In a recent edition of the East Valley Tribune, there were two important stories about the future of public education in Tempe.
One story was about the Tempe Elementary School District's plan to expand its "traditional academy." Traditional means what it says: structure, uniforms and a back to basics kind of school. No touchy-feely, Kumbaya group hugs here.
The other story was about the Tempe Union High School District's plan to consider opening a "Montessori high school." According to the story, "Montessori classrooms provide a popular, hands-on approach to education. Students are often grouped in multi-age clusters. They are taught using the Socratic method - with long discussions about topics and teachers acting as facilitators. Students don't use textbooks, but rather read and research using literature and other sources. Being outdoors is another ‘key component' to the Montessori method, one reason the school-community group that started looking at this option visited a private Montessori school in the Midwest that operates a farm."
This is quite the opposite from the planned expansion of "traditional" education by the elementary district that feeds into the high school district - a district that already offers a high school setting for troubled students, a program for the highly gifted at another high school, and an International Baccalaureate Program at yet another high school.
The only school district that didn't have a story in that edition was Tempe's third school district - the Kyrene Elementary School District. Kyrene students are also fed into the Tempe Union High School District and it too operates independently of the both the high school district and the Tempe Elementary School District.
Tempe, the smallest city in the East Valley, has three school districts serving its shrinking student population - three school districts all struggling to survive in this growing world of school choice, charter schools and decreased funding.
And with three school districts comes three school boards doing things their way, as well as three elections, three superintendents, three administrations, and three transportation systems. The list of "threes" goes on and on - and that includes many of the costs that could go into the classroom instead into administrative costs.
In Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Scottsdale there's a single unified school district that serves the entire community from kindergarten through high school - not multiple districts all struggling to survive and that seem to be in an endless and costly quest to get public education right "their way" in Tempe.
As a parent of four children who have attended public schools in all three Tempe districts I've seen first hand the organizational disarray that exists between school districts. The left hand really doesn't know what the right hand is doing and often times it doesn't care if it knows or not. Three school districts all profess they want what's best for our children but only if they're having it their way every step of the costly way.
The multi-school district model that currently serves Tempe is as outdated and ineffective as stagecoach travel.
The time has come for Tempe's school boards and community leadership to bring about school district unification like has been successfully in place for decades all around Tempe.
It's time to deliver a cost-effective and high-quality education that's about students and not what district can come up with the catchiest and latest gimmick to catch parent's attention and hopefully draw more students and state financial aid.
If Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Scottsdale can do it right, why can't Tempe?
Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley and can be reached at bill.richardson@cox.net.
LearningEveryDay posted at 3:32 pm on Mon, Jan 30, 2012.
With great respect, Mr. Richardson, I invite you to do some research before you write an opinion piece. For starters, the list of "3s" is not nearly as long as you think. The 3 districts combine many, many operations from Legal Counsel to printing. All 3 districts combine operations to save money whenever it works. When combining does not create a benefit, they do not combine.
As for your disdain of Montessori programs and the move to provide a variety of learning environments, that is the goal of our legislators. Take it up with them. They want schools to offer families choices about how their children learn. Some can choose to have their children memorize from text books and take tests; while others can have their children learn from actually doing things like growing crops or building a house.
If we want a variety of innovative solutions for our future, it's a good idea to try some innovative approaches to learning.
Partyo'Six posted at 4:28 pm on Mon, Jan 30, 2012.
I'm curious how long ago it was that your children attended the 3 Tempe school districts. I have 2 kids in the Kyrene School District and one attending high school in the Tempe Union District. Although I can't speak from experience for the Tempe School District, I can say that the Kyrene School District and Tempe Union High School District work great together! I also want to point out that the Kyrene School District is ranked higher than Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert Unified Districts. So it appears that they are doing something right, if not better than Mesa, Chandler or Gilbert.
Rich posted at 6:59 pm on Mon, Jan 30, 2012.
The greatest school that ever existed, at least by the performance of its 'graduates' was a grove of olive trees a bit north of Athens. Almost all modern thought originated in a grove of trees without a single school board member, administrator, or voucher. It was called "Akademia". What education requires is a student and a teacher, everything else is just dead wood, how to spend money without having anything to show for it. As for educational philosophies, Maria Montessori's are statistically more effective than American public education. Statistically the best are Rudolph Steiner's theories, which back what are called 'Waldorf' schools. How people learn is an individual trait. A good teacher imparts what he (or she) knows to the majority of the students, a great one all of them. One with a salary, a job, a pension, too few of them. Teaching is an art form, and not enhanced in the least by 'districts' or two or three of them. The best teachers will teach, whether or not you employ them to do so, and it's just possible the future will be created by a bunch of malcontents who learned what they know in a stand of cactus.
Magnolia posted at 11:20 pm on Mon, Jan 30, 2012.
Mr. Richardson brings up some very good points that have been implemented in other school districts around the country. The same concept is being applied by local jurisdictions that are eliminating their police and fire departments to contract with sheriff departments and fire districts for public safety services. When they do so they experience an immediate cost saving by eliminating layers of administrative support.
It's something to seriously consider before the next financial crisis hits and beleaguered taxpayers, who have been hobbled with increases in water rates, community college tax increases, utility increases, sales tax increases, property tax increases, excessive fuel prices, etc., etc. begin to say no to school bonds as revenues decline. Remember, the state budget fix is only temporary.
billrichardson posted at 6:06 am on Tue, Jan 31, 2012.
Can anyone give me three good reasons Tempe needs three different school districts?
Partyo'Six posted at 9:39 am on Tue, Jan 31, 2012.
The 3 districts that you speak of are not exclusively Tempe school districts. The Kyrene School District covers Tempe, Chandler and Phoenix. In fact, only 5 of Kyrene's 25 schools are located in Tempe (4 elementary schools and 1 middle school). Kyrene covers south Tempe and Chandler and the remainder are in the Ahwatukee area. The Tempe School District covers the remainder of Tempe's elementary and Jr. High Schools, while the Tempe Union High School district covers Tempe's High Schools. So to be more accurate, Tempe truly has 2 school districts, one for Elementary and Jr. High Schools and one for its High Schools. Kyrene has more schools located in Chandler and Phoenix than in Tempe, so to label it as a "Tempe" school district is inaccurate.
TempeFan24 posted at 10:47 am on Tue, Jan 31, 2012.
Partyo'Six... to add to your good point about Kyrene serving more than just Tempe... the Tempe Union HS District also serves Chandler and Phoenix... just take a look at the addresses for Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe high schools
VofReason posted at 12:28 pm on Tue, Jan 31, 2012.
Here is something, why not move the schools in the Kyrene District into one District within Tempe and the others can join districts in those cities. I know I know, it's impossible becuase of x, y, and z. I think what Mr Richardson is pointing out here is that Schools should be run more like businesses with an expectation of a certain outcome at an efficient cost. Truley revolutionary as far as public education goes.
Suelee posted at 3:17 pm on Tue, Jan 31, 2012.
After 40 years of living in Tempe, I also cannot figure out how so many elementary and high school districts were carved out of one small town. Our Tempe home is located East of Price Rd (101 freeway) and it is the MESA school district! We were so disgusted by the whole mess that we used Christian schools and Charter schools to educate our children (and they did a GREAT job).
I actually think having a variety of choices in education (traditional schools, Montesorri, charter schools, private schools, neighborhood schools, and home schooling) are ALL important because one size does not fit all when it comes to learning.
Iss posted at 1:16 am on Tue, Aug 7, 2012.
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