A US news report by Eddy Ramirez reports that Mr. Arne Duncan, President Obama’s newly appointed Education Secretary, is planning a nationwide effort to turnaround troubled schools, similar to the plan employed by him in Chicago.  With a tremendous war chest of funds, he has established a goal for rehabilitating some of our poorest performing schools.

Everyone supports improving our schools and providing the best education for our nation's youth.  It's a long term challenge that requires the cooperation of teachers, communities, and politicians.  Most importantly, parents need to take a proactive role in implementing these changes in troubled schools.  Parental involvement is crucial if change is to be achieved.  When parents take an interest and become involved, the entire educational community benefits.

Perhaps using federal funding for turnaround or charter schools makes sense to fix the most troubled schools.  However, to save and improve our schools nationwide, programs that also support the teaching community would be beneficial to help these educators in their effort to create the necessary changes.  Implementing a "fresh start" by firing entire teaching staffs and administrators, instead of supporting these experienced professionals, does not seem to be a viable solution.

Let’s hope our brightest politicians and educators will come to a consensus on a turnaround plan that will benefit everyone.  What do you think?

TeachersDesktop.com