The Autonomy Gap: Barriers to Effective School Leadership

The Thomas Fordham Institute has a report about how principals do not have the control they need to improve results. The report is entitled The Autonomy Gap: Barriers to Effective School Leadership. This report should be very enlightening for those of you who still believe the government monopoly of public schools is run well, efficiently, or that bad teachers are always removed from the classroom.


          

Based on a series of interviews with a small sample of district and charter-school principals, the report shows that most district principals encounter a sizable gap between the extent and kinds of authority that leaders need to be effective and the authority that they actually have. Regrettably if understandably, many principals have also come to accept this gap as a fact of life. They learn to work the system, not change the system.

If they worked to change the system, it would be better by now or there would be no principals. These principals understand that if they tried to change the system too much, they would most likely be fired. This is just one more reason why we need school choice. The current education establishment won’t allow the reform necessary to obtain real results. They know that if the system resembles charter schools, many of these administrators would be looking for work instead of milking the taxpayers for hundreds of thousands of dollars each and every year.

Some of the barriers are described as follows (p22-24):


          

The biggest challenge these principals faced was staffing issues.
—————-[snip]——————–
Union contracts and district human resource policy make hiring the ideal teacher candidate, transferring unsuitable teachers and staff, and firing unsuitable teachers and staff a nearly impossible task for these principals. The seniority clause within the union contract forced principals to fill vacant positions with less than ideal candidates because of a teacher’s years in the system, rather than the type of experience and skills the candidate brought to the position.
—————-[snip]——————–
Budget constraints were another undercurrent that challenged a principal’s ability to exercise effective leadership. There wer three primary factors in this barrier: (a)district budget allocation, (b) charter schools, and © federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) funds.
—————-[snip]——————–
budget constraints did not allow for additional funds to pay teachers to work longer hours for either extended-day services or professional development opportunities. The combination of these factors, made competing with charter schools-which were able to extend their school day without being under the constraint of the union and district policies – nearly impossible.

The principals are handicapped by the bureaucratic system. This system is setup to give the appearance of local control, but it controlled by district personnel and by state and federal law. The system is setup to protect the incompetent and the teachers who have not mastered the subject they are teaching. All of this is not for the children, but for the protection of the system.

It is very clear to anyone using common sense that our current government run monopoly called public schools is a bloated system that hinders those who really do want to effectively teach the children of this nation. It is time we end the government school monopoly and start funding the child instead of the system.

>Funding the child allows the return of local control because the control is now in the hands of the parents instead of a government bureaucrat. We can eliminate the Department of Education because it will no longer be needed since the parents will be holding the schools accountable. NCLB can be repealed as well. It is an ineffective piece of legislation that does nothing more than nationalizes school control and allows states to game the system so they continue to look good instead of actually being good.

Wake up people. The education establishment has kept the shades closed for way too long. They are now being exposed for what they truly are and it is time to stand up and tell them NO! It is time to FUND THE CHILD instead of the system.

Download the full report here.

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2 Responses to “The Autonomy Gap: Barriers to Effective School Leadership”

  1. Education Matters US » School Choice Saves Money, on May 15th, 2007 at 10:01 pm Said:

    [...] School choice provides competition. This competition helps bring about more parental involvement and raises the scores of those who choose vouchers and those remaining in the public schools. It will force the freedom principals need to innovate to help the students. [...]

  2. School Choice Saves Money | Blog for Cox: The Official John Cox Campaign Blog, on May 16th, 2007 at 5:41 pm Said:

    [...] School choice provides competition. This competition helps bring about more parental involvement and raises the scores both for those who choose vouchers and for those remaining in the public schools. It will force the freedom principals need to innovate to help the students. [...]

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