'Inequities are glaring': Consultant gives honest review of Akron Public Schools
Akron Public Schools is doing better than the average large urban school district in many ways, but it has significant challenges that include glaring inequities of opportunity between groups of students, a consultant hired to examine the school district said Friday.
Stuart Berger, of consulting firm Burns/Van Fleet, spoke with media Friday afternoon about a transition report he was hired to produce on Akron schools for Superintendent Michael Robinson to aid in his work, being new to the school district as of last fall.
It may be the first comprehensive look at the district by an outsider in decades, if ever. Berger and his team spent five weeks at the beginning of the school year speaking with 170 individuals. The report focuses on the administration and does not provide reviews of individual schools, beyond a few high-level mentions.
Many of the challenges APS faces are common throughout urban education, Berger said, but the report was a chance to highlight the biggest needs for the district right now and recommendations for how to address them. The district has gone through significant transition as of late, he noted, from years of consistent leadership with David James as superintendent to the short tenure and disruptive departure of Christine Fowler Mack and the interim leadership of Mary Outley.
"APS is at a crossroads – will it continue to be a viable, diverse school system or evolve into a traditional urbandistrict overwhelmed by students who face extreme obstacles including poverty, language barriers or seriouslearning challenges?" the report's conclusion begins. "The Consultants believe the infrastructure, talent, and community support exist to assure its viability."
Transition reports are inherently aimed at pointing out challenges and problems within a school district but are not meant to be an indictment of the district as a whole, the report notes. But the Akron report does raise many concerns, several that the community has voiced for years, and other new ones just brought to light.
"APS is leaning towards a crisis," the report states, citing declining enrollment, while also noting, "there is a major reason for optimism."
The College and Career Academies are phenomenal programs, Berger said, and the district has exceptional partnerships with community organizations and businesses as a result.
But still, "there are kids who fall through the cracks," Berger, a former superintendent, said.
The report also levies significant concerns about the power granted to the teachers' union, saying the master agreement between the union and the school district has stripped principals of much of their authority in their own schools. Accountability, or the lack thereof, was an ongoing theme Berger said he heard over and over again as he interviewed people in the district for the report.
Akron Education Association President Pat Shipe said she was aware of the report but did not provide a response as of Friday evening.
Berger said Robinson, with whom he has a previous professional relationship, had not yet read the report and wouldn't be commenting, although he also said Robinson had seen a draft before it was released. The draft was not substantially different from the final version, he said.
On Monday, Robinson told reporters he commissioned the report to seek feedback and recommendations about the district's needs. The report cost $37,000, according to a public records request, but the money came from an Educational Service Center account, which is an external discretionary fund, not general fund dollars used to pay for things like textbooks and teachers' salaries.
Here are some of the biggest issues the report raised.
Inequities in opportunity across the district
The curriculum itself is "impressive," but access to advanced opportunities in the district is significantly inequitable, the report said. While some students have access to dual enrollment classes, where students take a college class while still in high school, the report noted Advanced Placement classes are a better indicator of pushing students.
"One part of the curriculum that is troubling is the inequitable availability of Advanced Placement (AP) courses," it said. "One high school offers almost all the AP courses, while most of the others offer very few. Dual enrollment is valuable, but not a replacement for rigorous AP courses. These inequities are glaring."
Even if a school that hasn't had many AP classes were to offer a new one and only a handful of students signed up, you have to "start somewhere," Berger said.
The community, the school board, the administration and even past administrations have acknowledged the lack of opportunities that exist in some schools, while two schools, Firestone and Ellet community learning centers, always seem to have what they need and beyond.
Work has gone into improving opportunities for students not in those two schools, who are usually Black and lower-income students, including a new initiative to add pre-AP classes to middle school classrooms to better prepare students for AP in high school.
The specialty schools — STEM Middle and High School, Akron Early College and the Miller South School of the Visual and Performing Arts — are excellent programs but do not reflect the demographics of the district, the report said.
Berger said he would recommend opening the admissions criteria for some of the programs. Some parents also know the system and how to get their students into those schools, he said, while others are not as aware or able to do so.
'Administration's fear of the unions'
The report paints a picture of a district where principals struggle to hold teachers accountable, citing the union agreement with the AEA.
"It is an understatement to say the culture is not one of accountability," the report said. "Many reasons created this problem, but the most significant is the administration's fear of the unions. Consequences are nonexistent. Poor performance is tolerated."
The union contract "so limits the authority of the principal that some just surrender," according to the report, which also calls the contract a "major impediment" to the growth of teachers through professional development.
"As long as this area operates as it does currently APS will be partially paralyzed," the report states. "The words 'grievance,' 'harassment,' and 'attorney' cannot petrify everyone. Change is essential."
'Half' of principals are not instructional leaders
Berger said it's understandable that many principals would get bogged down in the operational side of managing a school building. But their core mission, he said, is to be instructional leaders. He estimated half of APS principals are not leading their building on best instructional practices.
"I'm gonna be very blunt with you, about 50% of them really have the instructional focus as their primary mission," Berger said. "The other 50% do a good job of the other stuff. But the other stuff isn't the mission."
That view, according to the report, was backed up by upper-level administrators.
"Finally, some principals do not have the skills to be instructional leaders," the report said. "Interviews led to a couple candid responses from principals that they really did not know much about instruction. Interviews with central office leadership and support personnel reflected a belief that about half the principals were instructionally competent."
Instruction 'uneven' but curriculum solid
The report complimented the district's curriculum but was critical of teaching practices.
"The curriculum is a major strength of APS," it said. "However, no matter how comprehensive the curriculum, it is meaningless without corresponding solid instruction. Sadly, that is not the case in APS."
At the elementary level, "instruction is uneven at best," the report read. "Reliance on work sheets, and rote learning with little enrichment permeate. Good instruction also takes place but not in every classroom. Culturally relevant practices are also limited."
At the middle and high school levels, the report said, "much of the secondary teaching staff has been in the profession for a long time and have developed certain instructional practices. Some of these are sound, others are not. A willingness to evaluate and change is not the norm and there is insufficient leadership to assist with improvement. Equitable practices are often lacking. High expectations for students are also not the norm."
Despite that, the report states, "the framework for effective instruction exists. The curriculum is solid, coaches are plentiful, and school performance is organized to be supportive. Leadership needs to put these pieces into an effective whole."
Accountability for instruction, it said, "must be the norm."
"No longer can the principals be allowed to blame all the shortcomings on the union contract – that is an unworthy excuse," the report said.
Culture of low expectations
Implicit bias in the district is high and expectations for students are low, according to the report.
"The most depressing illustration is expectations for students," the report said in regards to inequities. "There is a culture of low expectations. Implicit bias is prevalent throughout the greater community and APS has tried to address it with mixed success."
A "culture of high expectations," the report said, "is non-negotiable."
Blurring of roles between the board and the superintendent
The report describes a "blurring" of roles between the board and the superintendent.
"While it is hard to criticize hard-working, well-meaning volunteers, the APS Board or at least some members are way out of their lane," the report said.
The report also notes there was a leadership "vacuum" because of the departure of one superintendent and the appointment of an interim while a search was conducted. It was natural, the report said, for board members to step into that space, but it alleges they may have overstepped.
"The Board needs to understand that individual Board members have no statutory power; their authority is as a group in public," the report said. "The Board may have empowered the Akron Education Association (hereinafter AEA) beyond what is constructive."
Because of the timing of the report, some board members who were on the board last year are no longer on it, and new members have joined.
Legal fees extraordinary for a district of Akron's size
The district spent $1 million on legal fees in one year last year, which the report calls "stunningly high."
Berger said he believed the negotiations over Fowler Mack's departure may have contributed to that somewhat. But the biggest driver, he said, was the district having no internal general counsel. It contracts out for every kind of legal service.
Berger said that was highly unusual for a district of Akron's size.
"If somebody thought they were gonna save money by that, they were sadly mistaken," he said.
Recommendations from the report
Berger said his recommendations are suggestions, some of which may not work or may be unrealistic, or unrealistic to do immediately, but are intended to start a conversation in the district and the community as ways to either save money, increase enrollment or increase the effectiveness of the district toward its mission of educating students.
Here are the 19 summary recommendations from the report.
Increase professional development, especially around the concept of implicit bias.
Aggressively recruit pre-K students and place the existing early childhood programs in a comprehensive school.
Insist that the principals are the instructional leaders in the buildings.
Negotiate the return of the principal's authority.
Clarify the role of individual board members and their authority.
Vigorously recruit a diverse teaching force.
Reconfigure the organization of the schools to pre-K-3, 4-6, 7-12 in most cases.
Provide additional specialty schools, including expanding current offerings.
Create a culture of high expectations for all students.
Eliminate the position of climate coaches.
Move labor relations from the Human Resources Department to the Legal Department.
Offer employment early to the district's quality student teachers.
Reduce dependence on retired principals, especially as daily substitutes and recruiters.
Transport seventh and eighth grades by Metro.
Build a comprehensive athletic facility.
Expand admission criteria for Akron After School.
Implement a true gifted and talented program.
Organize the schools by clusters rather than grade levels.
Discuss the pros and cons of starting a separate APS Foundation.
Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Consultant points out inequities, union concerns in Akron schools
