SBOE LRP

What may look like alphabet soup is, in reality, a potentially very important initiative for Texas public education, students and teachers alike.  Members of the State Board of Education (SBOE), working with a committee appointed by the SBOE through an application process, have been tasked with creating a Long Term Plan (LRP) for our public education system. Much like public education, they were given a mandate by the legislature but no dollars to undertake this important effort!

The newly appointed committee of 18 members, including community members, business leaders and students, has met and is now traveling around the state to solicit input from constituents on what the future of public education should look like.  The committee extended an open invitation to administrators, teachers, parents and community members.  I attended the meeting on December 5 at the Region 11 service center and a second Metroplex meeting was held on December 6.

To recap, the committee has prioritized four long range planning topics:

•           Student Engagement and Empowerment;
•           Educator Preparation, Recruitment and Retention;
•           Equity and Access;
•           Family Engagement and Empowerment.

Each participant was asked to select two of the four topics of greatest importance to them and we then had an opportunity to meet in breakout groups to discuss the topics.  I joined the Student Engagement and Family Engagement discussions.  During these sessions, we were asked to focus on challenges and barriers for that topic, successes relative to the topic and opportunities for improvement. 

There was certainly a great deal of passion on the part of some, although, as might be expected, some of the conversation delved into issues the participant sees at their local school.  I saw this in both of the breakout sessions in which I participated and, while important not to minimize or to fail to listen their concerns, this really is a bigger picture challenge for the committee. 

What I heard from some is a concern about a lack of empowerment in our public schools and whether the voices of parents and students really matter sometimes.  There seemed to be somewhat of a feeling that the system was going to act regardless of inputs from both of these constituent groups but there also was a clear consensus that one of the key factors impacting this is the testing and accountability requirements imposed on our teachers.  Empowerment (or lack thereof) and the ability to impact the education off their children is a key factor in engagement.

Where does the committee go from here?  They certainly have an aggressive plan to gather input across the state and will then have an opportunity to synthesize their findings.  What is critical but is sometimes lacking is how this information is then used.  This cannot be a “check list” effort where the committee gathers the information but largely falls back on the beliefs and attitudes of those appointed to the committee.  There needs to be a demonstrated proof that community input plays a real part in developing a longer term vision and plan for Texas public education, one that focuses on how best to make public education a priority in the State of Texas.