Future Ready Columbus Report 2013

Assuring Student Success for the Workforce of Tomorrow

A report from the

April 30, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter From The Mayor And City Council President............................................................... 3 Letter From The Co-Chairs............................................................................................................ 4 Letter From The Director................................................................................................................. 5 Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... 7 The Case For Change................................................................................................................... 11 Executive Summary....................................................................................................................... 19 What The Community Said......................................................................................................... 25 Commission Recommendations................................................................................................ 35 • Every Columbus child is kindergarten ready................................................................................ 39 • We will undertake a community-wide effort to recruit, retain and support outstanding school leadership empowered to make school-based decisions............................. 45 • Every child’s classroom will have the capacity to support state-of-the-art teaching tools and data............................................................................................................... 53 • Every child will attend a high-performing school.......................................................................... 59 • Every student will be given pathways to college and career......................................................... 69 • Our community will embrace the well-being of all our children.................................................... 75 • A New Community Compact for Educational Excellence............................................................. 83

Notes And Bibliography................................................................................................................ 93

1

The Charge from Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Andrew J. Ginther to the Columbus Education Commission:

Examine the challenges and opportunities facing all children living within the Columbus City Schools district, from preschool to career, and develop specific recommendations to the Mayor and Council President that will:

1. Enable all of our children to succeed in the city’s vibrant, growing economy.

2. Make Columbus a global leader in developing the highly-skilled, creative, entrepreneurial workforce that will propel economic growth in the 21st century.

3. Leverage the resourcefulness of our entire community to meet these goals.

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Message to the Community: Mayor Michael Coleman and City Council President Andrew Ginther As city leaders, one of our responsibilities is to create jobs. And we’re doing that successfully. But more and more, as new jobs are created, too many of our young people are not prepared for them.

We care deeply about the future of our city and the well-being of our children. We want every child in Columbus to have the opportunity to succeed in life. We want our local economy and quality of life to steadily improve.

Yet today, not all of our children are acquiring the skills they need to succeed in school, in college or work. A third begin kindergarten unprepared for school. About 40 percent of our third graders aren’t reading at grade level. Almost a quarter of our students drop out before graduating from high school, and more than 40 percent who enter college require remediation. And 30,000 students in district and public charter schools – nearly half of our children – attend poor-performing schools as rated by the Ohio Department of Education.

We’ve seen some progress in our Columbus schools. But, there is more to do. Preparing our children for a growing and changing economy is essential to our future success as a city. That’s why in December 2012 we announced the formation of the Columbus Education Commission, a diverse group of 25 education, civic and business leaders who share a commitment to the future of the city and to our young people.

Our charge to the commission was to examine the challenges and opportunities facing all children living within the Columbus City Schools district, from preschool to career, and to develop specific recommendations to:

Mayor Michael B. Coleman

• Enable all of our children to succeed in our city’s vibrant, growing economy.

• Make Columbus a global leader in developing the highly-skilled, creative, entrepreneurial workforce that will propel economic growth in the 21st century.

• Leverage the resourcefulness of our entire community to meet these goals.

Over the last few months, the commission has tirelessly gathered input from local and national experts, visited schools, listened to parents and students, spent countless hours reviewing research and, together, formed a clear vision and pathway ahead for education in Columbus.

City Council President Andrew J. Ginther

Some may say the job is too big. We refuse to accept any excuses. The recommendations included in this report are steps we can begin now, everywhere, for every child. But it will require the collaboration of the entire community if we are to get our children and our city ready for the bright future that awaits us. Let’s get started.

Mayor Michael Coleman City Council President Andrew Ginther

3

Message from the co-chairs of the Columbus Education Commission On behalf of the Columbus Education Commission, we are pleased to present to the people of Columbus the commission’s final report and recommendations.

When the commission was formed in December 2012, none of us knew where the next several months would take us. But we were clearly aware of the stakes: the future success or failure of our children and city. We also knew that our community was being presented with a golden opportunity and that, if we didn’t answer the call, such an opportunity might never rise again.

While the Columbus City Schools have been embroiled in controversy, the commission never set out to “fix the school board.” Instead, our task was to reimagine education in the context of the entire city. There’s a big difference, and it presents big challenges.

Sometimes big challenges aren’t met because they seem too large. It is true that when it comes to educating our children and preparing our young people for a 21st century economy, the challenges can appear daunting.

What kept those challenges from overwhelming the commission’s work was that we decided first what success would look like, reminding ourselves that many schools and communities have figured out how to be successful. Then, we drew on the desire of parents, the knowledge of experts and the guidance of our collective conscience.

George S. Barrett

This report lays out a pathway to accomplish four overarching goals: • School-level excellence and accountability for every school at every level.

• Customized options for every child, because no two students learn the same way.

• Opportunities for every Columbus student to expand learning using digital resources that, today, allow education to move beyond the traditional classroom.

The Honorable Algenon L. Marbley

• High-quality early childhood education that ensures every child is kindergarten ready • Shared responsibility. The Columbus Board of Education cannot alone accomplish what needs to be done, nor can our charter schools. The commission’s vision is a whole-community vision for the whole-child, one that will result in education everywhere, for every child, at any time.

Kathleen H. Ransier The 25 members of the commission were diverse in experience, training, livelihood and temperament – a microcosm of our community. Like a community, we didn’t always agree on everything. But because we agreed on a common goal, we were able to come together on the important decisions - including our unanimous vote to approve final recommendations - just as we believe our community will do in the coming days.

Our vision is an approach to education in Columbus that will make our community a destination for new residents, new businesses and the best teachers and principals in the nation. While some of our recommendations will affect learning within school buildings, the real objective is to make Columbus a city where all children can learn anywhere, at any time, on their ways to successful lives.

We must prepare our children and our city for the future, and there is no time to waste. Let’s begin now.

Co-chairs of the Columbus Education Commission

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George S. Barrett Judge Algenon L. Marbley Kathleen H. Ransier

Message from Eric Fingerhut Dear Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther: It is my pleasure to join with the Columbus Education Commission in transmitting to you our final report, “Future Ready Columbus.� As the name of the report indicates, the commission asked itself what changes we need to make to our educational systems in Columbus in order to guarantee a bright future for our city and each one of its children. While there are many details still to be filled in, and other issues worthy of further study, we believe we have focused on the most important building blocks of that future success.

Eric D. Fingerhut

The commission reviewed educational research and heard from leading experts as you requested, but we also visited schools right here in Franklin County that are succeeding in delivering a superior education to student populations very similar to those who live in the Columbus City Schools district.

Through these visits and conversations, it became clear that the key to their success is the leadership in the school building together with the team of educators and staff that the school leader is able to build.

This is why the theme of restructuring the district to achieve building-level innovation and success, and recruiting and retaining the leaders necessary to make this strategy work, runs throughout the report.

It is also why the report offers strategies to increase the number of high-performing charter schools.

These schools offer yet another opportunity to provide high-performing schools for Columbus children.

In my view, the most important commission finding is that we do not have to search for solutions to the challenges facing our schools. We have proven models right in front of us to follow. While we should always welcome new ideas and approaches, we do not need to wait to move forward. We can start right now to improve the educational opportunities for all our children. There is no excuse for delay.

I want to thank the co-chairs and all the members of the commission for their hard work and patience throughout this process. We covered a lot of ground in a short time, and we could not have done so without the incredible time and effort put forward by this talented group of thoughtful community leaders. It was a pleasure to work with them.

I also want to thank all of the community organizations that stepped forward with financial support and professional expertise. Many organizations rearranged their budgets and priorities on short notice to help make this effort successful. Particularly worthy of mention are the Columbus Partnership, The Columbus Foundation, KidsOhio.org, and my own employer, Battelle, without whose support I could not possibly have done this work.

Finally, I thank you both for your leadership and support. Your work in this area is only beginning, and we all stand ready to assist you as you take the important steps called for in this report. Just as you have been throughout this commission process, you will need to be persistent and resolute. You have demonstrated to us that the goal of educational excellence for all children in Columbus is not a political agenda, but a deeply held personal commitment. We know you will not stop until this work is accomplished.

With gratitude, Eric Fingerhut

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The Columbus Education Commission Co-Chairs George S. Barrett, Chairman and CEO, Cardinal Health The Honorable Algenon L. Marbley, United States District Court Kathleen H. Ransier, Partner, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease Members Lolita Augenstein, President, Columbus Council of PTAs Lois A. Carson, President, Local 150 of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Robert “Bo” Chilton, CEO, Impact Community Action Tanny Crane, President and CEO, Crane Group Alex Fischer, President and CEO, Columbus Partnership

Mary Lou Langenhop, President and CEO, Children’s Hunger Alliance Patrick Losinski, CEO, Columbus Metropolitan Library Elizabeth Martinez, Vice President of Programs, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio Jordan A. Miller, Jr., President and CEO, Fifth Third Bank of Central Ohio Abdinur Mohamud, Ph.D., Educational Consultant and Title III State Coordinator, Ohio Department of Education The Honorable Carol Perkins, President, Columbus Board of Education and Director of Mobility Services for the Central Ohio Transit Authority Nancy Pyon, Principal and Board Member of the Korean American School of Central Ohio and Vice President of Bogard Insurance & Financial Services Inc.

Rev. Otha Gilyard, Shiloh Baptist Church

Chip Spinning, Executive Director, Franklin County Children Services

David T. Harrison, Ph.D., President, Columbus State Community College

The Honorable Priscilla R. Tyson, Columbus City Council and, founder, City Year Columbus

Dr. E. Gordon Gee, President, The Ohio State University

Stephanie Hightower, President and CEO, Columbus Urban League Mary Jo Hudson, Attorney, Bailey Cavalieri LLC The Honorable Janet E. Jackson, President and CEO, United Way of Central Ohio Chad Jester, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship, Nationwide Insurance Rhonda Johnson, President, Columbus Education Association

6

Acknowledgements Office of the Mayor Mayor Michael B. Coleman Mike Reese, Chief of Staff Christie Angel, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Sexton, Community Affairs Director Dan Williamson, Communications Director Steve Campbell, Director of Regional Growth Initiatives

Office of the Council President President Andrew J. Ginther Ken Paul, Chief of Staff John Ivanic, Communications Director Kathy Owens, Director of Human Resources Financial Support City of Columbus Columbus Partnership Columbus City Council A. Troy Miller Hearcel F. Craig Zachary M. Klein Michelle M. Mills Eileen Y. Paley Priscilla R. Tyson Battelle Jeffrey Wadsworth, President and CEO, Battelle The Honorable Eric D. Fingerhut, Vice President Battelle Education and Director, Columbus Education Commission

Columbus Partnership

Executive Committee Leslie H. Wexner John F. Wolfe Stephen S. Rasmussen Alex Shumate Nicholas K Akins George S. Barrett David P. Blom E. Gordon Gee The Columbus Foundation Douglas F. Kridler, President & CEO

Supporting Businesses, Government Agencies and Non-profit Organizations Battelle Battelle for Kids KidsOhio.org The Ohio State University Columbus State Community College Columbus Metropolitan Library Columbus City Schools Nationwide Children’s Hospital Cardinal Health U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Columbus Council of PTAs Local 150 of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees IMPACT Community Action Crane Group Shiloh Baptist Church Columbus Urban League Bailey Cavalieri LLC

Alex Fischer, President & CEO

United Way of Central Ohio

Kenny McDonald, Senior Vice President, Columbus Partnership and Chief Economic Officer, Columbus 2020

Nationwide Insurance

Stephen J.H. Lyons, Vice President, Member Services & Community Engagement

Children’s Hunger Alliance

Columbus Education Association Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio Fifth Third Bank The Columbus Foundation 7

Ohio Department of Education

Elizabeth McNally, Easthaven Elementary School

Columbus Board of Education

Becci Catalfina, Holt Crossing Intermediate School

Korean American Society of Central Ohio Franklin County Children’s Services

Cortney Crenshaw, The Arts & College Preparatory Academy

Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center

Tony Bagshaw, Battelle for Kids

Educational Service Center of Central Ohio

Ethan Gray, CEE-Trust

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP

Terry Ryan, Thomas B. Fordham Institute Andrew Boy, United Schools Network

Presenters Arne Duncan, U.S. Department of Education Bob Balfanz, Johns Hopkins University Michael Feinberg, KIPP Stephen Dackin, Reynoldsburg City Schools Mark Milliron, Western Governors University Bart Anderson, Educational Service Center of Central Ohio Tom Goodney, Educational Service Center of Central Ohio

Hannah Powell Tuney, KIPP Central Ohio GG Howard, The Arts & College Preparatory Academy Derrick Shelton, Columbus Art and Technology Academy Steven Bingler, Concordia Pat Losinski, Columbus Metropolitan Library Vince Papsidero, City of Columbus Jeannette Oxender, Former Chief of Staff, Ohio Department of Education

Alesia Gillison, Eastmoor Academy

Robert Murray, The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology

Tina Thomas-Manning, Ohio Department of Education

Abdinur Mohamud, Ohio Department of Education

Mark Real, KidsOhio.org Sasheen Phillips, Ohio Department of Education

Elizabeth Martinez, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio

Linda Day Mackessy, YMCA of Central Ohio

Kim Jordan, Eldon Ward YMCA

Bernice Hagler Cody, Council of Franklin County Head Start

Jackie Calderone, Transit Arts

Bill Wise, South-Western City Schools

Milton Ruffin, Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center

Greg Brown, Graham Family of Schools

Kathleen Murphy, Murphy Epson, Inc.

Aimee Kennedy, Metro Early College High School

Dani Palmore, Columbus Policy Works

Brad Mitchell, Battelle for Kids

Larry Price, LPrice & Associates

Marcy Raymond, Reynoldsburg City Schools

Patricia Hicks, Outcomes Management Group, Ltd.

Clarissa Shen, Udacity

Susan Bodary, Education First

Tom Vander Ark, GettingSmart.com

Janet E. Jackson, United Way of Central Ohio

Pankaj Shah, OARnet

Anthony Smith, Taft High School, Cincinnati

Stu Johnson, Connect Ohio

Steve Campbell, Mayor Coleman’s Office

Gene Smith, The Ohio State University Athletics Department

Bill Sims, Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Nancy Hoffman, Jobs for the Future

Dionne Custer Edwards, Wexner Center for the Arts

Gus Dahlberg, Clintonville Go Public!

Robin Lynch, ODW Logistics

Rhonda Wharton, Parent Consultant, Monroe Alternative Middle School

Rocky Parker, Nationwide Insurance

Jessica Bennett, Southside STAY

Jack Heinzman, Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Jim Mahoney, Battelle for Kids Thomas Trang, Columbus International High School

8

Special Thanks

Columbus State Community College The Ohio State University

KidsOhio.org

Columbus Metropolitan Library

Mark Real

WOSU/COSI

Erika Braunginn, KidsOhio.org

Boys & Girls Club of Columbus

Ann Bischoff, KidsOhio.org

King Arts Complex

Mary Hopmann, KidsOhio.org Herbert B. Asher, Ph.D., The Ohio State University Trudy Bartley, The Ohio State University Shelley Bird, Cardinal Health Mabel Freeman, Columbus State Community College Franklin Park Conservatory Metro Early College High School Downtown High School Columbus Alternative High School Summit Campus, Reynoldsburg City Schools

Research Partners Jeannette Oxender Blake Thompson, The Ohio State University Brad Mitchell, Battelle for Kids Mark Hartmon, Battelle for Kids Tom Goodney, Educational Service Center of Central Ohio Joe Weitz, Educational Service Center of Central Ohio Steve Lyons, Columbus Partnership Stephanie Hightower, Columbus Urban League

North Franklin Elementary School KIPP Journey Academy Graham Expeditionary Middle School Graham Primary School University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College Mindset Digital Luc Nutter Murphy Epson, Inc. Paul Werth Associates Wedgewood Middle School Centennial High School Linden-McKinley STEM Academy South High School Briggs High School Buckeye Middle School Columbus Collegiate Academy-West East High School Junior Achievement Center JH Ross Family Life Community Center Andrew Stout and Columbus TV

9

10

The Case for Change

11

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Forward: The Case for Change It has been the aim to keep our course of study within proper bounds and only to admit those subjects which have a direct bearing and a proper place in preparation for life or for a higher institution of learning. Nothing is more apparent than the rapid changes in the business and professional world. The street car driver of a few years ago would not be able to control the electric motor of to-day. . .The same is true in every line of industry and business – the methods of twenty years ago will not answer the conditions of to-day.

—Annual Report of the Columbus Board of Education, Aug. 31, 1900

At the turn of the last century, the Columbus schools faced daunting challenges.

A rapidly growing population had made Columbus the eighth fastest-growing city in the nation.

A recent compulsory education law was adding to enrollment growth, especially among boys. The need for new buildings and educational assets was straining the district’s budget.

Yet even then, school leaders recognized the importance of preparing young Ohioans for a fast-changing world.1

• In 1904, Columbus became the only city in Ohio to employ African-American teachers to instruct white students.6 • And, in 1909, Indianola Junior High School became the fi rst junior high school in the nation when it opened at the corner of East 16th Avenue and Indianola Avenue.7 Time and again, Columbus educators have brought energy and innovation to teaching that resulted in generations of inspired and capable young people. Those who didn’t go on to college – indeed, most central Ohioans – had little trouble finding jobs in factories, on farms or in the military.

A city of firsts The recognition that a community is responsible for preparing its children for the future has been a foundational characteristic of Columbus since the city’s formation in 1812. Over the years, Columbus has benefited from some of the best minds in education – forward-thinkers who never believed the future was beyond their control.

The Columbus City Schools has compiled a list of “Notable Milestones in the History of the Columbus Public Schools.” Among the notable milestones:

Losing our way At some point, however, Columbus lost its way. In 1968, The Ohio State University Advisory Commission on Problems Facing the Columbus Public Schools submitted a report to the Columbus Board of Education that found children falling behind, particularly in poor neighborhoods, and a lack of authority among building level leaders to address these issues.

• Columbus became the site of one of the nation’s fi rst kindergartens when Caroline Louisa Frankenberg opened her School for Active Instincts of Childhood and Youth in 1836.2 She later opened a new school in 1858 at the corner of Rich Street and Pearl Alley, specifi cally calling it a kindergarten.3 • In 1870, the district became one of the fi rst to employ women as principals and pay them wages equal to those of men.4 • In 1882, the Columbus Public Schools Board of Education voted to desegregate the schools – 72 years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation unconstitutional.5

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Nearly 30 years later, in 1997, the Columbus Public Schools Operations and Efficiency Task Force, comprised of business and higher education leaders, submitted a new report.8 The report found that the district’s operations and personnel policies were poorly managed, and that accountability for student performance was lacking.

I want to see a sustained engagement by the community, by government, by the mayor’s office, by the business community, in educating our kids. Because it’s not just the school board’s responsibility.

It’s everybody’s responsibility.

The Columbus region is one of the brightest economic spots in the Midwest. With a workforce of more than 1 million people in an 11-county area, the region comprises nearly 18 percent of the state’s total workforce.12

Mayor Michael B. Coleman

Though the community failed to address these issues in the past, the need to do so today is more urgent than ever.

The electric streetcar of 1900 has given way to the electric car, the factory line worker to robotic arms, the corner store to global brands.

The world into which our children now are born provides no safe haven for those who leave school unprepared for what’s next.

Instead of providing the key to success, however, we are locking the door on too many of our children: • More than a third of Columbus City Schools children enter kindergarten unprepared for the classroom, compared to 19 percent statewide.9 • Columbus City Schools students’ average ACT score in 2012 was 17 – well below the 21.8 average for the state – and even farther below the ACT composite score range of 26 to 30 for Ohio State University freshmen in fall 2012.10 • Columbus is losing half of its students between the ninth and 12th grades.11 • Columbus City Schools met no math, science or social studies indicators in any grade on the 2011-2012 state report card.

• Columbus City Schools ranked 824 of 832 district and public charter schools in value-added rating, meaning Columbus students, on average, make less than one year of academic progress per school year.

“You’re losing more than half the students and, frankly, this is one of the few cities I’ve visited where you’re losing more than 50 percent of every racial population,” U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan said during his visit to Columbus on April 19, 2013. “The city deserves better. Your kids deserve better. Whatever the answer is, you need to change and you need to change not around the edges. It must be real, fundamental change.”

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The economic imperative

At the center of that region is Columbus, America’s 15th largest city and Ohio’s largest – and the only major city in Ohio that is still growing.13 Columbus, with a diverse economy, strategic geographic location and strong private sector job growth, last fall was ranked seventh in the nation for the strength of its economy.14

The community also enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state. February 2013 figures from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services showed that Franklin County, in which Columbus sits, had a lower unemployment rate than all but five of Ohio’s other 87 counties.15 Columbus continues to attract national attention in other ways. It has been honored recently as the number one up-and-coming high-tech city (Forbes Magazine), America’s Best Place to Raise Kids (BusinessWeek), Most Affordable Place to Retire (Forbes) and, last October, as one of the Intelligent Community Forum’s “Smart21 Communities” – the only American city on the list of 21.16 Columbus 2020, a regional growth strategy that leverages both public and private resources to drive economic development of the region, has acknowledged the vast intellectual, economic and quality-of-life assets that Columbus and its surrounding communities enjoy.

It has embarked on an ambitious plan focused on four primary goals17: • To generate 150,000 net new jobs by 2020.

• To increase per capita income by 30 percent by 2020.

• To gain $8 billion of capital investment by 2020.

• And to be recognized as a national leader in regional economic development collaboration.

One of the key questions concerning Columbus 2020’s goals is one it has asked itself: Can the region supply the long-term workforce needed to serve existing businesses, new companies and new high-growth enterprises?

Based on the region’s relative youth and strong educational assets, the quick answer would appear to be “yes.” The 11-county region boasts more than 50 college and university campuses and 145,000 students18 – a potential for development of human capital most communities would envy.

Diving deeper, however, the picture is not as certain. A Columbus 2020 analysis surfaced concerns about: • An aging workforce that, as workers retire, will limit the availability of people equipped with the skills needed for the workforce.

• Brain drain among young professionals who move away.

• Lack of new workers to fi ll key manufacturing positions.19 Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman recognized this critical issue when he and City Council President Andrew J. Ginther announced formation of the Columbus Education Commission. And he made the point again in his Feb. 21, 2013, State of the City Address.

“We are improving our economy by creating jobs. . . .

But the most important thing we can do is to support our children by guaranteeing them a good education in Columbus. When our kids graduate from high school, they should be able to do one of four things: Get a good job. Go to college. Join the military. Or start a business. Too many of our young people are not prepared to do any of the above.” 20 In a series of public meetings from January 22 through April 8, 2013, community members also strongly voiced their concern about a lack of emphasis on various ways students can move from school to college or work.

The diverse nature of Columbus’ economy means students will need the core skills to succeed in many fields. These include both “hard” skills, such as computer skills, and “soft” skills, such as communication and effective interpersonal skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.21 They also include teamwork and collaboration, a strong work ethic and a positive attitude, time management and

organizational skills, flexibility, analytical skills, ability to work well under pressure, self-motivation and initiative, and the ability to accept feedback for learning and growth.

However, it is clear that too few young people in Columbus have the skills necessary to step into some of our fastestgrowing industries. Students receive little guidance about those jobs while in school, and have few formal pathways to reach them.

“Middle skill” jobs – those that require more than high school, but less than a four-year degree – comprise the largest part of America’s and Ohio’s labor market.22 This is good news for young people who are looking for wellpaying jobs that don’t require a four- to six-year investment at a university. But to realize the goals set out by Columbus 2020, our entire community – including parents, students and educators – will need to rethink how we put each child on a pathway that is right for him or her.

Despite our city’s relative economic strength and high quality of life, it would be a mistake to overlook the socioeconomic challenges that our city faces. Like most urban centers, thousands of families in Columbus live in poverty.

Eighty-two percent of children in district and public charter schools are economically disadvantaged,23 a fact that affects a child’s chances of enrolling in preschool and being ready for kindergarten.

Others families face homelessness, poor health and nutrition, addiction, mental health issues and other problems that directly affect a child’s readiness to learn and challenge their ability to persevere through the existing education system.

In the continuum of education from birth to work, communities that hope to prepare their young people for the workforce must find ways to address these challenges.

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Despite the obstacles that social issues present to learning, they are not insurmountable. A 2012 Public Agenda report cited nine high-poverty schools in Ohio, including Eastmoor Academy in Columbus, which have overcome the social challenges that other schools use as an excuse for failure.24

You can do something that can be great, not just for the children here, but you can do something that’s a model for the country.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

The research makes clear that the most important factors in a child’s success in school and preparation for the workforce are effective teachers and principals. However, the larger community also has a role to play. Columbus is fortunate to have numerous programs focused on children and youth, robust out-of-school resources such as libraries and clubs, an extensive system of not-for-profit health care providers concerned about children, and a vibrant business community with a vested interest in children’s success.

It’s no surprise that the charge to the Columbus Education Commission from Mayor Coleman and City Council President Ginther states that the commission’s recommendations must seek to “leverage the resourcefulness of our entire community.”

As we seek to prepare our young people for the workforce of today and tomorrow, it will be necessary for businesses, economic development organizations, educators, social services agencies, the faith-based community and civic leaders to work together to build human capital in a way that leverages all of our community resources while addressing obstacles to our children’s success.

Failure to prepare our citizens carries with it staggering costs to individuals, communities and the state’s economy.

Those without high school diplomas or post-secondary credentials or degrees experience decreased purchasing power, and the local economy does not enjoy the full potential that comes from successful adults buying homes, cars and paying more taxes.

If even half of Ohio’s 39,200 high school dropouts from the class of 2010 had earned their diplomas, the state’s economy would have benefited from over $300 million in increased home sales, almost $20 million in increased car sales, 1,000 new jobs, and almost $15 million in additional state tax revenues.25 If those dropouts had earned a post-secondary credential or degree, those numbers would have increased by almost half.26

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Ill-prepared citizens drag the economy down in other ways.

Unemployment and incarceration are significantly higher among high school dropouts and those with only a high school diploma, boosting the cost of social services.27

Finally, lack of a properly educated citizenry handcuffs recruitment efforts to replace Ohio’s baby boomers who are reaching retirement age and moving out of the workforce.28

While there are bright spots within our city – schools like Eastmoor Academy, a high-performing district school in a high-poverty neighborhood, and KIPP Journey Academy, a public charter school whose low-income students progress in achievement year after year29 – the stark reality is that the current state of education within our city puts Columbus at risk. It’s a risk that our forebears would not have accepted.

And it’s one that we cannot afford to accept.

The Columbus Education Commission In answer to community concerns that too many Columbus children continue to be left behind, on December 13, 2012, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Andrew J. Ginther announced formation of the Columbus Education Commission.

The commission is a diverse group of 25 leaders who share a commitment to the future of the city and to our young people. Its membership includes business executives, social services representatives, labor unions, parent and teacher representatives, college and university administrators, and economic development leaders.

Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther charged the commission: To examine the challenges and opportunities facing all children living within the Columbus City Schools boundaries, from preschool to career, and to develop specific recommendations to: 1. Enable all Columbus children to succeed in our city’s vibrant, growing economy.

2. Make Columbus a global leader in developing the highly-skilled, creative, entrepreneurial workforce that will propel economic growth in the 21st century.

3. Leverage the resourcefulness of our entire community to meet these goals.

The commission met in eight day-long meetings over four months, beginning in January. During that time, the commission gathered input from nearly 60 local and national experts; reviewed dozens of research reports, articles and books; made seven school visits; conducted 17 public events such as community forums for neighborhood residents, parents, teachers, young professionals and cultural groups; and sought communitygenerated education-improvement ideas using television advertising, social media and a postcard campaign.

There have been nearly 11,000 visits to the commission’s website, more than 300,000 Twitter accounts reached, more than 1.5 million impressions made and more than 2,000 postcards returned to the commission listing good ideas solicited from the community.

The commission fully deliberated on what the public and the experts said, discussed their relevance for improving Columbus schools and agreed on recommendations and strategies.

The challenges are great. But there is nothing more important than improving access to quality education for the children of this community.

City Council President Andrew J. Ginther

It should be noted that at its first meeting, the commission decided to ask the Columbus Board of Education to collaborate on a review of the district’s non-instructional operations to identify potential efficiencies and savings. The commission and school board, working collaboratively, made significant progress, but did not complete that work by the time the commission last met on April 26, 2013. A fuller description of the review can be found in the Notes and Bibliography section of this report on page 85.

A new way forward This report documents what the commission heard and learned during a five-month period in 2012 and 2013.

Appearing together with United States Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan on April 19, Mayor Coleman articulated five principles that would guide his consideration of the commission’s recommendations: 1. Sustained engagement – by the community, government, mayor’s office and business community in educating Columbus children. “It’s everybody’s responsibility,” he said.

2. Alignment – of the schools, parents, teachers, the civic environment, the school board, government “and everybody else.”

3. Innovation – “I’ve always said that cities that stay the same fall behind. So we need a driver of innovation in the city to innovate new ideas to educate our kids.”

4. Checks and balances – “Every government has a check and a balance. The school district needs a check and a balance.”

5. A focus on educating the child – “Let’s be kidcentered, student-centered, not jurisdiction centered. Let’s do what is best for the young people of our community.”

What is needed now is a community-wide recognition of the problems we face, a spirit of collaboration among the many resources within the city, and a new mindset that refuses to allow a child’s time and place of birth to determine his or her future. The Columbus Education Commission hopes that its recommendations will serve as a useful blueprint for the city leaders to follow in bringing about the necessary changes.

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11

12 13 14 15

Various annual reports of the Columbus Board of Education, 1900 to 1907.

Columbus City Schools, Notable Milestones in the History of the Columbus Public Schools.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Columbus Public Schools Operations and Efficiency Task Force, Executive Summary, April 22, 1997.

KidsOhio.org, The State of Education for Columbus Students Preschool-College, Oct. 18, 2012.

Ibid.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, panel presentation, Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, April 19, 2013. Duncan noted that the city currently has 6,000 ninth graders and 2,900 12th graders.

The Columbus Region, Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, August 2012.

USA Today, Population drastically declines in Ohio cities, March 9, 2011.

On Numbers Economic Index, September 2012.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (February 2013 unemployment figures).

18

Intelligent Community Forum.

The Columbus Region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, August 2012.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Mayor Coleman’s State of the City Address, Feb. 21, 2013.

21 Presentations to Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther, Oct. 25, 2012.

22 National Skills Coalition, Middle-Skill Jobs State-by-State: Ohio.

23 KidsOhio.org.

24 Public Agenda, Failure is Not an Option, 2012.

25 Alliance for Excellent Education, Dec. 2011.

26 Ibid.

27 Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, High School Dropouts in Chicago and Illinois: The Growing Labor Market, Income, Civic, Social and Fiscal Costs of Dropping Out of High School, August 2011.

28 Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio’s Aging Labor Force: Recent Trends in Industry Employment, 2012.

29 The commission heard about both schools repeatedly during its public meetings.

16 17

Executive Summary

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FutureReady Columbus: Assuring Student Success for the Workforce of Tomorrow

Executive Summary Columbus is a growing, thriving city with a diverse economy and population. Recently named one of the world’s most intelligent cities,1 Columbus is home to a wide array of colleges and universities, and to companies that eagerly hire the graduates of these institutions.

Columbus is also home to some of the most highly regarded primary and secondary schools in the state. But there are not enough of these, particularly in the Columbus City Schools district, where 30,000 students are attending schools earning a D or F on the state’s school report card.

The students in these schools either drop out or graduate with a diploma that does not prepare them to succeed in college or to get a good job.

Recognizing that Columbus will never reach its full potential until the K-12 education available to all our children matches our world class higher education system, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and Council President Andrew J. Ginther created the Columbus Education Commission to advise them on the challenges to educational excellence in Columbus and suggest strategies for overcoming these challenges. Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther charged the commission to: Examine the challenges and opportunities facing all children living within the Columbus City Schools district, from preschool to career, and develop specific recommendations to the Mayor and Council President that will: 1. Enable all of our children to succeed in the city’s vibrant, growing economy.

2. Make Columbus a global leader in developing the highly-skilled, creative, entrepreneurial workforce that will propel economic growth in the 21st Century.

3. Leverage the resourcefulness of our entire community to meet these goals.

The commission, composed of 25 distinguished community leaders from government, business, organized labor, educational and civic organizations, met during a time of intense focus on the future of Columbus City Schools, as the state auditor was pursuing an investigation into alleged data rigging and the Columbus Board of Education was beginning the process of hiring a successor to its longserving superintendent, Dr. Gene Harris.

The commission met nine times between December 13, 2012, and April 26, 2013. It reviewed dozens of relevant studies and reports, and heard from national and local experts on a wide range of education related topics.

The commission also conducted an extensive public outreach campaign. The public outreach included open meetings and focus groups held throughout the city, an extensive television and postcard campaign designed to encourage Columbus residents to send in their ideas for improving public education, and an aggressive social media campaign, including a website, live streaming of commission meetings, and an active twitter account and blog.

The report of the Columbus Education Commission, adopted on April 26, 2013, and delivered to Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther on April 30, 2013, focused on six key areas:

1. Making sure that every Columbus child is kindergarten ready.

Children who come to school ready are significantly more likely to succeed academically. Yet, according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education, 34 percent of children enter Columbus City Schools unprepared for kindergarten. Numerous public, private and not-for-profit pre-K programs operate throughout the city, but the cost for many programs is a barrier for low-income families, and there aren’t enough slots available in high-quality pre-K programs to serve all children.

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The commission calls on the community to ensure that every child is ready for kindergarten by making available high-quality, pre-K programs to every family in the Columbus City Schools district, with a priority placed on the lowest income families. This should be accomplished through a community effort to raise the necessary revenue, while a community-wide Early Childhood Council helps the district determine which community providers meet the high standards necessary.

2. Recruit and retain high-performing teachers and principals.

The most important factor in a student’s academic achievement is the classroom teacher, and the most important factor in building a school full of highly effective teachers is the building principal. Great principals shape a school culture of high achievement, support good teachers and help them grow, and hold themselves and their entire staff accountable for results. To do so, the principal must have the authority to make decisions regarding personnel and other issues that affect academic achievement. Columbus City Schools lacks a comprehensive human capital strategy to attract, retain and develop highly effective teachers and principals, and to identify and remove quickly those who are not effective.

Demonstrated experience in recruiting and retaining highperforming teachers and principals, and removing those who are not, must be a key criterion for the appointment of the next superintendent. Additionally, the human resources professionals in the community should partner with the

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district in an effort to recruit high-performing teachers and principals to Columbus, and help support them when they are here in our community.

3. Support state-of-the-art teaching tools and materials.

Technology and new teaching methods are offering more individualized paths for students and access to a wider array of curricular materials. Districts across the country are engaging with technology to improve teaching and learning for each student, and are meeting with critical success. In order to take advantage of these new and developing tools, students and teachers must have access to the technology in school and at home, teachers must be proficient in using these tools to improve teaching and learning for every child, and parents must also be able to access and use the information that a digital approach to individualized learning can offer.

Since the technological needs of the community include but also extend beyond the Columbus City Schools district, a focused non-profit or governmental entity should be created to manage the development and deployment of technology that supports one-to-one computing for every student and teacher, and that works with other community organizations like libraries and neighborhood centers to build a digital layer connecting all the learning environments in the community so that the whole community is supporting student achievement in the most efficient and effective manner.

4. Create more high-performing neighborhood schools and school choices.

Success has eluded far too many children in Columbus and the schools that most of them attend. In 2011-12, about 30,000 Columbus students attended schools rated as academic watch or academic emergency on the state report card. Of these, about 23,000 attended Columbus City Schools, where 60 of 117 buildings were schools the state has deemed persistently low-performing. Parents in Columbus want, and deserve, a high-performing school for their children in their neighborhood, as well as choices of specialized schools in or out of the neighborhood to meet individual student needs and interests.

To meet this expectation, Columbus City Schools must replicate those high-performing schools for which there is a demonstrable demand for additional seats, and the community must organize itself and provide the resources to encourage new high-quality charter schools and to grow existing high-quality charter schools in Columbus neighborhoods. A key criteria for the selection of the new superintendent of Columbus City Schools must be the demonstrated capacity to put in place the effective leadership necessary to improve or replace lowperforming schools, to recruit principals who have the skills to lead such efforts, to give the building principals the authority and responsibility to make all decisions affecting academic achievement at the building level, to restructure the central office into an organization that supports the success of effective schools, and to partner effectively with high-performing charter schools.

5. Give students a clear purpose.

As Mayor Coleman has said, every child should graduate prepared to go to college, get a job, start a business or join the military. Today, too many who earn a high school diploma are not prepared for success in life. This is particularly a problem in our new economy, where there are fewer and fewer family-supporting jobs that do not require a level of intellectual problem-solving capabilities generally beyond high school.

Columbus lacks a cohesive system that nurtures a sense of purpose for students according to their unique interests and talents. Partnering with our higher education institutions, particularly Columbus State Community College, every student should graduate high school with a diploma and with one or more certificates that are valued in the workplace, and should have earned credits toward a college degree. Educational pathways leading to particular professional fields must be available in every neighborhood, with more effective and deeper partnerships with business and industry present throughout the educational system.

6. Partner with the community to serve the whole child.

Even as we set and maintain the highest aspirations and standards for the education of our children, we know that they face challenges and opportunities beyond the classroom – such as poor health and nutrition, poverty, addiction and mental illness – that will have a direct impact on their success in school and in life. For that reason, it is critically important that student performance and steps to improve success be viewed in the context of the whole child, and that the community be engaged to address these pressing matters.

The many initiatives needed in the community include expanding school breakfast, lunch, weekend and summer nutrition programs to all students, increasing the number of arts-focused schools, enhancing information sharing between schools and social service agencies, and making sure every child has a library card to encourage literacy.

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A New Compact for Educational Excellence In addition to the six areas of focus, the Columbus Education Commission asked itself why Columbus does not currently have the effective educational system we need, and what changes in the leadership and accountability for education are needed in our community to ensure that the goals and strategies the report sets forth are fully implemented. Cities that have effective educational systems have every sector of the community aligned – the superintendent, school board, the city leaders, the private sector and civic leadership

– around common goals and metrics. No one sector can accomplish the goals alone, and all stakeholders hold each other accountable to focus solely on student achievement as their guiding principle. As with all areas of American democracy, an effective system of checks and balances improves the final product of governance.

And cities with strong, involved mayoral leadership in education are clearly flourishing, though the form of this leadership may vary.

The commission recommended four steps: 1. The creation of a Public/Private Partnership to lead the drive for educational excellence within Columbus, leveraging all available public and private support. The partnership will ensure the implementation of the Columbus Education Commission report, will work to attract and support high-quality charter schools and replicate highperforming district schools, will provide parents and families with clear information about educational options, and will encourage and train community members to be effective leaders in our educational system.

2. The creation of an Office of Independent Auditor, modeled on the existing Columbus City Auditor.

The new independent auditor will be responsible for auditing the fiscal and performance management of Columbus City Schools, and will have the power and responsibility to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

3. Improving the performance of Columbus City Schools by replacing the “policy governance model” in current use with specific governance policies that are consistent with the research on the practices of effective school boards presented to the Columbus Education Commission.

4. The Mayor should appoint a Director of Educational Improvement within his cabinet to increase the city’s capacity to support educational excellence in the community. The director should sit as an ex-officio, non-voting representative to the Columbus Board of Education, serve as a member of the Public/ Private Partnership for Columbus Education, and as a liaison between the district and the city, offering the school district perspective to the Mayor and Council and vice versa, for the purpose of consensus building.

Next Steps The next Columbus City Schools voted levy should incorporate all appropriate recommendations from the Columbus Education Commission.

The Mayor, the City Council President and the private sector should establish a community outreach effort to educate residents about this report.

1

The Intelligent Communities Forum.

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What the Community Said

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What the Community Said While researchers and educators have much to offer the Columbus Education Commission regarding scientific findings and professional experience, education is everyone’s responsibility and everyone has a stake.

That means the entire community, including opinion leaders, business leaders, faith communities, parents and neighborhood residents should have a voice in determining the path forward for Columbus schools.

Of course, parents are closest to the ultimate stakeholders – our children. And those who live near neighborhood schools, whether they have children enrolled there or not, know that the health of a school often determines the health of the community surrounding it.

For that reason, the Columbus Education Commission designed a formal process for listening to the community, keeping it informed of commission discussions and soliciting ideas about how our schools could be improved.

The process consisted of four primary components: 1) A digital media campaign that facilitated twoway communications between the public and the commission.

2) A series of four focus groups from January 22 through January 31, 2013. Focus groups consisted of a limited number of invitees to structured meetings in each of the city’s four quadrants.

All of the outreach was designed to understand barriers and concerns, how community resources might be leveraged for the benefit of children, and to gather ideas for improving schools.

Digital outreach From the start, the commission wanted to make it easy for the entire community to join the effort to reimagine Columbus education.

That’s why ReimagineColumbusEducation.org and @ ReimagineCbusEd were launched December 13, 2012.

Together, these digital channels were designed to make sure everyone — families, neighborhood groups, and leaders of our business, nonprofit and civic organizations — could take part in the conversation.

The website and Twitter account shared two goals: 1) To provide real-time information about the topics being discussed.

2) To encourage members of the community to offer their best ideas for education in Columbus.

3) A series of eight fully open public workshops and 13 additional meetings with special constituencies, such as members of Latino populations, Somali community leaders, LGBT residents, young professionals, teachers, parents of children enrolled in the I Know I Can program, representatives of the Homeport housing program, and clergy. Altogether, the public meetings and focus groups drew more than 1,000 people.

4) A “Tell Us Your Good Idea” program that solicited ideas from the entire community for improving Columbus schools. Postcards with return postage pre-paid were placed throughout the community, and residents were encouraged to fill them out through outreach at public meetings and events and through a television commercial that ran extensively on local channels.

More than 2,000 people from the community contributed their good ideas by returning postcards.

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ReimagineColumbusEducation.org The website was the go-to source for all information about the Columbus Education Commission’s work.

• Before each meeting, the site posted details about the agenda — including the same background materials provided to commission members, so that community members could read along.

• During each meeting, the site hosted a live-stream video so that people could watch virtually even if they couldn’t attend.

• And after each meeting, a recap was posted within hours to explain what occurred. After the videos were processed, the site posted them.

The website also shared perspectives from commission members and education experts, providing more context about the issues facing education in Columbus. The site also shared details of the public meetings held throughout the community, amplified the Tell Us Your Good Idea postcard campaign, and covered events such as the State of the City address by Mayor Michael Coleman and the community forum with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on April 19, 2013.

Members of the public have posted hundreds of comments to the website to offer ideas about education or ask questions. Through April 28, 2013, there had been more than 13,200 visits to the website. @ReimagineCbusEd There’s been a rich conversation on Twitter about education in Columbus, with more than 3,800 tweets sent by users other than @ReimagineCbusEd. Through April 28, there had been more than 335,700 Twitter accounts reached.

Followers of @ReimagineCbusEd have found links to resources on the website, articles about other education news, examples of how inventive educators are making a difference and more. And when possible, we answered questions or requests from the public.

The account also provided live reporting about events such as commission meetings, the State of the City address by Mayor Michael Coleman and the visit by U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan. In real time, @ ReimagineCbusEd has captured what people were saying.

As important, we promoted the #cbusedu hashtag so that anyone following the conversation would see what other Twitter users had to say. Often, that has sparked discussions between community members about how to improve education in Columbus.

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Focus Groups Focus groups were the first opportunity for the commission to hear from the public in a structured way. Each group was asked about their own education, as well as what they felt could help, or hold back, learning for others.

Components of a good education Most participants in focus groups felt they received a good education and felt that some of the foundational components of education they had received – reading, writing, math, science and critical thinking skills – continued to be important. However, they acknowledged that student needs and available school resources have changed.

They considered technology use in education essential as well as flexible approaches to teaching to accommodate cultural and socio-economic differences. Focus group participants also generally said that: • Parents play a critical role in a child’s education and it is worth the effort to engage them – even if it requires incentives, translators or more formal outreach.

• Teachers must be vested in all students, be learningcentered and have high expectations for all students.

• Schools must be safe and foster an environment that builds confidence, encourages listening and respect for different opinions; inspires creativity; and challenges children to succeed.

• Students must have access to appropriate tools, including textbooks, equipment and technology.

• Community commitment and support can make schools more relevant, interesting and leverage additional resources.

• Accountability to the public for its investment in schools is important. This principle extends to students, parents, teachers, leaders, the school board and community members.

• Schools must ensure that every student acquires the basic foundational skills of learning, yet receives exposure to the arts, sports, music, cultural diversity and real world experiences.

Barriers

Good ideas

Focus group participants identified a number of barriers within the current education system that they felt are holding students and educators back from achieving their potential. These included:

Focus group participants were asked to generate ideas for improving the schools, share them with the group and vote on the top three. The following are the ideas that received the most votes from the four focus groups:

• A lack of high expectations for students, teachers and schools.

• Redesign curriculum so that it focuses on critical thinking skills necessary for today’s workforce and to become a lifelong learner.

• Uncertainty among parents who lacked a good education about how to support their children’s education.

• Poverty, hunger, mental health and illness.

• Transportation to school – long bus rides due to distance of schools from neighborhoods.

• Discipline problems that detract from learning.

• Slow or broken computers and lack of technology overall.

• Too much focus on standardized testing at the expense of teaching critical thinking skills.

• Bullying and lack of sensitivity to culture, race, sexual orientation and different learning styles.

• Overcrowded classrooms.

Leveraging community resources Those participating in the focus groups also noted that the community has numerous resources that could be used to improve education for Columbus children. While they mentioned specific programs, participants generally expressed their opinion that community resources can be used to provide educational experiences everywhere, help students understand the job market and careers, and fund services that may not be available in the schools.

• Develop a comprehensive, district-wide pre-K program to prepare students for school and to progress on schedule after entering kindergarten.

• Create schools that become lifelong learning centers for the entire community, expanding their current use for the benefit of all.

• Use a holistic approach to support families by engaging social and medical services in the schools, thereby addressing some of the challenges to learning that arise from problems outside of school.

Public workshops Public workshops resulted in themes similar to those the commission heard in focus groups. For example, participants in the open public meetings said: • Teachers are at the heart of the educational system.

Teachers are central to the success of students and should be supported with appropriate funding at the school and classroom level. Teachers need to be held accountable for success, but also need professional development to help them to effectively teach students with different learning styles, to help students become critical thinkers and lifelong learners, to make effective use of educational technology and to interact successfully with students of different backgrounds and cultures.

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A system of better training and rewards for high-quality teachers was seen as a necessity, and workshop participants said poorly performing teachers should not be allowed in the classroom.

• Strong, consistent and effective classroom management and school discipline are crucial.

Community members said teachers need to be trained on classroom management and principals need to enforce uniform, consistent policies concerning acceptable classroom behavior. Participants said students who become discipline problems should be pulled from the regular classroom and receive personalized help to deal with the causes of disruptive behavior.

Students who attended these sessions often complained that they were getting too little help with assignments because of the time teachers are taking to deal with disruptive students.

• Community, business and parental involvement will elevate the success of our schools. Participants overwhelmingly said education is the responsibility of the whole community. Participants felt so strongly about parental involvement that some even suggested parental involvement in schools should be mandatory.

They suggested incentives to keep parents engaged in the schools, a need for parent outreach plans for every school, better communication between teachers and parents (including translators for help interacting with non-English speaking parents) and parenting classes.

With regard to the community, they cited a need for mentor and career development programs with businesses to help students and families understand what jobs are available and how they might fit in the workforce. They also said they would like to see stronger connections between schools, students and outside resources. Neighborhood groups often mentioned their interest in getting more engaged in the school to help young people succeed.

• Students need to be able to use technology.

Participants said that the ability to use technology effectively is a requirement for any good-paying future job and complained that the technology available in most schools was of low quality. Families noted discrepancies among schools in the quality of technology used in the classroom, but also said teachers need training to help students make the most of it. Participants wanted to make sure schools are equipped with the latest technology, that it works and that students don’t have to wait in line to use it.

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• Neighborhood schools should be given more attention so that they offer the same quality as “lottery” schools (schools of choice within the district). Many people noted that, for the most part, neighborhood schools do not provide the same level of commitment and excellence as the district’s lottery schools, which consistently rank high in performance and attract long waiting lists. Participants believed that weak neighborhood schools undermine the fabric of a community. Parents do not know parents, and parents and neighborhood children do not know each other.

Participants often articulated the view that schools should be the glue that bonds the community together, but noted that the number of schools that play such a role has dropped sharply. While many said the lottery schools have resulted in innovation, they wanted to see those innovations replicated in neighborhood schools.

Young professionals mentioned this as a concern and a reason they would leave the city if they have children.

What teachers said Nearly 200 teachers and school librarians attended a special workshop where they were asked to make recommendations on policies and practices that would help them be more successful in the classroom.

Teachers focused on the needs of students and, in general, believe they spend too much time on unfunded mandates such as testing, documentation and reporting, leaving less time to focus on helping children develop as independent, successful, critical thinkers prepared for the next level of schooling. They recognized that many students are not performing at grade level and that there needs to be greater use of tutors, one-on-one instruction and other strategies to help students advance. Some of the top suggestions included: • Full-time school nurses, social service worker and/or mental health specialists in every school to deal with the problems of poverty.

• Better communication with local mental health agencies to make schools aware when students with issues are transitioning into schools and earlier intervention for students with behavior problems.

• State-of-the-art computers and software for all students, citywide WiFi access and full-time IT support in each school.

• Universal pre-K and an emphasis on basic skills education.

• A system-wide outreach program to increase parental involvement, and education to help parents assist children with homework. Providing incentives for parents to participate were suggested.

• Designated “paperwork days” to allow teachers to catch up on reports.

• Greater use of schools as community centers.

• Increased career tech programs or increased slots in existing programs.

• Arts, music and physical education at all levels of schools.

• More and fully-funded after-school programs.

• Greater fl exibility for principals to deal with unique needs of each school and its students (they complained that frequent principal rotation discourages consistent school leadership).

Tell Us Your Good Idea Campaign The postcard campaign resulted in more than 2,000 ideas from the community. Those ideas mirror the discussions that occurred in the public workshop sessions. They centered primarily on: • Improving school culture and discipline.

• Making more and varied learning opportunities available to students, especially in the arts, sports and extracurricular activities.

• Ensuring a safe, inviting, well-equipped school that contributes to a child’s education.

• Better and bigger school lunches (voiced by students).

• More training and accountability for teachers and principals.

• Improved technology to match that of business and other schools in the region.

• Parent engagement to increase involvement in the school and in their children’s education.

• Smaller class sizes so that teachers can give more personalized attention to students who need help with their studies.

• More equitable funding for schools so they have the resources to meet the growing needs of children.

Here are some of the specific good ideas that the commission received, by theme: A quality early childhood education for every Columbus child.

“Statistics showed that students who attend Pre-K do well on Kindergarten assessments. Please keep pre-k in CCS as well as adding them in all Elementary Schools in the district!”

“It would be great to have pre-K in all Columbus City Schools. Pre-K helps to make school a great learning experience.”

“Increase preschool and early learning opportunities in the community (like Head start). Provide transportation to preschool/head start. Too many children enter kindergarten without basic school readiness skills or understanding appropriate behavior in school.”

“I think adding pre-K to more schools is essential to children becoming successful in their primary years and able to meet the new common core standards placed in the schools.”

“I think we need free preschool for all students. If students come into K low, they have more of a chance of being behind through their school years.”

“Students need quality Pre-K programs to help them start school prepared for learning and success. The Pre-K programs need to be held to high standards and teach the new common core.”

“No more than 22 students in a Kindergarten or First Grade classroom. Pre-K classrooms in every Columbus City School (elementary) with emphasis on early detection of social/emotional development issues.”

“Require CCS to raise the K registration age by 1 year.

Also require all K students to pass a basic skills test such as write and identify numbers and letters. If student fails, they must enroll in pre-k for 1 yr. forget about age being the sole factor for grade levels. Be bold and innovative – take a chance!”

“Start teaching a foreign language in preschool so kids are bilingual at early ages.”

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Employing technology to improve educational outcomes (including state-of-the-art teaching tools and methods) “Equal access to technology is necessary to support student success – especially considering required testing on computers.”

“Up to date and reliable technology so teachers can teach 21st century skills.”

“It would be helpful for each school to have an online school component as an option for non-traditional learners.”

“Computer coding – as a language needs to be taught to Columbus City schools students at all grade levels so they can compete in the local and global marketplace for the jobs demanding coding language skills. All crafts and professions require computer literate proficiency.”

“Help our kids have the technology they need to keep up with the times and prepare them for the workplace.”

“I think the schools need more smart boards to make things easier for the teachers.”

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“Invest in IT infrastructure for staff. It sucks! I want to change districts!! Introduce ipads to 3rd – 5th grades. eTextbooks (especially for homes with ESL needs) will increase family involvement in students education.”

“The CCS website needs to be updated and made more accessible, user-friendly.”

“Computer labs that have enough working computers for an entire class.”

Mobilizing the community to serve the whole child: health/wellness, creativity and the arts. Parenting, community engagement.

“We need full time nurses to address the daily significant health concerns and care of students with medical needs.”

“We need full time support specialists to meet students needs. EG: Counselors, Psychologists, OT/PT, Nurses.”

“Our students need to come to school ready to learn.

More services for families are needed to ensure that children in all neighborhoods are ready for school.”

“I want to make sure that the parent and teacher can communicate respectfully. Student records should have valid phone #s at all times.”

Strengthening the neighborhood schools. Discipline/ school climate. Increasing the number of high-performing schools for students in the CCS district

“Provide mentors and tutors from the community that kids can depend on.”

“I think that students would benefit greatly if there were no more “split” classes. Each grade level has such unique standards that must be addressed in to common core, and I think students in those classes are at a disadvantage.”

“Create more and better partnerships with business and cultural leaders to offer students real-world connections to their learning (ScienceTechnologyEngineringArtsMath).

Also provide support to non-profits that want to work with public schools rather than compete like charters.”

“High schools should be a community resource with more support services for students and parents. Things like community gardens, literacy classes, fitness classes, health and library services; a place for them to feel safe.”

“Parents are not able to help students with homework.

Kids today are learning a level over them. So they need after school programs to help them and programs to show parents how to help their children.”

“We struggle with the need for a full-time counselor and a social worker available to help some of our troubled students. As a teacher we can’t meet those needs and successfully provide an education for all students.”

“I think strengthening the connection between school and community can really improve the school’s success and that of the surrounding community.”

“Give parents access to textbooks and classroom resources. I cannot help with homework if I cannot read the assignment that was taught. It’s frustrating for everyone involved.”

“How-to classes for: young parents, teen parents, older parents, so they can support their student, teachers, and each other. Help people better themselves through education.”

“We do so much testing at the elementary level. The testing takes so long since many are given one on one. It takes time away from teaching. Try to keep 29 1st graders busy while you are testing one on one. HELP!” “I’m a good student, I want to be in advanced classes and not in the basic classes with kids who don’t want to be in school.”

“When students are suspended from our schools, they should not be sent home. The older students should do community service to improve the comm. and the younger ones should go to a type of detention hall.”

“Intervention programs at an early age for students who miss school often have been proven effective. Kids who are dropping out can be targeted while in elementary and middle school.”

Effective teachers and principals “Professional Development days for teachers need to be more focused – allow for the teachers to have say in the areas they would like to improve or learn about.”

“Teachers are juggling a lot of issues-behaviors, testing and large class sizes. Cut down on testing to allow more time to teach. Cut back class sizes and get more support for behaviors and social issues.”

“Celebrate and promote the teaching staff of C.C.S. They are more educated than their suburb counter-parts and successfully deal with more issues. Don’t just talk of teacher support – provide real tangible support.”

“Set up policies that truly supports teachers! Celebrate the Columbus Public Teachers accomplishments.”

“I believe teachers make the biggest difference. Please recruit teachers with high understanding of their subject and passion (and patience) for teaching. Also evaluate current teachers. Thank you.”

“More teachers in the classrooms that represent the demographics that the districts serve.”

“I have noticed our substitutes are not always qualified to teach the classes they are subbing for. This makes it hard to learn.”

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Informing the work of the commission The commission believed from the start that any recommendations for improving education in Columbus must reflect the best ideas of our community.

Community engagement initiatives, which provided places for information sharing, discussion and open conversation, allowed the commission to hear and – more importantly – listen.

It is important that the entire community know that the commission’s recommendations were not made in a vacuum. All parts of the community have played a role in shaping the commission’s recommendations, and those ideas are part of this report.

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Commission Recommendations

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Community Vision: Every Child Is Ready For The Future 1 Every Columbus child is kindergarten ready 2 We will undertake a community-wide effort to recruit, retain and support outstanding school leadership empowered to make school-based decisions 3 Every child’s classroom will have the capacity to support stateof-the-art teaching tools and data 4 Every child will attend a high-performing school 5 Every student will be given pathways to college and career 6 Our community will embrace the well-being of all our children

A New Community Compact for Educational Excellence

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Every Columbus Child is Kindergarten Ready

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Every Columbus Child is Kindergarten Ready Children who come to school ready are significantly more likely to succeed academically. But too many of the children who live in the Columbus City Schools district come to kindergarten at a distinct disadvantage. We have the power to change – to ensure that every child comes to school ready to learn and enters a system ready to help them achieve from their first day in school, Columbus is committed to giving our children every chance to succeed.

• Children enter the world as natural explorers, curious about their surroundings and eager to learn. With the help of parents and others, most begin to understand shortly after birth how their world works and how to interact with adults and other children. They learn their colors, letters, numbers and animals. They whet their imaginations on stories read to them aloud, amassing a steadily more sophisticated vocabulary. Yet, for too many children, early learning comes late. Poverty and other socio-economic challenges become barriers from which many children do not recover. Immigrant families often have a difficult time connecting to early childhood education. Early childhood education is an essential building block to continuous learning and preparation for life.

What the research and the experts tell us The Columbus Education Commission reviewed numerous research reports and heard from leading early childhood experts about the challenges and solutions to giving our youngest children the best start possible, all of which supported the input the commission received from the community.

According to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education, 34 percent of children enter the Columbus City Schools unprepared for kindergarten.4 Poverty appears to be a significant factor. More than 80 percent of Columbus City Schools students are economically disadvantaged.5 Almost 70 percent of Columbus’ young children screened recently by Columbus Kids: Ready, Set, Learn!, an important community initiative led by the United Way of Central Ohio, live in homes earning less than $20,000 per year. More than 40 percent live in homes earning less than $5,000 per year.6 In 2011, 48 percent of all children in Columbus were born to unmarried parents, with 56 percent of births paid for through Medicaid.7 Research beyond Columbus tells us what we might expect from the Columbus data:

What the community said In 2013, a series of public meetings from January 22 through April 8, community members voiced concern about children entering school unprepared for kindergarten and their tendency to fall further and further behind as the years progress. Pre-kindergarten and other early education programs were consistently mentioned as part of the solution. Time after time, parents and others said that: • An affordable, comprehensive pre-K program should be available to every child living in the Columbus City Schools district, regardless of family income or circumstance.

• Pre-K programs should include parenting classes.

• Pre-K opportunities should be provided by the Columbus City Schools as well as private entities and faith-based institutions.1 This community input did not come as a surprise to members of the Columbus Education Commission, many of whom have been working on this very subject for years.

The commission’s consideration of this issue benefitted greatly from previous efforts led by commission members Janet Jackson, Kathy Ransier, Stephanie Hightower, Tanny Crane and others.2 The Columbus City schools have likewise been active on this issue in recent years.3 40

• Nationally, the likelihood of a child being school-ready is 48 percent for poor children, 59 percent for near poor and 75 percent for children in moderate- or highincome households.8 • A 3-year-old living in a high-income home has a typical vocabulary of more than 1,100 words, while a child in a low-income home knows fewer than half that many words.9

Ample evidence shows that children who enter school unprepared fall further and further behind. For example, in Columbus – where more than a third of children enter kindergarten unprepared – more than 40 percent of Columbus City Schools children are unable to pass the state’s third grade reading test.10 Additionally, students who get a poor start in their earliest years are likely to struggle in high school. Statewide, nearly 30 percent of economically disadvantaged students – the most likely to enter kindergarten unprepared – fail to graduate from high school.11

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said at a public forum in Columbus on April 19 that providing quality early childhood education is one of the most effective ways to improve success for all Columbus children.

On the other hand, children who participate in quality pre-kindergarten experiences significantly improve early literacy, language and math skills.12 Pre-K education programs improve performance on third-grade tests, reduce the number of retentions by up to 36 percent and reduce the need for special education by up to 49 percent.13 These national findings appear to be confirmed here in Columbus. The Columbus City Schools report, for example, that 89 percent of children receiving services through the district’s pre-K programs need no intervention after entering kindergarten.14

The range of preschools and child care programs in Columbus varies widely, from small, private academies to larger, not-for-profit and publicly funded programs.

Among the latter are the YMCA of Central Ohio’s Early Learning Program, the Child Development Council of Franklin County’s Head Start Program, The Columbus Urban League’s Head Start Program and the Columbus City Schools pre-K programs.

Other programs can also improve success in school.

There is strong evidence that home visits and parent mentoring by education and family professionals can reduce child abuse and neglect by as much as 80 percent, improve cognitive and vocabulary skills and contribute to better grades and achievement test scores.15

“I think we have to level the playing field,” Duncan said.

“We have to make sure our babies are entering kindergarten ready to be successful, with their literacy and socialization skills intact.”

Programs in Columbus

Despite the presence of many successful early childhood programs and a strong network of community support organizations, important barriers to access persist.

One barrier is availability of open slots. As Mark Real, president and CEO of KidsOhio.org noted in his presentation to the commission on January 11, 2013, quality child care programs meet only half of the demand in Franklin County.16

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For children under age 6, Franklin County has a supply of 10,946 slots in accredited or quality-rated child care centers and 4,267 family child care providers. In 2010, however, Franklin County had 25,460 children under 18 months, 24,863 toddlers and 48,555 preschoolers age 3 to 5. The Columbus City Schools, while one of the single largest providers of early childhood education in the city, currently is able to serve only 20 percent of its preschoolers.17 Another barrier is cost, which – at $6,376 a year for a typical full-day child care program in Ohio - can approximate the price of college tuition.18 Adding to the cost barrier is a decline of public funding during recent austere economic times. In 1998, Ohio was one of only eight states honored for funding comprehensive initiatives for young children and families. Today, the percentage of eligible children served in those programs is in the single digits.19 The Columbus City Schools has proposed expanding its early childhood education programs to an additional 1,200 preschoolers in partnership with community organizations. However, at a cost of $8,725 per student, the extent of any expansion would depend largely on new funding sources.20

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The case for better early childhood learning experiences in Columbus is undeniable: • An investment in early childhood development to disadvantaged children helps prevent the achievement gap, reduces the need for special education, increases the likelihood of healthier lifestyles, lowers the crime rate, and reduces overall social costs.

• By expanding high-quality pre-K services, Columbus children will not only improve readiness for kindergarten, but will be able to accelerate learning and academic performance beyond kindergarten.

• The school district alone cannot provide all the preschool services needed. The city, private sector, non-profits, and faith-based organizations must get involved. The pre-K effort must align with the K-16 system and all sectors working in the area of early childhood education.

Goals

Strategies

A child that enters kindergarten in the fall of 2013 will graduate from high school in the 2025-26 school year.

To accomplish the goals set forth, the commission makes the following recommendations:

Recognizing that a complete transformation will take time but that it is urgent to reach as many children as quickly as possible, the commission believes that work on all goals should begin immediately, and we should make measurable progress each year, for each goal, each child and each school, with all goals completed by 2025.

• The Columbus City Schools should partner with the private and public sectors to identify dedicated funding sources to expand access to early childhood education for all children living in the district whose parents desire it, including local funds generated through levies approved by voters, as well as seeking and obtaining formula- and grant-driven state and federal funds.

With respect to the expansion of quality early childhood education, the Columbus Education Commission recommends that, by 2025, all children living in the Columbus City Schools district should be ready to enter kindergarten, and every child whose parent chooses to do so should have a high-quality pre-K experience prior to entering kindergarten. In implementing this goal, a priority should be placed on serving highly-economically disadvantaged students.

This goal will be met by considering the extent of services provided to 4-year-olds, with the services available five days per week, 5.5 hours per day during the school year.

It is essential that partners in early childhood education establish common annual measurements of school readiness and that these be used and shared among the district and public and private partners.

Additionally, partners should ensure that neighborhoods with high rates of economically disadvantaged preschoolers receive priority.

• By 2015, a majority of entering Columbus City Schools kindergartners have had a high-quality pre-K experience and are ready to enter kindergarten.

• By 2017, 75 percent of entering Columbus City Schools kindergartners have had a high-quality pre-K experience and are ready to enter kindergarten.

• By 2020, all children have had a high-quality pre-K experience and are ready to enter kindergarten.

• In recognition of the pre-K work being done by many non-profits, the Columbus City Schools, in partnership with the private and public sectors, should set up a system for community-based providers to obtain funds from these sources to expand their services alongside expansions in the number of children served by the district’s pre-K programs.

• A system of standards and requirements should be established for all pre-K teachers and for funding of private and public initiatives. These should align with standards and requirements established by the Columbus City Schools district.

• The Columbus City Schools and all other providers of early childhood education serving the children in the Columbus City Schools district should participate in the statewide sample that will pilot the new state assessment for kindergarten.

• An Early Childhood Education Council should be created to coordinate all programs, assessments and supports for children before they enter kindergarten.

The goal of the council would be to provide a flexible, connected continuum of child-centered wrap-around services. Columbus City Schools should be a part of the council, which should also include early learning programs, faith-based services, physical and mental health supports, family child care, family and parent support efforts, and home visitation programs. The Early Childhood Council would be responsible for setting goals, timelines, budgets and evaluations used to operate and measure results of those programs.

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• A Pre-K Advisory Committee should be established as a sub-group of the Early Childhood Education Council to assist the superintendent and Board of Education in: –– Securing the funds necessary to meet the goals of this report, and developing criteria and a process for RFPs for providers.

–– Developing and reviewing progress-monitoring reports; determining partnership requirements, such as program supervision and monitoring (including the requirement of capturing individual student data), cost per child, reimbursement schedule, reporting requirements and enrollment process.

–– Establishing a common set of quality standards for all sites, schools and other providers.

Columbus Education Commission community meetings, Feb. 4 through March 7, 2013, Columbus, Ohio.

2 Action for Children, Progress Made. Ground Lost, April 2012.

3 The Columbus City Schools, The Columbus City Schools Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Proposal, 2013.

4 KidsOhio.org, The State of Education for Columbus Students Preschool-College, Oct. 18, 2012 briefing to Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

5 Ibid.

6 KidsOhio.org, The State of Early Childhood Education in Columbus, Jan. 11, 2013.

7 The State of Early Childhood Education in Columbus.

8 Starting School at a Disadvantage, The Brookings Institute, 2012.

9 Ohio Business Roundtable, The Talent Challenge, 2010.

10 The State of Education for Columbus Students Preschool-College.

1

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The Talent Challenge.

Ibid.

13 Ibid.

14 The Columbus City Schools, The Columbus City Schools Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Proposal, 2013.

15 The Talent Challenge.

16 Mark Real, KidsOhio.org and The State of Education for Columbus Preschool-College.

17 Ibid.

18 Ibid.

19 The Talent Challenge.

20 The Columbus City Schools Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Proposal 11

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Effective Teachers And Principals

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Effective Teachers And Principals Great teachers believe that every child can succeed, and they work creatively and tirelessly to make that belief a reality. Great principals shape a school culture of high achievement, support good teachers and help them grow, and hold themselves and their entire staff accountable for results. Every child deserves to be taught by great teachers every year, and every teacher deserves to work in a school led by a great principal.

Learning from Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning, puts it this way: “To date, we have not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the absence of talented leadership.”1 Commission members saw this first-hand when they visited the Reynoldsburg City Schools, a high-achieving urban school district adjacent to Columbus. The full commission later heard from Reynoldsburg Superintendent Steve Dackin, who attributed his district’s success to empowerment of teachers and principals, along with accountablity for results.

How can Columbus attract, develop and retain great teachers for every child and great principals for every school?

This question is hardly unique to the Columbus Education Commission. Indeed, no topic is the subject of more

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research and study in American education, with the answers more passionately sought, than how to get the right leaders – and enough of them – to staff our nation’s lowest performing schools. And the research has come a long way in recent years.

It is no longer subject to question that the most important factor in a student’s progress is the effectiveness of the teacher2, and that the key to assembling and retaining a team of quality teachers who can change a student’s trajectory in life is the building principal. As one leader from the highly regarded Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District put it in the recently released report Districts Matter: Cultivating the Principals Urban Schools Need, (The Wallace Foundation, 2013): “Over and over again, our highest performing teachers told us that a highly effective principal would be the determining factor in a decision to transfer to a low achieving school.”3 As the title Districts Matter suggests, the one responsibility that school districts have above all is to recruit, develop and retain great leaders for classrooms and school buildings. This is crucial in improving student achievement.

And yet school districts across the country – including the Columbus City Schools – spend their time, energy, money and political capital on an endless series of initiatives and arguments that have not effectively touched on this core responsibility.

There are beautiful, new school buildings in low income neighborhoods in Columbus and elsewhere, built with millions of tax dollars and years of attention from administrators, school board members, and other government officials and agencies, in which student achievement has not improved. And there are old buildings in low income neighborhoods that are achieving student outcomes equal to or better than any school in the country because the district focused on student achievement above all else, and made sure the school had a principal and teachers with the authority, responsibility and resources to deliver that result.4

spending so much time on discipline.

• Principals should enforce a uniform, consistent policy on appropriate classroom behavior.

• Principals should have greater flexibility to deal with the unique needs of schools and their students.

• Frequent principal rotation discourages consistent school leadership.5

What the research and the experts tell us The Columbus Education Commission reviewed numerous research reports and heard from leading experts about the challenges of principals and teachers, how to measure teacher effectiveness, the kinds of support teachers need to be effective, and the challenge Columbus faces in attracting and retaining talent in our schools. One recurring theme was the importance of measuring effectiveness based on student and teacher performance data.

The Columbus Education Commission could not in its short life break new ground in this discussion. But we say as emphatically as we possibly can that Columbus will not have the educational system its children need and deserve until this community insists that everyone involved in educational leadership be focused on one thing and one thing only – student achievement – and that all adults be held accountable I believe teachers make the biggest for results and be removed difference. Please recruit teachers with high from their positions if they understanding of their subject and passion are not willing or able to (and patience) for teaching. Also evaluate focus in this manner.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, like many educational organizations, notes that a teacher’s effectiveness is the single largest factor, among those that schools can control, current teachers. Thank you.

It is not enough for some in a child’s academic “Good Idea” from the community schools to excel in teaching performance.6 Researchers and leadership; there should in Los Angeles, for example, be an enterprise-wide expectation for excellence. found that a student assigned to a top-quartile teacher performed, on average, 10 percentile points better on a standardized math test than a student assigned to a What the community said bottom-quartile teacher.7 In a series of public meetings from January 22 through April 8, 2013, community members made it clear that teachers and principals are essential to good schools.

They said: • Teachers are the heart of the educational system.

• Teachers must be learning-centered and have high expectations for all students.

• Teachers and principals must be culturally competent to engage effectively with rising numbers of children from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, nonEnglish speaking families, LGBT students and others.

• Teachers need professional development to connect with students with different learning styles.

• Teachers need technology and cultural competency training.

• High-quality teachers should be rewarded.

• Poor-performing teachers have no place in the classroom.

• Teachers need to be trained in classroom management, and more school support is needed so teachers are not

That’s why the foundation conducted a multi-year study in concert with thousands of classroom teachers and students, the results of which help identify some of those characteristics and the ability to measure them.8 Because of the critical impact effective teachers have on student learning, waiting for universal agreement on all aspects of this work would be a mistake. Instead, implementing and continuing to refine evaluation systems that measure important characteristics and support teachers in mastering them is a wise move.

The state of Ohio has taken recent steps to create a new multiple measure evaluation system for teachers and principals that acknowledges important characteristics of good teaching as well as the outcomes it produces.

Traditional school districts and charter schools receiving federal Race to the Top funds – including the Columbus City Schools – are required to begin implementing the new system during the 2013-14 school year. The district is experimenting with the system this spring so it can be ready for a full launch this fall.9

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Under the new model, 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation will be based on student growth measures. Educators will be rated as “accomplished,” “proficient,” “developing” or “ineffective.”

Core subject teachers who receive a rating of ineffective for two out of three years must take a written exam of core knowledge (this provision also applies to charter school teachers in the lowest-ranked 10 percent of school buildings).10 While measuring what matters should be the purpose of any evaluation system, research also shows that teachers can’t do it alone. In a world that is constantly changing, teachers need continual professional development that relates to the challenges they face every day.

For example, Thomas Trang, a teacher at the Columbus City Schools’ Columbus International High School, noted that it’s not enough for schools to adopt new technology.

“Teachers need technology that’s reliable, and professional development on how to use it,” he told the commission on February 8, 2013.

Teachers also said they need the support of a highperforming principal who creates the conditions and supports in a building that allow effective teachers to flourish.

“What I want in a principal is someone who will stand with me and beside me and will support me,” said Becci Catalfina, a teacher at Holt Crossing Intermediate School in the South-Western City Schools district. “And, more than anything, believe in me and trust me. So if there’s ever a difference of opinion on something, we can have a constructive conversation.”

Role of principals While teachers play the largest role in student success, principals have a significant influence on a school’s learning culture, school performance and work environment. Indeed, a recent Michigan State University study cited principals’ relationship with teachers as one of the leading factors in whether a young teacher quits or remains in teaching.11 Effective principals not only share teachers’ focus on students, continuous improvement, stable classroom environments and high expectations, they set a tone for collaboration and accountability.12 Effective principals provide resources and support for teachers, challenge them to be their best, provide a buffer between teachers and district administration, and allow teachers to be professionals by giving them flexibility in exchange for performance.13

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Alesia Gillison, Principal of Eastmoor Academy in Columbus, and Tina Thomas-Manning, former Principal of Hannah Ashton Middle School in Reynoldsburg, told the commission on January 11, 2013 that there are a number of important traits that make an effective school leader.14 During the commission’s public forums, parents expressed concerns about a lack of parent engagement by some school leaders, and it clearly is the hallmark of an effective principal. Gillison spoke of the importance of engaging parents in the life of the school, setting high expectations for students and providing a collaborative environment for teachers to work with one another.

Thomas-Manning spoke about refusing to use student poverty or lack of parent involvement as an excuse.

She also noted that achieving high performance among students and teachers may require changes that make people uncomfortable, but that it’s the job of the principal to be “persistent, unrelenting and to make every decision based on kids.”15 Both principals agreed on the importance of giving principals the authority and autonomy to make the critical decisions regarding their building’s operations, including selecting staff and deploying budgetary resources.

Finally, the commission heard on February 8, 2013, from experts who noted the need for school districts to act more like businesses when it comes to human capital, calling for a strategic approach to attract the best possible talent.

Columbus’ talent pool At the February 8, 2013, commission meeting, Tom Goodney, superintendent of the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio16, and Tony Bagshaw, managing director for human capital at Battelle for Kids, discussed pipeline issues affecting Columbus’s ability to attract and retain teachers.17 Goodney confirmed that suburban school districts often hire away the top-performing Columbus City Schools teachers, and Bagshaw noted the practice is common in urban areas.18 In response to questions from Mayor Coleman, they said teachers leave for new schools for a variety of reasons, including more prestige, better working conditions and higher pay.19 Commission member Rhonda Johnson, who also is president of the Columbus Education Association, said that the number one reason teachers leave a Columbus City School is because of the principal, adding that “money does matter, but it’s not the most important.”20 Johnson’s observation is confirmed by national research.21

At the April 26, 2013, commission meeting, Johnson noted the need for a more formal process of determining why teachers leave the district. But, on February 8, she also described a hiring process that fails to recruit the top talent to Columbus in the first place. The district often doesn’t know how many teachers it needs until the fall, forcing it to hire new teachers long after the top candidates have received and accepted offers. Tom Goodney said that most districts succeed in filling their teaching needs for the next school year by the time the previous school year is over.22 Recruiting and retaining effective teachers and principals reduces the time and expense involved in identifying and removing ineffective teachers. Bagshaw said districts need a sound human capital strategy that includes strategic staffing, talent management and development, cultural development and engagement, and continuous improvement.23 Strategic staffing means that we focus not only on recruitment and training, but also on retention of high performers, including the compensation and rewards necessary to keep top talent.

Goals A child that enters kindergarten in the fall of 2013 will graduate from high school in the 2025-26 school year.

Recognizing that a complete transformation will take time but that it is urgent to reach as many children as possible, the commission believes that work on all goals should begin immediately and we should make measurable progress each year, for each goal, each child and each school, with all goals completed by 2025.

Therefore: • All Columbus City Schools and Columbus charter school teachers should be rated in one of the top two categories after they have completed the Ohio Resident Education Program.

• All Columbus City Schools principals should be rated in one of the top two categories.

• There must be serious and enforcable consequences for any district or charter school serving Columbus where children fail to achieve at least one full year of growth each academic year (i.e., have a Value Added score of >1.0 24).

• All district and charter schools should improve their state report card result each year and should be graded as an A or B school by 2020.25

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Strategies The Columbus City Schools must ensure that: • Preparation, recruitment, hiring, development, evaluation, support, reward and retention of talent is done according to intentionally designed and aligned internal systems and in partnership with external organizations as needed. These systems and processes should emphasize a proactive and streamlined approach to every aspect of human capital management and be informed by systems producing strong outcomes. Additionally, Columbus City Schools must understand why talent leaves the district by analyzing data and development processes to gather additional information as needed.

• No teacher is assigned or remains in a school without being selected by the building principal, and principals are not required to select teachers based on seniority.

• Principals have the authority to recruit teachers from outside the district to fill vacancies in their school and have the authority to cause these teachers to be hired by the district within established district parameters.

• Principals have the authority to select and manage all staff in the school, set and manage budgets and purchasing to the maximum extent practicable, make building-level decisions that impact academic success, including setting the overall direction for the school.

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• The new teacher and principal evaluation systems mandated under state law are fully and transparently implemented.

• Teachers and principals are rewarded financially based on student achievement and demonstrated accountability for student success.

• Persistently ineffective teachers and principals should receive the counseling necessary to improve, and failing positive results, counseled out of the profession.

Termination of ineffective teachers and principals should be as streamlined as possible.

• All staff have the opportunity to participate in high-quality professional development programs such as Peer Assistance Review, Resident Educator Programs, professional learning communities, cultural competency and parent engagement strategies.

• Schools are appropriately staffed when school starts.

The commission recognizes that the barriers to implementing these essential steps can be found both in the policies and practices of the district and in the collective bargaining agreement with the Columbus Education Association (CEA). The degree to which each of these factors is responsible is open to discussion and good faith disagreement. In this regard, the commission as a whole notes with appreciation the open and candid involvement of commission member Rhonda Johnson, the president of the CEA, who has not shied away from a candid assessment of district performance and has affirmed her members’ commitment to improving student outcomes.

The school district now enjoys an important window of opportunity to address these issues forthrightly. A new superintendent is to be selected, and a new collective bargaining agreement is to be negotiated with the CEA. The Columbus City Schools must reset the expectations of central office and its employees to serve the needs of building-based leaders and teachers, and institute customer-based evaluation to ensure that high-quality service delivery is a priority.

The Columbus Board of Education must select and then support the decisions of a superintendent who has: • Specific experience in establishing central office functions and operating procedures that implement the steps outlined in this strategy, especially school-based autonomy on staffing, budgets and other key decisions related to academic success, and has negotiated collective bargaining agreements that align with these same steps.

• Demonstrated an ability to recruit, develop and retain high-performing teachers and principals.

• Demonstrated an ability to evaluate teachers and principals and remove ineffective teachers and principals from their positions.

• Demonstrated an ability to identify and motivate effective teachers.

• Demonstrated an ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders.

And, assuming the district and union each take the steps outlined here, the community should be prepared to support the resources that enable the strategic compensation of the most talented school leaders and educators.

In partnership with Columbus human resources professionals, the Columbus City Schools should implement an aggressive effort to recruit top teachers and principals from outside the district, to build a talent pool of future school leaders, and to build mentorship and leadership support programs within the community to support and assist new recruits in their transition to Columbus.

In partnership with Columbus human resources professionals, the Columbus City Schools should immediately review the performance of all incumbent principals and, as the talent pool from the previous strategy is built, remove and replace those who do not exemplify the leadership skills and professional competency needed to immediately begin raising school performance. The Columbus human resources professionals and the Columbus City Schools should also implement an aggressive community support effort for those current principals who are retained.

An independent third party should regularly survey students and parents on the school climate in each district and charter school serving Columbus children and publicly report on the results.

• Demonstrated willingness to work with charter schools.

The CEA should be prepared to negotiate an agreement with the new superintendent and school board that clearly and unequivocally implements these recommendations.

Learning from Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning, University of Minnesota and University of Toronto, 2010, Page 9.

2 William Sanders, Cumulative Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Achievement, November 1996.

3 Districts Matter: Cultivating the Principals Urban Schools Need. The Wallace Foundation. Page 7, February 2013.

4 The Columbus Education Commission visited a number of these schools. We particularly urge the community to visit the North Franklin Elementary School in the South-Western City Schools district, just blocks from the Columbus City Schools district border to explore this point in more depth. North Franklin Elementary School earned an A on the state report card in 2011-2012, met 5 out of 5 State Indicators, and had a Performance Index (PI) of 103.3 out of a total of 120. South-Western City School District has a PI of 95, and Columbus City Schools has a PI of 80.5. North Franklin has 75% economically disadvantaged students, 15% students with disabilities, 29% Hispanic and 11% Black.

5 Columbus Education Commission community meetings, Feb. 4 through March 7, 2013, Columbus, Ohio.

6 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Working with Teachers to Develop Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching, June 2010.

7 Ibid.

8 Primary Sources 2012: America’s Teachers on the Teaching Profession.

9 Ohio Department of Education.

10 Ibid.

11 News release, Michigan State University, Nov. 13, 2012.

12 Jim Mahoney, Battelle for Kids, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

13 Ibid.

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Alesia Gillison and Tina Thomas-Manning, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Jan. 11, 2013.

Ibid.

16 During the course of the commission’s work, Dr. Bart Anderson stepped down as superintendent of the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio and was replaced by Dr. Thomas Goodney, first on an interim basis and then permanently. Dr. Goodney was serving as the interim superintendent when he spoke to the commission.

17 Tom Goodney and Tony Bagshaw, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Rhonda Johnson, comments to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

21 Principal Magazine, Research Digest: Principals Key to Retaining New Teachers, Jan/Feb 2013.

22 The New Teacher Project. Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contacts, 2005.

23 Tom Goodney and Tony Bagshaw, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

24 Value added scores measure the amount of learning that children achieve in a single school year. A value added score of 1.0 means that, on average, the children in a particular school gained one year of academic progress in a given school year.

25 It is worth noting that the new school report cards to be implemented by the State of Ohio don’t just change the way rankings are reported to a letter grade system, but also set higher standards overall.

Columbus should embrace these higher standards and expect that our schools meet them.

14

15

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State-Of-The-Art Teaching Tools, Material And Data

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State-Of-The-Art Teaching Tools, Material And Data From free, online college-level content, to “flipped” classrooms in which students access lessons online at home and hone their skills at school, to blended learning environments – in which students spend parts of their day learning digitally and parts of the day in face-toface contact with teachers – the creative application of technology to the classroom is changing the way we think about schools and education in general.

Districts across the country are engaging with technology to improve teaching and learning for each student, and are meeting with critical success. Columbus must learn and apply these lessons to improve teaching and learning for every child in Columbus.

We need to be clear that the goal is not simply to do something differently, but to reach every child with the kind of learning that meets them where they are, that is likely to connect them to the increasingly technological world they live in, and that engages them with real world opportunities for their future. Deploying technology without new instructional approaches that use them is not productive. And simply training teachers in the use of technology without redesigning curriculum that robustly leverages that training is not productive either.

While technological innovation cannot stand alone as an educational improvement strategy, neither can we imagine a 21st century educational system that does not take full advantage of the benefits technology offers to improve each student’s performance.

In a series of public meetings from January 22 through April 8, community members recognized the value of new technology and teaching methods, but noted that:

Technology and new teaching methods are offering more individualized paths for students, more efficient instruction for teachers and economies of scale for school boards.

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What the community said

• Some students lack access to technology in school.

Many also lack access at home. Many neighborhoods lack access to broadband.

• We must ensure that all schools have the latest technology, that it works, and that students and teachers don’t have to wait in line to use it.

• There is value in incorporating technology into learning exercises.

What the research and experts tell us From California to Maine, states and individual school districts are adopting new ways of engaging students, often through new digital capabilities that didn’t exist even a few years ago. Pioneering schools like The Carpe Diem High School1 in Yuma, Arizona, the KIPP Empower Academy2 in Los Angeles and the Long Beach, California, public school district are proving that well-structured blended learning environments and innovative teaching methods can result in better student achievement.

On January 24, 2013, the Columbus Education Commission heard from local schools that are finding success using some of the new teaching methods ushered in by transformations in technology.

Commissioners also heard from leading experts, including Tom Vander Ark, founder of GettingSmart.com and former Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Vander Ark noted that the shift taking place in education isn’t simply a move from print to digital, but in the way learning happens.3 These changes range from greater individualization in learning plans, to how teachers teach, to where learning occurs.

college-level curriculum with school-based tutoring support have equaled or surpassed the achievement by students in traditional classrooms – at a much more rapid pace.6 Not surprisingly, students in schools such as Metro don’t limit their learning to the classroom. Metro schedules “virtual days” in which students work online at home or elsewhere.

Both Metro and eSTEM use flexible scheduling as well, allowing students to work at their own pace. If they complete an assignment early, they can begin work on new projects or revisit subjects they have not yet mastered.

The innovations in technology open up other new possibilities. A paper by Digital Learning Now! sets out the rationale for “data backpacks” – a set of individualized data that follows a student to each new class, each new teacher and each new school.7 Under this scenario, educators can immediately know a child’s learning level, preferences, motivation and personal accomplishments.

That ability could improve each teacher’s ability to match instruction to individual needs – a task that today can take weeks. Indeed, it can be argued that the most fundamental – and promising – development in education in “We built the (old) system as Equal access to technology is necessary the last decade is the ability to best we could and organized to support student success – especially mine the data gathered from kids by birthday, and then considering required testing on computers. actual student performance batch processed them “Good Idea” from the community to help each student improve, through the system,” he said. by customizing curriculum, “We’re now starting to build 4 matching teachers and monitoring study habits. All of the schools that meet kids where they are.” highest performing schools studied by the commission That includes the ability to change the pace of education were characterized by a staff that relentlessly reviews to each individual child’s ability. Marcy Raymond, principal student performance data, draws appropriate lessons of the Reynoldsburg eSTEM Academy and Krista Miller, from that data, and then acts on what it learns to improve dean of students at Metro Early College High School in student outcomes.

Columbus, as well as a group of high school students The benefits that technology provides in the school and from Metro and Reynoldsburg, demonstrated to the the opportunity for students to learn on their own, at home commission how they are using blended learning that or at community resources such as public libraries and includes small-group instruction, data-driven planning and neighborhood centers, are clear. Vander Ark challenged differentiated instruction to meet each student’s needs. the commission to not only focus on providing excellent “For us, blended learning gives us a daily opportunity schools for all children, but also to create a “digital for individual instruction,” Raymond said. “We use layer” on top of the traditional school that connects computerized technology for personalization of student what students are learning in school and out of school, plans. Teachers are able to make choices based on data on their own or with teachers. A digital layer serving all related to student performance as they go along.”5 Columbus kids could advance student learning all the Both eSTEM and the Metro Early College High School time, everywhere. recently began a partnership with free, online content provider Udacity to give students access to college-level coursework. Students using the free content have shown surprisingly quick gains over a short period. For example, students studying physics by combining Udacity’s 55

Ohio’s Broadband Capabilities There is no doubt that the core infrastructure to capitalize on the digital revolution exists. Pankaj Shah, Executive Director of OARnet, told commissioners that the network’s service to the state’s public universities, K-12 schools, medical centers, public broadcasting stations and state and local governments comprises one of the fastest digital backbones in the country. OARnet, a division of the Ohio Board of Regents Ohio Technology Consortium, also provides rich resources of shared services and e-content that can be accessed by every school.8 Like transmission lines for a power system, which stop at the distribution point, OARnet does not connect “the last mile” to the user. Schools, homes and businesses must obtain services from commercial broadband providers to receive service. Stu Johnson, executive director of Connect Ohio, which works with the state to advance broadband across Ohio, said that while broadband services cover nearly 100 percent of the city, socioeconomic factors among Columbus children make it likely that fewer than half have Internet access in the home.

“High School graduation is 8 percent higher when there is broadband Internet in the home,” he said. “But if we don’t have it at the home, things like ‘flipped’ learning and flex models are just not practical.”9

Challenges in the Columbus City Schools Homes without access are not the only problem. Making technology work within the schools themselves is a recurring challenge. Referencing a district-wide survey shared with the commission, commission member and Columbus Education Association President Rhonda Johnson told the group that “about 90 percent of our teachers are frustrated” with technology issues in their schools.

Classrooms have a widely divergent range of capabilities, she said. And often the technology doesn’t work. “We have a Plan A and we have a Plan B. Plan A is for using technology in the classroom and Plan B is if it doesn’t work that day.”10 Johnson also noted the need for professional development for teachers to ensure they have the knowledge needed to use new teaching tools.11 Vander Ark told the commission that free services exist to test broadband capabilities of every school and that inexpensive service agreements are also available. He said the cost of investing in digital resources can be more than offset by purchasing fewer expensive textbooks. And he said the state’s plan to move to online state testing in 2014-2015 makes it imperative that the district assure Wi-Fi is available in every classroom by then.12 New technology only advances learning if it is fully aligned to curriculum and standards, and to a school building’s pedagogical initiatives. Deploying technology because it is “cool” or “new” never works. However, the promise of new teaching methods, largely made possible by a transformation in technology that can help children achieve a school’s desired learning outcomes has extraordinary potential to benefit the children of Columbus.

Educators always have known that children learn best when they master content at their own pace and in ways that fit their individual learning styles. Today, we have the technology to make that approach a reality, not just for some Columbus children, but for all.

Goals A child that enters kindergarten in the fall of 2013 will graduate from high school in the 2025-26 school year.

Recognizing that a complete transformation will take time but that it is urgent to reach as many children as quickly as possible, the commission believes that work on all goals should begin immediately, and we should make measurable progress each year, for each goal, each child and each school, with all goals completed by 2025. The following goals are: • Each classroom in each school serving children who live in the Columbus City Schools district attending a public charter or district school should have the capacity to support online testing, blended learning, and 1:1 computing should be in place by 2015.

• Each teacher and principal in a school serving children living in the Columbus City Schools district should be rated proficient in data-driven decision making, and the use of technology in the classroom.

• A “digital layer” should be constructed that serves all children living in the Columbus City Schools district

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and connects their learning in school, on-line and in the community. Online access should be available in all parts of a school.

be created and managed by an organization that has the capacity to serve all students who live within the Columbus City Schools district, regardless of the school he or she attends. This record should incorporate learning initiated individually by the student or accomplished at a community learning site such as the library or neighborhood center.

Strategies A focused, education technology services organization that is public or non-profit in nature and is coordinated with civic, public, and private partnerships should be charged with the responsibility of providing students, teachers, parents and schools access to the necessary hardware, software and internet capabilities to meet these goals, both in-school and out.

• These services can and should be made available to other schools and districts if the broader participation accelerates and/or lowers the costs of the service for students, teachers and schools in the Columbus City Schools district. Through this effort, principals should be provided with direct access to tech support, which will be accountable to principals. This new education technology services organization should also coordinate city and private sector efforts to provide broadband access in all neighborhoods, and should work to help parents obtain the necessary technology capability and skills to follow their students’ progress and communicate with their schools, which should in turn be making student information available to parents online.

• An expanded common electronic student record that follows a student grade-to-grade and school-toschool – also known as a “digital backpack” – should Carpe Diem Schools, YouTube presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s_O65rWV10 KIPP Empower Academy, YouTube presentation http://www.youtube.com/ watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZvFOHRUG70g 3 Tom Vander Ark, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Jan. 24, 2013.

4 Ibid.

5 Marcy Raymond, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Jan. 24, 2013.

6 Raymond and Miller, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Jan. 24, 2013.

7 Digital Learning Now!, Data Backpacks: Portable Records & Learner Profiles, October 2012.

• Digital learning should be incorporated into the curriculum for all children who live in the Columbus City Schools district, in all grades, with blended learning opportunities incorporated into every course. Every high school student should take at least one post-secondary course online that earns college credit. Online courses should align with Common Core standards.

• Professional development in the use of technology aligned to curriculum should be provided to all teachers serving children who live within the Columbus City Schools district, and fully integrated data-driven decision making should be incorporated into teacher and principal evaluations at all schools serving children who live in the Columbus City Schools district.

• Adaptive, technology-driven learning programs and applications should be available to every student living within the Columbus City Schools district.

• Training in technology should be provided to all parents who live within the Columbus City Schools district, including parents of pre-schoolers, to help them be effective parents and assist their students with choices concerning digital learning and online courses. Early childhood education should include access to online content.

Pankaj Shah, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Jan. 24, 2013.

Stu Johnson, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Jan. 24, 2013.

Rhonda Johnson, Columbus Education Commission, Jan. 24, 2013.

11 In a Feb. 6, 2013 response, the Columbus City Schools acknowledged challenges remaining after a major transformation of its IT infrastructure and resulting negative feedback. It cited significant steps being taken to remedy the problems. It should be noted that the district contracts with Learning Circle, a non-profit corporation, to help principals and teachers use data to improve instruction. It is difficult to determine the extent to which this data is used on a regular basis.

12 Vander Ark.

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High-Performing Neighborhood Schools And More School Choices

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High-Performing Neighborhood Schools And More School Choices Success has eluded far too many children in Columbus and the schools that most of them attend. Consider: only 17 of the 30 schools rated F in 2011-2012 were rated F 10 years ago.

In 2011-12, about 30,000 Columbus students attended district or public charter schools rated as academic watch or academic emergency on the state report card.1 Of these, about 23,000 attended Columbus City Schools, where 60 of 117 buildings were schools the state has deemed persistently low-performing.2 Meanwhile, the Columbus City Schools faces the recalculation of data used on previous state report cards as the result of an investigation into data scrubbing. While the precise amount of the expected change is unknown, it is very possible that the actual performance of the district is worse than what has been reported to date.3 Statistics related to individual student performance paint almost as bleak a picture, from third-graders unable to read at grade level, to unacceptably high college remediation rates among Columbus high school graduates.4 The first priority, therefore, must be to make sure there is a seat in a high-performing school for every child. To find such a school for their children, an increasing number of Columbus families are choosing to attend Columbus City Schools outside their neighborhood, or alternatives such as private schools, parochial schools, suburban schools and public charter schools (known under state law as “community schools”).

In particular, charter school enrollment has grown significantly. At present, nearly 25 percent of students who live in the Columbus City Schools district attend a charter school, compared to 5 percent in 2004.5 Some of these schools are providing an excellent educational experience for their students, but enrollment in a charter school is not a silver bullet guaranteeing success. In 2011-2012, 26 of the city’s 66 charter schools had been rated at academic watch or academic emergency.6 While more high-quality school choices are important, parents in Columbus rightly demand more. They want, and deserve, a high-performing school for their children in their neighborhood. When children are able to attend school closer to home, it is easier for them to build friendships in the neighborhood, which contributes to community safety and well-being, improved housing values and the attractiveness of a neighborhood. It is also easier for parents to be involved in their children’s school when it is in their neighborhood. Neighborhood schools are also critical to recent immigrant families who speak languages 60

other than English. The Ohio Department of Education reports that 10.3 percent of Columbus City Schools students are English as a Second Language students.

Having intensive support in schools with particularly high language needs is critical.

The bottom line is this: Success for all of Columbus’ children will require many more high-performing schools – high-performing neighborhood schools and schools of choice – and these will come from both replicating and enhancing high-performing district schools and high-quality charter schools. As more fully articulated elsewhere in this report, these high-performing schools will be schools that prepare our children for college and careers, providing them with credentials beyond a high school diploma.

What the public said In a series of community meetings from January 22 through April 8, 2013, and through the outreach postcard campaign, community members made it clear that they want a choice of high-performing schools and schools that will be partners with them and their neighborhoods.7 They expressed an interest in: • Raising the performance of neighborhood schools through programming that offers students and their families a high-quality education without having to travel far, try the lottery (the Columbus City Schools district’s parental choice program), or leave the public school system.

• Building deeper relationships between principals and the community and moving successful principals between schools less frequently.

• Eliminating discipline problems as the reason parents choose to send kids out of the neighborhood.

• Equitably distributing financial, technology and personnel resources among schools.

• Rebuilding community spirit around schools - colors, mascots, partnerships with local businesses, etc.

• Reconnecting neighborhood schools with neighborhoods and neighborhoods with local schools.

• Providing comparable funding for high-quality charter schools located in Columbus through more equitable state policies that allocate dollars for facilities, operations and transportation.

• Resolving the ineffectiveness of state policies regarding closing low-performing charters.

Some parents also said they wanted their schools staffed by excellent teachers and principals who are rewarded for both competence and innovation, and who are accountable for the school’s performance.8

low-performing students.14 Under the new system, schools will be graded on:

One of the most noteworthy developments during the commission process was the commitment and energy of parent-led, neighborhood-based organizations advocating for improvements in their neighborhood schools. Their goals are simple – to make their neighborhood schools so attractive that families will want to keep their children there, thus strengthening the neighborhood for all families. They are not trying to undermine the school district, but to raise it up. Four neighborhood groups – Clintonville Go Public, Southside STAY, PACE (parents in the Linden feeder pattern), and Northwest STARS – took the time to offer the commission specific suggestions.9 We are grateful for their input, and celebrate their contributions to our community.

• Gap Closing – narrowing the gaps in reading and math among students according to socio-economic, racial, ethnic or disability status.

What the research and the experts said The research is clear that a community that wants successful schools for all its children and in every neighborhood must effectively utilize all its options, and see each option as one part of a total solution to our education challenges.

• Achievement – how well students perform according to state and national standards of success.

• Progress – whether all students of all abilities are growing academically.

• Graduation Rate – the proportion of students who graduate from high school on time.

• K-3 Literacy (new) – whether students in kindergarten through third grade are reading at or above grade level.

• Prepared for Success (new) – student readiness for college and career.

Each of these six parts will be graded separately, and then the separate grades will roll up into one composite grade for the district or school.

Successful Columbus schools Though there are too many failing schools in Columbus, there are bright spots as well. The commission sought to learn from these successful schools.

Our schools and our school districts look at many criteria by which to measure success. The Ohio Department of For example, Eastmoor Academy High School, was Education issues annual report cards for school districts, highlighted in a recent study conducted by Public Agenda district school buildings and public charter schools.10 for the Ohio Business Roundtable, the Ohio Department of Schools and districts in 2012-13 earned one of six report Education and The Ohio State University.15 card designations – excellent with distinction, excellent, The report, titled “Failure Is Not An Option,” documented effective, continuous improvement, academic watch nine successful Ohio schools in high-poverty communities. and academic emergency Eastmoor was the only – according to student Columbus school identified in Engage people from the neighborhoods attendance, graduation rates, the report. so that students see people like them in performance on state-issued Seventy-two percent of tests and student progress. their schools.

Eastmoor’s students are The most current report cards A Focus Group Member economically disadvantaged for Columbus district and charter and 16 percent have disabilities, schools showed that nearly demographics that are typical of schools in Columbus’s 30,000 students attend schools rated academic watch low-income urban areas. or academic emergency – the two lowest ratings.11 Fewer than 15,000 attended schools rated excellent or effective.12 But the similarities to other schools in high poverty areas end there. During the 2010-11 school year, 90 percent Beginning in September 2013, the current report card of 10th graders met state proficiency criteria in reading designations will be phased out in favor of an A-F grading and 80 percent met math requirements. Eastmoor scale.13 The new rating system will be fully implemented by 11th-graders also outperformed the district in both school year 2014-15. subjects by wide margins.16 The school continues to earn Previous report cards were based primarily on how well a B on the state report card and has been designated students performed on state assessments. The new repeatedly as a “School of Promise.”17 Eastmoor has report card includes those measures, but puts more open enrollment, and the applicant pool is so large that emphasis on academic progress and success with it must choose students by lottery.

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Public Agenda highlighted several characteristics that have led to Eastmoor’s sustained improvement. One is a positive and nurturing school culture for both students and teachers. Yet another hallmark of the school is strong parental involvement, which is fueled by what Public Agenda called “an exceptionally orchestrated approach toward engaging parents in their children’s education and, more generally, in the life of the school.”18

rhythms. Other issues to consider might be the work schedule of parents and the proximity of the children to the buildings. Rather than replacing one rigid schedule with another, letting buildings set their schedules in order to improve academic performance is yet another important element of the authority that should move away from the central office.

KIPP Journey Academy is a Columbus charter school serving 320 low-income students in grades 5-8. KIPP Journey Aacademy is part of a national network of more than one hundred KIPP public schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia. When the KIPP Journey Academy opened in 2008, principal Hannah Powell Tuney told the commission on February 18, 2013, student proficiency among fifth-graders was 30 percent.19 By the time those students were in the eighth grade, they scored in the 80th percentile, a 50 percentile gain, she said.20

Toward more successful neighborhood schools

The commission also heard from The Arts & College Preparatory Academy, founded by Director GG Howard in 2002. Howard, a veteran teacher, started the school when it became clear that her daughter was not going to fit into the culture of her neighborhood school in Worthington.21 Howard recognized that there were many other students throughout Columbus for whom a traditional public school was not a good fit. This was certainly true for students who thrive best in an arts-oriented environment, she said.22 Like KIPP, the Arts & College Preparatory Academy serves predominantly low-income students. Overcoming early challenges with gang behavior, the school has distinguished itself not just by discipline in the hallways, but discipline in the classroom. During the 2011-2012 school year, the school had an excellent rating on the state report card – which Howard says is the highest rating for a brick-and-mortar 9-12 charter school in the state.23 “I don’t think my kids are smarter,” she says. “I think they’re happier, and the teachers are happier.”

It is important to note that these successful schools are not only able to develop their own sense of mission, purpose and focus, select their staff and manage their budgets, but they are also able to set their own calendars, both during the day and during the year. For example, the KIPP Journey Academy has at its core a longer school day.

There are other possible changes that some would like to consider. One former Columbus school board member, Stephanie Groce, suggested to the commission that younger children should start school earlier in the morning, since they are generally awake and active early, while teenagers should start later, also following their natural

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Improving the success of neighborhood schools depends on a number of factors, some of which are discussed more fully in other chapters of this report. For example, attracting and retaining high-performing principals and teachers is one key to improving overall school performance. Another is giving principals more control over staffing, curriculum and building budgets.

While every school is different, successful neighborhood schools share characteristics that lead to excellence. In its “Failure Is Not An Option” report, Public Agenda noted key attributes24 of the nine high-poverty schools studied: • Principals lead with a strong and clear vision for the school, engage staff in problem solving and decision making and never lose sight of their school’s goals and outcomes.

• Teachers and administrators are dedicated to their school’s success and committed to making a difference in their students’ lives.

• School leaders provide genuine opportunities and incentives for teachers to collaborate, and teachers say that collaboration and sharing best practices are keys to their effectiveness.

• Teachers regard student data as clarifying and helpful and they use it to plan instruction.

• Principals and teachers have high expectations for all students and reject any excuses for academic failure.

• Schools offer students nontraditional incentives for academic success and good behavior.

• Students feel valued, appreciated and challenged. They are confident that their teachers will help them succeed and be at their side if they hit a rough patch.

• While parent and community support can be an asset, principals and teachers do not see their absence as an insurmountable barrier to student learning and achievement.

• School leaders and teachers seek to continuously improve practices and student achievement. They take today’s successes as tomorrow’s starting point.

One of the strongest themes voiced by parents in a series of community forums was the desire for better discipline in neighborhood schools.25 To be sure, high expectations for all students must extend not only to academic progress, but to how a student behaves. A school culture conducive to learning, experts said repeatedly, is set by strong school leaders and reinforced by teachers from class to class.26

While discipline was first on Columbus parents’ list of concerns, they also cited parent engagement as a key attribute of a good school and expressed concerns that teachers are unprepared to effectively navigate the cultural diversity within our community. Teachers and principals need the knowledge to communicate and engage with students and parents from other cultural, religious or language traditions, parents said. They must also know how to be supportive of students who differ from them.

Robert Balfanz, co-director of the Everyone Graduates Center and research scientist at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University, told the commission on April 10 that relationships between teachers and students are the single biggest factor in reducing disciplinary problems and increasing school safety.27

Still another theme that emerged from parents was the importance of stability in school leadership. Some said that principals in the Columbus City Schools too often are moved to new schools in ways that disrupt relationships between the schools and the neighborhoods.31

Balfanz said schools with a low incidence of violence, student suspensions and behavioral disruptions are those that heed early warning signs such as absenteeism and minor, recurring behavioral problems among young students.28 They provide intervention at an early age in a tiered approach based on seriousness of behavioral problems and social factors outside the school that may need to be addressed.29

The relationship of the school to the community is an important factor in strengthening both schools and neighborhoods, experts said. Schools, historically, were de facto community centers, anchoring both the social and academic vitality of the community.32 Individual commission members expressed concern at their February 18, 2013, meeting that few Columbus City Schools fulfill this role, despite the district’s focus on making new schools conducive to shared use.33

Discipline, leadership stability, community engagement, cultural competency, allocation of resources

Balfanz noted that discipline is important not only to the whole-school environment, but to the success of individual students. For example, while suspensions are sometimes necessary for disruptive or violent behavior, he said they should be avoided when possible, citing a Florida study that found each successive suspension lowered an individual’s chances of graduating by 20 percent.30

Thirty-five buildings in the district have recently been renovated, and 11 additional buildings are undergoing improvements.34 These new and renovated spaces have been designed for use by the public, but public use is sporadic and usually of a “one-off” nature.35 In other words, the Girl Scouts may use the schools on Wednesday nights, but there is no cohesive program

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that routinely brings members of the community into the building for social or educational purposes beyond the regular school day.

Communities around the country are working to strengthen the relationship of schools to other neighborhood institutions such as health care centers and libraries.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused the city of New Orleans to rethink how schools might play a more central role in community life.36 New Orleans architect Stephen Bingler told the commission that some of the new schools planned to replace those destroyed in the storm are being planned from a “nexus” model – one that provides “a full complement of the people, programs and places that support authentic instructional practices in tandem with services for the community as a whole.” In low-income parts of New Orleans, where many residents don’t own private transportation, some of these schools are being built within walking distance of homes and other community services.37 In Columbus, parents often decried the uneven allocation of resources – such as educational technology – among neighborhood schools within district feeder patterns.38 Parents want all children to have access to high-quality learning tools. Perhaps Mayor Michael Coleman said it best in his 2013 State of the City Address when he stated, “Education should not depend upon the color of your skin, the size of your parents’ bank accounts, or the neighborhood in which you live.”39

Toward more successful charter schools The Ohio General Assembly authorized public charter schools in Ohio beginning in 1998. Since then, the number of schools has grown to 342 statewide.40 Today, nearly 16,000 Columbus students attend charter schools in Columbus, more than any other Ohio urban center except for Cleveland, where 18,000 students attend charters.41 While the presence of charter schools has done one thing the General Assembly intended – provide choices for students in failing neighborhood schools – Terry Ryan of the Fordham Institute told the commission that “placing a charter sign over a schoolhouse door ensures only the opportunity to be different.”42 Over the years, that statement has been borne out. Two of every five of the charter schools in Columbus have been rated at academic watch or academic emergency.43 Regrettably, this record matches the statewide experience.44 Weak authorization requirements in Ohio have led to rapid growth of charter schools with varying degrees of quality.45

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Experts told the commission that while closing troubled schools is an important strategy for school improvement efforts, it has not been easy to do for either district schools or charter schools: 72 percent of low-performing charters around the country remained in operation, as did 80 percent of district schools.46 Beyond the difficulty of dealing with poorly performing schools is the challenge of attracting high-quality charters to Ohio. Ethan Gray of the Cities for Education Entrepreneurship Trust – or CEE-Trust – told the commission that most charter schools have grown organically as stand-alone schools.47 He said, communities that lack a strategy for growing high-quality charter schools are experiencing mixed performance, at best.48 Competition is fierce for proven, high-quality charter operators. Cities such as New Orleans, the Twin Cities, Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, and Indianapolis49 are all stronger markets for charter school operators than cities in Ohio, Gray said.50 “There aren’t enough proven charter schools to go around,” he said, noting that the top five performing charter school models are serving only 61,000 kids.

That’s why mayors and civic groups of all kinds are approaching the attraction of high-performing charters in the same way they have long approached the attraction of businesses and new factories. For example, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has travelled across the country visiting high-performing charter schools and has helped to launch the Tennessee Charter School Incubator (TCSI). Mayor Dean says that “this is a lot like economic development, where you are trying to persuade companies to come to you.” For his part, he has “encouraged KIPP to expand in our community.” He has helped them raise money, provided school facilities, and personally encouraged the expansion of teacher talent pipelines like Teach for America and The New Teacher Project that are keys to sustained growth of high-quality charter schools in his city.

His support and encouragement also has helped draw private sector support to these new schools.51 Funding challenges In Ohio, only part of the money available to educate children follows the child to the charter school environment. Additionally, public charter schools do not receive facilities funds, while the district schools are built, operated and maintained by funds raised locally and, when they qualify, with funds from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.52 Charter school leaders noted that the funding inequity between district schools and charter schools has implications for buildings, teacher pay and transportation

of students. Indeed, they said, funding is one of their biggest challenges.

“We want dollars to follow the students,” said Andrew Boy of the Columbus Collegiate Academy at the commission’s February 18 meeting.53 His belief that the full measure of support should be available to the school where a student is being educated was echoed by others on the panel.

Ohio’s funding formula for charters is clearly slowing the growth of high-performing charter operators within the state. Mike Feinberg, co-founder of KIPP, noted that in Texas KIPP schools receive 90 percent of the governmentfunded support that traditional schools do.54 When informed that Ohio charter schools receive only about half the government funds that district schools receive, he said “That’s a problem.”55 He added that growing high-quality charters in Columbus, based on current funding allocations, will be difficult without addressing this issue.56

A new way of thinking Treating good neighborhood schools and charter schools as separate, competing choices misunderstands both the reality and the possibilities for positive change.

Under the Columbus City Schools district’s “lottery system,” parents are already allowed to choose what district school they wish their child to attend. A large number of parents use this system to choose a school for their children that is outside of their neighborhood. For this reason, groups like Clintonville Go Public, Southside Stay, PACE and Northwest STARS suggest academic and other improvements that would make their neighborhood schools more attractive as schools of choice for neighborhood parents, and they persuasively argue that neighborhood organizations like theirs should play a larger role in setting the agenda of their neighborhood schools.57 Just as it is incorrect to view all district schools as neighborhood schools, so it is incorrect to view charter schools as the “opposite” of an effective neighborhood school. In other cities, charters have played an important role in stabilizing neighborhoods by providing a local alternative to a persistently failing district school. This is perhaps best exemplified by the educational renaissance in Harlem, which has been led by charters and has helped spark the rebirth of a historic neighborhood.58

Another opportunity unique to Columbus is offered by the “win-win” agreements that make it possible for so many Columbus residents to attend schools in neighboring school districts. All of these districts are performing better than the Columbus City Schools, and several of them are among the best districts in the state.

Schools in these neighboring districts are often just blocks away from schools in the Columbus City Schools district, offering a possible alternative in the same neighborhood if open enrollment were available.

Mike Feinberg told the commission on April 10 that communities must come to a place where charter schools and neighborhood schools are on the same team, working together for the best possible outcome for children. That will require teaching excellence and accountability and individual school autonomy, in which principals have the authority to hire excellent teachers, remove poor teachers and exercise authority over building curricula and budgets.61 This seldom happens in a highly centralized school district, he said.

“Our school districts should not go away,” he said. “How we deliver education in a public setup is what needs to change.”62 “Why can’t we have a system of public schools where the central office will take care of the buses, the beans and the boilers and all the central office functions, and empower – whether it’s charters, traditional schools or community groups that have a great idea to start schools – others to run the schools and hold them accountable for great results? And then, when the word is out on the street about the school and there’s a line around the block, help them start more of them? And when there’s an echo in this building because no one’s showing up, get rid of that school and let a different organization start a school in that building?”63 The same point is made in a different way by the neighborhood advocacy organizations, each of which spoke of driving down educational decision making to the neighborhood and school level, and away from a central office that is not responsive to the unique needs and aspirations of each part of the community.64 Clintonville Go Public recommended “Neighborhood Advisory Boards” to “drive down decision-making,” and even suggested “the creation of smaller districts,” all with the goal of recognizing that schools are the “lifeblood” of neighborhoods but each neighborhood has “differing needs.”65

Given the research that shows how difficult it is to turn around long-failing district schools,59 and how infrequently such a turnaround occurs,60 it is essential to view the recruitment of high-performing charters into a neighborhood as one of the key tools in responding to the public demand for stronger neighborhood schools.

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Goals A child that enters kindergarten in the fall of 2013 will graduate from high school in the 2025-26 school year.

Recognizing that a complete transformation will take time but that it is urgent to reach as many children as quickly as possible, the commission believes that work on all goals should begin immediately, and we should make measurable progress each year, for each goal, each child and each school, with all goals completed by 2025.

• Each school in the Columbus City Schools district will be rated B or above.

• Every child living within the Columbus City Schools will have the choice of a quality neighborhood school operated either by the Columbus City Schools district or a public charter. Quality is defined as earning an A or B on the state report card.

• The total number of students attending Columbus City Schools and charter schools in the Columbus City Schools district will increase faster on an annual basis than the state average for all districts, demonstrating that the collective impact of a large number of excellent schools is attracting people to live in the community.

• Columbus City Schools will equal or exceed the most efficient administrator-to-student ratio in the state.

Strategies • Columbus City Schools should hire a superintendent who has a demonstrated willingness to: –– Successfully achieve student academic improvement by focusing on increasing the number of excellent school buildings.

–– Close the lowest performing schools and reopen them under new leadership with proven educational models, or as high quality charters.

–– Successfully reduce the size of the central office and devolving authority on personnel, budgets, schedules and programs to the school building level.

–– Appoint high quality principals, holding them accountable for academic progress, and keep the successful principals in place long enough to build successful and sustainable relationships in the community.

–– Work to increase and support high-quality charter school options and discourage the continuation of low-performing charters.

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• The first order of business for the new superintendent should be to create a credible and detailed strategic plan to reach the goal where every school building operated by Columbus City Schools is rated B or above. Accountability for the superintendent should be connected to the successful implementation of this plan.

• Columbus City Schools must establish priority functions for, and adhere to a limit on the size of, the central office, both in head count and dollars.

• Columbus City Schools should equalize to the fullest extent possible the amount of money that each school has to spend on each child across the district (with appropriate adjustments made for low-performing and special needs children). Each principal should be allowed to manage within the available, equitable resources, and be held accountable for results.

• A system of career-oriented flex academies following a 9-14 model (“schools within a school”), operated in partnership with Columbus State Community College, should be created in all neighborhood high schools.

• Columbus City Schools should provide financial, operational and administrative support to create, attract and expand high-performing public charter schools to increase the number of students attending these schools throughout the district, particularly in neighborhoods with persistently low-performing district and public charter schools. This support should provide the inducement for existing high-performing public charters to expand and for new charters from throughout the nation to locate in Columbus. These funds may come from a variety of sources within the district. In order to make available the option of using funds approved by the voters, state law should be changed to allow such levy questions to be placed on the ballot.

• The district currently has a waiting list in many of its highest-performing schools. Columbus City Schools should expand or replicate these successful district schools.

• The Columbus City Schools district should exercise its authority to sponsor high-quality charter schools.

• The community should organize itself to attract highperforming charter schools and, within the parameters of state law, discourage low-performing charter schools. A new public-private partnership should be established to accomplish this goal.

• In order to assist in attracting and retaining a highquality school for every child and neighborhood in the city, the mayor and city council president, with the support of all interested community leaders, should

advocate for changes to state law to allow the city of Columbus to sponsor charter schools. If the city then chooses to serve as a sponsor, it should do so in partnership with proven charter school operators who will set and meet the same high standards recommended in this report for schools in the Columbus Schools. • Columbus City Schools should negotiate with neighboring, high-performing school districts to expand open enrollment options for Columbus City Schools residents, and explore contracting with such districts to manage low-performing Columbus City Schools buildings in close geographic proximity. • Significant financial and high-quality professional support should be given to encourage the growth of neighborhood organizations advocating for quality public schools (district and charter), such as Clintonville Go Public, Southside STAY, Northwest STARS and PACE, and resources should be committed to helping new groups form in neighborhoods where they do not currently exist.

Ohio Department of Education, Download Data, PowerUser Reports and Bridge Reports, 2012.

Ibid.

3 Jeannette Oxender, former Ohio Department of Education Chief of Staff, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, March 6, 2013.

4 KidsOhio.org, The State of Education for Columbus Students Preschool-College, Oct. 18, 2012.

5 Ohio Department of Education, Bridge Report, April 12, 2013.

6 Ohio Department of Education, Download Data, Community Schools Rating Data, 2012.

7 Community meetings, Jan. 22 to April 8, 2013, Columbus, Ohio.

8 Ibid.

9 Letters from some of these groups can be found in the Notes and Bibliography section of this report.

10 Ohio Department of Education.

11 Fordham Institute.

12 Ibid.

13 Ohio Department of Education.

14 Ibid.

15 Public Agenda, Failure is Not an Option, 2012.

16 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 Ohio Department of Education, Preliminary Report Card, 2012.

18 Ibid.

19 Hannah Powell Tuney, panel presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 18, 2013.

20 Ibid.

21 GG Howard, panel presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 18, 2013.

22 Howard specifically noted the choices at the time were Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School and Columbus Alternative High School.

23 Ohio Department of Education, Preliminary Report Card, 2012.

24 Public Agenda, Failure is Not an Option.

25 Community meetings, Jan. 22 to April 8, 2013, Columbus, Ohio.

26 Presentations to the Columbus Education Commission.

27 Robert Balfanz, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, April 10, 2013.

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid. Also note materials provided from BREAD to commission director Fingerhut.

31 Parents panel, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 18, 2013.

32 Steven Bingler, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 18, 2013.

33 Columbus Education Commission meeting, Feb. 18, 2013.

34 Memorandum from Carole Olshavsky, senior executive, to Columbus City Schools Superintendent Gene Harris, Feb. 15, 2013.

Ibid.

Bingler. Local examples exist as well. For example, The Ohio State University has entered into a ten year partnership to improve the East High feeder pattern in the Columbus City Schools District, using its Ohio State Hospital East location as an anchor.

37 Bingler.

38 Community meetings, Jan. 22-April 8, Columbus, Ohio.

39 Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, State of the City, Feb. 21, 2013.

40 Ohio Department of Education, Download Data, 2012. Ten charter schools closed in 2012.

41 Ohio Department of Education, Bridge Report, April 21, 2013: FTE 15,872. Note: Columbus students are not enrolled in each charter school located in Columbus City. More than 2,000 Columbus students attend 11 virtual schools located all over the state.

42 Terry Ryan, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 18, 2013.

43 Ohio Department of Education, Download Data, Community Schools Rating Data, 2012. Figure includes 64 brick-and-mortar and two virtual schools with a Columbus address.

44 Ibid.

45 Ryan.

46 Ibid.

47 Ethan Gray, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 18, 2013.

48 Ibid.

49 Ibid.

50 Ibid.

51 Terry Ryan memo 52 KidsOhio.org. A proposal to provide some facilities funds has been offered by Governor Kasich in the FY2014-15 budget.

53 Andrew Boy, panel presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 18, 2013.

54 Mike Feinberg, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, April 10, 2013.

55 Ibid.

56 Ibid.

57 Communications to the Columbus Education Commission, 2013.

58 Similar experiences are noted in New Orleans, though the New Orleans example was given force and momentum by the post-Katrina reality, and is therefore harder to replicate.

59 Are Bad Schools Immortal, Fordham Institute, Dec. 14, 2010.

60 Ibid 61 Feinberg.

62 Ibid.

63 Ibid.

64 Communications to the Columbus Education Commission, 2013.

65 Recommendations from Clintonville Go Public.

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2

36

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68

Students With A Purpose

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Students With A Purpose Columbus lacks a cohesive system that nurtures a sense of purpose for students according to their unique interests and talents. Consequently, too many young people are not prepared for college, for work or for life.

Putting students on an educational path with a purpose cannot be accomplished by the K-12 system alone. If the majority of jobs will require some post-secondary education3, then the pathways must be built in partnership with higher education institutions.

And because the needs of business change rapidly, and students learn better when their education is reinforced by on-the-job experiences,4 the business community must also be a full partner.

What the community said In a series of public meetings from January 22 through April 8, 2013, community members voiced concern about a lack of emphasis on the various pathways to success.

They said: “Every child living in the Columbus City School District should graduate prepared to go to college, get a job, start a business, or join the military.” Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman, State of the City, Feb. 21, 2013.

There is widespread agreement that the education available to all the children living in the Columbus City Schools district does not meet the standards we should expect in this community. But with all the changes in academic requirements, report cards and tests over the past few years, it is easy to become confused about what we want our children to be able to do when they graduate. Educators and policymakers speak of making sure students are “college and career ready,” and solid research suggests that these goals are virtually one and the same.1 Nevertheless, the language of educators is not always helpful to parents and other stakeholders trying to understand what schools are aiming to accomplish.

Mayor Coleman’s formulation that every child should graduate prepared to go to college, get a job, start a business or join the military lays out our goal in terms understandable to all. There are, of course, many differences in the technical requirements for these four paths, but the overall level of education and skills needed is converging. There are few family-supporting jobs that do not require a high level of intellectual problem solving capabilities generally beyond high school. The skill levels required by the military also continue to increase.2

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• School counselors don’t have enough time to advise about college because their time is spent on testing.

• There are fewer programs in schools that are linked to job readiness than in the past. The community needs to raise the level of respect for and awareness of opportunities for career and technical education, and increase the opportunities to participate in these programs across the Columbus City Schools district.5 • Summer employment and internship programs have fewer openings than applicants and are not well monitored to make sure they are substantive opportunities that, if successfully completed, lead to employment.6 • School curriculum needs to focus less on test taking and more on the critical thinking skills needed for successful work and life.

What the research and the experts tell us The Columbus Education Commission reviewed current research and heard from leading experts in careerand college-readiness. The data included information presented in October to Mayor Michael Coleman and City Council President Andrew Ginther concerning Columbus’ diverse economy and its future workforce needs.7

What the commission learned from those reports was that the economy of Central Ohio is, and will continue to be, diverse and not dominated by a single industry.8 That means students will need the core skills to succeed in many fields. These include both “hard” skills, such as computer skills, and “soft” skills, such as communication and effective interpersonal skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills. They also include teamwork and collaboration, a strong work ethic and a positive attitude, time management and organizational skills, flexibility, analytical skills, ability to work well under pressure, selfmotivation and initiative, and the ability to accept feedback for learning and growth.9 In fact, these latter skills are most often linked to job performance and career success.

– have an even more difficult path.14 Hoffman and Vargas also reported that many parents and students view career programs as inferior to “college.”

Some pathways do exist. Columbus State Community College is working closely with area high schools and The Ohio State University to build pathways from high school to community college and industry credentials, and to enable those students to continue seamlessly to a fouryear degree.

The Central Ohio Compact, a regional strategy for college completion and career success, is focused on increasing the number of Central Ohioans who are college ready and who earn a post-secondary credential or degree.15

Within the Columbus City School District, the Downtown Importantly, “middle skill” jobs – those that require more High School and Fort Hayes’ Metropolitan Education than high school, but less than a four-year degree – Center campuses provide career technical education. comprise the largest part of America’s and Ohio’s labor 10 There is also a policy requiring all students to participate market. For this reason, the fact that 65 percent of in a work-related internship, Columbus City Schools though little is known about students in public colleges, Two year associate’s and technical degrees the quality or results of these including Columbus State experiences. Other schools can be achieved while in high school… Let’s Community College – the that serve students in the largest provider of training get more funding for community college Columbus City Schools for middle-skill jobs – need while they’re high schoolers. district, such as the Metro to take remedial courses is a A Good Idea From a Community Member Early College High School particularly challenging reality and the Graham Family of for this community.11 Schools, give students exposure to professional adults, The information gained about Central Ohio’s employment various career options and a sense that their school and market is good news for young people who are looking community engagement experiences have a purpose for for well-paying jobs that do not require a four- to six-year the future. They also give students an opportunity to earn investment at a university. But to make the most of these college credit while still in high school. opportunities, schools, parents, the community and But a number of stubborn barriers to more abundant students will need to rethink how we put each child on a choices must be addressed. pathway that is right for him or her. Only then will we begin to close the gap between the 48 percent of Ohio adults believed to have skills needed for middle-skill occupations12 Barriers and the 60 percent of jobs that will require them.

One barrier is the unfortunate view – experts call it a “stigma” – within much of American culture that achieving Building pathways anything less than a four-year college degree is an inferior accomplishment.16 Another barrier is the lack of pathways European countries such as Switzerland, Finland, available to Columbus students and a relative lack of Denmark and Germany all have robust education-to-work pathways that include vocational or technical education for integration between learning institutions and the industries that will be creating jobs in Central Ohio in the coming years.17 middle-skill jobs preparation.13 Children in those countries are exposed to career paths at an early age.

Many Columbus employers provide internships and The story is quite different in the United States and in Ohio. Teens here get little advice about pathways from education to careers. According to Jobs for the Future’s Nancy Hoffman and Joel Vargas, teens hear little about the critical role of productive work in human lives. Even educated parents don’t know about the future labor market, and low-income teens – who are most likely to be unemployed and least likely to understand career options

summer experiences for high school students, but it is often a struggle to find a sufficient number of slots, and it is unclear the extent to which the quality of the experience is monitored. We do know that work experience programs require significant planning and follow up to be effective.18 The building trades offer opportunities through no-cost apprenticeship programs that can be made more broadly available, but have had difficulty partnering with the Columbus City Schools.19 71

Other barriers include lack of understanding of the workplace among high school educators, making it difficult to properly advise students on career pathways, lack of integration between high school career pathways and community colleges, and a predominant focus by school counselors on preparing students for four-year colleges.20 A sense of purpose Perhaps one of the most important challenges is what Mark David Milliron described to the commission as “helping a student get to the idea of purpose. Why are they on an education pathway, and what is the goal? If they understand the ‘why,’ they can overcome almost any ‘how.’”21 Milliron, chancellor of Western Governors University in Texas, noted that the responsibility of students for their own success is sometimes overlooked. He urged the Columbus community to make certain this is considered in any new approach to education.

“We need to help them understand this is not edutainment, this is education,” he said. “An education is an engagement process that they’re going to have to work at. And that’s the notion of the growth mindset – you do not reward talent, you reward work.”

The case for a cohesive system of school-to-career pathways is clear: • Our economy requires not just degreed professionals, but those prepared for “middle skill” occupations, which comprise the largest portion of our future employment base. Indeed, meeting this demand is likely to be a determining factor in the continued growth 72

of the Columbus and Central Ohio economies in the coming decade.22 • We lack a system of pathways from school to work that provide young people with a sense of purpose in life and the ability to succeed in the workforce.

• Too many students, parents and teachers don’t understand the opportunities within our economy or how to chart a path toward success.

• Successful approaches and systems exist as examples on which Columbus can draw.

Central Ohio is blessed with an extraordinary collection of higher education institutions prepared to partner with the primary and secondary schools serving the children in the Columbus City Schools district. Both Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University, and David Harrison, president of Columbus State Community College, served on the Columbus Education Commission and made clear that their institutions – respectively the largest four-year university and the largest community college in the state – stand ready to partner in extraordinary ways with the community and the schools to address the challenges of putting students on a purposeful path to post-secondary credentials and a career. Indeed, they are already doing so in innovative ways across Franklin County and Central Ohio.23 We cannot fail to take advantage of these resources for the benefit of the children and families living in the Columbus City Schools district.

Goals A child that enters kindergarten in the fall of 2013 will graduate from high school in the 2025-26 school year.

Recognizing that a complete transformation will take time but that it is urgent to reach as many children as quickly as possible, the commission believes that work on all goals should begin immediately, and we should make measurable progress each year, for each goal, each child and each school, with all goals completed by 2025.

Therefore, every high school student should have the opportunity to graduate on time, earn a vocational certificate, earn 15 or more hours of college credit, or enroll in a 9-14 program where they earn an associates degree.

Strategies • In addition to strengthening the Columbus City Schools two career centers and their programs, every neighborhood high school feeder pattern within the Columbus City Schools district should have one or more partnerships with post-secondary institutions or career technical programs that allow students to earn market value credentials and college credits in the neighborhood, along with opportunities to earn additional credentials and college credits at the partnering institution.

2020 to determine marketable certificates (those that will result in jobs).

• Part of the pathway experience should include meaningful internships that help students pay for their degrees, save money, and obtain an employer reference for future job searches.

• Each student should have individualized education/ career tools and plans that guide coursework and the career certificates they pursue. Students should receive formal guidance as early as middle school using appropriate technology and one-on-one pathway counseling.

• Columbus State Community College and The Ohio State University should lead an effort to ensure that every high school student living in the Columbus City Schools district is aware of their opportunity to earn college credit during high school and receives support in doing so.

• An advisory committee of employers - large and small, public and private - should be established to help guide the 9-14 career pathways to ensure that the emerging needs of employers are reflected so that graduates of these programs will be successful in the workplace.

• Students should have the opportunity to earn multiple career credentials prior to graduation, and the curriculum should be flexible enough for students to earn multiple credentials together with their high school diploma and college credit.

• Ideally, every student should have an opportunity to earn at least 15 college credits while still in high school.

All students living in the Columbus City Schools district should have the opportunity to participate in a career pathway that begins within their neighborhood feeder pattern by ninth grade and culminates in an associate degree by age 20 in a field with labor market value in Central Ohio. These pathways should leverage a formal engagement strategy with employers and Columbus Achieve, Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts, Dec. 10, 2004.

The Education Trust, Shut Out of the Military: Today’s High School Education Doesn’t Mean You’re Ready for Today’s Army, 2010.

3 It is estimated that to meet the needs of business and industry, by 2020 at least 60 percent of workers will need to have a post-secondary degree or career certificate. Panel Discussion, Career Readiness and Business Engagement, Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

4 Nancy Hoffman and Joel Vargas of Jobs for the Future, Building Career Pathways for Today’s Young People: An Urgent National Need, report to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

5 Ibid.

6 Columbus Education Commission community meetings, Feb. 4 through March 7, 2013, Columbus, Ohio.

7 Briefing to Mayor Michael Coleman and City Council President Andrew Ginther, Oct. 25, 2012.

8 Columbus 2020, City of Columbus Briefing, Oct. 25, 2012.

9 Battelle, City of Columbus Briefing, Oct. 25, 2012.

10 National Skills Coalition, Middle-Skill Jobs State-by-State: Ohio.

11 Ohio Board of Regents, fall 2007.

12 Ibid.

1 2

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century, February 2011.

Nancy Hoffman and Joel Vargas of Jobs for the Future, Building Career Pathways for Today’s Young People: An Urgent National Need, report to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

15 Panel Discussion, Career Readiness and Business Engagement, Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

16 Hoffman and Vargas.

17 Ibid.

18 Ibid.

19 Jack Heinzman, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, panel presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, Feb. 8, 2013.

20 Hoffman and Vargas.

21 Mark David Milliron, Presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, March 21, 2013.

22 Briefing to Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther, Oct. 25, 2012.

23 Columbus State, for example, has partnerships with Columbus City Schools’ Downtown High School and Africentric Alternative School’s high school program.

13

14

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Serving The Whole Child

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Serving The Whole Child Of all the topics addressed by the Columbus Education Commission, perhaps the broadest agreement exists on the need to mobilize the entire community to support the education of our children. The charge to the Columbus Education Commission from Mayor Coleman and City Council President Ginther states that the Commission’s recommendations must seek to “leverage the resourcefulness of our entire community.”

This same sentiment was reflected in Superintendent Gene Harris’s letter to the community announcing her retirement from the Columbus City Schools district: “Getting every element of our community involved to help us in this important work is critical, because our schools can’t do it alone.” 1 Effectively involving the community requires the development of deep, meaningful and sustainable partnerships. Projects that start and stop never accomplish their stated goals. Successful partnerships are built on a foundation of shared values and goals, and flexible, integrated operating procedures. Neither the community nor the schools can demand that the partnership operate exclusively according to their rules.2 Columbus is rightfully proud of its recent designation as one of the world’s top seven “Intelligent Communities.”

Surely one of the characteristics of an intelligent community is the understanding that education is everyone’s responsibility. Children must see every day that we value learning and academic achievement. They must see that we hold ourselves to the highest standards, that we work hard at providing a quality education for all our residents – and that we expect our children to work hard at their studies as well.

Even as we set and maintain the highest aspirations and standards for the education of our children, we know that they face challenges and opportunities beyond the classroom that will have a direct impact on their success in school and in life. For that reason, it is critically important that student performance and steps to improve success be viewed in the context of the whole child, and that the community be engaged to address these pressing matters.

What the community said In a series of public meetings from January 22 through April 8, community members voiced opinions about a number of non-academic issues including: • A concern that recess, music and the arts are being reduced in schools.

• A concern that transportation is a barrier to student participation and parental support for school activities.

• A belief that schools are important physical and educational assets for the entire community and their use should be expanded for the benefit of all.

• A desire to more closely link students and schools to local businesses for internship opportunities and general support of the curriculum.

• A concern that there is a shortage of recreational activities after school and during the summer.

• A concern that students have health and behavioral issues that are not being addressed.3

What the research and experts tell us The Columbus Education Commission had the opportunity to consider a wide range of research and to hear input from a variety of experts on how health and nutrition, exercise and participation in arts-related activities can benefit students.

Health and nutrition The effect of health and nutrition on student success was discussed publicly even before creation of the commission. At a public briefing for Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther, Dr. Kelly Kelleher provided a stark look at health trends among Columbus City Schools students and their impact on learning.4 In short, the greater the number of health risks a child carries, the greater is that student’s academic risk. For example, Dr. Kelleher noted a direct correlation between health risks and reading proficiency. While nearly 66 percent of children with no disability passed the third grade reading assessment, the rate dropped to 45.5 percent among those with multiple disabilities (excluding deafness and blindness) and to 31 percent among children with other, minor, health impairments.

Importantly, it appears that the number of students with health risks is increasing, and not just by a little. Between 2005-06 and 2010-11 – a period in which the overall enrollment in the Columbus City Schools was declining

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– the number of students using asthma inhalers increased from 3,734 to 5,900; the number of children with dental issues increased from 5,850 to 7,299; and the number of students using diabetic blood glucose meters increased from 6,296 to 17,115.5 Poor nutrition is another health-related issue that must be addressed, the research shows. At the commission’s meeting on March 6, 2013, Robert Murray, professor of human nutrition at The Ohio State University’s College of Education and Human Ecology, outlined how nutrition influences brain A Focus Group Member development and student achievement.6

health, the Columbus City Schools Wellness Initiative has produced a measurable decrease in average student body mass since its inception.8 Still, challenges remain. For example, Murray noted that only a third of students who could benefit from school breakfast participate. Murray also said there is a need to expand nutrition programs beyond the school buildings to improve the diet and lifestyles of families.

Make sure all kids get to school well-fed, with warm clothes, and are safe.

Murray’s presentation echoed findings by the GENYOUth Foundation that the quality of food children eat impacts mental function and can influence absenteeism and social problems.7 Both the GENYOUth Foundation and Murray pointed to federally funded school breakfast and lunch programs as among the simplest and most cost-effective contributors to student learning.

Murray praised the Columbus City Schools’ Wellness Initiative, a three-year program funded by the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation. The initiative seeks to eliminate foods and beverages with low nutritional value from vending machines and à la carte lines, and increase student physical activity during the day. While Murray noted that weight is not the most important influencer of student

It is worth noting that the district employs more than 100 nurses, according to Columbus Education Association President and commission member Rhonda Johnson, and the majority of Columbus students are eligible for the Medicaid insurance program. This means they are eligible for preventive care, immunizations, dental and mental health care. The school nurses collaborate with many of the local medical providers that serve the students and the families, but there is much more to be done.

A discussion following Murray’s presentation revealed concern by commission members familiar with these programs that participation is often reduced because of the stigma associated with them.

During his 2013 State of the City address, Columbus Mayor Coleman made clear that “poverty is no excuse” for the poor performance of schools or students.9

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The evidence supports the mayor’s conclusion. The commission saw this first-hand, visiting high performing schools that have large numbers of students coming from low-income homes,10 hearing from principals and superintendents who lead such schools,11 and studying the data about school performance.12 For example, the state of Ohio’s most recently released list of “Schools of Promise” – defined as high poverty schools that are succeeding above expected levels – includes nine schools in Franklin County: one in Hamilton, three in the SouthWestern District, two in Westerville, one in Reynoldsburg and two charter schools.

Still, poverty is a fact, and the challenges that come with it are real. Everything that can be done in the community to ease the burden on the schools should be done. For this reason, the need for collaboration between the schools and the health and social services community extends far beyond physical and mental health issues. Coordinating services with health and human service agencies is clearly beneficial to the schools and students, but the time and expertise to build these collaborations is often limited.

These challenges are further compounded when the desired collaborations expand to include partnerships with businesses, arts and sports organizations, and various other social/educational organizations that offer after school programs. If not handled properly, 78

these groups get frustrated, the partnerships fail, and opportunities for students are lost. New Orleans architect Stephen Bingler told the commission at its February 18 meeting that some schools have adopted the concept of a “community principal” who serves alongside the building principal, has the specific expertise and responsibility to effectively coordinate such services on behalf of students, and welcomes community organizations into the school building.

Recess and the value of physical activity Across primary and secondary education, the frequency of recess is declining.13 The decline in recess is a matter of serious concern to Columbus parents, expressed time and again in public forums held to gather their ideas for improving Columbus schools.

The evidence in favor of physical activity during the day is strong. Murray noted that a child’s physical activities, emotional support and free play have a direct impact on cognitive learning. Unstructured play time also provides children with opportunities to interact with other children in ways that teach them negotiation skills, teamwork and other social tools.

Murray said there is plenty of evidence that reducing physical activity hurts academic performance. He noted that Japanese schools recognize this by scheduling 10 minutes of physical activity or non-academic time after every 50 minutes of academic concentration.

new freshman class. Of these, fewer than 100 come by audition and students at the adjacent Arts Impact Middle School are guaranteed seats. There is a waiting list of more than 1,000 students wishing to attend.

While schools and community organizations offer a wide range of opportunities, parents Out-of-school learning worry that some children are Our students need to come to school and growth being left out because of a ready to learn. More services for families lack of transportation. In other No approach to the whole are needed to ensure that children in all parts of this report we note child is complete without neighborhoods are ready for school. that transportation concerns considering opportunities exist regarding the basic A Good Idea From a Community Member for recreation, out-of-school responsibility of getting children learning opportunities to school in a timely and efficient manner. In this instance, and creative growth. In Columbus, there are numerous however, the concern reflects the broader challenge opportunities for students to engage their talents, both of offering public transportation in a way that makes it in school and through community programs sponsored possible for students and parents to take advantage of by local agencies. A panel that spoke to the commission multiple offerings in different locations. Any parent that on March 6, 2013, noted that community programs and spends time transporting children to after-school activities arts education offer students opportunities they might not appreciates the concern, but this barrier simply becomes otherwise have.14 insurmountable when parents are working or do not own a For example, the YMCA offers a robust number of youth reliable automobile. programs, including summer camps, arts and recreation, community service and leadership programs. District Vice Cultural diversity President Kim Jordan noted that many Columbus children Columbus is known as an increasingly diverse community who lack support or self-esteem find hidden talents that embraces differences among its children and adults through these programs, resulting in more self-confidence as part of a rich and vibrant city. Several commissioners and better academic achievement. reminded the community that, as we develop programs for The Columbus Metropolitan Library serves as a the whole child, we must be ever mindful of, and account tremendous resource for the community, with a long for, diversity in religion, language, ethnic background, history providing resources, services and programs sexual orientation and culture. that have a deep impact on learning, both in and out of the classroom. Organizations such as the Transit Arts Program provide students opportunities to explore their range of skills and talents through innovative programs spanning the visual and performing arts. Founding Partner Jackie Calderone noted that “it’s not just about being an artist, but about the creative mind. That can help in any career a person might approach.”

The commission also heard from Milton Ruffin, principal/ director of the Fort Hayes Arts & Academic High School.

The school blends the arts, academics and career programs. Ruffin illustrated the value of arts education using his personal story.

“I knew that art was who I was,” he said. “My parents didn’t understand it, but they allowed me to pursue it.

Every child comes to education with a unique voice. What we’re trying to do is take the voice that the child has and help him harmonize with the rest of the world.”

Despite the broad understanding of the value of programs like the Fort Hayes Arts & Academic High School, the opportunity is available to too few students. Fewer than 300 students per year are admitted to Fort Hayes for the 79

Engagement and alignment Programs will reach all children only if parents are engaged in the process and aware of the opportunities available to their children. Further, as with every initiative undertaken in the implementation of the commission’s recommendations, efforts must be aligned among public and non-public entities to avoid duplication of programs and to support only those determined to be effective.

Services and data must be integrated to allow for measurement of the effectiveness of these programs over time.

Goal A child that enters kindergarten in the fall of 2013 will graduate from high school in the 2025-26 school year.

Recognizing that a complete transformation will take time but that it is urgent to reach as many children as quickly as possible, the commission believes that work on all goals should begin immediately, and we should make measurable progress each year, for each goal, each child and each school, with all goals completed by 2025. Therefore: • The majority of Columbus City Schools students should be involved in one or more extracurricular school or community activities.

• The number of seats available in arts-focused schools to children living in the Columbus City Schools district should increase from 1,600 in three schools to 3,000 in six schools.

• The majority of Columbus City Schools students should be participating in a substantive internship or other work experience before graduation that is aligned with the students’ academic and career goals.

• Every student living in the Columbus City Schools district should have a library card, every school serving students in the Columbus City Schools district should have access to reading materials for its library and digital materials for use in teaching, and every child who visits a library should receive personalized help directly related to the child’s progress in school.

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Strategies • Create additional arts schools to serve the children living in the Columbus City Schools district, either by the district adding such schools (which is preferred), by developing a public charter school, or by partnering with another public school district.

• Within the parameters of parental choice and privacy law, create the necessary policy changes and systems improvements to link data systems between schools and social service agencies to more effectively coordinate services.

• Partner with Columbus Public Health to develop a physical activity plan for every school. The plan should at a minimum involve students in physical activity three times per week.

• Allow all students living in the Columbus City Schools district to participate in the school breakfast program and weekend and summer nutrition programs.

Expanding these services to all children will help to increase participation among those who need it most by eliminating the stigma associated with those programs.

• Make changes in district policy necessary to fully implement the idea of schools as community centers, including making school space available for social service providers and providing resources to schools to hire community principals if the building principal chooses to expend the resources on such positions.

Work with all neighborhood recreation centers to establish a district-wide, collaborative policy that makes neighborhood recreation facilities available for in-school, after-school and summer programming when and where they are needed.

• Integrate student health systems with major health care providers serving children in the Columbus City Schools district so that health services provided in school are fully coordinated with health services provided by external providers and health records are shared to the maximum extent allowed by law. At the same time, strengthen partnerships with health care providers to reach economies of scale.

• Collaborate with regional transportation services, the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio, other school districts, and other transportation providers to extend the transportation available to students living in the Columbus City Schools district to include afterschool and summer service.

Open letter from Dr. Gene Harris, September 20, 2012 (emphasis added).

An example of the opportunities missed by failing to build effective partnerships is the concept of schools being used as community centers. During the 2002 campaign for a school facilities bond issue, the Columbus City Schools district proposed to build schools capable of being used by community organizations, a proposal that was enthusiastically promoted by Mayor Coleman. The campaign was successful, the facilities have been built as promised, and the district has adopted a policy on the use of schools by community organizations. The utilization, however, is disappointing.

This can be attributed to a lack of coordinated, integrated planning on the use of facilities between the district, the city and community, and the establishment of policies for the use of facilities that reflect the district’s needs and priorities exclusively. This subject was discussed at the Feb. 18 commission meeting.

3 Columbus Education Commission Community meetings, Feb. 4 through March 7, Columbus, Ohio.

4 Kelly J. Kelleher, MD, Presentation to the City, Nov. 16, 2012.

5 Ibid.

6 Robert Murray, MD, The Learning Connection, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, March 6, 2013.

1 2

GENYOUth Foundation, The Wellness Impact: Enhancing Academic Success through Health School Environments, 2013.

Murray.

9 Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, State of the City, Feb. 21, 2013.

10 The commission visited Columbus Alternative High School, Metro Early College High School, North Franklin Elementary, KIPP Journey Academy and Graham Expeditionary Middle and Primary schools in Columbus; and the Summit Campus in Reynoldsburg.

11 Examples include presentations by by Alesia Gillison, principal of Eastmoor Academy, Columbus City Schools and Tina Thomas-Manning, former principal of Hannah Ashton Middle School, at the Jan. 11, 2013 commission meeting.

12 The Columbus Education Commission reviewed numerous reports, articles, books and other background concerning student success.

13 The Crucial Role of Recess in School, Pediatrics, Dec. 31, 2012.

14 Panel discussion, Arts, Sports and Community Engagement, Columbus Education Commission, March 6, 2013.

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8

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A New Community Compact for Educational Excellence

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A New Community Compact for Educational Excellence The struggle to improve our city’s schools is not a new one. For more than a century, school leaders have faced constantly shifting social and economic landscapes that require schools – charged with preparing young people for evolving societies – to keep pace.

Nearly 30 years later, in 1997, the Columbus Public Schools Operations and Efficiency Task Force, comprised of business and higher education leaders, submitted a new report.3 The report, which focused primarily on operations, found that:

Nor is this the first time that members of our community have come together to suggest changes to our education system. In 1968, The Ohio State University Advisory Commission on Problems Facing the Columbus Public Schools submitted a report to the Columbus Board of Education that found too many children were being left behind.1

• The district was poorly managed, both financially and operationally.

After bluntly acknowledging that “there are educational problems in Columbus,” the report said that “no school system so large as Columbus can resolve its problems without assistance from the broader community.”

• Principals still lacked authority to select teaching staff.

Many of the problems the 1968 commission found are echoed in our situation today, including:

• Schools needed to improve relationships with the neighborhoods in which they operated.

• Children in poor neighborhoods who fall further and further behind as they progress through school.

Yet today – 16 years after the 1997 report and nearly half a century since the 1968 report – we are still sending too many of our children to ineffective schools. A centralized district structure still impedes the ability of those closest to children to make the best decisions regarding their academic progress and well being.4 The district continues to struggle in competing for and retaining highly effective teachers and principals. Our children are falling further behind at a time when our workforce requires skilled workers, and when students must be better prepared in order to realize opportunities for bright futures. And our district is embroiled in controversy over manipulation of student and financial data that could have long-range implications.

• A desire by parents for better communication from teachers and district leaders.

• Unequal opportunities for success by minority students as compared to white students.

• Frustration among good teachers in low-performing schools.

• Social problems that affect a child’s readiness to learn.

• Lack of authority among building-level leaders to make staff assignments, encourage flexibility and innovation.

• Lack of student readiness for the workplace.

The 1968 commission also warned that these problems “will become more difficult in the future unless steps are taken now to solve them.”2 Unfortunately, the community did not heed that warning.

• Teachers were not held responsible for the performance of their students.

• The district’s practice of hiring teachers throughout the school year put it at a disadvantage when recruiting top talent.

• Staff training and development was inadequate for the task of preparing young people for a changing workforce.

To be sure, many of the problems facing Columbus are not unique to our city. Like most urban communities, Columbus has long experience with factors outside of schools that can influence a child’s chances of success: poverty, poor health and nutrition, homelessness, family problems and neighborhood violence. But schools that face these exact same challenges are succeeding every day – both here and around the country. We can, and we must, do the same.

Placing the blame for our failures on poverty and other factors beyond our control is just too convenient. If we can’t control the situation outside the school, too many of our school leaders seem to be saying, then how can we be held responsible for the results inside?

Today, we take responsibility.

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On behalf of the entire community, the Columbus Education Commission is saying that we will no longer accept excuses.

We are saying that failures of the past will no longer color our will and determination to provide for our children.

We are saying that even though a complete transformation may take time, change will begin now, for every child, in every school, every day.

We are saying that it is not the Columbus City Schools alone that are responsible for making these changes.

Accountability rests with each and every segment of the community. And failure is not an option.

What the public said In a series of public meetings from January 22 through April 8, community members made it clear that they want:5 • Schools, neighborhoods and the broader community to work together on behalf of children.

• Political agendas removed from decisions that affect our children.

• Every decision to be made with the best interest of students in mind.

• Honest and direct answers from school officials and others about the state of our schools.

Similar credibility issues exist with regard to financial matters. The state auditor has issued findings against the district in eight of the last 10 annual audits.6 The credibility of the district’s budget projections and claims of financial distress have been legitimately questioned.

The Columbus Education Commission is pleased that the Columbus Board of Education accepted its request to conduct a management operations review process. That review is discussed elsewhere in this report. But, it is clear that this community faces a broad and deep challenge of leadership and accountability on educational issues.

What the research and the experts said At the March 21 commission meeting, Director Eric Fingerhut noted that “change is part of the history of our democracy.”7 And he noted that no one model of governance works for all democratic institutions.8 Some cities are run by elected mayors, others by appointed city managers. Some state superintendents of education are elected, while others are appointed. Even at the higher education level, governance takes various forms. For example, The Ohio State University Board of Trustees is appointed by the governor while the University of Michigan board is elected statewide.

• Leadership that is held accountable for its actions and is responsive to parents and the community.

It is important to note not only what was said at the public meetings conducted by the Columbus Education Commission, but what is being said every day in the news, in letters to the editor, in the halls of our state and federal government, and throughout the community.

This report is being issued at a moment when the Columbus City Schools are under investigation by the United States Department of Justice for irregularities in data reporting that may have given a false impression of the academic performance of the district. The federal investigation was initiated after the Auditor of the State of Ohio investigated a number of school districts across Ohio for the same issue. The auditor referred Columbus to the federal authorities for further investigation.

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Research indicates a variety of school district governance models are in place around the country.9 Some local school boards are elected, some appointed, and some are a mix of elected and appointed. For example, the School District of Philadelphia’s board is appointed by the mayor and Pennsylvania’s governor. A growing number of cities, such as New York, are experimenting with mayoral control. The state of Louisiana has been taking charge of failing schools for years.

The research shows mixed results for the effectiveness of all forms of school district governance, including mayoral control.10 Susan Bodary, a partner at the national education policy consulting firm Education First, told the commission that there “is no single silver bullet. There is no single leadership, accountability or governance model that is the answer for all cities or districts.”

Rather, she urged the commission to consider a new approach tailored specifically to the needs of Columbus.

“I would ask you to ask yourselves: Are you getting it done with what you have now? If not, I urge you to use the context, experience and assets of this community to seek a new way forward.”

Successful boards and district leadership All successful governance models share three characteristics: (1) power alignment - civic leaders, school board and superintendent embracing a common comprehensive strategy, (2) district alignment - leadership and accountability systems within the district aligned to clearly stated and mutually embraced goals and outcomes, and (3) the right leaders with the right skills in the right roles.11 A critical component for all of these, Bodary said, is “a system of checks and balances that holds decisionmakers accountable for their actions.”12

This requires a commitment among civic and elected leadership, the school board and the superintendent to a common comprehensive strategy for success, she said.

Within a school district, all leadership and accountability systems must be aligned with clear goals and outcomes.

Bodary pointed out that high-achieving school systems with effective district leadership have the following elements in common: • A belief that all students can succeed.

• A strong superintendent who is accountable for results, who delegates authority to – and uses the central office to support – those educators who work closest to the students.

• Partnerships with civic, business and other organizations that can provide resources the district doesn’t have.

Research shows that both school boards and superintendent leadership have a direct impact on how schools perform.

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) found a statistically significant relationship between the quality of a superintendent and student achievement.14 The organization also identified district-level leadership responsibilities that have a statistically significant correlation with student achievement.15 These include the setting of non-negotiable goals for achievement and instruction, board alignment with and support of these goals, monitoring of the goals for achievement and instruction, and use of resources to support the goals.16 An example of effective leadership at the superintendent and board levels is the Reynoldsburg City Schools, which shares some key demographics with Columbus City Schools. However, the differences in achievement are telling. The Reynoldsburg district meets all 26 indicators on the state report card,17 while Columbus City Schools meets just four.18

Bodary noted that the first step toward successful governance is strong leadership and accountability.

While elected school boards are in theory accountable to the community, she said that this is often not the case.

School board elections often occur independently of primary and general elections, drawing small groups of voters to the polls.13

Reynoldsburg is rated “excellent with distinction” – the state’s highest rating by the Ohio Department of Education. The Columbus schools are rated “continuous improvement” and just a few points above “academic watch,” the next-to-lowest of six ratings.19

“Few boards are held accountable through elections,” she said. “The electorate rarely penalizes ineffective board members. In fact, they are often re-elected.”

In a question-and-answer session with the commission on March 21, Reynoldsburg Superintendent Steve Dackin outlined some of the reasons for the district’s success.20

Yet, as the commission heard often from the experts, leadership and accountability are key to successful school districts and individual schools. Bodary stressed that leadership must occur at every level - from parents, teachers and principals, to the central office and board, to the community.

“We have an unrelenting quest to find the answers,” Dackin said. “When principals come to me with a challenge, I ask them what they are doing to solve it. If you get a B on the school report card, we consider that underperforming. You have to spend time with me to discuss how we’ll change that.”

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And, with great force, Dackin said that Reynoldsburg doesn’t just believe that all children can succeed: “We believe that all children will succeed.”

Dackin said that all new Reynoldsburg teachers and support staff must commit to holding every child to high expectations and to continued personal development.

Principals are chosen carefully and held accountable for building-level results.

Dackin described a decentralized approach at Reynoldsburg that has streamlined central office responsibilities and given more authority to buildinglevel leaders over staffing, curriculum and building-level budgets.

“One of the most frustrating times I had as a principal was when I was told to get results and then told how to do it,” Dackin said. “If you’re going to hold someone accountable for results, you have to give them the authority to use their resources. Principals set the agenda for results for both students and teachers.”

Speaking of the role of the school board, Dackin said that the relationship between his office and the board is characterized by “trust – with results. A school board has to be single-minded and should always have to justify its decisions. I’ve been blessed to have a board that’s pretty stable and which has been single-minded in purpose and focused on student achievement. Members didn’t come in with a bunch of separate agendas.”

Research shows that effective boards share a number of characteristics. The Iowa Association of School Boards found in a study that school boards in highachieving districts are significantly different in attitudes and knowledge from those in poor-performing districts.21 These differences range from expectations for student success to relationships with the community. For example, the study found: • Boards in high-performing districts share the belief that every student has potential and can learn. Those in poor-performing districts tend to accept limitations in students and the school system based on income, home situation and other external factors.

• Boards in high-performing districts are knowledgeable about what it takes to improve performance – for example, improvement goals, curriculum, instruction, assessment and staff development. Boards in poorperforming districts are only vaguely aware of school improvement initiatives and are seldom able to describe actions being taken to improve student learning.

• Staff members in high-performing districts are able to confirm the board’s knowledge and beliefs around school improvement and can link building-level goals to board and district goals for student learning. In poorachieving districts, staff cannot identify the connections between buildings and board actions.

Schools and the community Columbus can learn a great deal from other cities that have brought a variety of institutions together to improve academic success for their children. The research indicates that city leaders can play a key role in setting higher expectations for schools and scaling up public engagement efforts. In particular, city leaders can have a role in establishing a vision and promoting shared accountability, marshaling new resources to expand high school options, and establishing key support policies.22 A newly released study by the Center for American Progress also documents significant positive effects in student performance, gap closing, and strategic allocation of resources with mayoral involvement.23 A number of communities around the country have improved academic outcomes for their children through partnerships that provide accountability, advocacy, data analytics and research and reporting. These organizations – for example, New Schools for New Orleans and the Mind Trust in Indianapolis – also help build the conditions necessary for the growth of alternative education options for children, and pipelines and training for new talent.24

A Columbus solution The commission believes that the lack of progress in improving Columbus schools contrasts sharply with the impressive strides our community has made in other areas of civic life. The strong financial management of our city government by the Mayor, the City Council and the City Auditor has led to improved operations at lower costs, and public support for increased revenues. The public/private partnerships that have championed the redevelopment of the Scioto riverfront, the creation of the Columbus Commons, and numerous other downtown and neighborhood projects, have shown we can tackle large scale projects and deliver impressive results when we “stack hands,” as Mayor Coleman is fond of saying.

Another important model in our community was the reorganization of our economic development efforts and the launch of Columbus 2020! Unhappy with existing efforts and worried about the future prosperity of the community, public and private leaders came together around a new strategy. Various existing economic

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development organizations refocused their missions and responsibilities to support the greater good. Public and private funds were invested to support the new strategy. And all agreed to hold themselves publicly accountable to specific measurements of progress. Today, the results are clear.

The average annual salary of all jobs created or retained in 2012 is $53,391 – 41 percent higher than the 2010 baseline. Additionally, $ 3.15 billion in capital investment has been announced since 2010 – 39.5% of goal, and 45,789 net new jobs have been created.25 The checks and balances that help make the government of Columbus highly effective, and the collaboration between

the public and private sectors that characterize all our successful civic endeavors, are both missing from our approach to public education. After decades in which little progress has been made in solving the educational challenges that plague our city, it is evident that the school board acting alone cannot bring about systemic change.

We must find a new approach. The Columbus Education Commission has outlined its recommendations extensively in this report. However, without a new structure of leadership and accountability for education in Columbus, we fear our report will gather dust just as the others that came before.

We therefore make the following recommendations.

Create a Public/Private Partnership for Columbus Education Problem No single organization in Columbus is dedicated solely to the educational success of every child, and the many individuals and organizations that desire to achieve such success lack the capacity to effectively collaborate to achieve this goal.

Recommendation A new Public/Private Partnership for Columbus Education should be created to lead the drive for educational excellence within Columbus, leveraging all available public and private support and participation.

Responsibilities Ensure the Implementation of the Columbus Education Commission Report The report of the Columbus Education Commission requires action by many stakeholders over an extended period of time. There will be challenges and difficult decisions. One organization should coordinate the full implementation of the report, keep the community focused, and work to earn back and then maintain public confidence in the community’s efforts to meet one of its most important responsibilities - educating our children for a life of opportunity.

The Public/Private Partnership will not do all the work of implementation itself. Rather, it may assign the responsibility for certain elements of the report to existing or newly created organizations, develop clear statements 88

of work and measurements of success, monitor and report on progress, and make changes in the implementation strategy as needed. For example, where the report calls for an Early Childhood Council to implement the proposed expansion of pre-kindergarten programs, the Public/ Private Partnership could select an existing organization to be responsible or design and create a new organization, develop a work plan, and then monitor and report on the progress of the work. Other examples include national recruiting of teachers and school leaders, training and retention of high-performing principals and schools, and expansion of career readiness and the use of technology to improve student learning.

Replicate High-Performing District Schools and Attract and Support High-Quality Charter Schools To increase the number of students in high-performing district and charter schools, the Public/Private Partnership should manage an innovation fund to attract, recruit and expand effective schools— district and charter. The demand for seats in both effective district schools and in high-quality charter schools currently exceeds the supply.

State policy on the funding and management of charters is not favorable, making the challenge of attracting highperforming charters and discouraging low-performing charters more daunting. Building on the recommendations of the school district’s Innovation Fund Committee, the commission should recommend that district funds be committed to replicating high-performing district schools and high-quality charter schools. In addition, the city, private sector and civic organizations should contribute to the innovation fund. The Public/Private Partnership for Columbus Education should be responsible for managing and expanding the resources for the Innovation Fund.

Provide Parents and Families with Clear Information about Educational Options

Governance And Funding

In a time when educational options are proliferating and there is increasingly useful data to assist in advising parents and students about the best options to suit their needs, an independent organization is needed to advise parents and students to enable them to make the best choices on the selection of schools. The Public/Private Partnership should fulfill this role.

The Public/Private Partnership should be a well-funded, well-run and independent 501(c)(3) organization led by a board comprised of representatives from the city, the school district and the community. The Mayor should designate the first board chair: future chairs should be selected by the board of the Public/Private Partnership.

Encourage Leadership in Education Implementing this report will require large numbers of Columbus residents with the capability to contribute their knowledge and leadership skills to the myriad of tasks called out in the various strategies. Yet educational leadership is a complex field requiring knowledge of the best ways to achieve and monitor student achievement.

The Public/Private Partnership will work with education stakeholders to develop training on important issues.

This training would be available to parents, civic groups, community leaders and those contemplating taking leadership roles in education or public service as elected or appointed officials.

Funding for the Public/Private Partnership should be a shared responsibility of the city, school board and private sector. The board of the Public/Private Partnership should exercise all normal responsibilities of the governing board of a non-profit corporation, including hiring and evaluating staff, approving budgets and audits, setting strategy and monitoring performance.

The board should adopt policies that ensure complete transparancy in its meetings, records and finances.

The goal is to raise between $30 million and $50 million per year through 2025. These funds should be allocated according to the priorities the board identifies. This fundraising goal is intended to be sufficient to materially address the goals and strategies in this report.

Establishing the Public/Private Partnership will not require any state law changes.

Establish an Office of Independent Auditor Problem The Columbus City Schools district is a large and complex governmental entity. Its performance and financial decisions have a significant impact on every aspect of community well-being. Yet there is a lack of checks and balances as compared to other governmental agencies of a similar size and scope.

Proposal Building on the Columbus model of an independent city auditor who provides checks and balances to the mayor and council in fiscal matters, compliance and performance management, the Mayor and City Council President should lead the effort to create an office of Independent Auditor for Columbus City Schools. This office should be led by an independent public official to ensure accurate academic and enrollment data reporting,

fiscal reporting and analysis, as well as provide additional checks and balances to help the district provide a highquality education in the most efficient manner possible.

Establishing this office will require that the Mayor and Council President request that the state of Ohio authorize the creation of such an office, subject to the approval of voters in the Columbus City Schools district.

Responsibilities Financial Monitoring The Independent Auditor should have the responsibility to review and certify all financial reporting required by the state, all operating and capital budgets, and all contracts.

This office should take on the duties of the district’s Internal Auditor, as well as the responsibilities listed here.

It should also work closely with the State Auditor and the District Treasurer.

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Among other financial duties, the office should: • Conduct financial audits of accounts of all officers, offices and programs of the district.

• Certify all funds available, as represented by the District Treasurer, for operating budgets, capital budgets and debt issuances.

• Serve on investment bodies of the district.

• Partner with the school district to determine the amount of millage for voted tax levies.

• Recommend and monitor the implementation of internal controls in policies and procedures for the district to safeguard assets and the integrity of programs conducted by the district and to reduce the risk of wrongful acts.

• Coordinate and cooperate in all respects with the State Auditor.

In addition, the Independent Auditor should perform other financial reviews that it deems necessary and appropriate to ensure that the public trust is fully restored and maintained.

Performance Auditing/Continuous Improvement The office should review all data reports submitted by the district to any responsible entity for accuracy and clarity. The office should also conduct performance audits on a continuous basis, regularly seeking to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of district operations and to suggest improvements, including any issues identified by the Columbus Education Commission in its main report or in the benchmark management review. The office should make all of its work public, and cooperate fully with any performance audits and other inquiries undertaken by the Auditor of State. Among other performance-related duties, the office should certify all reports of the district required by the State Board of Education and serve as a depository of such records.

The office should investigate the management and operations of the district to determine whether wrongful acts, waste, fraud and abuse have been committed by district officers or employees. It should: • Receive complaints of alleged wrongful acts and determine whether reasonable cause exists to investigate the allegation and to do so if warranted.

• Subpoena all persons and records, as deemed necessary, to fulfill this duty of investigation.

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• Report suspected crimes and wrongful acts to appropriate regulatory and law enforcement agencies.

• Make reports and recommendations, upon completion of investigations, to the appropriate authority, such as the Columbus Board of Education, City Attorney, County Prosecutor, State Auditor, State Department of Education, Ethics Commission, or law enforcement agencies, as to whether such authority should pursue discipline, civil remedies or criminal charges.

Levy Requests In light of the knowledge of district finances and performance measures that will reside in the Independent Auditor, the Columbus Board of Education should seek the advice and support of the Independent Auditor in order to place a levy on the ballot.

Selection A Selection and Oversight Committee of five elected officials should recruit and screen candidates and select the Independent Auditor from among persons familiar with the financial and performance management of large complex organizations. Committee members should include the Mayor, Columbus City Auditor, Columbus Board of Education President, Columbus City Council President and Franklin County Probate Judge.

The Independent Auditor should serve a term of five years, and should be eligible for reappointment. Continued service should be subject to positive performance reviews by the five-member committee. The committee should have the responsibility to set the salary, the performance review schedule, and other administrative matters.

Staffing and Budget Columbus City Schools should be required to provide funding for the Office of Independent Auditor by eliminating the office of the current Internal Auditor and authorizing additional funds as may be needed. Prior to recommending an annual budget for the Independent Auditor to the Columbus City Schools, the Independent Auditor should submit a budget for review and consent by the Selection and Oversight Committee.

Improve the Performance of Columbus City Schools Problem Governing a large and complex public school district with a seven-member elected school board requires relentless focus on student achievement outcomes and a carefully designed and regularly evaluated governance model. The “policy governance model” in current use no longer serves the district, and should be replaced.

Proposal The Public/Private Partnership for Columbus Education should recommend specific steps to improve the governance policies of Columbus City Schools consistent with the research on the practices of effective school boards presented to the Columbus Education Commission, and should work to ensure implementation of these recommendations.

Responsibilities of The Public/Private Partnership The Public/Private Partnership for Columbus Education should: 1. Propose new board practices and policies based on the best practices of effective school districts identified by research. For example, effective school districts spend a great deal of school board meeting time on reviewing data and strategies to improve academic achievement. These proposals should be in the following areas:

• A new board governance model to replace policy governance.

• A new budget development, approval and monitoring process.

• A strategic planning development, adoption and monitoring process including regular and periodic progress, continuous improvement and data reports and reviews.

• A committee structure for the board that is organized around critical district needs and priorities including a human capital committee, neighborhood advisory committees, and a district performance assessment committee.26 2. Monitor and report on the district’s progress in following the commission’s recommendations.

Responsibilities of The Columbus Board Of Education The Columbus Board of Education should ensure that both the interim and permanent superintendent be committed to: • Implementing the commision’s report.

• Streamlining administration to make the district more efficient and effective.

• Initiating school-based autonomy on staffing, budgets and other key decisions related to academic success.

Create a Director of Educational Improvement in the Mayor’s Office Problem

Responsibilities

As the role of education in the city’s future grows, and the city is increasingly needed as a partner to support educational excellence for its residents, there is a need for expertise and staff capacity to assist the Mayor in addressing these critical issues.

The Director should sit as an ex officio, non-voting representative to the Columbus Board of Education, allowing the Director to receive all materials in real time, to participate and engage in board meetings so the City of Columbus can work in partnership with the school board on matters of mutual concern.

Proposal

The Director should also serve as a member of the Public/ Private Partnership for Columbus Education, and as a liaison between the district and the city, offering the school district perspective to the Mayor and Council and vice versa, for the purpose of consensus building.

The Mayor should appoint a Director of Educational Improvement to increase collective impact on improving academic achievement.

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Additional Steps In addition to the four permanent, structural changes recommended above, the Columbus Education Commission recommends:

Levy The next Columbus City Schools voted levy should incorporate all appropriate recommendations from the Columbus Education Commission.

Operation Review The results and background material developed by the Columbus Education Commission in connection with the benchmark review of the district’s non-instructional operations should be transferred to a working committee

The Ohio State University Advisory Commission on Problems Facing the Columbus Public Schools, Recommendations to the Columbus Board of Education, 1968.

2 Ibid.

3 Columbus Public Schools Operations and Efficiency Task Force Report, April 23, 1997.

4 Several experts told the commission that principals have little control over their buildings with regard to staff, budgets and curriculum.

5 Columbus Education Commission community meetings, Jan. 22 - April 8, 2013, Columbus, Ohio.

6 David Yost, Auditor of State.

7 Commission Director Eric Fingerhut, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, March 21, 2013.

8 Ibid.

9 STAND for Children Leadership Center, Putting Students First: Building Effective School Governance, June 2012; and Leadership & Accountability, presentation to the commission

by Susan Bodary, Education First Consulting, March 21, 2013.

10 Bodary.

11 Eight Characteristics of Effective School Boards, Center for Public Education.

12 Bodary.

13 Ibid.

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of the Columbus Education Commission appointed by the Mayor, which should review the final analysis and deliver a report to the Mayor and Columbus City Schools by July 1, 2013. The Public/Private Partnership would analyze the final report, identify next steps and pursue efficiencies and cost-savings in the school district.

Report To The Public The Mayor, City Council President and the private sector should establish a community outreach effort to educate residents about this report with particular focus on reporting back to individuals and organizations who provide the commission with valuable input.

McREL, School District Leadership that Works: The Effect of Superintendent Leadership on Student Achievement, September 2006.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 Ohio Department of Education.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Steve Dackin, interview by the Columbus Education Commission, March 21, 2013.

21 Iowa Association of School Boards, School Boards and Student Achievement, 2000.

22 Bodary.

23 Mayoral Governance and Student Achievement: How Mayor-Led Districts Are Improving School and Student Performance, Kenneth K. Wong and Francis X. Shen, March 2013.

24 Ethan Gray, presentation to the Columbus Education Commission, February 18, 2013.

25 Ibid.

26 The commission is grateful to Columbus School Board member Mike Wiles for suggesting certain improvements to the board’s committee structure and the district’s internal organizations. To review Mr. Wiles’ recommendations, please go to http://votewiles.com/recommendations-for-ccs.

14

Notes and Bibliography

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Operations Review At the commission’s first meeting on January 11, 2013, members voted unanimously to request the collaboration of the Columbus School Board to begin an operations review of the non-academic functions of Columbus City Schools.

To lead this effort, the commission designated commission member Mary Jo Hudson and the school board designated board president Carol Perkins, who is also a member of the commission. The leaders gathered a working group to select an independent firm to perform the review and to work with Columbus City Schools staff to collect the necessary data.

At the commission’s final meeting on April 26, Ms. Hudson presented a summary of the progress made during the life of the commission, and an overview of how the group planned to proceed.

In her summary, Ms. Hudson noted that the total budget of the Columbus City Schools is $1.3B/yr. Of this total, $500 million consists of debt service and pass-through funding the district is obligated to spend. The district also spends roughly $300 million on instructional salary and services (not including employee benefits). These categories were not the subject of the study.

The study identified $412 million dollars in operational expenses that became the subject of its review. Expense categories reviewed included costs for employee benefits for teachers and staff, office management, transportation and maintenance. The review seeks to compare how much Columbus City Schools spends on these categories to districts of similar size or districts that serve communities against which the City of Columbus benchmarks itself. The districts in the comparison group included Cincinnati, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, DC.

The working group and the consultant developed a large amount of information which is still subject to in-depth analysis. The work to date recognizes some areas where Columbus City Schools are achieving important savings and how Columbus City Schools ranks with other districts in various spending categories.

The final report will not make specific recommendations, but will identify areas where efficiencies in non-teaching areas could generate more money for classrooms. These areas should therefore be subject to detailed analysis to understand the underlying policy drivers causing the district’s spending to be above its peer groups, and whether the efficiencies sought coincide with desirable policy changes.

Because the commission could not complete this work before its report was due to be submitted to Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther, the commission has requested that the Mayor appoint a working group from the commission to finish the review by July 1.

Following completion of the report, the new public/private partnership recommended by the commission should work with the Mayor, the school board, and the Columbus community to help the Columbus City Schools achieve savings in the areas identified by the report.

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To the Columbus Education Commission: Thank you for the opportunity to present recommendations from our grassroots education organization. We are delighted by the conversation the Commission has sparked regarding education in our community and look forward to the city embracing change. Along with our friends at Southside STAY and Northwest STARS, we are pleased that Mayor Michael Coleman understands the value of local neighborhoods working to improve schools.

In light of this Commission’s forthcoming recommendations for reimagining Columbus education, we have solicited parent and community feedback via our Facebook page, a survey conducted by Northwest STARS, and through numerous community meetings. We have attended all of your public meetings and watched with interest your discussions. The myriad voices of our community are clear in their mandate for vibrant community-oriented neighborhood schools that inspire our children to become tomorrow’s leaders.

The Whetstone Pathway is uniquely positioned to support transformational change because of our strong parental engagement and local business and community leadership support. Our pathway serves a diverse population from downtown to Worthington, including the University District, and is highly sought after in the citywide lottery. We are poised for success, but further work is necessary.

Our recommendations include: 1. A Whetstone/Dominion (Grades 6 to-14) Community Campus; 2. The creation of interest-based academies, rigorous early college programs and online mastery at Whetstone High, while maintaining the well-rounded nature of the Whetstone campus; 3. The development of smaller districts with neighborhood advisory boards and support resources; 4. Accountable and autonomous building leaders and teachers nurtured across the district. An emphasis on minimal staff changes—when a principal has proved solid -- will limit impact on children and allow innovative practices to flourish; and 5. Solutions beyond the traditional scope of district policy to meet the needs of the whole child. In our pathway, full year academics and expanded social services should be considered.

Thank you for your consideration. We are excited to share our vision for the future of our neighborhood schools and look forward to your response.

Sincerely, Clintonville Go Public Board Members Karina Brown Gus Dahlberg Chad Gonia Tiffany Grinstead Catherine Hookaway Laura Kraus Mary Pajor

Clintonvillegopublic@gmail.com | Facebook: Clintonville Go Public | Twitter: CVilleGoPublic | Website: www.ClintonvilleGoPublic.com 96

April 2013 The Columbus Education Commission: We would like to thank Mayor Michael Coleman and Council President Andrew Ginther for having the courage and wisdom to convene a group committed to improving education in the City of Columbus.

We would also like to thank the Commission’s Executive Director, Eric Fingerhut, his staff, and all of the Commission members. We appreciate the time and talent dedicated to the children of our city.

Many parents, children, residents, business owners, and educators in the Centennial High School pathway are currently organizing an advocacy group dedicated to improving education on the northwest side of Columbus. We were inspired by Clintonville Go Public and Southside Stay and are working with them as we develop.

We were pleased to hear Mayor Coleman mention Southside Stay in his State of the City address. This action demonstrates to us that he understands the value and importance of communities working to improve their local neighborhoods, including the schools.

Our group is just beginning. It is a very exciting and challenging time for us. We hope, however, that even though we are less established than our Clintonville and Southside friends, you will take the time to review this brief summary.

We want to be part of the solution when it comes to improving education in Columbus, including improving education on the Northwest side.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input. Please let us know how we can help you in your efforts.

Respectfully, Northwest STARS northwest.stars@ymail.com

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March 25, 2013 To the Columbus Education Commission: Southside STAY—Standing Together to Advance Youth— is a group of parents, educators, business owners, and other community stakeholders who care deeply about education on the Southside of Columbus.

Our Mission Stewarding Excellence in Southside Schools Through a Neighborhood-Owned and Driven Effort to: • • • • •

Attract and Retain Diverse Local Students Engage Strong Parental Involvement Partner With Educators Enhance Education to Create Independent Thinkers and Creative Problem-Solvers Ensure Safe Environment

Our Mission is consistent with one of the themes heard throughout the CEC’s meetings: We want to see neighborhood schools once again become cornerstones in our communities. We want to see neighborhood schools receive greater attention and resources so that they all become high quality, excellent, and competitive options for local families. This mission of rejuvenating neighborhood schools drives the following initial recommendations.

Recommendations 1. Pre-Kindergarten Options in All Neighborhood Schools. Research emphasizes that Pre-K education is extremely important because it prepares children to acquire and practice the skills necessary for starting Kindergarten. Because Pre-K is the first school experience children have, families will be more likely to attend their neighborhood school if Pre-K is offered. Currently there are not enough spaces in the city schools to serve all the children in the feeder pattern. For example only 39% of 3-4 year olds living in the Southside are attending preschool. More spaces need to be made for pre-K students and students should have the option of attending other quality early education centers for free by fall 2014 (e.g. South Side Learning & Development Center).

2. A Broad Academic Focus for the South Feeder Pattern. The South feeder pattern has recently formed a committee to redefine its focus. The recommendation that has emerged thus far has been for the feeder pattern, grades PreK-12, to focus on allied medical professions. Although this might make wonderful use of an established and strong partnership with Nationwide Children’s

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Notes and Bibliography What the Commission Heard The commission’s recommendations were informed by personal investigation and a series of meetings and presentations from experts during more than three months from December 13, 2012, when the commission was first convened, until April 26, 2013. These included fullday meetings of the commission on January 4 and 11, February 8 and 18, March 6 and 21, and April 10 and 26.

In addition to information provided by local, state and national experts at commission meetings, the panel considered information provided to Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Andrew J. Ginther at four separate public briefings between October 18 and November 16, 2012. The commission also benefited from public opinion gathered from four focus groups in January and eight public forums in February and April 2013.

Along the way, commission members were invited to attend informal community events and activities that offered diverse perspectives on educational issues. These included a presentation by education expert Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City, on February 13. The event was sponsored by The Ohio State University and United Way of Central Ohio.

And on April 19, commission members heard from the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Finally, a city-wide campaign designed to gather good ideas from diverse members of the public resulted in more than 1,500 residents submitting to the commission their ideas for ways to improve education in Columbus.

BRIEFINGS TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT October 18, 2012 Columbus City Council Chambers An Assessment of the Current Educational Status of Columbus’ Children and Schools • Michael B. Coleman, Mayor.

• Andrew J. Ginther, Columbus City Council President.

• Eric D. Fingerhut, VP of Education & STEM Learning, Battelle.

• John Stanford, Ph.D., Deputy Superintendent, Columbus City Schools.

• Mark Real, President and CEO, KidsOhio.org.

Videos are available here.

October 25, 2012 Columbus Downtown High School An analysis of the skills students will need to acquire in order to succeed in the economic opportunities of the 21st century • Michael B. Coleman, Mayor, City of Columbus.

• Andrew J. Ginther, Columbus City Council President.

• Eric D. Fingerhut, VP of Education & STEM Learning, Battelle.

• Kenny McDonald, CEO, Columbus2020!

• Stacia Edwards, Director of Global STEM Workforce Development, Battelle.

Following is the complete list of formal meetings, presenters and reports provided to the commission.

• David Harrison, Ph.D., President, Columbus State Community College.

Videos of all commission meetings and briefings to Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther are available at: http://reimaginecolumbuseducation.org

Videos are available here

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November 1, 2012 Metro Early College High School

MEETINGS OF THE COLUMBUS EDUCATION COMMISSION

Technology Advances in Education • Michael B. Coleman, Mayor, City of Columbus.

• Andrew J. Ginther, Columbus City Council President.

• Eric D. Fingerhut, VP of Education & STEM Learning, Battelle.

Meeting January 11, 2013 Columbus State Community College Center for Workforce Development Building

• Tom Vander Ark, Founder, GettingSmart.com.

Video links:

• Aimee Kennedy, Principal, Columbus Metro High School.

• State/federal policy

• Bill Sims, President and CEO, Ohio Association of Public Charter Schools.

• Early childhood

Videos are available here

Morning Session State and Federal Education Policy Framework

November 16, 2012 Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Education and the Community • Michael B. Coleman, Mayor, City of Columbus.

• Andrew J. Ginther, Columbus City Council President.

• Eric D. Fingerhut, VP of Education & STEM Learning, Battelle.

• Pat Losinski, CEO, Columbus Metropolitan Library.

• Ellen Grevey, Director of Audience Services, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

• Kelly J. Kelleher, MD, Vice President of Health Services Research, Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

• Stephanie Hightower, President and CEO, Columbus Urban League.

Videos are available here

April 19, 2013 Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center Panel presentation with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Mayor Coleman and Council President Ginther.

NEWS CONFERENCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING COLUMBUS EDUCATION COMMISSION December 13, 2012 Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Andrew J. Ginther’s charge to the Columbus Education Commission Video is available here

• Principals of two high-performing schools

Educational Service Center of Central Ohio: • Bart Anderson, Ph.D., Superintendent.

• Tom Goodney, Ed.D., Deputy Superintendent, Chief of Staff / The ESC of Central Ohio: Presentation on state / federal policy.

Moderated Discussion Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director Luncheon Panel Discussion Moderated by Co-Chair George Barrett • Alesia Gillison, Principal, Eastmoor Academy, Columbus City Schools.

• Tina Thomas-Manning, Former Principal, Hannah Ashton Middle School, Reynoldsburg City Schools; Associate Superintendent, Accountability and Quality Schools, Ohio Department of Education.

Afternoon Session Early Childhood Panel Discussion Moderated by Commission Member Tanny Crane An Overview Of The Key Issues • Mark Real, President and CEO, KidsOhio.org: The KidsOhio presentation on early childhood education.

• Sasheen Phillips, Executive Director, Curriculum & Assessment, Ohio Department of Education.

Panel Discussion Moderated by Commission Member Tanny Crane Provider Perspective • Linda Day Mackessy, Senior Vice President of Child Development, YMCA of Central Ohio.

• Bernice Hagler Cody, Director of Education, Council of Franklin County Head Start Program.

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Moderated Discussion Commission Member Janet E. Jackson Background Materials Provided to Commission • Big issues.

• Common Core.

• Assessments.

• Third-grade reading guarantee.

• State report cards and new developments.

• Teacher evaluations.

• Digital learning.

• Shared services.

• Charter schools.

• Vouchers.

• Race to the Top. • Waivers.

• The Cleveland Plan.

• School readiness: (Starting School at a Disadvantage Brookings Institute).

• Race to the Top: (Ohio’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant Application - Ohio Department of Education).

• Third-grade reading guarantee: (Ohio’s New Third Grade Reading Guarantee - KidsOhio).

• Pre-kindergarten: (The Talent Challenge²: Ensuring Kindergarten Readiness by 2020 - Ohio Business Roundtable).

• The Ohio Learning Initiative: (KidsOhio report).

• Quality child care: (Progress Made. Ground Lost. Community Research Partners).

• Columbus Schools Programs: Columbus City Schools Pre-kindergarten Expansion Proposal.

Meeting January 24, 2012 The Ohio State University Student Union Video links: • Defining success • Students demonstrate use of online tool in the classroom • Technology

• Greg Brown, Executive Dean, Academics & Administration, The Graham Family of Schools: How four charter schools use experiential learning.

• Aimee Kennedy, Principal, Metro Early College High School: How we engage students in mastery learning.

• Brad Mitchell, Ph.D., Senior Director, Leadership and Ohio Appalachian Collaborative, Battelle for Kids: Lessons from Finland, Hong Kong, Ontario, Canada, and Long Beach, California.

Moderated Discussion Stephanie Hightower, Commission Member Luncheon Panel Presentation • Marcy Raymond, Principal of eSTEM Academy and K-12 STEM Education with students, Reynoldsburg City Schools.

• Clarissa Shen, Vice President, Business & Marketing, Udacity, Creating Options: Using Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to Support Career and College Readiness – Moderated by Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director.

Afternoon Session Using Technology And Data Analytics To Improve Student Performance • Tom Vander Ark, Author of Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World, founder of GettingSmart.com, and former Executive Director, Education, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

• Pankaj Shah, Executive Director, Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet): Ensuring Equity of Access to Digital Learning Opportunities for All. • Stu Johnson, Executive Director, Connect Ohio.

Moderated Discussion Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director Background Materials Provided to Commission • Key Components to Mastery, Performance, and Personalized Learning (brief by the Columbus Education Commission research team).

• Leadership for Personalizing Learning (National College for School Leadership report).

• Mastery Learning (The Gale Group report).

Morning Session Defining Success Panel Discussion Moderated by Stephanie Hightower, Commission Member • Bill Wise, Ph.D., Superintendent, South-Western City Schools: Improved performance, goals and balanced scorecard.

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• Measurements of Success: How Columbus City Schools compares with other Ohio School Districts (brief by the Columbus Education Commission research team).

• Performance Beyond Expectations (National College for School Leadership report).

• Six Drivers of Student Success: A Look Inside Five of the World’s Highest-Performing School Systems (Battelle for Kids report).

• Supporting Student Success in a Competency Based Learning Environment, (Competency Works report).

• What Will Ohio’s New Report Card Measure? (brief by the Columbus Education Commission research team).

• “How Children Succeed,” Paul Tough.

• Carpe Diem Schools (YouTube link).

• Data Backpacks- Portable Records & Learner Profiles (Digital Learning Now! report).

• Education Elements: What is Blended Learning (Vimeo link).

• “The School of One” (Education Week article – requires subscription).

• KIPP Empower Academy, LA: Blended Learning (YouTube link).

• California to Give Web Courses a Big Trial (New York Times article).

• Rocketship Education (Vimeo link).

• “The One World School House: Education Reimagined” (Salman Khan book – Amazon link).

• Salman Khan’s TED Talk 2011 (YouTube link).

Morning Session Career Readiness and Business Engagement Panel Discussion Moderated by Member David Harrison • President David Harrison’s introduction to the career readiness topic.

• Nancy Hoffman and Joel Vargas, The Jobs For the Future, presentation on our changing workforce.

• Robin Lynch, Vice President, Human Resource, ODW Logistics.

• Rocky Parker, Vice President of Talent Acquisition, Nationwide Insurance.

• Jack Heinzman, Executive Secretary Treasurer, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council.

• YouTube – Community ideas on career readiness.

• YouTube – Community ideas on quality teachers.

Moderated Discussion Member David Harrison Afternoon Session Quality Teachers and Principals

• Technology Satisfaction Survey (Columbus Education Association report).

Jim Mahoney, Executive Director, Battelle for Kids: Introduction To Educational Measurement

• Innovations in Education (Tom Vander Ark – YouTube video).

Panel Discussion Moderated by Jim Mahoney

• Change Leadership:Transforming Education for the 21st Century (Tony Wagner, Harvard School of Education – YouTube link).

Meeting February 8, 2013 Columbus State Community College Center for Workforce Development Video links: • Announcement of Football FUNctions app • Career readiness/business engagement • Quality teachers/principals

• Thomas Trang, National Board Certified Teacher at Columbus International High School . Elizabeth McNally, PhD., Elementary ESL Teacher at Easthaven Elementary School, author of books on literacy and early language learning.

• Becci Catalfina, 6th Grade Math and Science Teacher at Holt Crossing Intermediate School, South-Western City Schools.

• Cortney Crenshaw, Dance Teacher at the Arts & College Preparatory Academy.

Panel Discussion Moderated by Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director

• YouTube – Community ideas on career readiness

Ending The Crisis of Leadership In Education

• YouTube – Community ideas on quality teachers

• Tom Goodney, Ed.D., Deputy Superintendent, Chief of Staff, the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio.

Announcement of Football FUNctions App

• Tony Bagshaw, Managing Director for Human Capital, Battelle for Kids, slides by Tony Bagshaw of Battelle for Kids on recruiting and retaining quality teachers.

• Gene Smith, Athletic Director, The Ohio State University: Football FUNctions (Mathematics app for eighth graders developed as a collaborative project between Ohio State Athletics and Battelle)

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• Buckeye Top Fifty 2008-2018- Ohio’s High-Wage Occupations in Demand – projection by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

• Terry Ryan, Vice President for Ohio Programs & Policy, Fordham Institute: Issues with closing low-performing charters, sponsor-jumping problems; Successful partnerships in other states.

• Growing Ohio’s Economy by Investing in the Forgotten Middle – report by National Skills Coalition.

Panel Discussion Moderated by Co-Chair Judge Algenon L. Marbley

• Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century – report by Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

• Andrew Boy, Founder/Executive Director, United Schools Network, Columbus Collegiate Academy.

Background Materials Provided to Commission

• Portable, Stackable Credentials: A New Education Model for Industry-Specific Career Pathways – report

by Jobs for the Future.

• Postsecondary Enrollment Options Program for Ohio High School Students – brief by the Ohio Department of Education.

• The State of Human Capital 2012, False Summit: Why the human capital function still has far to go – report by McKinsey and Company.

• Columbus City Schools Staffing Trends: 2004, 2008, and 2012 – brief by the Columbus Education Commission research team.

• Discerning, Developing and Rewarding Effective Teachers – brief by Jim Mahoney, Battelle for Kids; full report here.

• High Performing School Systems to Close Achievement Gaps in NEA Foundation-Funded Communities – NEA Foundation report.

• Ohio Educator Evaluation and Compensation System overview – brief by the Columbus Education Commission research team.

• Working with Teachers to Develop Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching – report by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Meeting February 18, 2013 Columbus Metropolitan Library Video links: • Growing the number of high-performing charter schools • Role of neighborhoods/panel of local parents Morning Session Encouraging Growth of High Performing Public Charter Schools • Mark Real, CEO, KidsOhio.org: The State of Charter Schools in Ohio.

• Ethan Gray, Executive Director, CEE-Trust: How 25 cities are improving educational opportunities.

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• Hannah Powell Tuney, Executive Director, KIPP Central Ohio.

• GG Howard, Director, The Arts & College Preparatory Academy.

• Derrick Shelton, Chief Administrative Officer, Columbus Art and Technology Academy.

Moderated Discussion Co-Chair Judge Algenon L. Marbley Afternoon Session Facilities and Neighborhoods • Steven Bingler, author of Innovative Schools handbook, published by the US Department of Education.

• Member Pat Losinski, CEO, Columbus Public Library: The important role of the public libraries as a partner.

• Vince Papsidero, Planning Administrator, Planning Division, City of Columbus: Growth plans for Columbus.

Panel Discussion Moderated by Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director Neighborhood Schools, Panel of Parents Moderated Discussion Director Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director Background Materials Provided to Commission • Authorizing Charters: Helping mom-and-pops in Ohio article for Education Next.

• About the Cities for Education Entrepreneurship Trust – selected pages from CEE-trust.org.

• Charter School Growth and Replication, Executive Summary – report by Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO).

• D.C. debates growth of charter schools – article in The Washington Post.

• Is Automatic Closure a Good Idea – presentation by Terry Ryan of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

• KIPP helps Linden-area kids to work toward higher goals – column by Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

• More Lessons About Charter Schools – New York Times editorial.

• Ohio’s charter law remains a laggard – column by Terry Ryan of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

• Which Schools Are Franklin County Students Choosing – chart by KidsOhio.org.

• Columbus City School District: Building Improvements and New Construction – data from Columbus City Schools.

• Education Advanced Placement: The key to New Orleans’s rebirth may lie in an unprecedented overhaul of its education system that puts public schools at the center of community services – article for MetropolisMag.com.

• A NEXUS of people, programs, and places – concept outline by Steven Bingler of Concordia.

• Additionally, commission member Carol Perkins, president of the Columbus City School Board, distributed a report on Columbus City Schools facilities.

Meeting March 6, 2013 COSI/WOSU Former Ohio Department of Education chief of staff Jeannette Oxender discusses academic distress commissions and new report-card data.

Video links: • Presentation on school report card data and health/ wellness • Arts, sports and community engagement • Community feedback and topic summaries Morning Session Health and Wellness • Robert Murray, M.D., Professor, Department of Human Nutrition, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University: How brain science and other research shows the value of physical activity and good nutrition.

Panel Discussion Moderated by Commissioner Chip Spinning Understanding Central Ohio’s Growing Latino and Somali Communities.

• Commissioner Abdinur Mohamud, Ph.D., Educational Consultant and Title III state coordinator with the Lau Resource Center for English as a Second Language, Bilingual and Multicultural Education, Ohio Department of Education. The growth of English language learners.

• Commissioner Elizabeth Martinez, Vice President of Programs, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio: Understanding Central Ohio’s Growing Latino Community: Growth of the Hispanic population.

Arts, Sports and Community Engagement • How do we give all our children the opportunity to explore their passions and talents, and create a culture of learning in the entire community?

Panel Discussion Moderated by Commissioner Jordan Miller • Kim Jordan, Director of the Eldon Ward YMCA, YMCA youth programs.

• Jackie Calderone, Founding Partner, Transit Arts.

• Dionne Custer Edwards, Writer and arts educator serving K-12 students through arts partnership with artists, teachers, and the community, The Wexner Center for the Arts.

• Milton V. Ruffin, Principal, Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, Fort Hayes Arts & Academic High School.

Afternoon Session Focus Group and Interim Public Forum Reports: Kathleen Murphy, Danni Palmore, The Honorable Larry Price, Patricia Hicks, Ph.D.: Community engagement for Columbus Education Commission Presentation of draft summaries on commission topics to date.

Background Materials Provided to Commission • KidsOhio.org report on the Hispanic population in Columbus City Schools.

• Does Athletic Success Come at the Expense of Academic Success? – article in Education Next.

• Body Mass Index 2007-2012 of Columbus City Schools students – chart by Columbus Education Commission research team.

• Pre-K Expansion Proposal – memo from Columbus City Schools.

• Mayor’s State of the City – full speech or view our summary.

• Ohio’s Jobs Budget 2013 (pages 1-14) – proposal by Governor John Kasich and the Ohio Office of Budget and Management.

• The Crucial Role of Recess in School – policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics: Council on School Health.

• The Wellness Impact – Enhancing Academic Success through Healthy School Environments – joint report by four national health/nutrition groups.

• Topic summaries from previous commission meetings.

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Meeting March 21, 2013 Boys and Girls Club of Columbus Video links: • Meeting introduction and Reynoldsburg Superintendent Steve Dackin on leadership and accountability • Governance expert Susan Bodary of Education First and discussion • Chancellor Mark Milliron of Western Governors University on how education is changing and a panel discussion of private sector engagement Morning Session

• School Climate: Missing Link in Principal Training? – article in EdWeek.

• Educator Evaluation: What’s Changing in Ohio Education – brief from the Ohio Department of Education.

• Engaging Educators – guide by the Reform Support Network.

• Growing Number of Districts Seek Bold Change With Portfolio Strategy – report by the Center for Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington.

• Lighthouse Study: School boards and student achievement – study by the Iowa Association of School Boards.

Leadership and Accountability – What is the best way to organize public education in the 21st century?

• Leadership and Accountability – memo prepared

by Education First for the Columbus Education Commission.

• Governance background presentation: Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director.

• School District Leadership that Works – report by Midcontinent Research for Education and Learning.

• Accountability for Results: Stephen D. Dackin, Superintendent, Reynoldsburg City Schools.

• Keys to Board Excellence – article in the American School Board Journal.

• Leadership and Accountability: A National Overview: Susan Bodary, Partner, Education First - Discussion Moderated by Co-Chair Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

• National Attention and Cash in Los Angeles School Vote – New York Times article.

Afternoon Session Private Sector Engagement – How can the Columbus business community best support public education?

• Mark David Milliron, Ph.D., Chancellor, Western Governors University Texas.

• Anthony Smith’s presentation on how Taft High School was transformed.

• Slide: The Columbus mayor’s report on philanthropy.

Moderated discussion Director Eric D. Fingerhut, Commission Director • The Honorable Janet E. Jackson, President & CEO, United Way of Central Ohio: What United Way is doing across the country.

• Anthony Smith, Principal, Taft High: Case example of corporate school engagement in Cincinnati.

• Steve Campbell, Office of Mayor Coleman: Overview of what other cities are doing.

Background Materials Provided to Commission • Eight Characteristics of Effective School Boards report by Center for Public Education at the National School Boards Association.

• Columbus City Schools Board Governance Policies – current policies.

• Districts Matter: Cultivating the Principals Urban Schools Need – report from the Wallace Foundation.

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• Pupil to Administrator Ratio – Columbus City Schools, Ohio Urban 8, Franklin County – data collected by the Columbus Education Commission research team.

• Putting Students First: Building Effective School Governance – white paper by the Stand for Children Leadership Center.

• Strengthening School Leadership – white paper by the Stand for Children Leadership Center.

• Study of School Boards & Their Implementation of Continuous Improvement Practices – article in the Journal for Quality & Participation.

• The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning – report by the Wallace Foundation.

• Will It Be On The Test: A closer look at how leaders and parents think about accountability in the public schools – report by Public Agenda.

• OAPSE/AFSCME report: “Corporate America and takeovers of public school districts.”

• Business and Community Partnerships: Examples from other cities – research compiled by the City of Columbus.

Meeting April 10, 2013 King Arts Complex Video links: • Meeting introduction and Johns Hopkins University expert Bob Balfanz on school safety, school climate and preventing dropouts • KIPP co-founder Michael Feinberg on charter school leadership and accountability • Discussion of first set of proposed recommendations: 1) State of the art teaching tools and methods 2) Students with a purpose: career pathways 3) A quality early childhood education for every Columbus child 4) Community ownership and engagement: serving the whole child

MEETING April 26, 2013 Columbus Metropolitan Library Video links: • Review of proposed recommendations: • Discussion of proposed implementation plan These proposals were discussed and revised based on the commission’s directions • Implementation: A new community compact for educational excellence.

• Effective teachers and principals.

• High-performing neighborhood schools and more school choices.

The commission also reviewed revised versions of the four initial proposals

Morning Session School Safety, School Climate, and Preventing Dropouts.

Dr. Bob Balfanz, Johns Hopkins University.

• Students with a purpose (career- and college-readiness).

Michael Feinberg, Co-Founder, Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP).

• Every Columbus child is kindergarten ready.

Afternoon Session Overview of four recommendation areas and discussion • Community vision document.

• State-of-the-art teaching tools, materials and data.

• Serving the whole child.

Photo Credits

• State of the Art Teaching Tools & Methods.

• Students with a Purpose: Career Pathways.

• A Quality Early Childhood Education for Every Columbus Child.

The Columbus Education Commission would like to thank the following for providing photographs for this report.

• Battelle

• Community Ownership & Engagement: Serving the Whole Child.

• The Columbus City Schools

Background Materials Provided to Commission

• Nutter Video Productions, Inc.

• Columbus State Community College

• Gradual Disengagement: A Portrait of the 2008-09 Dropouts in the Baltimore City Schools – report by the Baltimore Education Research Consortium.

• Overcoming the Poverty Challenge to Enable College and Career Readiness for All: The Crucial Role of Student Supports – paper by the Johns Hopkins Univeristy Center for Social Organization of Schools.

• Understanding the Role of Comprehensive Learning Supports and School Climate in School Improvement – report from a regional meeting organized by the Ohio Department of Education and Educational Service Center of Central Ohio.

• Robert Balfanz named “Champion of Change” by White House – post by Everyone Graduates Center.

• States Use School Score Cards to Target Climate Problems – EdWeek article.

• Which Columbus students are following the discipline rules, which are not – report by KidsOhio.org.

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