Local prof lauds NYC school reform

A local management expert is making expansive claims for the success of school reforms in New York City — in sharp contrast to what is happening in Los Angeles.

"The last four years have seen a quiet revolution in New York City's public schools," William G. Ouchi writes in today’s New York Post, "and early evidence suggests that it's bringing major gains for students."

Ouchi is a key architect of New York City’s current reform effort, and not everyone is as enthusiastic as he. But school board members in Los Angeles have expressed growing interest in his theories, which focus on the school principal.

Ouchi is familiar locally as a top education advisor to former Mayor Richard Riordan and a leading intellect by the LEARN reform effort of the 1990s. Ouchi, a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, now is engaged most closely with New York City public schools, which are serving as a crucible for his school-management theories.

Ouchi now believes that LEARN didn’t work, in large measure, because school principals lacked true control of their budget and because they weren’t, at the same time, held accountable for academic gains.

Here's another article about Ouchi’s efforts, this one by Jay Mathews in last week’s Washington Post.

-- Howard Blume

Photo by Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Kathy, diplomas teacher]

It's a little bit surprising for me that giving the principals more power had such a substantial effect. This approach seems quite risky because of the human factor. Maybe you know how this risk is eliminated?

Thanks!