Richmond School System on the Defensive
As soon as the Indiana Department of Education released its reconfigured graduation rate for Richmond Community Schools at about 50%, the agenda for the school system has been clear:
- Dispute the accuracy of the figures;
- Call on community support and involvement (it’s not me, it’s you);
- Find some deck chairs; and
- Rearrange them.
Well, we seem to have found something to do: RCS leader to offer grade reconfiguration. Don’t get me wrong, this might very well be a great proposal for the school. The school board will meet tonight to hear about it from Superintended Bourff, as well as the upcoming switch to trimesters in the high school (an idea that predates the graduation rate release).
In fact, the reconfiguration might qualify as a “great” idea. The problem is not that the school system has not had “great” ideas to get it moving forward. In fact, the school has had an endless series of “great” ideas washing over it. Nothing was wrong with any of these “great” ideas, but as any veteran teacher will tell you: this year’s great idea will be forgotten in the rush to next year’s great idea (so, don’t waste your time going to that meeting).
The school has experimented with all the trendy curricula, structures, visions, etc. Most of them were well conceived and had the distinction of working in other places, with other people. Each great idea was carefully implemented through meetings and study. Each of them was left collecting dust on the shelf when someone came in with their own new idea to try.
My diagnosis is that the system suffers from an abundance of vision, without enough long range responsibility. I think the responsibility for this falls on the board who are quick to rely on the experts in education in adopting change.
