I applaud the strategy in the Five Year Plan that calls for the district to "Develop and implement an intervention protocol for highly challenged schools." The district needs to set time limits on experiments.

 

How much longer are we going to continue the disaster at TT Minor? Will the district stand behind "site-based control" until the state takes over the school? Is this school going to have to give its Title I money to tutors next year?

 

Can we set a definition and a deadline for improved test scores at the African-American Academy? How long before this school either falls under state control or loses its Title I money?

 

How long before the district exercises some authority at the other "highly challenged" schools mentioned in the Five Year Plan?

 

How much time do we give a school to build a sucessful program before we move the program to another school? If High Point can't build a credible Spectrum program, then shouldn't it go to another school?

 

How long should we tolerate a school that can't attract enough students to make operating the school cost-efficient? Brighton had only 91 students last year. That was mostly because the district temporarily re-located the school to West Seattle after the community told them that they wouldn't follow it there.

 

The Seahawks Academy is down to 37 students. The district just committed to investing a lot of money in that school's old space - a leased space.

 

Let's set some clearly defined expectations and set some deadlines. They should be fair and achievable, of course. Then let's do the unthinkable and actually create some consequences if the schools or programs don't get the job done. No extended deadlines, no second chances.

 

Schools that fall under district control after years of failure to meet well-defined goals can be reborn as alternative schools or can be required to host programs that have waitlists at their current locations. While we all support site-based decision-making, if that fails, it is better for the school to be taken over by the district than by the state. If local control doesn't work, it is better that the district control them than they become charter schools.