A 21st Century idea

— The Fayetteville School District plans to survey the 10,000 folks who voted in the latest millage defeat.

It wants to figure out how to convince the 59 percent of no voters into voting for the idea.

Seems to ole layman me that it might be wise for the school board, in addition to cutting way back on that $115.8 million request, to take a hard look at its insistence on building a campus customized to the experimental 21st Century Learning concepts promoted by Tony Wagner's book, "The Global Achievement Gap."

An entirely rebuilt campus would accommodate a high school tailored fully to this "21st Century" plan. From what I'm hearing from those familiar with this unproved and controversial approach to education, such a radical transformation deserves serious reconsideration.

Ask most any state education official to identify Debbie Pelley of Jonesboro. Many will say that she's a respected former teacher and a relentless digger for truth in Arkansas education. Her letter to me, excerpted below, should represent a caution flag to every Fayetteville citizen who'll be asked again to vote on a millage increase to implement the district's hopes for dramatically transforming its much-honored high school.

It strikes me that traditional education methods have been working very well at Fayetteville High School, at least according to its consistent record of impressive student tests and overall performances.

Yes, its facility does need some refurbishing, and it needs a new cafeteria, band room and performing arts center, but I'm just not seeing a whole lot wrong with the current FHS facility. Even the state Department of Education and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville agree with that observation.

Here's Pelley writing in reaction to my column about the millage defeat.

"Mike, I read your article today . . . about Fayetteville School District's plan to enter into the 21st Century learning concepts. I researched these concepts on the Fayetteville school Web site and recognized all the terms as being part of the controversial aspects of education that have been tried in many areas under various names, only to be rejected by the community when test scores plummeted and the methods become known to the public.

"So this is nothing new. I was involved in a situation with a school district in Paragould . . . in the early and mid-Nineties that became a 21st Century school. This should be a useful study and lesson for the Fayetteville School District and your community.

"The Paragould district initially received all kinds of awards, accolades, grant money, and [was] frequently featured in newspaper articles fortheir innovative non-traditional methods. However, their test scores began to plummet. About three years after the plan was in place, the community became involved and had town meetings exposing what was going on in theschools. Students gave presentations at one community meeting that detailed the problems with the methods used in the schools.

"Both the superintendent and principal resigned when the community became aware that their school test scores, once among the highest in the county, reached the lowest in the county. The next year, the newly hired superintendent and school board began returning the school to basics.

"In this instance, there was no multimillion-dollar building attached to the 21st Century plan. That meant the community was able to turn the school around in short order without spending millions of dollars after they 'saw the light.' Reforms can all be implemented without a new building. They have done so in numerous areas.

"The Jonesboro School District also built a modern high school back in the late '70s . . . that sounds a great deal like what I read about in Fayetteville. Many of us teachers were aghast when we attended an open house for the school because we knew it wasn't workable. Sure enough, it proved disastrous and cost the community dearly as they had to renovate the building several times to fit the real needs of its students."

Come next winter, Fayetteville voters likely will be asked to decide whether they prefer to radically transform the existing system in favor of this 21st Century plan (and add ninth graders to a declining high school enrollment). In fact, Fayetteville administrators already have invested more than $24,000 to provide a copy of Wagner's book to every teacher and selected citizens.

I can't tell you how much has been spent on "21st Century" seminars and conferences. It seems prudent for every parent, property owner and voter to learn all he can about Wagner and his proposed concepts before casting a vote.

In a commentary published earlier this year,national education guru Jay P. Greene, who heads the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, wrote: "There is a growing body of scientific research on these issues, including a number of studies by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences, that the Fayetteville public schools might wish to consider rather than consulting with the latest peddler of educational snake oil." -

Mike Masterson is opinion editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Northwest edition.

Editorial, Pages 11 on 09/29/2009

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