Kansas City Missouri schools without a district
I read Barb Shelly’s column today. Her shared idea of annexation sounds interesting. In this case, what if surrounding districts folded a few Kansas City Missouri public schools into their fold?
Proposal: Imagine a public school without the administrative layers of oversight and district leadership. No school board? Yes, that too.
In most discussions about the Kansas City Missouri School District, I read a narrative that takes a top-down view of the issues. Many believe that schools can improve, students can learn given proper leadership: school boards, superintendents with their degree-CV’d staffs, judges, not-for-profit think tanks. I encourage here, consideration for a simpler, primordial approach.
Students . Parents . Teachers . Principal . School Staff
A school network rather than a district. A council of principals. Parent/citizen foundations under the rubric of a not-for-profit who bolster the schools with resources: time, talent and treasure.
Principals, left to their own competent devices in a collaborative atmosphere with their faculties, can do great things. They will make progress one school at a time, and collectively as a network, if we support them as captains of their ships. Good fleets are a collection of great ships, Oh Captain, My Captain!
Phil Cardarella
1 year, 1 month agoInterestingly enough, that is probably what should have been done years ago.
I always found it amusing when good ol’ boy Federal judge Clark was called a crazy liberal for his Deseg Order. Under the law and evidence, there had long been illegal segregation. Bruce Watkins grew up in Parkville — but was shipped to KCMO to go to school! Judge Clarke could (and probably should) have dissolved all the surrounding districts and formed them into one. Instead, he tried to create a “separate but equal”district in the KCMOSD. With results that we see now that the Deseg Order is over.
Of course, urban education is challenging. Too many kids — black and white — come from homes without the kind of support that suburban kids take for granted. Like supportive, educated parents and food for breakfast. Or books at home. One of the great successes of some of the Magnet Schools was the way that the supportive parents of some of the kids helped make it better for all the kids.
Want to do something patriotic? Don’t just put up a flag on Flag Day. Help the next generation of American be better prepared for the future.
Barb Shelly
1 year, 1 month agoGood thoughts Tom. Thanks for following up on my post.