In the past week, there’s been a great deal of attention given to a proposal by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal to create what he is calling an “Opportunity School District”. The central premise is that a limited number of schools who do not meet a performance bar set by the state may be subject to becoming a part of this state-controlled district and either undergo a structural change (become a charter school, fall under state board control) or be closed. I appreciate the desire to improve the educational experience for students in schools that are, at least according to some measures, struggling. However, I am skeptical that what the governor is proposing would necessarily result in the sorts of changes in outcomes envisioned by the proposal, in large part because countless examples suggest that large-scale reform efforts that focus only on changing governance and structure do not often—in fact, rarely—impact what Richard Elmore calls the “instructional core” that is at the heart of teaching and learning in schools. Moreover, if there is interest in making structural changes in the name of improving student achievement, there’s clear and compelling evidence that the a more effective way to do so is to create schools that are socioeconomically diverse rather than segregated by income, a change that school districts themselves have done and could do.
So rather than read a blog post by me on the topic, here are some selected readings to become more informed about the ideas above: