What Delaware education can learn from the Urban League National Conference
The 2016 Urban League National Conference in Baltimore brought together political, business, and community leaders to provide attendees with professional, civic engagement, and networking opportunities. The theme was Save Our Cities: Education, Jobs, and Justice.
There was a common conceptual thread that arose in all sessions and plenaries: choices. Many felt the nation is struggling today because of past choices. For instance, the nation chooses to spend more on prisons than on education. This choice has led to less money for school infrastructure, teachers’ salary and resources for students. Now is the time to make better choices.
During his speech, Secretary of Education John King outlined five choices that can be made to improve education in our nation and that can be easily applied to our state of Delaware. They are:
- Invest in early learning
During a recent visit, Sec. King gave Delaware good marks in this area. In order to maintain our progress, we must continue to choose to invest in the momentum underway. Currently, around $9.4 million will go to support early learning initiatives like professional development activities for practitioners in early care and education, early childhood mental health consultation, developmental screenings and surveys, community readiness teams, and more. As outlined in a blog post by my colleague Melissa Hopkins, this number is still short of Governor Jack Markell’s recommended $11.4 million. At the end of this year’s legislative session, we eased off the gas as we travel toward quality, early access for all of our young learners and need to ensure we are making the right choices for them.
- Increase resources
Our state’s school funding system is flawed, outdated, and unfair to students. It is in need of a major revamp, increased oversight, and transparency for the public. In his speech, Sec. King acknowledged that although solving the funding issue is crucial, increasing resources means more than just adding dollars to the system. Resources can come in the form of more counselors to help guide high school students to postsecondary success, whether they attend college or join the workforce. Resources can come in the form of better digital infrastructures and tools for teachers to implement blended and personalized learning. Resources can even come in the form of providing a more diverse selection of course options to prepare students for life outside of the classroom. Choices regarding money are often the most difficult to make. Yet when it comes to education, we must remember that increasing resources means more than just spending money, and how we spend has a major influence on the success of our students.
- Develop systems of accountability and supports
Sec. King urged the audience to take advantage of the opportunities the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is going to provide. Everyone can be involved by attending community conversations, meeting with elected officials, monitoring the process at the state level and most importantly by paying attention and intervening. In fact, this was a common theme throughout the conference. During the State of the Urban League Address, president and CEO Mark Morial warned the audience to stop ignoring the plight and issues in our society. We are accountable to pay attention and tell the stories of those who are unable. ESSA gives states more control of their education system. In other words, how they handle accountability, standards and assessments, the teaching profession, and other areas. Recently, the Rodel team developed a series of short summary briefs that spell out the information everyone needs to know, and the questions that should be asked when it comes to ESSA.
- Work to diversify schools
A recent report stated that segregation in New York schools can start as early as pre-k. Wilmington has had its own dance with this issue. Sec. King recommended looking closely at housing policies and school zones to combat this problem. While the WEIC plan ended on a somewhat positive note this year, Delaware should consider the consequences of segregating schools and make the choice to change this pattern.We also need to focus on diversifying not only the student population but the education workforce as well. This includes teachers, administrators, coaches, and counselors. In Delaware, we know that the teaching population does not match the student population and situations like these can impact the student experience. Diversifying the workforce can be done by offering loan forgiveness programs and providing resources to retain teachers in our state. A perfect example of this work underway is the Teacher Leader Pilot, where current Delaware teachers are working with their peers to gain professional development and encourage them to stay in the classroom.
- Encourage local engagement
Sec. King stressed the importance of local engagement as a way to improve education. He mentioned mentoring programs like My Brother’s Keeper and how ones like it are vital to helping and supporting our students. It is no secret that Delaware is a small state and if you are like me you are surrounded by people who know this and the advantages it brings. If all sectors, industries, and communities work together to strengthen each other’s initiatives to support our students there is no way that we can lose. Examples of collaboration and local engagement can be seen in the Delaware Department of Education’s ESSA community conversations that occurred in September. For more opportunities for engagement, check the Vision Coalition’s upcoming 9th Annual Conference on Education. This event brings together voices from around the state and beyond for an engaging and interactive day focusing on the future of education.