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Urban Education Network of Iowa The UEN is a coalition comprised of the state’s eight largest public school districts, with Associate Member support of other large school districts with urban characteristics. Combined these 17 districts enroll nearly 36% of the state’s public school students. UEN and Associate Member districts share distinct and unique characteristics with one common purpose; student learning for all students. In the belief that education is the state’s highest priority, the UEN is committed to partnering with the General Assembly and the Governor in a cooperative effort to provide an efficient and world class system of public education. |
2012 Legislative Priorities
Educational Transformation
The UEN supports transformation of our educational system based on student learning needs, including meaningful and aligned assessment that can inform instruction. State policies must be grounded in research demonstrating improved student outcomes; include adequate and equitable resources, and an expectation for professional development. Strong bi-partisan legislative support must focus on long-term improvement with incentives for innovation. UEN members welcome a statewide commitment to transforming our educational system in overcoming barriers to change. We respectfully request transformational focus on:
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Urgency – THE TIME IS NOW. We support an effort to deliver a world-class education for all Iowa students.• Meaningful Assessment - We welcome rigorous, uniform, clearly defined essential standards that support deep learning and understanding. We support the next generation framework of assessment, which promotes the development of a process for assessing student learning that accurately and adequately measures 21st Century learning. Formative and end-of-course assessments, aligned to learning expectations, are both critical, including the resources necessary to implement them. We support a college readiness test, such as ACT, for all eleventh-graders in Iowa.
• Literacy- Proficiency in literacy is the key to academic success and lifelong learning. Higher expectations for literacy at ALL levels of the system are important. We must elevate our commitment to quality preschool, and provide heightened intervention programs in ALL grades.
• Innovation - We welcome a new spirit of innovation, which will work best when all schools are given flexibility, charter-like authority and sufficient resources to improve. Every district should be encouraged and required to innovate, resulting in elevated student learning and opportunities. We support innovative schools and programs based on a level playing field, and to that end, support the expansion of Iowa charter schools, chartered by and accountable to local school boards.
• New concepts of delivery - Learning takes place 24/7/365 and we support student access to on-line learning opportunities and competency-based progress as the next step beyond the Carnegie unit/time-based credit.
• Evaluation of Instructional Staff - In collaboration with instructional staff, districts should develop a process for including student learning as one factor in the evaluation of teachers and administrators. Iowa educators should continuously demonstrate effectiveness toward increased student achievement. We embrace a student achievement growth indicator as one of multiple learning measures included in educator evaluation.
• Administrative leadership - Principals must be free from other responsibilities to be instructional leaders. Local Districts need flexibility granted to them to get that work done. The role of the Department of Education is to define and suggest helpful models from which local districts can choose (such as the SAM program), building upon local needs and understanding.
• Improving recruiting and hiring practices - We welcome any assistance the Department of Education can give schools to build the pool of qualified candidates for teaching and administrative positions. Preparation of instructional staff must include pedagogy and content knowledge, both critical to effective instruction.
• World Class Models - It is essential to consider models of educational transformation that have been successfully implemented in other nations and states. Equally valuable is the promotion of programs that meet world class standards and have been successfully implemented in some Iowa districts and/or schools.
Adequate and Equitable Funding
Successful transformation of the Iowa educational system is not possible without adequate and equitable funding. The UEN supports:
21st Century School Funding System
Iowa school finance policy drives improved student success in the workplace and in life. It is time for Iowa’s school finance system to address student equity, taxpayer equity, funding adequacy and process improvements that support the 21st Century education that Iowa students deserve. A meaningful transformation of Iowa’s educational system will not deliver high and equitable results without a parallel effort at addressing the current funding system’s shortcomings. Iowa’s school finance system must include:
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Equity reforms – these are reform efforts ensuring equity of funding and opportunity for students and/or equity of burden for taxpayers. Equity is a foundational principle, necessary to deliver an education that sustains all other rights and liberties. Property tax reform must address inequities between school district property tax payers.·
Adequacy reforms – these are reform efforts ensuring that funding is adequate to promote achievement and address the needs of distinct student groups and individuals. Adequacy reforms can impact equity reforms and vice versa.· Process reforms – these are system reforms that are less visible to the public at large but produce increased efficiency, transparency, flexibility or simply replace outdated processes.
Dr. Lew Finch, Executive Director
lfinch@mchsi.com
319.329.0547 Cell
Margaret
Buckton, Buckton Consulting
515.201.3755 Cell
margaret.m.buckton@gmail.com