My Top 5 Goals for Education in 2019
The start of a new year always brings with it opportunities for speculations and resolutions about the year ahead. As executive director for the Collaborative for Student Success, I have the privilege of hearing from a wide range of individuals focused on finding big and small ways to help more kids succeed. So looking to the year ahead, here are my top 5 areas that I commit to advancing.
- Improve low-performing schools and increase equity.
States have now developed and begun to implement school improvement plans for low-performing schools, as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This year will be key for states and schools to execute these plans, and for advocates and policymakers to monitor states’ progress and areas for growth. Particularly important will be how states meaningfully address equity and demonstrate progress in closing achievement gaps between their highest- and lowest-performing schools. As in the past, equity remains a critical goal so that all states provide a high-quality education to every child, no matter their zip code.
2. Examine available resources and provide support for schools and educators.
The teachers’ strike in Los Angeles brings a sharp focus to how the topic of education resources and funding will again play prominently in 2019, both politically and legislatively. As these discussions occur in the public sphere, work is being done by state and district leaders – with a lot less fanfare – to create a new set of data points that will provide a much clearer picture for parents, policymakers, and educators about how funding is spent at the school building level. This school-year (2019-2020) is the first time that school districts will be required to report spending at both the district and school level. While the public reporting of this data is not expected in many states until 2020, I am excited about the opportunity this will provide for more informed questions and discussions about resources and how dollars are spent within and between school districts.
3. Maintain high-quality assessments, regardless of their name.
With 20 new governors beginning their terms across the country, many are evaluating their state’s education system and assessments. Policymakers, stakeholders, and educators alike should work to maintain high-quality assessments aligned to their academic standards, regardless of what they are called. High-quality, aligned assessments help keep states accountable to their plans to help all students succeed, and provide parents, teachers, schools, and policymakers with critical information on how students are performing.
4. Continue to support military-connected students.
2018 saw the rollout of the Military Student Identifier (MSI), a provision that flags students who are the child of an active-duty service member. The MSI will help schools and states assess the needs of military-connected students in their populations and provide military families with more information on their children’s educational experience.
5. Help education rise above partisanship.
Though bipartisanship feels hard to find lately, there is a lot of common ground to be shared around the goal of helping students succeed. I certainly plan to follow the lead of former Governors Bill Haslam (R-TN) and Jack Markell (D-DE), who have set the example in making sure that children’s growth, learning, and success – not politics – motivates what happens in education.
I’m looking forward to working to advance these issues and invite you to reach out to me if you have ideas about ways you or your organization can join us in working towards these goals.