pkadams's review against another edition
3.0
This book provides the 10000 ft. view of the importance and groundbreaking work of transformational change going on in the education system in Montgomery County, MD. It is interesting perspective as my experience has been in the reality and day-to-day impact of this change through the education of my children and the work I've done for the past 5 years helping 1st and 2nd graders learn to read in this school system.
Montgomery County Public Schools serves approximately 140,000 students, of which 60% are minority. Since 1999, every student subgroup, including all races and ethnicities across the socio-economic spectrum, has made significant gains on the performance curve. Those at the top continue to rise while those at the lowest level have accelerated even faster. The book explores how the county has done it despite a 6% increase of its student population living below the poverty line since 2002.
Invoking Dewey, the county's activities follow the tenet that "what the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children." Coupled with this belief is the economic imperative that no longer can we engage in the old assumptions that led to a stratified system that separated students based upon the idea that only some children can learn at a high level. Readiness for college and high-wage work for all students is the graduation standard for all students.
What made this transformation so difficult was the two counties in one. Where in 1980 the county was predominantly white, now there exists two counties. Pockets of high percentage of minorities that make up 60% of the population are surrounded by sections of affluent and educated families. Dubbed the red zone and green zone, the superintendent and his leadership team changed the structure so that resources were used equitably rather than equally. The challenge as they saw it was to raise the bar in the green zone and close the gap in the red zone. Annual spending in 1999 per student was $11K with the equitable but not equal rule resulting in the green zone subsizing the red zone with $2K per student annually.
With the goal of college and high-wage work readiness, MCPS created standards in several content areas both at the high school level and K-2 level. AP classes became more available at the HS level and full day kindergarten and reduced class size was the norm in 60 of the red zone schools. It of course has left the middle with a rather gut-wrenching vacuum without clear professional teacher instruction and capabilities outlined to guide the chasm in middle school with which the system is currently grappling.
Using the standards, MCPS designed curriculum that would ensure that every student in the county, regardless of which classroom or teacher would have access to challenging and integrated materials. This idea was deemed "revolutionary" because it went against the concept that teachers had autonomy and that certain students weren't capable of learning.
This book written in standard business prose and format doesn't break any new ground in the transformational change space, but does provide an excellent case study for how we as a nation can make a large-scale change effective. Surprisingly well written, I found the book easy to read.
Adding my own experiences I felt that the book didn't address the reality of the change in the green zone. There is a pressure on all green-zone students to step up their game without the additional resources, skilled teachers, or additional time that they need to respond to the demands and expectations of the county. The county has adopted one tenet of Dewey and ignored another one - the time for reflection. I applaud MCPS's desire to make quality of education accessible to all. The cost to the green zone is quite high. It has been at the expense of our children by rationing the number of gifted programs and advanced classes. It has impacted the students as well by not providing the teachers in the green zone with adequate support and training to adopt the new curriculum. Therefore the teacher's aren't presenting and teaching materials to the children in a way that many of them can process without strain.
Montgomery County Public Schools serves approximately 140,000 students, of which 60% are minority. Since 1999, every student subgroup, including all races and ethnicities across the socio-economic spectrum, has made significant gains on the performance curve. Those at the top continue to rise while those at the lowest level have accelerated even faster. The book explores how the county has done it despite a 6% increase of its student population living below the poverty line since 2002.
Invoking Dewey, the county's activities follow the tenet that "what the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children." Coupled with this belief is the economic imperative that no longer can we engage in the old assumptions that led to a stratified system that separated students based upon the idea that only some children can learn at a high level. Readiness for college and high-wage work for all students is the graduation standard for all students.
What made this transformation so difficult was the two counties in one. Where in 1980 the county was predominantly white, now there exists two counties. Pockets of high percentage of minorities that make up 60% of the population are surrounded by sections of affluent and educated families. Dubbed the red zone and green zone, the superintendent and his leadership team changed the structure so that resources were used equitably rather than equally. The challenge as they saw it was to raise the bar in the green zone and close the gap in the red zone. Annual spending in 1999 per student was $11K with the equitable but not equal rule resulting in the green zone subsizing the red zone with $2K per student annually.
With the goal of college and high-wage work readiness, MCPS created standards in several content areas both at the high school level and K-2 level. AP classes became more available at the HS level and full day kindergarten and reduced class size was the norm in 60 of the red zone schools. It of course has left the middle with a rather gut-wrenching vacuum without clear professional teacher instruction and capabilities outlined to guide the chasm in middle school with which the system is currently grappling.
Using the standards, MCPS designed curriculum that would ensure that every student in the county, regardless of which classroom or teacher would have access to challenging and integrated materials. This idea was deemed "revolutionary" because it went against the concept that teachers had autonomy and that certain students weren't capable of learning.
This book written in standard business prose and format doesn't break any new ground in the transformational change space, but does provide an excellent case study for how we as a nation can make a large-scale change effective. Surprisingly well written, I found the book easy to read.
Adding my own experiences I felt that the book didn't address the reality of the change in the green zone. There is a pressure on all green-zone students to step up their game without the additional resources, skilled teachers, or additional time that they need to respond to the demands and expectations of the county. The county has adopted one tenet of Dewey and ignored another one - the time for reflection. I applaud MCPS's desire to make quality of education accessible to all. The cost to the green zone is quite high. It has been at the expense of our children by rationing the number of gifted programs and advanced classes. It has impacted the students as well by not providing the teachers in the green zone with adequate support and training to adopt the new curriculum. Therefore the teacher's aren't presenting and teaching materials to the children in a way that many of them can process without strain.
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