We want to applaud the Northshore School District Board of Directors. In May 2010, they introduced a new set of District Goals and Performance Measures, and directed Superintendent Francois to recommend five-year improvement targets. Within the four broad goals were many that directly address increasing standards of performance and student achievement, as well as increasing communication and community involvement to support student learning. The document stated: “As a public agency, we are responsible to our community and must engage in meaningful and sincere two-way communication.”
Consistent with this goal, parents and community members have come together to discuss what our priorities are for the school district, and have submitted them to the school board. Our overall goal is to ensure that every student should be educated to reach his/her highest potential. Following the lead of community organizations in Issaquah and Seattle, we have submitted a Community Values Statement, which makes several recommendations to the School Board for how to achieve this goal. The Community Values Statement reflects the desires of parents across the district, is backed by research conducted nationally, and mirrors results of polls conducted statewide within the last two years.
Our first recommendation, every classroom should be led by an effective teacher and every school by an effective principal, is supported by much research. The Washington-based Partnership For Learning showed teacher and principal effectiveness has a greater impact on student learning than any other factor in a school system, including class size and socio-economic conditions. The report made several recommendations to increase student achievement, including “revamp principals’ and teachers’ evaluations to include student growth as a significant measure. Student achievement should never be the sole criterion of an evaluation — but to ignore this data completely de-values a teacher’s impact; and include evaluations and student growth indicators in key human capital decisions” (The Impact of Effective Teachers and Principals; Accelerating Student Performance by Focusing on What Matters Most in Our Schools. Partnership For Learning, 2010).
In a poll of Washington state teachers conducted in December 2009, “62 percent agreed we need a fair way to differentiate teacher and principal effectiveness based on performance, and 55 percent agreed teacher effectiveness should be the predominant factor when making staffing decisions, such as placement, transfers and reduction in force” (“What Washington Teachers Think About “Race to the Top Issues,” Davis, Hibbitts and Midghall, Inc. 2009).
Our second recommendation is Northshore School District should ensure authentic family-school partnerships, in which every family feels empowered to work in collaboration with educators. Research consistently demonstrates the benefits of family-school-community partnerships: higher teacher morale, increased parent involvement in supporting teaching and learning, and greater student success, as reflected in higher grades, graduation rates, and participation in post-secondary education. (PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships Implementation Guide, 2009).
All great organizations seek ways to make themselves better. We firmly believe implementing our recommendations will help to make the already good Northshore schools into great ones, and turn every student’s potential into a reality. Please visit www.nfbs.org or search for “Northshore Families for Better Schools” on Facebook to read the whole Community Values Statement. If you agree the school district should take these ideas into account during upcoming collective bargaining with the Northshore Education Association, please e-mail northshorefamilies@yahoo.com with “support” in the subject line. We welcome endorsements from individuals and organizations.
Nancy Chamberlain, Ph.D., Northshore Families for Better Schools
