Tuesday, June 13, 2000
State: Schools require overhaul
By Andrea Tortora
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — The Covington school system must change the way it does business — from educating students to training teachers to interacting with the community.
That was the focus of intensive state reviews of the school system's scholastic and management practices. Four Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) officials presented those reports, as well as recommendations, to board members Monday.
And, at the same meeting where the school board received the sobering reports, it approved hiring Jack Moreland as interim superintendent. He will be in charge of implementing the state's suggestions.
Mr. Moreland said he is serious about helping the district improve.
“Although the task will be daunting, it's doable because we will do it together,” he said.
“We see this document as an attempt to move forward,” said Lois Adams-Rodgers, a KDE deputy commissioner. “This is a very systemic approach to reshaping and retooling education in Covington schools.”
KDE auditors spent seven days in May scrutinizing every aspect of the district's eight schools. Each was evaluated on a 4-point scale in the areas of academic performance, learning environment and efficiency. Most schools received 1s and 2s.
State officials said the district needs to establish goals and follow through with policies and procedures that are communicated to all people working in schools as well as to parents and community members.
Tom Peterson, a KDE associate commissioner, said the state's evaluations found students who have been hurt by the reputation of their schools. He ticked off a list of problems, including the need
for teachers at all grade levels to communicate about curriculum, the need to for teachers to follow state and district teaching guidelines rather than textbook strategies, and the need to train teachers to improve student performance.
He said teachers should evaluate student work in an attempt to figure out what students are and are not learning.
“There is a desperate need for professional development on designing lessons for diverse learners,” Mr. Peterson said.
That means the district must stop tracking and sorting students into low-performing courses and programs and instead create challenging programs that encourage all students to do their best, said Gene Wilhoit, a KDE associate commissioner.
“It's no wonder student learning is at a low level if in fact students are not exposed” to the state's curriculum goals, Mr. Wilhoit said.
Covington students posted some of the lowest scores in Kentucky on a state test of basic skills. Repeated low performance prompted the school board to ask the state for the audits.
Auditors conducted between 50 and 80 interviews in each school as well as at the central office. They reviewed thousands of documents. The final reports are more than 500 pages thick, bound in 3-inch binders.
“We don't make these statements lightly,” Mr. Peterson said.
Board members said they were hopeful the reviews would provide a blueprint for improvement. They must create an action plan to make changes by Aug. 15.
Board member Joe Meyer said he was overwhelmed “with the number of issues and the importance of those issues” highlighted by the state.
Board chairman Hensley Jemmott said the state's report was not surprising.
“We called for this because we knew we needed help,” Mr. Jemmott said. “I'd like to see this implemented with a vengeance.”
The KDE reports charged the Covington School Board with taking these steps:
ãCreate a process for translating the report into action steps for change. That process must include all school and community stakeholders and must maintain a “relentless focus on improv ing teaching and learning.” The board must then take responsibility for the process and monitor its success.
ãEnsure that support is in place to aid teachers and students. That means opportunities for extra learning opportunities for students and extra training for teachers.
ãCreate a system for continual monitoring of each student. There must be frequent and continuous assessment of individual students. “Anything less is unacceptable and would be considered a misuse of the significant district resources available for this process.”
ãSchool and district leadership must recognize excellence and settle for nothing less. That means improving the way staff are evaluated to focus on student learning.
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