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My Word: New leader of Oakland schools must consider recent gains
Oakland Tribune
By Ash Vasudeva,
Guest commentary
May 19, 2009
See article on Tribune web site (will open in new page)
As the Oakland Unified School District's board prepares to hire a new superintendent Ñ its first permanent leader since the state takeover in 2003 Ñ it should consider how a new leader will leverage gains made through the district's New Small Schools Initiative, launched in partnership with parents and community organizations. This initiative has helped increase student achievement, reduce overcrowding and improve academic opportunities in many of the district's highest need communities.
Schools like Elmhurst Community Prep and ACORN Woodland Elementary exemplify the positive effects of the small-schools initiative.
In 2003, Elmhurst was the lowest performing middle school in Oakland, covered in graffiti and littered with high weeds and abandoned cars. Fights among students were common. Today, the weeds are gone, the climate is safe and welcoming, and the school recorded the highest increase in Academic Performance Index scores of all district middle schools in 2008.
At ACORN Woodland Elementary, the school's engaging instructional program and college-going expectations have resulted in one of the sharpest academic turnarounds of any school in Oakland, with API scores that went from 345 in 2001 to 774 in 2008.
Our newly released study offers additional examples and illuminates the positive impacts many of the new schools have had on student learning. Using districtwide student achievement data from 2003-04 to 2007-08, our value-added analyses show that most of Oakland's new small schools accelerated achievement for their students compared to the schools they replaced. Many of the district's existing schools also made gains by adopting key strategies from the new small school reforms.
Oakland's success reveals that regardless of schools' age or size, learning gains are higher in schools in which students are well known; use rigorous, engaging and relevant curriculum; and have opportunities to connect to the community and gain career awareness.
Approaches such as advisories, interdisciplinary classes and internships have helped schools Ñ new and old Ñ accelerate achievement.
While committed teachers and principals are the foundation of Oakland's achievement gains, central office innovations have been essential to school success. For example, the OUSD incubator helped principals, teachers and community members develop academic visions and plan effective instructional and curricular strategies.
Curriculum flexibility has helped many schools to refine their instructional programs and dramatically improve results. Results-based budgeting gives leaders of individual schools the autonomy to allocate resources according to local needs rather than follow central-office mandates. Budding efforts to develop supports for new teachers and principals hold promise for encouraging skillful educators to stay in the district as they become increasingly expert.
Oakland's successful innovations should form the foundation for the district's next superintendent and inform other districts. For example, while the state's budget crisis may force districts to consolidate or eliminate schools, leaders should factor in the academic gains specific schools are making for the students they serve.
In the long run, protecting schools that accelerate achievement will save money that will otherwise have to be spent on remediation, grade retention, summer school and the high costs of dropouts. The more Oakland children who can attend effective small schools like Elmhurst Community Prep and ACORN Woodland Elementary, the more productive and successful citizens we will have in our community.
Ash Vasudeva is co-executive director of School Redesign Network at Stanford University. The full report can be downloaded at this link.
Transforming education and community
Professional basketball player and community activist Kevin Johnson poses with students from his St. HOPE program, which currently educates around 2000 students in the Sacramento area. The program also includes a cultural center and an after-school facility.
Photo: Shams Shaikh (Stanford Daily)
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