www.fsg-impact.org Boston ● Geneva ● San Francisco ● Seattle How Stakeholders Can Help Transform Public Education: The Challenge of Change Strategic Stakeholders Meeting June 26, 2007 Prepared for www.fsg-impact.org Boston ● Geneva ● San Francisco ● Seattle
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www.fsg-impact.org
Boston ● Geneva ● San Francisco ● Seattle
How Stakeholders Can Help Transform Public Education: The Challenge of Change
The Dire State of Affairs in U.S. Public Education is No Longer a Secret
The U.S. ranks 20th out of 29 in student math performance among OECD countries that participated in the most recent international assessment (PISA)
By 2008, jobs requiring science, technology, engineering and math training will increase four times faster than overall job growth – with projections that 90% of all scientists will be living in Asia by 2010
Students from the bottom income quintile drop out out of school at a rate six times higher than students in the top income quintile
Children growing up in low-income areas are seven times less likely to obtain a college degree than children in high-income areas
Source: EdTrust. Teach for America; Gates Foundation; Business Roubdtable
PISA stands for Program for International Student Assessment
While Educational Needs are Common, the Compelling Rationale forCompany Engagement is Unique to Each Business
Values/Culture of the Business – Diversity: Achievement Gap– Entrepreneurial encouragement– Passion for science
Long Term Competitive Context for the Business – More engineers needed– Improved distance learning– A more competitive headquarters community
Value Added the Business Can Provide– Management expertise in running organizations– Content expertise related to math/science, or financial aid applications– Expertise in collecting and analyzing data
GE College Bound Program: Results: College Going Rates
75%
61%
22% 23% 25%
57%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Albuquerque Cleveland Louisville
1989 1989 1989 2003 20032003
Corporate Engagement in Public Education has Led to Powerful ResultsC
olle
ge-G
oing
Rat
es A
fter C
olle
ge B
ound
Impl
emen
tatio
n
Source: Expanding College Access, Strengthening Schools: Evaluation of the GE Fund College Bound Program: Center for Human Resources, Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University
Three Pittsburgh Foundations Utilized Adaptive Leadership To Realize Large Scale Change In The Local School System
In 2002, The Heinz Endowments, The Grable Foundation, and The Pittsburgh Foundation, shocked the city of Pittsburgh by abruptly and very publicly suspending their funding to the local public school system
By focusing media and public attention on the dysfunctional school system, they created a sense of urgency within local government and the community
Several major changes resulted
– Within a month, a Mayor’s Commission on Public Education was formed (with foundation membership), which released a report on dramatic required reforms
– In the next school board election, the president of the school board was ousted and another board member chose not to run
– A new majority on the board implemented many of the recommended reforms
All three foundations resumed their school funding in 2004
FOUNDATIONS YANK CITY SCHOOL GRANTS -- A `SHARP DECLINE OF GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND FISCAL DISCIPLINE'
July 10, 2002 City school board members reacted with anger and finger-pointing after a stunning announcement yesterday that three local foundations will indefinitely suspend all funding to the district. . . .
"This was a wrenching decision for both our staff and trustees," added Susan Brownlee, executive director of the Grable Foundation. "The Pittsburgh Public Schools is the largest beneficiary of Grable funding...." But city school board President Jean Fink said she was angered by what she characterized as a strong-arm tactic by the foundations that would harm children. "I can't tell them what to do and they shouldn't tell me what to do. They shouldn't use money as a threat. I don't like being blackmailed," Fink said.
PASSING GRADEFOUNDATIONS DECIDE SCHOOL BOARD IS BETTER BEHAVED
February 14, 2004It is difficult to parse the exact reasons for this improvement because it has several strands, but the July 2002 decision by The Heinz Endowments, the Grable Foundation and the Pittsburgh Foundation to withdraw their funding did serve to concentrate minds on the seriousness of the board's dysfunction. At the very least, the foundations' action provided a helpful context for the grass-roots effort that led to the victory of Patrick Dowd over then President Darlene Harris, breaking the old majority on the board and bringing the hope of better times.
Public Education Stakeholder Engagement Requires Change Efforts at Three Levels of the System
Local– View the District as the unit for achieving large scale change– Engage education stakeholders around improvement strategies, particularly
supporting human capital and systems and structures
State – Advocate for changes in state education policy and/or allocation of funds
More equitable funding formulaIncreased and differentiated teacher compensationIncreased length of school day/yearMore rigorous and relevant state curriculum standards
– Bring data and business community perspective to state education issues
National– Advocate for changes in federal education policy and/or allocation of funds
Stronger standards in curriculumPolicy reform related to NCLBAdvocate for reforms to address global competitiveness concerns
– Bring data and business community perspective to national education issues
The Bell South Foundation (Now AT&T) Has Engaged in State Level Advocacy Around Expanded Access to E-Learning Opportunities
AT&T’s strategy in education leverages the resources of the company, and was important to the communities the company served
– 20/20 Vision for Education aims to bring to engaging, rigorous online instruction to low-income students in the Southeast
– Online delivery of teacher-led instruction that expands learning opportunities
Engaging in state advocacy efforts around e-learning and educational quality – Advocating for states to adopt common standards around online learning– Advocating for states in the southeast sharing best practices in online learning – More systematic recruitment, training, support and evaluation of online teachers– Helped form the Columbia Group – a public policy and partnership group focused
on education reform in the southeastern United States
More Concerted Efforts by Corporations at a National Level Will Be Required to Accelerate Public Education Reform
Gates and Broad recently initiated a collaborative education advocacy effort
The Strong American Schools campaign is a $60M nonpartisan joint investment that aims to move education reform to the top of the 2008 presidential campaign agenda
– Three key advocacy goals: Strong American education standardsBetter trained, better supported, better paid teachersMore time in school for struggling students
“ED in ’08” is pushing for debate among candidates on these three issues
Corporations Should Seek More Opportunities for Collaborative Efforts at the District, State and Federal Level
More effective cooperation between corporations, other education funders and stakeholders leverages a much larger pool of resources, ideas and expertise
At the District level:– Aligning philanthropic funding with other corporation/foundation efforts in the district– Creating “District Corporate Compacts” to support Change/Reform efforts – leading to a
division of labor among companies supporting higher student achievementAt the state and national levels:
– Leveraging and joining advocacy efforts to raise state standards to “college ready” levels
– Building more collaborative efforts to raise achievement levels with corporations that share specific “mission critical” skill sets
– Getting behind, and “putting skin in the game” with national efforts like the Strong American Schools Campaign