Ted Kolderie, Education/Evolving
September 2004
The basic premise of this book is that states need finally to move beyond trying to fix their broken systems of education - the "old public-utility model" - by focusing their reform efforts squarely on creating "new schools." In short, the author argues, it's easier to create new schools - charter schools, contracted schools, site-managed schools - than to fix a broken Industrial Age system laden with layers of entrenched special interests. According to Kolderie, one of America's foremost charter school pioneers, it's time for policy makers and educators to "acknowledge the ineffectiveness of the effort simply to transform existing schools." Why? All children don't learn the same way so they need different schools that actually meet their needs and align with their individual learning styles. How to create the capacity for change? First, state leaders need to accept the premise that the system is broken. Second, they need to create policy space for the emergence of "new schools." Third, they need to provide real incentives for districts to change. Fourth, district leaders need to stop thinking of themselves as the owners and operators of schools, and start thinking of themselves as the "education board" overseeing and managing a portfolio of individually operated schools. Kolderie is describing the future of education, where schools are largely free of bureaucratic red-tape, micro-managing outsiders, and indiscriminate demands. In return, they are responsible for truly educating all their children and managing their organizations. However, this freedom comes with the responsibility to provide the "education board," the state, parents, and taxpayers with quality academic and financial information that shows that schools are indeed producing results. Now all that's needed is for the establishment to step out of the way. To order the book, go to: www.educationevolving.org.
