The Edmonton, Alberta, Canada public-school system was “floundering” in bureaucracy until decentralization decisions were made, said a leader there. Karen Beaton, who has been a teacher and is now a principal and president of Local 37 of The Alberta Teachers’
The Edmonton, Alberta, Canada public-school system was “floundering” in bureaucracy until decentralization decisions were made, said a leader there.
Karen Beaton, who has been a teacher and is now a principal and president of Local 37 of The Alberta Teachers’ Association, said creation of local school boards there was the beginning of a sea change that has turned around that once-struggling district.
In fact, she likened the establishment of local school boards there to events leading to the creation of the United States.
“Local school boards are really the foundation of democracy,” she said. “For us, it has worked, and in fact is the very foundation of our schools,” said Beaton.
She is in Hawai’i at the request of Gov. Linda Lingle, not to advocate or lobby for creation of local school boards or a decentralized state Department of Education in this state, but to share her experiences of 20 years of decentralized delivery of public education in Edmonton.
Her hope, though, is that Hawai’i citizens get the chance to voice their feelings on local school boards in public elections, possibly this fall.
That may be a pipe dream, as ruling Democrats in the state Legislature and leaders of the Hawaii State Teachers Association both oppose local school boards.
Still, Lingle has proposed legislation to let voters decide on the issue of local school boards during this fall’s elections.
A teacher since 1968 and principal since 1994, Beaton has witnessed both in the classroom and in the school office the changes to Edmonton’s public schools brought about by decentralization.
“It didn’t take us long to figure out it was the best way to work,” especially once positive changes were felt when they “turned things upside down and placed decision-making closer to those affected by those decisions,” she said.
“You end up making decisions in the school based on needs of students in that school,” versus someone making decisions and not knowing about the students, teachers, parents and community where the school is located, she said.
“Principals will make good decisions,” with the support of parents, teachers and other staff, she continued.
In Hawai’i, it’s difficult for principals to exhibit true leadership when key school decisions are made by people on other islands who plain just don’t know enough about the school they’re making decisions about, she said.
“The principal is the most crucial leadership position,” and principals need to be supported so their decisions will result in the best student achievement, Beaton said.
Once in charge of a school with a $2.1-million annual budget (85 percent of which was spent on staff), she took a leave of absence to assume the leadership role in her union.
While on Maui, O’ahu and Kaua’i this week, she has heard over and over again from principals who say they have enough money and decision-making authority, and aren’t really interested in more local control, autonomy and accountability, especially if they’ll be charged with accounting duties with that local control.
She says it will be easier for principals to manage schools with greater local control and decision-making capabilities, because it’s easier to live with and manage school-based decisions than to manage and live with decisions made somewhere else.
“You make decisions based on what’s best for the school,” and the buck stops with the principal. With greater fiscal autonomy, principals may opt to hire financial assistants if they feel those people are needed. “It actually makes life easier for principals.”
Some problems won’t go away, though. “The bottom line is there’s never enough money.”
But other problems, like crowded classrooms and a chronic teacher shortage, may be solved. “What’s needed is teachers teaching in classrooms, and the more teachers in non-classroom positions (like at district and state DOE offices in Hawai’i) means the fewer you have teaching children,” Beaton said.
“What higher honor than to go back to the classroom?”
Accountability in Edmonton takes the form of annual standards reviews for teachers, schools, administrators and students. The check-and-balance system is ensured by locally elected school boards, whose members are annually presented results reviews of student, teacher, principal and school achievement and growth plans.
