Kids Before Politics

I was proud to hear Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) recently became the first large city school district in Ohio to achieve the state rating “effective.” This is good news. But much more has to be accomplished to ensure every child receives a high-quality education. To continue making progress, CPS must focus on the one thing that matters most: improving student achievement.

A recent newspaper column written by dozens of business and community leaders insisted achievement goals begin with CPS and the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) agreeing, as a part of their contract negotiations, that teacher effectiveness should guide staffing, professional development and compensation decisions. As a City Council Member, I fully agree with such suggestions. I believe student achievement should be the dominant factor in assessing teacher effectiveness. In addition, providing schedule and curriculum flexibility for turnaround schools is essential to moving CPS forward.

These educational reforms – specific to Cincinnati — were identified in a report conducted by The New Teacher Project and were aligned with the Race to the Top $400 million federal funding grant program recently awarded to Ohio. CPS could have received almost $13 million of the available funds ($4.35B) if the CFT contract included key policy changes. For example, Washington D.C. School District, Colorado and Tennessee require satisfying specific academic achievement rates, affecting 50% of a teacher’s total evaluation.

The contract should also include systems that reward and retain highly effective teachers while also helping struggling teachers to improve. For those teachers unwilling or unable to improve, there must be a streamlined process for an efficient exit from the district. In my opinion, student achievement matters far more than teacher seniority.

CPS received the “effective” rating partly because of the Elementary Initiative which turned around the district’s 16 worst-performing elementary schools. Thirteen of the 16 schools showed improvement this year, and seven moved up one or more categories. This occurred because CPS added 2 weeks of school instruction and trained principals and teachers on data-driven programs measuring weekly and quarterly individualized progress of students. This year, because of contract restrictions, CPS had to abandon an early start to the school year. These unacceptable restrictions in the contract must be addressed to allow administrators, principals and teachers to create innovative programs aimed to increase student achievement.

CPS must continue to improve achievement for all students. This will require educational reform. The final agreement between CPS and CFT must reflect “transformational change” – anything less is unacceptable. Please join me in demanding such accountability from Cincinnati Public Schools and the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers.