Time to Re-imagine Public Education

Dianne Ravitch in her book Slaying Goliath, provides an account of the attack
Public Education has been under for more than twenty years. The attack has
been by forces seeking to undermine public education with vouchers for private
schools, charter schools, and home school options. The time is now for public
schools to reclaim their place within society. The covid-19 pandemic provides
states, districts, and local schools the opportunity to return stronger and more
flexible with a new set of goals to meet the needs of all students. It is time to
reclaim students from home and private options. Parents who chose home-school
or private options will chose to send their students to public school , because the
vision of public schools will no longer be providing students equal opportunity to
learn but ENSURING ALL YOUTH ACHIEVE A WORLD CLASS EDUCATION AND
ACCESS TO COLLEGE AND/OR CAREER through an individualized and flexible
system. I think parents who can afford it will continue to send their children to
the best schools. This Covid19 has instilled fear. Couple this with the ongoing
lack of trust – (collective efficacy) here

It has been often said that schools are the one place in society Rip Van Winkle
would find unchanged after his long sleep. Schools should take this time to
reimagine public education. A strength of the American Education System is the
importance of local/community governance. Each community should, in
partnership with their state, develop goals based on the above vision of schools.
These goals need not incorporate the following suggestions as long as families
could select the program that best meets the needs of their youth.

Communities, parents, and educators should ask themselves questions, like: What
is it that we value in education? Where are those values present in instructional
models? How does my child best learn and what type of learning is most
consistent with my child’s strengths? What are my child’s weaknesses and how
can schooling best respond to learning/emotional/social needs?
• Parents and students may select classroom, virtual, or a blended program
incorporating both
• All students will be issued a computer/tablet on which any textbooks are
loaded (this is cost effective. Computers can be purchased with the savings
that result from transitioning to on-line textbooks)
 • Students selecting virtual options will be supported by a cadre of on-line
teachers
• High school programs would include classroom and virtual dual enrollment
courses, these are college courses that build a college transcript while
satisfying high school graduation requirements. Students taking these
courses would automatically be supported by on-line teachers and student
support systems (to provide motivation, tutoring, and management)
• States and districts would establish as choices proven models of education,
i.e. Middle College High Schools, joint college/public school partnerships

The movement from our current state to the evolving re-imagined state will be a
process. The process will require new roles for state, district and local education
systems. Content will have to migrate to new technology platforms. Current
teachers will need to design their classes to include greater use of virtual content
and tools. Teachers will assist in the design and delivery of all professional
development. Assessment will migrate from high school graduation rates to
college/career enrollment.

School systems must establish strong partnerships with community and four-year
colleges in support of dual-enrollment courses. Strong partnerships could lead to
facilitating new Middle College High Schools and/or partner schools both on and
off campus.

It is not enough to reopen the current model of schools. We need to take this
opportunity to re-imagine our vision of public education. People need to “re-
imagine this to LEARNING – not the physical structure we currently call “public
education” The new vision will have as its goal reclaiming youth lost to charter
and home-schooling, to a flexible and individual system of learning that
seamlessly integrates with systems that provide meals, athletics, music, and
creative arts. EACH STUDENT ACHIEVES COLLEGE AND/OR CAREER READYNESS in
an individualized program designed to meet their needs.

Too much time has already passed. Now, during this time of social distancing, we
must begin the work.

Bruce I. Katz, Ed. D.

Dr. Katz is retired from service in Prince George’s County Public Schools. During his tenure in
PGCPS, Dr. Katz served as Assistant Superintendent for Region II, Executive Director of Region
II, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and principal of Eugene Burroughs Middle School.

Dr. Katz received an “Outstanding Educator Award” and was nominated for the Washington
Post Outstanding Principal Award.

Dr. Katz is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus and serves as a
national consultant in Instructional Leadership for the National Institute for School Leadership.