When the film Boys
Don’t Cry was released in 1999, the film’s director said that
the main character, Brandon Teena, was compelling because the way Teena
navigated his transgender identity was, in the director’s view, the most complicated way possible to resolve
a problem. This made the director feel compassion for Teena and reflect
on how often it happens that we, especially when under duress, build up layers
of complexity for ourselves on our way to solving a problem.
I thought about that yesterday when listening to an
interview with Dale Russakoff, the author of the new book The Prize: Who’s In Charge of America’s Schools? Russakoff was a
reporter for the Washington Post for decades; she chose the school reform
movement as the subject and Newark, NJ as the site for this book. More
specifically, she chose to really dig into the experiment that played out in
Newark when Mark Zuckerberg granted the city $100 million to “do” school
reform, an idea that was approved by Governor Chris Christie and was to be
overseen by then-mayor Cory Booker and managed by then-Superintendent Cami
Anderson.
The details are fascinating, and most
of us already know how that story played out. The community of Newark parents, teachers,
and education leaders was shut out of the process, consultants charging large
fees were brought in, the Superintendent re-arranged students, closed schools,
paved the way for charters in the name of choice, etc. And Zuckerberg’s ideal motivation
– to upend teacher contracts and provide merit bonuses to the “good” teachers –
ran smack into the reality of state tenure law in New Jersey (which protected
seniority) and a strong teachers’ union.
This group of people working to solve a (perceived) problem
chose the most complex path to do so, in part because, as Russakoff notes, they
did not avail themselves of the knowledge and experience of people who had
already navigated education in Newark for generations. Reading about the
decisions and the thinking of those involved in this scheme is fascinating –
much like reading about Mayor Kevin
Johnson’s approach to school reform in Sacramento – and also
actually really frightening. Because unlike the character of Brandon Teena,
these people are not under duress, and are not in a fight for their lives and
safety. The school reformers are, if anything, in an ideal position to be
broadly informed, reflective, and even patient as they learn about public education.
But what stopped me short as I listened to the
interview with Russakoff was her response when asked why she thought the new charter
schools in Newark perform better than the traditional public schools in that
city (and indeed, better than most charter schools nationally). Her answer was
not at all complex and required no navigation.
She said charter schools in Newark get a lot more
money into their classrooms and buildings than the traditional public schools
do. There are more staff in charter schools, including learning specialists,
tutors, and social workers. So students do better in those schools.
When she said that, I nearly drove off the road.
The “problem” to be solved in public education has
always been about resources, no matter what words are put around it, no matter
what layers of complexity are added. This has been clear since people argued
about the use of tax monies to fund schools and teachers back in the 1820’s.
I am happy to think Russakoff’s work as a reporter
led her to keep digging and keep exploring to get as complete a story as possible about Newark,
school reformers, and the whims of a billionaire who looks on the Newark
experiment as a personal learning opportunity for himself. But I am dismayed
when I think of all the voices of all the education leaders, researchers,
district workers, and experienced teachers who are just routinely ignored when
these kinds of experiments in reform are undertaken. And I continue to be
weirdly mesmerized by those who create complicated schemes to solve a problem,
because, I suppose, they think complexity will lead to the most palatable (or
marketable) resolution. But as Russakoff affirmed, schools can provide more for
students when schools have more to give. It really can be that simple.
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