Glenbard leaders: 'Flexibility' key to school innovation
As Gov. Bruce Rauner pitched an idea Friday to ease three state mandates and "let teachers teach," he heard several examples of one suburban school's success with letting teachers lead the way.
At Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Rauner heard about a two-year class that challenges students to write a "mini-dissertation," a college-level environmental science course that has grown from 30 to 130 students in recent years, daily after-school algebra tutoring that prepares teens for higher-level math, and partnerships with labs and universities that help students actually "do" science instead of just reading about it.
"We want to help students grow beyond their own expectations, beyond their own limitations that they've set for themselves," said David Elliott, Glenbard East's math department chairman.
Rauner heard from educators proud of their commitment to increasing participation in college-level Advanced Placement courses and their work to provide extra support so students are ready for that challenging coursework.
"We're going to support students," Glenbard East Principal Shahe Bagdasarian said. "But we want to make sure we open the door and increase those opportunities and access so our students can take those higher-level courses."
"All that takes resources," Glenbard District 87 Superintendent David Larson said.
Rauner says his mandate-relieving idea, proposed through bills in the state House and Senate, aims to give schools a bit more freedom in how they allocate their resources. The bills would relieve mandates on physical education, driver's ed and noninstructional contracts, giving districts more control over how they handle things like physical education waivers for student-athletes, contracts for private driver ed instructors, and bids for services such as cleaning, transportation and security.
"In a good school system like Glenbard, we channel every dollar we can into the classroom," Larson said. "The mandates for PE and drivers ed seem small to programs this important."
But when a district is trying to find ways to provide extra supports that help students "level-up" to more difficult work, Larson said self-determination is key.
"If we have the flexibility, we can channel more dollars - not only into the classroom and class sizes - but as we 'level-up' students, we need to provide the supports," he said.
Rauner said the bills proposed Friday are just the first of other measures he has planned to give more authority back to local education leaders.
"There's a lot we're going to do to free up the classrooms," Rauner said.