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Theory of Action

Recentering the Pendulum

"It's about empowering teachers and principals to make the right decisions for kids"

Democratic Revitalization

"It's about relationships with communities."

Redistributing Resources

"It's about more money, well spent."

Management Turnaround: Privatization

"It's about school choice, incentives, and competition."

Management Turnaround: Centralized

"It's about changing organizational culture and leadership capacity."

Represents

Teacher's union and professional organizations

Progressive small schools movement (Consortium)

Some community groups (insideschools.org)

Some foundations (Donors' Education Collaborative)

Some higher educational policy groups. (Drum Major Institute, some at NYU, Ravitch)

Some community groups
(InsideSchools.org)

Campaign for Fiscal Equity (coalition of community groups)

Some Media outlets (NY Times editorial)

Conservative think tanks (Manhattan Institute)

Some Media (City Journal)

Large corporate business sector

Management training gurus

Foundations

Problem Definition

Micromanagement from Tweed

"Blame educators" tactics of non-educator politicians

Curricular mandates, high teacher turnover, large class size

Teachers lack quality professional development opportunities

High stakes testing destroys authentic teaching and learning process

Schools have been severed from the community

Governance reform alone is insufficient

Lower and working class parents have been marginalized

Funding formulas are archaic and complex

State education funding for NYC is inadequate to provide a "sound, basic education"

Socio-economic factors and special needs of NYC schoolchildren are not considered

Lack of incentives for success or penalties for failure

Lack of options for parents in school selection

Schools are not accountable to their "consumers"

Building-level leadership can make or break a school.

System-wide shortage of "high quality" principals.

Old bureaucratic structures are wasteful, uncoordinated.

Old management culture stifles innovation

Action Plan/ Solution

Create an "empowerment zone"

Flatten the management hierarchy and create choice-driven "school networks"

Create Union charter schools

Create network of support services for teachers

Make parent and community involvement a central issue.

Create a system of bottom-up accountability.

Strengthen networks among parents, foundations, and community groups.

Create a shared agenda among parents, community groups and foundations.

Refine archaic funding formulas.

File and sustain lawsuit through appeals process

Offer increased numbers of charter schools and vouchers

Turn failing schools over to private management

Hold teachers, administrators and students accountable for success or failure

Collapse community districts into 10 regions with leadership that lives at central (Tweed).

Refocus school management on teaching and learning.

Create selective, fast track leadership academy to train next generation of leaders.

Key Resources

Success stories from small schools movement in NYC.

Progressive educators.

Sheer number of teachers in system--built in networking and power base.

Human experience and political influence.

Existing neighborhood groups and community organizations.

Parent organizations, community school boards

Advocacy groups, foundations

"Activist judges" in the courts

Parent groups

Conservative community groups, business organizations, and foundations

Successful, "renegade" principals, small schools people.

Foundation and business support. GE people.

Impediments

NCLB mandates

Empowerment Zone's growth may outstrip capacity of those responsible.

Chancellors' office espouses corporate ethics of fear and intimidation, turning bottom-up innovations into Frankenstein top-down mandates.

Charter schools and vouchers fracture teacher alliances.

Frequent change within the Department of Education.

Lack of funding for city schools.

Lack of coordination among community groups and foundations.

Governor and State Legislature

Conservative think tanks and media representatives

Federal, state and local government

Teachers' Unions

Legal challenges

UFT contract limits central authority over teachers

Council of School Supervisors and administrators

Sheer size and complexity of the system.

Foundation money only temporary.

Brain drain of talent to suburbs.

Success

Smaller class sizes

Adoption of UFT's charter school model as a model for public schools in general

Improved academic performance in schools where teachers have a stake in planning

Well-trained, well-paid teachers

Change education policies to provide incentives for community involvement

Create mechanisms for measuring relationships between schools and the community

Increase parent and community involvement

Legislative change to formulas for educational funding

Increase State funding for NYC schools through appeals process

Legislative support for funding above minimum levels identified by court decision

Academic success for students

Parent satisfaction

Safe schools

Introduce competition into the public school system

Training a new generation of principals/ leaders

Increased accountability for schools

Autonomy granted to a growing number of schools in exchange for accountability

Image of a Good School

Community School

Community School

Traditional School

Market selects the best model

An intentional diversity of models, provided they are accountable.