FROM THE EDITOR: Public Schools Must Face Unsettling Reality

Public education as it has been practiced in the United States for decades is facing an existential crisis. How it responds will strengthen its hand, or accelerate the privatization of education.

By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

For 40-plus years, a movement to dismantle public education as it has been practiced in the United States for more than 150 years has been amassing its forces and waiting for the right time to attack.

That time arrived on January 20. In just four months, the Trump Administration has made clear its plans to fundamentally undermine the public education system that helped make America the most dominant economic power on earth.

Locally, the move to upend public education is underway. The Advance reported on two grant programs in Spotsylvania County that were defunded without warning — both grants supporting teachers and students working in the area of special education.

Last week, the Advance outlined what would happen should Title I funding and Head Start funding be stripped from the federal budget, as Trump has proposed. Fredericksburg City Schools, which receives 10 percent of its budget from the federal government, would be faced with the real possibility of closing programs that benefit its most vulnerable children. That loss would also affect King George, whose Head Start program is run by FCPS.

Caroline, Spotsylvania, and Stafford also face cuts that would be difficult to overcome on the fly.

It’s not just finances, however, that the Trump Administration has threatened. It’s also working to dictate curriculum — outlawing any subject material deemed tied to “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” or out of step with the Supreme Court ruling eliminating race as a criteria in admissions to Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

These changes have created no shortage of concerns.

They may also pave the way for the resurgence of public education if Virginia’s politicians and public school leaders recognize the opportunity before them.

Historically Successful, Currently Challenged

There are few public programs that have proven as successful over time as public education.

Historically, the American public education system has arguably created more opportunity for more people than any U.S. governmental program. The nation has moved from educating less than 30% of Black and other minorities and 60% of whites in 1900 to nearly 100% of all children in 1990.

The majority of people leading most every corner of society — from business to civil service, nonprofit to education — are public school educated.

And since the 1960s, America has undergone a revolution that has made its economy the strongest in the world — an accomplishment not possible without public education.

For all this success, however, there is no doubt that public education has rightly faced criticism that has been building in intensity for about 40 years.

The system itself is outdated, primed more for the 1940s’ American economy than the one we live in today. In addition, our increasingly hostile political discourse has turned the debates over what students should learn into a tribal struggle to control the thoughts of our students.

Finally, there is broad consensus that today’s public schools are not preparing kids for the challenges they face after graduation. Whether it’s lack of job skills, poor thinking and writing abilities, or a declining ability to work collaboratively, Democrats and Republicans have an abundance of ills to choose from.

There is an upside to this level of turmoil, however — local school districts have an opportunity to reinvent themselves.

Federal Mistakes, State and Local Opportunities

In its rush to destroy public education and create a money-lined yellow brick road for charter schools to walk down, the Trump Administration has made a critical mistake.

The only leverage the federal government has over local school districts and state curricular choices are the relatively scant number of dollars the federal government dispenses.

There is no doubt that the loss of federal funds would prove harmful to local school districts in the year ahead. Local governments in the Fredericksburg region are not equipped to replace lost federal dollars should the Trump Administration successfully carry out its threats.

The road ahead, however, is far from bleak.

To begin, the commonwealth of Virginia may be able to backfill a considerable chunk of this loss.

Sen. McPike said at a Fredericksburg-area event earlier this month, “I suspect we’ll be back in session in the fall.” Everyone is looking at the skinny budget in D.C., “and there’s significant cuts all across the board. All those trickle down to our community…. We’re all very much attuned … and paying attention.”

Second, should the federal government end funding, it effectively ends any say that it has in public education. From anti-DEI curriculum demands, to dictates on how to handle special education, and federal requirements on state testing, school districts would find themselves unshackled from federal oversight in a way they haven’t been since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.

This creates opportunities to radically re-think how education is delivered. To do this, however, public schools will need to think outside the box.

Admitting Their Shortcomings

Though public schools historically have been a strength, our public education system has by most global measures fallen well behind that of many European countries’.

Whether in terms of innovation or delivery, America’s public schools are no longer the model the world looks to. Finland, Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden are just some of the countries are outshining American education at a macro level.

Efforts have been afoot for several decades to restore innovation, mostly by finding ways to get highly talented individuals into the educational system without spending years and thousands of dollars working their way through credentialing systems that are in need of rethinking.

We are also seeing efforts to create more career and technical education opportunities for students who do not wish to pursue higher education immediately after high school.

These are all positive steps, but with federal control of state and local education weakened, it’s time to go further.

A few ideas:

• Find Innovative Solutions for Students Who Are Perpetual Disciplinary Issues - Unfortunately, there are students who simply cannot perform in traditional school settings. As the Advance reported earlier this month, discipline in Fredericksburg Schools has become a serious issue. Jessica Kujala, a teacher in the division, said at a school board meeting: “Data in our school shows that many of the same students continue to struggle significantly. These students are often the ones who consistently disrupt classrooms, hinder the learning of others, and place a significant burden.” Deputy superintendent Matt Eberhardt confirmed Kujala’s concerns, describing a growing population of students who are “destroying” classrooms. Getting these children out of traditional classes and into environments where their needs can be addressed is critical.

• Turn Teachers Loose - Last week, this column described the unreasonable demands placed on teachers that range from administrative interference to paperwork and parent conferences and phone calls. Last year, Fredericksburg Superintendent Marci Catlett suggested on the New Dominion Podcast that hiring the equivalent of an administrative assistant for each teacher could greatly strengthen education. We agree. Reduce staff in central office who impose demands on teachers but offer no solutions or assistance on how to manage it all, and hire people who can handle the busy work so teachers can change lives.

• Shorten the High School Years, Fund Preschool - Reducing high school to grades 9-11 and eliminate 12th grade could improve student engagement by allowing students to get going on what they want to do sooner. Higher-achieving students should have little difficulty fulfilling the requirements they need for college in 11 years. So, too, middle-of-the-pack students. Disengaged students who desire to work or pursue technical training should have the opportunity to get started sooner. On the other end, fully fund and mandate preschool. For all the talk about the “science of reading,” the fact is, kids who enter First Grade reading at least on grade level stand a far better chance of being successful down the road. Make preschool available for all, and spend those years getting children reading.

Trump, in his efforts to destroy public education, may unintentionally spark a revolution in public education that is long overdue.

The question is, can schools accept their struggles, and embrace the bold thinking that we need to again lead the world in public education.

If they don’t, public education as we know it may well end, in order to pave the way for charter schools and the privatization of the education industry. And that would be a critical mistake.

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