Golarz: Community involvement is the hallmark of a well run school district

Research and writings that reveal how to create effective organizations goes back to at least the beginning of the 20th century. This research includes the Hawthorne Studies, directed by Elton Mayo of Yale University, McGregor’s theory X and theory Y, Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management, Peter Drucker’s The Definitive Drucker, Collins and Perris’ Built to Last, and The Dance of Change by Peter Senge.

All of this research and writings conclude that the most effective organizations are those that move to empower their workers and consumers in decision making and, in addition, continually make efforts to dignify their workers in substantial ways. They move toward democracy.

Further research specific to schools reveals the largest unit of effective improvement is the individual school, never the school district. Thus, the most important administrator in a school district is the building principal.

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Given this understanding, the primary functions of various groups in a school district should be as follows: the school board’s primary function should be to represent the public; the primary function of superintendents should be to support principals; and principals should always be asking teachers, "How can I help?"

Inasmuch as the principals are the most important people in effective schools, they should never be on a one-year contract unless they're planning to retire or are marginally effective. Standard contract lengths should be 3 or 4 years, allowing them to understand they are supported and need not to be looking over their shoulder.

In the early 1980s, I had the rare privilege of being chosen, along with others, by Dean Evans, the then-state superintendent of public instruction, to become acquainted with and exposed to a new educational concept developed by the Kettering, Lilly and Carnage foundations. These foundations had spent years creating their design and, in so doing, incorporated all of the past research related to effective organizations. They were now prepared to disseminate it to districts across the country that were courageous enough to become involved.

The design was actually quite simple, but revolutionary. State legislatures and school boards would restrict their activities to focusing only on the “what” of public education. The “how” of public education would be the jurisdiction of individual schools: such items as the schedule of classes, school starting and ending times, and materials used for classroom instruction.

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Decisions would be in the hands of a representative school team made up of teachers, parents, students, community representatives and the building administrators. Majority rule would not be the manner in which decisions were made, but rather teams would be required to come to consensus.

From the mid '80s through about 2005, the concept in many various forms spread throughout our country and thrived. Empowerment and ownership would replace autocracy and advisory.

Those of us who lived through those glory years, saw example after example of individual schools creating their own unique learning environments. For many of us, the experience was delightful.

But democracy and empowerment are difficult to nurture and sustain. We became complacent, not vigilant. Slowly legislative bodies tore at the power of teacher unions, and the nation was repeatedly told their public schools were not salvageable. Charter schools began to siphon the scarce resources that once were the essential life blood of our public schools.

So today, when you see a school community raise its voice for empowerment, when you see teachers scream that how they teach is their cherished and earned property, when you see students rise up in protest, don’t be alarmed. It may be that you are viewing the embers of a fire that once was and will demand to be again.

“A republic, if you can keep it.”

Raymond Golarz has authored or co-authored 12 books. He has keynoted criminal justice or education conferences throughout the United States and Canada. His website is RayGolarz.com. He resides in Bloomington.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Column: Schools are more effective when community is involved