When I was a superintendent, I would often ask our central office leadership team, “When are we the problem? Where are we getting in the way of our teachers and schools doing excellent work? Do our teachers view us as a help or a hindrance to excellent classroom experiences?”
Sometimes the answers to these questions were humbling. Even with the best of intentions, we sometimes did things that got in the way. Often, though, the answers helped us find ways to remove barriers for our teachers and provide them with the supports they needed and wanted. So I think each district and state leader should ask these questions.
Another essential question everyone should ask is this: Can we achieve excellence in education in a culture of compliance? My strong opinion on this matter is “No, we cannot.” Don’t get me wrong; there is definitely a place for compliance. It’s important to comply with, if not exceed, the standards set for student safety as well as financial accountability and transparency. It’s also critical that we comply with legal and ethical standards.
However, when it comes to building a district team that focuses on delivering excellent, engaging instruction for children that inspires learning for life, I would argue that rather than embracing a culture of compliance, that we embrace a culture of trust, high expectations, collaboration, and yes, accountability that reflects the entirety of student experiences (not just those easy to measure on a standardized test).
Leadership rooted in a shared common vision and direction, built on trust and buy-in and collaboration with teachers, are the keys to the kingdom. You can’t mandate excellent classroom instruction by following a lesson plan “with fidelity” (which basically means reading a script) or even clicking on the correct response on a state test. Our state leaders and agencies can’t micromanage our way to excellence despite their best efforts to do so.
Our best and brightest teachers and school leaders, those we most want to attract and retain in the profession, those mostly likely to reach the aspirations of The Texas Promise, don’t want to be micromanaged by our state or local leaders.
They want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves, not like a factory worker on an assembly line of state mandates. They want to engage and inspire and equip our students for a very dynamic future. They want to see children as individuals, not data points, provide deep and rich educational experiences, and be thrilled by seeing the light bulb turn on when a child learns a new concept. They crave the space to be creative and innovative and trusted and supported.
With the publication of The Texas Promise, I am inspired by your collective desire to communicate what you stand for and your commitment to excellence for every child in Texas. Rather than limiting your vision for public education to the confines of the Texas A-F Accountability System, you have aspired to do far more for children than preparing them for state tests. You have committed to the entirety of the educational experience, creating innovative organizational cultures and supportive systems for engaging and rich experiences that inspire learning for life.
We are in an odd time in our state. All at once, we have decided to give state money through Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) to private schools that do not have to follow the same rules or regulations as public schools. This means ESAs don’t allow for any real kind of accountability or transparency to taxpayers.
Private schools can pick and choose who to serve, what to teach, and how to educate their students. Meanwhile, local public schools are overloaded with rules and regulations and incentives and bureaucracy like never before. The burden of over-regulation weighs down the system and causes frustration, disappointment and disillusionment for all who serve on the front lines of education. This disparity between systems is alarming and unsustainable.
Although we can’t control how the state funds or regulates our public schools, and we can’t avoid using precious resources on so many mandates, we can control what we can control. We can use the limited flexibilities we have to do more for our students. If we anchor our leadership in a more aspirational view of public education, if we expend as many of our resources as possible to developing ourselves as innovative leaders, learning from one another, and listening to those in our organizations, we can achieve excellence despite the many challenges we face.
That is the beauty of The Texas Promise. It gives us the shot in the arm, the common direction, the inspiration and aspiration to build schools and students that achieve excellence in spite of … everything. Thank you for taking up the call to lead in these challenging times, and may you find joy in anchoring your leadership in a culture of excellence.
-TASA Executive Director Kevin Brown, Ed.D.
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