CEL: A foundational principal of CEL's work is stated in the
phrase, "You cannot lead what you do not know…" What
does this phrase mean to you, in light of the Trust's research agenda
and mission to improve instructional quality in public schools across
the country?
KH: We agree. Powerful instruction is the only way to ensure
mutual agreement to increase achievement, and the person this is placed
on is the school principal. We are expecting principals to know what
powerful instruction looks like and feels like. It is a high priority
for gap-closing schools that there is support for principals to learn
themselves in order to help teachers. Our work with principals and teachers
centers around, "What do good assignments look like?" Our
work focused there, using assignments teachers developed, i.e., anchor
assignments, as a way of getting teachers together to talk together
about the assignment and student work.
We are in the business of helping the kids who need quality teaching-get
it. In High Impact High Schools—schools which accept higher numbers
of diverse and under-performing students and produce larger gains than
the state average—principals are very conscious of the inequity
of teacher quality that can be present in schools. Therefore, they do
not use simple seniority to place their teachers.
CEL: Please elaborate on a statement you made during recent testimony
before the Committee on Workforce and Education (US House of Representatives)
regarding the No Child Left Behind legislation. The Trust's initial
research seems to indicate there has been a positive effect of the legislation
on many school districts. You described the negative reaction to NCLB
as "a pushback against a law that is such a bold assault on the
status quo." In your view, how has the legislation assaulted the
status quo for students of color and in poverty?
KH: I don't think the law is perfect. It did cause a shift
in how we define success. For suburban schools that were sending their
students to fancy colleges and were generating high student test scores,
they were called "good schools" although there were ugly things
happening underneath. NCLB causes us to look at "good schools"
as schools that were good for all kids. Suburban schools were thought
of as better than urban and rural schools. They now have to look at
their ugly gaps. How are their black and Hispanic students achieving
compared to their white students?
We have to adopt the Ritz-Carlton [Hotel] motto: We do not lose
a single client. At a conference I recently attended, Jason Kamras,
National Teacher of the Year, said that the law is doing things for
poor kids and others ...[He said,]"I didn't worry about the quality
of teachers teaching special education students, now I do worry."
I do think we are not focusing on the right thing. We are doing
dumb things and acting as if they are good things. We drill kids for
the tests; principals are badly informed about the strategies that could
make a difference for these students. An example is the Council of Great
City Schools' Road Map. The Council is deeply critical of the member
districts and feels any weakness reflects on all members. The Council
is working to learn more about systemic teaching, expanded time for
students, student assignments, etc. Systems such as Philadelphia are
following the "road map" and showing improvement.
CEL: One of the issues the Trust's research has helped highlight
is the importance of teacher quality as it relates to improved student
achievement. Several of your publications have focused on the role teachers
should play in the improvement of teaching practice. What is the role,
and accountability, of system and building leaders for the improvement
of quality of instruction and practice in their schools?
KH: Nobody is better positioned than principals in the system
to make a difference in the quality of instruction. Central office administrators
are not always well positioned, but they do have both positional and
persuasive roles to promote the efforts toward powerful instruction
as a means to instruct those who need it most. They need to focus on
any principal who is not engaged with teachers, and teachers who are
not engaged in the practice of analyzing their practice.
It is the principal's role to move schedules, create time for teachers
and promote the agenda of quality and equitable instruction for the
students who need it most. Right now, the Trust is working with schools
in Portland, Oregon to create powerful student assignments. Each quarter,
teachers come together to work on an anchor assignment and look at student
work. The goal is to get teaching to move from private practice to public
practice and then to collaborative practice.
CEL: CEL's theory of action for eliminating the achievement
gap holds that the extent to which students have access to high level
curricula and powerful instruction is the extent to which the achievement
gap will be closed. What do you think are the main policy implications
for public education?
KH: We agree. What should schools and school districts do
differently? Right now, the choice of curriculum is up to the students.
You can take the hard or the dumb math class. Oklahoma, Texas, and Indiana
have developed state mandates for high academic levels for all kids.
San Jose has done the same at the district level. I think it is hard
at the building level. Powerful teaching is an issue, right now, because
of collective bargaining issues such as tenure. Even if you are not
a strong or powerful teacher, you may have a lock on the job. Seniority
says who teaches who and can be a barrier for teachers to perceive that
all kids are their responsibility. This can't continue. Authority and
accountability issues need to be clarified for principals: who hires,
fires and trains the teachers in his/her building. I think that today's
business leaders have no idea that principals work within these types
of constraints.