Earlier this week I wrote about HB 37, Kentucky's new "districts of innovation" law, which would allow schools (on a 70 percent vote of the faculty) to apply for innovation status, freeing them of yet-to-be-determined regulations so the school can be more creative and flexible with its delivery of learning.
In my previous post I argued that, while the law may have merits, it does not serve as a meaningful substitute for charter schools. Another point worth noting, I think, is that for many educational "innovations," HB 37 may be totally unnecessary.
The Eminence Independent school district recently garnered headlines for its plans to provide free laptops to high school students and change the school schedule to allow students to attend Bellarmine University for free classes two days a week, among other changes. The report suggested that Eminence could become the first "district of innovation" under the new law.
But all of the innovations Eminence has in mind are currently legal under Kentucky law. Any school or district could pursue such changes. What distinguishes Eminence is the bold leadership of Superintendent Buddy Berry and other district administrators and a teaching staff willing to try something out-of-the-box on behalf of student learning.
In his forthcoming book, Cage-Busting Leadership, American Enterprise Institute scholar Rick Hess makes the same argument:
It is true, as would-be reformers often argue, that statutes, policies, rules, regulations, contracts, and case law make it tougher than it should be for school and system leaders to drive improvement and, well, lead. At the same time, however, it is also true that these leaders have far more freedom to transform, reimagine, and invigorate teaching, learning, and schooling than is widely believed.
In my experience, most school "reform" efforts involve tinkering with add-0n programs, interventions, or new technologies, while everyday instruction (and the school schedule) remains largely the same. But it doesn't take an act of Congress (or the Kentucky General Assembly) to bust out of that cage of habit. It takes courageous, visionary leadership, richly informed by an understanding of effective teaching practices and relentlessly committed to steering the organization toward a unified purpose
The education industry in Kentucky may indeed be burdened with a surplus of rules and regulations. But we're also burden with a dearth of bold leadership, and changes like HB 37 are unlikely to make much difference in that regard.
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