L.A. schools chief wants principals to have more authority

L. A. schools Supt. David L. Brewer said this week he would "kick some ass" to improve schools if the school board would give him political cover, which would include standing up to employee unions who might resist reforms.

The comment came at a public but hard-to-reach meeting Thursday on the 24th floor of school district headquarters. The meeting's topic was the governance of the school district, and the discussion gravitated toward giving school principals real power over their budget -- along with demanding real accountability for results.

The room happened to be weighted with administrators -- even a representative from the League of Women Voters was a retired principal. There was broad agreement on a need to decentralize the district.

UCLA Professor William Ouchi offered the New York City schools as an example of progress through focusing on principals. These unchained administrators have used their new authority to reduce the number of students each teacher must handle per day, he said, because that tactic raises student achievement.

The strategy would be impeded in Los Angeles, because of union work rules and because the district bureaucracy largely controls how schools are staffed, Ouchi and others said.

Brewer, a retired admiral, echoed the strong leader theory as something that worked in the Navy.
"The captain of a ship is a god," he said. "I want the principals to be captains of their ships....Then I found out about all the union issues," which, he added, revolve around wrong priorities.

"There are so many things that protect adults in this system that have to change," Brewer said, adding, "Give me political cover to kick some ass and make some changes."

Later in the meeting, Brewer directly addressed the three board members in the room: Tamar Galatzan (who convened the meeting), Marlene Canter and longtime teachers union ally Julie Korenstein: "Tamar, Julie and Marlene: Give me the political cover and we're going to go there."

The role of Brewer has come under scrutiny in the wake of his hiring of longtime superintendent Ramon C. Cortines to work directly under him. Many district insiders and civic leaders have praised the hire, but some have also questioned whether Brewer (with his high salary) is actually needed at all.

The board members did not respond directly to Brewer's comments, although Canter said that union issues consume "so much of our time, with so little results on either side." She added: "Children don't have a union."

There was no representative from the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, although one had been invited. Contacted later, UTLA vice president Joshua Pechthalt said that authority at a school should be shared among teachers, parents, administrators, and even students, when they are old enough.

"I find it incredibly ironic for an educational institution that puts front and center the idea of educating children to be active participants in a democratic society, then when it comes to actually creating that democratic notion the leadership of the district says, no, we don't mean here," Pechthalt said. "This idea that you need an ultimate decision-maker, because he or she has great insight, is not borne out by reality."

-- Howard Blume

Comments

[los angeleno]

Because of course it is those pesky, overpaid union teachers who are impeding education reform! Oh give me a break! The problems are economic, pure and simple. This country has sold out the working and middle class jobs and now is left with cities with nothing but either low paid service sector jobs, professional government workers or in some cases, union blue collar workers largely working on government jobs. But the bulk of our economy has crumbled leaving a population that often works for cash wages, thus not paying into the tax base plus with no prospects to improve their situation. There is little intellectual stimulus in these areas, save for a few museums. You won't find a bookstore or much else in the way of positive cultural stimuli. If it is there, few people will visit whatever it is. In short, you cannot sell out American workers, both lower class whites and minority workers in the cities, then import an underclass from another country that pays little into the tax base and expect your education system to be able to compensate.
Then on top of that, pay teachers poorly compared to fire fighters and police, which decreases competition in credential programs so that the talent pool goes elsewhere. Add a little proposition 13 and NCLB and voila, you have wrecked your education system.

You want better schools? Treat teaching like a profession and pay teachers like they are professionals.
Then, bring back manufacturing and promote the high tech blue collar jobs we still have and institute those training programs in schools. Not every career requires a four year degree. Stop the handwringing over making principals "gods."
Admiral Brewer, you need to tie schooling to the larger economy and California needs to make college affordable again. It is often what is going on outside of schools, not in them, that is effecting the quality of education.
Good principals are essential, but good teachers with more autonomy are more essential. If you knew the conditions that many teachers worked under, you would not be making such ignorant statements. We need the union just to keep our work conditions tolerable.
It' s not the union, its the economy, stupid.

[slw]

Brewer ia a big talker and a little do-er. he needs to go. let cortines run the ship. at least he has the knowledge to do so. He's just taking up space, time and taxpayer money, and he's way too expensive to keep just so he can throw around a few crass words and little else. dump him now--he's the best example of bureaucratic fluff.

[Ed in the Apple]

The problem with Prof Ouchi 's assertion is it an illusion. Principals in NYC have to abide by the teacher contract, and, can only change the rules w/ a 55% vote of the teachers and the approval of the Chancellor and the Union President.

While the Chancellor lacks the "power" of principals ... the only "power" is to allocate the budget which comes to the school electroncally in dollars ... with many, many constraints ...

Principals/schools, starting last year, receive an A-F grade based upon a numbingly complex formula that is quite apart from NCLB ... and ... the principal's evaluation is tied to the grade.

Moving around the chairs on the Titanic does not make for higher achievement.

[koreatown]

Really? This is the key insight that the LAUSD Superintendent draws an over $300,000 annual paycheck for? Some hackneyed naval metaphors and talk about principals as "gods"?

Ramon Cortines for Superintendent. Now.

[Jose Antonio Nunez Cordero]

Sir,
1- Could I use the below-cited statement to teach my high school students about leadership?
"There are so many things that protect adults in this system that have to change," Brewer said, adding, "Give me political cover to kick some ass and make some changes."

2- Isn't the following statement in contradiction with Small Learning Communities and Pilot Schools?
"The captain of a ship is a god," he said. "I want the principals to be captains of their ships....Then I found out about all the union issues," which, he added, revolve around wrong priorities.

[Hall Monitor]

Didn't a already read a couple stories this past school year about some California principals literally kicking the ass of some students...even one of them a girl?!

Maybe we should think twice before we pump these guys up with creatine. Just a thought.

Hall Monitor
http://detentionslip.org