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	Thursday, 4 March 2004

To Russell Brown, Act II Scene 3.

I am changing things around – I am going to publish this scene in front of all that boring research stuff. Hey – its my Blog, I can do what I want!

In the beginning

I was asked: "how would I prepare the New Zealand education system for a projected decline in student role"?

On the first day:

I believe the following.

School closures are a way of life. As are the opening of new schools. People move, neighbourhoods change, populations grow and decline, educational requirements and theory change. Life is not static. So the process of opening and closing schools should be an ongoing part of the Ministry Of Education (MOE)'s job.
Very small schools are difficult to manage, as they are more subject to the whims of human ability and movement. Bigger schools are more resilient.
Communities that loose their schools suffer. We know this instinctively, as we fight so hard to keep them!
That the latest educational research shows, very strongly, that certain types of communities benefit from small schools, and that certain types of communities benefit from large schools... Note that with modern research we may be on the verge of new understandings of how us humans learn (so let's not destroy our small schools just because we want to save a few dollars).
The expensive part of schooling is not the buildings in which it happens, but rather the cost of the human time and effort that goes into it.
A network of several geographically separated small schools is more resistant to natural disaster that one big school
The affect on society of one big school that goes 'bad' is far worse than to the effect of a small school that goes 'bad'.
It is easier to get community involvement in small schools.
A school is not just about children's education. In this country a lot of schools are used as Civil Defence Centres. They are used for adult education programs. They double as community centres. As sports centres.
It is just about impossible to get rid of bad teachers.

Given the above on the first day I want the MOE to formally define what they want in their educational network. This definition must include factors such as

Assumptions and beliefs like those I listed above
Resistance to disasters
Ability to change with time
Financial requirements
Maximum time children can spend on buses
The size of school best suited to different decile areas
The desired educational outcomes and how they are to be measured
What percentage of classrooms should be empty (Schools can't run at 100% capacity – I feel this is possibly the most expensive way to run a school network. You need slack to accommodate population bumps, lumps, population movement and our gradual new entrant system).
What forms of distance education can be used in rural communities.

On the second day:

Using the above assumptions the MOE would create a formal and public definition what the country's network of schools is supposed to do and to be.

If they had time to burn they could overlay national population projections to get the amount of slack required for different regions.

The MOE would publish this model for debate by any interested party.

On the third day:

The MOE would map the requirements gathered above to the existing school network. On to this mapping the MOE should try to place the reasons why the existing schools were built, and the relevance of those reasons to the network must be understood.

The MOE would publish the result of this mapping. This would allow everyone to see which schools were needed, and which schools didn't fit to the model. It would also allow everyone to understand the rational behind some school closures.

It would more importantly show which schools should not be allowed to close.

On the fourth day:

It must be quite clear that successful schools that do not fit into the model will not be killed. Only failing schools that do not fit into the model should be allowed to die.

Failing schools that are required by the model must be saved. Thus the MOE should develop turnaround teams that know how to bring these schools back from the brink. The MOE must also have the power and skills to turn around failing teachers.

On the fifth day:

Strategies must be developed to help communities that are going loose schools. So, if possible, in closing the school any facilities that can fill the resultant vacuum should be left behind. So, for example, the school hall can be left as a community hall. Or the playground can be turned into a park. The old staff room can be converted into a neighbourhood pub.

On the six day:

I would put in place a process improvement mechanism. This would be subject to review by an outside agency (perhaps ERO?). Its roll is simply to watch the MOE and the schooling network, and to recommend improvements. Much as the schools themselves are judged by ERO.

On the seventh day:

All was sweetness and light. The process is a fair one that does its best for the country. Its assumptions, goals and aims are all clearly defined and on the table. The MOE and the process are constantly under review with continual improvements being made.

Please note that all of the work has been loaded onto the MOE, to be done up front. And that the school system becomes a dynamic one that adapts to ongoing change.

Disclaimer

As with the Bible, one of my days may not be of the same duration as one of yours!

comments? []
9:41:47 PM