State of Public Ed Debated at Askwith Forum

“Is Public Education Dead?” The speakers at Thursday’s Askwith Forum did not answer a definitive “yes.” Instead, they agreed that it is in dire need of a fix that the creation of charter schools didn’t necessarily solve.

“Is public education dead? I think it’s the wrong question, but [it’s] one we should worry about,” said Harvard Kennedy School Professor Christopher Sandy Jencks, Ed.M.’59. “David [Kirp]’s question is, How do you make schools better?”

University of California at Berkeley Professor David Kirp spent a year exploring that question in Union City, N.J. The district went from arguably one of the worst urban districts in the country to one of the best by using what Kirp calls “old school” tactics.

Calling the experience “life changing,” Kirp’s time in Union City impacted his views on the public education system in America. Today Union City is a far cry from “exemplifying the worst education immigrant children get,” Kirp said.

“There is nothing fancy that goes on there in Union City,” he continued, noting that America had become too focused on discipline, punishment, and a values-added approach. Instead, Union City recognized that there is no quick fix and no miracle except hard work done right.

Kirp examines Union City’s strategies in his latest book, Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America's Schools. Among them are a funded high-quality, full-day preK program; an individualized program for every child; teachers who work together and design curriculums; and high levels of parental involvement. The key to success is buy-in from everyone within the system and regular assessments.

“These things are easy to say and hard to do,” Kirp said.

While an ongoing debate in the country often emphasizes the need for more school choice and more charter schools, the panelists agreed charter schools and choice aren’t necessarily the answers.

“When I look at charters versus public – I don’t think one is better than the other,” Jencks said. “Choice is a good thing, but not the solution to anything.”

Reflecting on the fact that Union City is using “old school methods” and that there is “no magic,” Dean James Ryan, who moderated the discusion, asked what is preventing other schools from following suit.

“There are more of these [successful] places than we know,” Kirp said, citing schools in Somerville, Mass.; Montgomery County, Md.; and Aldine, Texas. “But they are under the radar and still a rarity.”

Kirp believes that many districts only turn corners when they completely bottom out, but even so, efforts to change a system are complicated by politics and lack of professionalization of teaching.

“If you want to see success at scale … then you need some sort of professionalization,” Associate Professor Jal Mehta said, suggesting that it could help generate a consistency needed across schools in America.

Pointing out that school superintendents typically last for only three years and politicians see school boards as jumping-off points of their careers, Kirp reminded the audience that these facts impact education.

“Part of whether the public system survives depends on politics, not public schools,” Jencks said.