NSBA President: NSBA is exploring the impact of global trends on K-12 education
By Barbara Bolas
04/09 -- The NSBA and Federation leadership have embarked on a year-long exploration of the forces, trends, and challenges facing public education and what NSBA, state school boards associations, and local school boards can do to ensure that the public and policymakers understand the value of public schools.
The NSBA Board of Directors began this “visioning” exercise at its board retreat last September. As public education has taken on a much more central role in the public eye, the board talked about ways to frame the national discussion so the value of public education is not overlooked.
At the board’s direction, NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick prepared a white paper, “The Future of Public Education: It’s America’s Future,” that explores this question.
Schools can no longer simply teach academic subjects, as many have even a few years ago. There is growing recognition that 21st century skills, such as problem-solving and critical thinking, must be a part of the curriculum, the paper states. At the same time, schools face pressure to prepare students for an increasingly globalized economy, which requires a greater focus on world history, culture, and languages.
Meanwhile, school boards are facing more stringent accountability requirements, more state and federal mandates, more pressure to close achievement gaps, greater challenges in recruiting high-quality teachers, and increasingly diverse student bodies.
Other trends affecting school boards include a long-term decline in civic engagement and an increasingly narrow public perspective on the mission of public education that focuses primarily on test scores.
All these trends are emerging at a time of declining budgets and growing pressure for less costly alternatives to public schools, such as online learning. That’s why it’s essential to remind the public and policymakers about the true value of public schools.
“Public education plays a central role in supporting a society that is based on a highly skilled work force, individual opportunity, social mobility, democratic self-governance, and a common culture,” the paper states.
“But,” it continues, “the public schools’ real value may not be on voters’ minds in these times of shrinking school revenues, increased financial pressures on taxpayers, aging school facilities, negative public perceptions about school performance, and the rise of private sector alternatives that promise better test results at lower costs.” State and federal lawmakers who ultimately decide the fate of public education also might not recognize its real value.
Beyond reporting on outcomes such as test scores and graduation, there is a broader case to be made for why public education is essential to the public interest and future of the nation:
• Public schools serve the entire population.
• Public schools give every child an opportunity to learn.
• Public education promotes democracy and social mobility.
• Public education unifies our nation.
• The nation’s economy depends on its public schools.
• Public education uniquely serves the larger public interest.
• Local school boards promote democracy and civic engagement.
Developing a strategic, comprehensive campaign to promote the value of public schools is above and beyond what most overworked school boards can undertake on their own -- and needlessly duplicative. That’s why NSBA and the state associations are taking on this effort on your behalf.
During the NSBA Leadership Conference earlier this winter, leaders of state school boards associations heard perspectives on major global trends affecting education. Experts such as professor Yong Zhao of the U.S.-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence at Michigan State University, and Milton Goldberg of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation were among the speakers.
The state leaders reflected on what they learned from those discussions, along with the trends highlighted in the paper on public education’s future. They then met separately in state teams to consider the implications for their state association, how these themes and trends will affect their associations’ agenda-building and strategic planning efforts, and how NSBA can help with these efforts.
The white paper, along with further explorations on the trends affecting public education, will set the groundwork for the NSBA Board of Directors as we work over the coming months to develop a new strategic plan for NSBA.
Public education must adapt to the changing world of the 21st century -- whether it means more individualized instruction, expanded community engagement, more school board flexibility for rewarding the best teachers, or other changes -- and school boards must be prepared.
NSBA and your state association will help you lay the groundwork in your community to make the case why public schools are critically important for student success in an ever shrinking, rapidly changing world.
Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2009, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.