progress over time. “We must make sure that as a country, the results we are seeing are meaningful in terms of our students’ results. All schools—whether in New York or Kansas—must provide students with the same high-quality education and must be held to the same high standards.”

In Washington D.C., shifting control of public schools to the Mayor and City Council was a critical step in strengthening the city’s school system.

 

“Just as much as the mayor is accountable for keeping the streets clear of snow, he or she should – and must – be responsible for ensuring that the city’s children are afforded the very best life skills and educational resources that the nation’s capital ought to provide them,” said DC’s Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “I’m extremely proud to be able to say that in the 13 months since taking over the schools, we’ve already made dramatic, meaningful, lasting changes. We’ve brought innovative reforms to staffing and personnel, including a framework for outstanding teachers to trade tenure for bonuses -- based on student achievement – that will make them some of the highest-paid teachers in the United States.”

 

“Quality teachers in urban districts successfully raise student achievement levels even in the face of poverty, violence, high rates of AIDS and other STDs, low expectations, obesity, teen pregnancy, and other issues that enter our schools with our children,” said Michelle Rhee, the Chancellor of DC’s schools. “The mayoral governance structure has allowed us – for the first time – to bring a librarian, teacher, music teacher, psychologist, and physical education teacher to all schools that need them.”

 

Dr. Beverly L. Hall, the superintendent of public schools in Atlanta, where 76 percent of students live in poverty, explained that partnerships with local businesses and community organizations, in addition to other reforms, have been instrumental in her district: “This year all 62 elementary schools, including our charter schools, met AYP for the first time in history. We are still climbing the tough path to total transformation, but with achievement gaps melting away and the strong support of our community, our goal is in sight.”  

 

In Chicago, restructuring chronically struggling schools is one of a number of key reforms that has made a difference for schools and students.

 

“We are one of the few districts in the country that has shut down underperforming schools and replaced the entire school staff,” said Arne Duncan, the Chief Executive Officer for the city’s public schools. “This turnaround school strategy has taken some of our lowest-performing schools and doubled or tripled test scores within a few years. Same kids – different teachers – new leadership and a new educational approach – and the results are dramatic.”

 


 

 

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