by JC Bowman
The adage is that no one loves a warrior until the enemy is at the gates. We are the land of the free for one reason only: We are also the home of the brave. We need more people willing to stand up and bravely speak out on issues. However, it is not always about being right, it is about doing what is right. On that front, we need more warriors not afraid to do what is right and what is necessary.
Ronald Reagan, a man known for his wit, preferred humor to attack politics. Journalist H.W. Brands wrote: “Even those who disliked his policies had difficulty disliking him.” Brands also called Reagan the Republican Party’s “last hero, their last real vote-getter.”
What was it that Reagan understood that conservatives miss today? I think this quote sums it up best: “The most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Reagan understood that government wasn’t the solution, it was the problem.
Look no further than the Achievement School District (ASD) here in Tennessee. I have always favored a more targeted and individual intervention in schools, rather than a blanket approach espoused by the ASD. State budget records show the state has spent close to a billion dollars on the ASD, including a $25 million investment by Governor Bill Lee in 2020.
We have seen the research and know that the ASD “hasn’t produced significant gains in student achievement in any academic subject, intervention year, or cohort of schools” since it was created. State data shows most ASD schools stay in that bottom five percent for ten years or more. Most ASD schools perform worse than the local school districts they started in. That is a horrible legacy for our state to continue to pursue.
The ASD has had employee turnover issues and has yet to name a permanent leader of the district. They have had several leaders since ASD began in the 2012-13 school year. In 2019, the state Department of Education said that its team was “committed to the ASD as the state’s most rigorous intervention” and “working to ensure its success with a real sense of urgency.”
I am not sure how committed the state is, but success is NOT happening. If this program was being funded with private dollars, rather than tax dollars, the plug would have been pulled years ago. J.D. Roth describes the issue as a “sunk-cost fallacy.” We have a “tendency to throw good money after bad.”
Then Roth adds, “Just because you’ve already spent money on something doesn’t mean you should continue spending money on it.” It isn’t just about the billion-dollar mistake, the lack of student progress, time, or emotion spent on fostering the ASD, it is about what is best for us to do in the future.
Now we are launching ASD 2.0. Honestly, I do not think the new version will fare much better. The state ASD 2.0, will have a “smaller footprint” and “none of the schools will be direct-run schools by the department.” It may be time for the state to simply get out of the turn-around business, and work with local school districts to provide additional dollars for specific solutions in some of these schools.
What are some of the lessons learned? There is no magic bullet. Turning around a school or district is hard work. It will take time. Families must be involved with a seat at the table when making changes. You must engage authentically with the community that’s being served.
We must have more collaboration among state and local officials throughout the process. We are better served when local schools and districts drive the changes, rather than people in Nashville telling Memphis, Knoxville, or Chattanooga how to run their schools. However, there must be accountability for results.
We inherently understand that the more government tries to solve every problem, the more problems it creates. The more problems it creates, the more it spends. The more money it spends, the bigger it grows, as it tries to fix the problems it has created. It is a brutal cycle.
Reagan added, “The more the plans fail, the more the planners plan.” And inevitably the bigger our government grows, the more freedom evaporates, and local control of education is lost. It is a simple fix. It is time to recognize that the ASD is still not the solution. History continually proves that nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program.
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JC Bowman is the executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee.
Photo “Achievement School District” by Achievement School District.
Well said, Mr. Bowman.