City leaders encouraged to get more involved with public schools

11/5/02 – The National League of Cities' (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families has begun two national initiatives to enhance the involvement of mayors, city council members, and other municipal leaders in public education and after-school programs.

The centerpiece of both initiatives is an intensive, 30-month technical assistance effort to help 14 cities develop and implement strategies for improving educational outcomes.

Six of these cities will focus on education improvements: Charleston, S.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Lansing, Mich.; New Haven, Conn.; and Portland, Ore.

The other eight cities will address after-school issues. They are Charlotte, N.C.; Fort Worth, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Lincoln, Neb.; Spokane, Wash.; and Washington, D.C.

The project seeks to focus on the diverse roles municipal leaders can play in support of student achievement, including:

• providing leadership by focusing public attention on key issues related to student achievement, teaching, and support for learning;

• obtaining good data that support school improvement and establish benchmarks for measuring progress; and

• building coalitions for change by convening disparate groups to discuss key priorities and concerns and to mobilize the community to take action.

The initiative also involves the development of strategies to promote adequate school funding, remove obstacles to achievement, share information and resources between cities and school districts, and support learning outside of schools.

At a recent forum on Capitol Hill, NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant and New Haven Mayor John DeStefano spoke about the NLC initiative and offered suggestions on how local leaders can support public schools.

DeStefano says the bully pulpit available to many municipal leaders can be a valuable asset to aid schools.

"Municipal leaders should do whatever they can to help school districts do their jobs," he says. "They should challenge school boards, and they should work to build partnerships." One such partnership in New Haven involves the Yale School of Medicine, which has given public school classes access to some of the world's best medical facilities.

According to DeStefano, "Too many school districts have failed to communicate to local leaders just what they do and what they need."

Bryant pointed out that one of the goals of both NSBA's Key Work of School Boards and its Council of Urban Board of Education is to encourage community and municipal leaders to become involved in public education. A major benefit of such collaboration is the building of better understanding among municipal leaders about crucial school district issues, such as funding equity.

Bryant described the education funding structure in place in Seattle, where schools with greater needs actually receive more public funding. More affluent schools receive less but are then allowed to go out and raise money with virtually no strings attached.

The Key Work, a framework for raising student achievement, "stresses a lot of community engagement, and that is very hard work," Bryant says. "Most Americans–and members of Congress–have no idea what the challenges are for public education. So we have to do a better job of articulating those challenges to municipal leaders and to communities at large."

The U.S. Conference of Mayors also is interested in expanding the role of mayors in improving public schools. Fifteen mayors participated in a forum on the subject in October sponsored by the conference and the Broad Foundation.

"Mayors are and should be our cities' and our nation's biggest boosters of public schools," Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said at the forum.

"Mayors cannot single-handedly eliminate poverty, equalize education funding between cities and wealthier suburbs, or replace aging schools overnight," Menino says. "But one thing is certain. Without mayoral leadership, any steps to improve our public schools are much more difficult."

The Conference of Mayors and the Broad Foundation are planning an education summit for mayors next spring.