Jackson Jambalaya

Our dear friend, Claiborne Barksdale of the Barksdale Reading Institute and one of the leaders of the Public School Lobby, penned a column in the Clarion-Ledger about education recently.

"Recent commentary might lead one to conclude that the public school system in Mississippi should be abandoned and children scattered to the winds. "Choice, choice," they cry, but, for many who need choice the most, there will be no choices. The hysteria needs to stop. Do many schools need transformation - absolutely. Can they be transformed - yes.

Working since August 2000 in more than 100 under-performing schools in Mississippi, the Barksdale Reading Institute has seen many great teachers and school leaders, but much does need to be done to strengthen weak schools, and we have specific proposals to accomplish this. We also have concerns about various proposals that could harm the public schools and their students, parents and communities.

Three deep changes are essential. First, we need the strongest possible teachers in classrooms. We must implement as rapidly as possible the Mississippi Economic Council's 2011 Blueprint Mississippi education recommendations: increase entry requirements into the schools of education; increase teacher licensure requirements (recently adopted by the state board); make school of education curricula more content-area laden; implement merit-based pay for teachers and administrators with meaningful bonuses for strong results (being tested by MDE); and finally, ramp up significantly Teach for America and Mississippi Teacher Corps to have 1,000 such teachers working in the state annually (the Legislature appropriated $6 million for this in its most recent session).

Second, we must have transformative school leaders. A school is no better than its principal. We do not need managers, we need transformative leaders who will change fundamentally the culture and practices of the school, focus on academic progress, hold staff accountable, and involve parents and the community. BRI has funded the Principal Corps at the University of Mississippi to train principals. Thirty such leaders have been placed into schools. This year nine more will graduate.

Third, Mississippi must implement a quality early childhood system. In 2009-10, BRI administered a nationally normed assessment to 1,000 entering kindergartners with which we were then working. The average child scored in the 17th percentile; out of every 100 children nationally, 82 would have scored higher than the average child assessed. These 5-year-olds are starting school so far behind that it is difficult to catch them up.

All well and good and I have no doubt that a school district that commits to working with the Barksdale Reading Institute will improve if it does so on a large scale. However Mr. Barksdale, what do you do about a school district that rejected your brothers offer to donate money to hire the best superintendent? A school district that only has one middle and one high school at the "successful" level. A school district that blows money on attorneys left and right while teachers wonder if they will have toilet paper in the bathrooms. Schools that have dropout rates more than thirty percent. A district that blows off the parents. A district that can't seem to find qualified superintendents. A district that is losing its accreditation. A district that does not report its unexcused absences to the state so it can pad its attendance figures to get more money. A district supported by a NAACP leader that rejects your institute and methods?

What exactly do you propose to do with such a district, Mr. Barksdale, when they reject every bit of help you offer? What do you do with a district that is hell-bent on committing educational suicide? Does he think charter schools should invade that area? Should the state take over thee district? What do you propose, Mr. Barksdale, when they don't want your help?