When the Baltimore school board voted last week to close six failing schools this summer and a seventh next year, it was taking its cue from the ambitious reorganization plan of schools chief Andres Alonso. Mr. Alonso wants to close underperforming schools and open new ones that offer a better learning environment.
But what makes one learning environment better than another? For Mr. Alonso, the answer was always clear: Successful schools are ones with strong, capable principals and good teachers in every classroom.
In his first year on the job, Mr. Alonso worked hard to identify and support strong principals. He gave them more power over school budgets and staffing, and also made them more accountable for student achievement.
But finding good principals is only half the solution. The other is getting good teachers in every classroom, and that's a lot harder because it involves negotiating with teachers unions over tenure and other issues. Even the best principals can't make all the staff changes they want because of such restrictions, so school reorganization becomes the only practical alternative. Close the failing schools and start over from scratch. That at least gives principals and administrators the opportunity to create new teaching staffs that don't replicate the weaknesses of the ones they replace.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001 only requires states to measure student achievement in terms of minimum competence in reading and math. But a good learning environment demands much more: innovation, creativity and a sense of moral purpose in all school operations. That's what raises student achievement, and that's why having a good teacher in every classroom is vital.
Studies have shown that good teachers make all the difference between student success and failure. Yet too often, schools in poor, urban neighborhoods have the most inexperienced teachers. Teachers with less than two years' experience tend to be less effective in the classroom, and that can make a big difference in how well students learn.
So Mr. Alonso is going to have to use school reorganization not only to close failing schools but also to create new staffs with a better mix of older, experienced teachers who can mentor their younger colleagues and help them develop - even if that requires offering incentives to senior educators and various forms of extra support for newcomers to the profession. That's how to get the biggest bang for the school reform buck, and it may also be the only way to narrow the persistent achievement gaps that the No Child Left Behind Act was designed to close.
