Testimony of Dr. David Anthony
CEO, Raise Your Hand Texas
Before the
House Committee on Public Education
Honorable Jimmie Don Aycock, Chair
April 22, 2014
Chairman Aycock and members of the committee, I am David Anthony and I
appear before you today in my role as CEO of Raise Your Hand Texas.
Raise Your Hand Texas is a non-profit education advocacy organization working
to strengthen public education in Texas. We invest in programs to develop high-capacity
public school leaders to lead transformational change at the campus
level, and advocate for research-based public policies that make public schools
better for all 5 million-plus Texas students.
Let me first say thank you to the committee for convening a hearing on the critical
topic of turning around chronically low-performing schools in our state. If there is
one thing that we can all agree on, it is that we must equip ourselves as a state
to act both more quickly and more effectively to improve chronically low-performing
schools.
As part of our work developing public school leaders, we have been traveling
around the country to visit with school leaders in Baltimore, Chicago, Nashville
and Dallas who are turning around struggling schools. We have been
encouraged by their successes, and have learned from their challenges. We
have met with the leadership of the Achievement School District in Tennessee on
multiple occasions to learn from their experience. And, we have been and
continue to actively review the emerging body of research on what works to
improve chronically low-performing schools.
It will come as no surprise to the members of this committee that there are no
quick fixes, magic models or silver bullets for addressing chronically low-performing
schools.
Despite the national focus on low-performing schools, the research and practice
in this area is still at an early stage. The good news is that there are examples of
success to point to, and there is an emerging body of best practices. More
sobering is the reality that the success rate in turning around low-performing
schools is quite low.
This does not mean that we should not act. To the contrary, we believe that it
means we must redouble our efforts as a state to address chronically low-performing
schools for the benefit of Texas students.
The Key Challenge
The key challenge for us as a state and for you as policymakers is determining
how we build and grow the long-term, systemic capacity of the Texas Education
Agency, school districts and campuses to improve student achievement on low-performing
campuses in a sustainable manner.
The following are some initial considerations that we have identified in
addressing low-performing schools based on our review of the research and
visits with campus leaders and national programs. We look forward to working
with the committee to refine these ideas during the interim and beyond as we
move together to address this critical issue.
What Works at the Campus Level
While you will find slightly different formulations of the critical elements of
achieving progress on chronically low-performing campuses, below are some of
the common elements that we have identified based on our review of the existing
research and conversations with practitioners in the field.
Since you have heard from other experts on the research in this area today, I will
refer to these only briefly but I am happy to elaborate or respond to any
questions you may have on points of particular interest.
The following are some of the key elements of successful school improvement
efforts for chronically low-performing schools:
Discipline & order in the building;
A campus leader (principal) with demonstrated mindset and competency for the specific task of school turnaround, and campus-level autonomy over budget, staffing, program and related issues;
Empowered teacher leaders teaching around an aligned instructional strategy targeted to the specific needs of the campus;
Regular and frequent reference to student data to guide efforts;
Targeted professional development and programmed time for teacher learning;
Parent and community engagement; and
A multi-year commitment to implementation of targeted interventions (research shows that multiple, sometimes conflicting, interventions are a barrier to change).
State and District Supports
If the campus is the primary focus of change, and the elements above are what is
needed at the campus level to create change, we must identify what supports
need to be provided at the state and district level to support effective change.
State Supports
As you have heard today, the Texas Education Agency has in place some
existing interventions and supports directed at improving chronically lowperforming
schools. Some areas that we believe merit exploration to enhance
our state-level capacity, include:
Focus on quality of principal preparation: While we have moved
beyond the model of the “hero” principal as the focus of school
improvement efforts, it remains the case that very few efforts succeed
without a campus leader with the unique mindset and competencies of a
turnaround leader. At present, we have a wide array of principal
preparation programs in this state with very little data or focus on the
quality of these programs.As a state, we need to focus on improving the overall quality of principal
preparation, including potentially the development of competency-based
programs
Deepen state-level expertise and supports: In addition to the existing
supports provided for low-performing schools, provide a deep bench of
coaching and curriculum expertise at the state agency level dedicated to
support for low-performing campuses, as well as a comprehensive
resource center of professional development offerings targeted to highest
needs of struggling campuses and up-to-date research base on what
works.
Assess state intervention results: As we grow the capacity of the state
intervention and supports currently deployed, it is critical to have the right
data in hand. We need reports that enable policymakers to compare the
outcomes produced by different intervention strategies.
District Supports
While the individual campus is the unit of change, the district has a role to play in
clearing obstacles to success for campuses and in providing appropriate talent
and supports to low-performing campuses. The district must play a key role in
the following areas in facilitating change at the campus level:
Ensure accountability/fidelity to data: Effective use of data is critical to
addressing low-performing campuses in a meaningful way. Districts must
ensure that campus and teacher leaders are trained in the effective use of
data to guide instruction, and then provide ongoing data support and
monitor progress.
Provide campus leaders with campus-level autonomy on budget,
staffing, program: Every campus that is broken is broken in its own way.
School leaders must be free to make campus-level decisions that are
appropriate to the unique context and student needs of that campus.
Free turnaround campuses from extraneous responsibilities: The
sole focus of low-performing campuses must be on improving student
achievement. Districts should free low-performing campuses from districtwide
initiatives and activities that distract from this goal.
District level “guides” for turnaround campuses: Low-performing
campuses must have a relationship with a district-level administrator with
the authority to clear obstacles at the central office as well as to deliver
targeted resources.
Development of and preferential access to talent: Talent is the key
ingredient to improving a chronically low-performing campus. Districts
must focus on developing a robust pipeline of campus leaders with the
mindset and competencies of turnaround leaders, and should provide
preferred access to teaching talent to campuses in need of improvement.
Targeted resources and professional development: In addition to
state-level resources, districts must provide access to professional
development, coaching and other resources targeted to the unique needs
of an individual campus based on consultation with the campus leader and
teacher leaders.
Use of school improvement networks: Districts should consider
creating networks of high-performing and low-performing schools to
facilitate sharing of best practices.
Conclusion
I would like to again commend the committee for focusing its energies on the
critical issue of addressing chronically low-performing schools in this state.
Raise Your Hand Texas stands ready to work with you and other interested
parties to develop solutions that build the long-term capacity of the state, districts
and campuses to address low-performing campuses.
I thank you for the opportunity to appear before you, and would be happy to
answer any questions that you may have.
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