Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Reforming/Reinventing Schools

What is Reform?
Reform is to put or change into an improved form or condition. Total reform is to put an end to something and completely change it to a better method or course of action.
What is Reinvention?
Reinvention occurs when something is remade as if it was the first time it was invented or to completely remake or redo it. Reinvention is also when something is brought back to use again.

Reform or Reinvention is a process by which an item, organization or even an individual is altered or changed from it’s original state and changed completely to a new state or recreated back to the original form. This process of reform/reinvention may or may not be welcomed by those individuals who are affected by the actions of the ones in power of the reform. Usually the ones in charge of reform are the individuals with financial backing. School reform or reinvention is the process of changing schools to improve the overall academic process. Such reform may include changing curricular programs, building renovations, professional staff (in-house/outside sources), administration and governmental departments, etc.


Examples of Individuals in Charge of Reform:
· President Bush-NCLB (No Child Left Behind) (http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html)
· President Obama-A Blueprint for Reform (http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/index.html)
· Bill & Melinda Gates-Educational Foundation
(http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx)
· Oprah Winfrey-Leadership Academy (http://www.oprah.com/entertainment/Oprah-Winfrey-Leadership-Academy-for-Girls)
· Governor Chris Christie/Politicians-Governmental Reform

As a teacher you always hear the expression to “not reinvent the wheel” or not “break what isn’t broken”. The idea of reform/reinvention implies change and with change comes growing pains. All of the individuals listed above are examples of being in charge some type of reform; I believe that reform/reinvention is usually based on a desire to do better than before. For example the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recognized how half the pre-kindergarten children of Washington State were not prepared for the academic rigor of starting kindergarten. As a result, the foundation has vowed to raise the readiness rate in two demonstration communities by 2015.
Their approach listed on the foundation website includes:
1. Collaborate statewide with public and private partners.
Along with more than a dozen funders, we’re supporting Thrive by Five: The Washington Early Learning Fund. This public-private partnership champions high-quality, affordable childcare and preschool for young children, along with support and education for their parents.
2. Demonstrate the value of comprehensive early learning in two communities.
We’re helping two Washington communities—King County’s White Center neighborhood and East Yakima—offer families and children a full range of proven early-learning supports, including expansion of quality child care centers, parenting education, and supportive home visits for parents with infants. We will share what works with leaders and families across our state so they can tailor these strategies for children in their towns.
3. Recognize promising models and help them expand into more communities.
We’re funding the replication and expansion of other school-readiness programs already under way and showing good results for Washington State’s children. The more children who experience quality early learning, the more who will begin kindergarten ready to succeed.
4. Set high standards for early-learning teachers and child care centers.
We’re working to raise early-learning standards statewide. We fund professional development programs to encourage teachers of early learning to pursue advanced training. We also support development of a voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System to provide key information for parents and new incentives for providers who work with young children.
5. Increase awareness and broaden support of quality early learning.
We’re funding efforts to help parents, child care providers, and community leaders understand why it’s imperative—and how it’s possible—to close the school-readiness gap.

As shown above we have continued to grow and have a desire for improvement and that desire is the motivating force behind most school reform or reinvention.
Listed below are some pros/cons of reform/reinvention:
Pros;
· Schools receive funding for innovative plans
· Reform can prompt fresh ideas and collaboration among staff, parents, and community
· Reform encourages a team approach and encourages a “buy-in” to the ideas of change.
· Reform efforts can be focused on isolated areas in need, even when the whole system is not lacking.
· Reform efforts can bring new employment opportunities, especially when funding is available.
· Reform may allow school districts to enter into a partnership with various community and occupational organizations so the students/families are not working isolation.
Cons:
· Funding decisions are government based-not school driven
· Reform tends to be management based instead of ideas flowing from collaboration among staff and those actually working in the classrooms.
· Educators feel blamed for the poor academic environment when they are not included in the reform process.
· When reform efforts are not fully collaborative, dissention among staff may result.
· Fear of reduction in staff, based on uncontrollable student performance, is common in reform efforts.
· Introducing outside agencies into the school system could become a logistical nightmare. For example, school districts are required to fingerprint and complete background checks. Who would be responsible for these aspects?

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