Guest columnist
School reform's missing piece

By Matt Rosenberg
Special to The Times

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Washington voters could get a chance this fall to approve a 1-percent sales tax increase for an ambitious preschool-through-college spending plan. If the Education Trust Fund initiative makes the November ballot and passes, the state sales tax would grow to almost 10 percent. In return, there'd be new money for preschool, full-day kindergarten, at-risk students, smaller class sizes, greater college enrollment and more.

But before public-school parents and K-12 school districts jump on board, they'll need to ask, "What could we already be doing better?"

Charlie Hoff, the vice president of the Federal Way School Board, is glad to tell them, and his message is bracing. But first, a little background. Hoff, 63, has been a teacher; public-school assistant superintendent; assistant headmaster at a top-flight private prep school; Boeing instructor pilot; and industrial-supplies salesman. Federal Way is the seventh-largest school district in Washington, serving 22,300 students — 40 percent minority.

Representing his board, Hoff testified in Olympia last month, backing state legislation for charter schools. Plenty of other supporters spoke, too, but no one else from a K-12 district. Federal Way already runs a charter-like academy (more on that momentarily).

Over coffee at a 24-hour restaurant near Boeing Field, Hoff lets it fly. He says that nationally, it's going to be "hell" meeting tough new federal and state achievement-testing standards because junior-high schools and high schools have become "juvenile social halls," and most educators — while well-intentioned — have given up.

Too much of the school day is wasted, says Hoff. He's right.

Beyond the frequent interruptions of bells, loudspeakers and messengers, there's the sacred cow of high-school athletics, which steals additional time and warps priorities. Worse, many schools downplay the basics to teach about diversity, character, drugs, sex, fitness and diet. All are important. Yet why can't parents provide these lessons at home?

"We have shrunk the learning time, but we're asking for more knowledge. This equation doesn't balance. Parents will be shocked" when they see the dismaying outcomes, says Hoff.

Tougher grading is also necessary, according to Hoff. One mother of a seventh-grade honor-roll student e-mailed Hoff, distraught because her child couldn't pass the crucial Washington Assessment of Student Learning. Grades are often awarded with "no connection" to ability, says Hoff.

Under Washington's education-reform plan, there are WASLs for fourth-, seventh- and 10th-graders. Starting in 2008, graduating seniors must have passed the 10th-grade WASL.

The charter-like Federal Way Public Academy is part of the blueprint for success, Hoff says. This junior high follows a rigorous college-prep model. Forty percent of the 280 students are non-white; entrance is by lottery. Core subjects are limited to English, math, science and social studies. Then come computers and foreign language. Athletics are non-existent.

There's no drama, either, in more ways than one. "The peer pressure is about academic achievement, not whose party everyone is going to, who made cheerleader and who's going out with whom," says Principal Judy Kraft.

This school year, the academy added sixth- and 10th-grade classes. What data is available so far is impressive. The school ranks fourth statewide in percentage of students who met the seventh-grade WASL reading standard (91.2); third in math (87.7).

Among all Western Washington public schools, only students at the International Community School in the Lake Washington School District did better on those key parts of the seventh-grade WASL, according to state data.

More public schools should emulate the academy's laser-like focus on core subjects. In her incisive book, "Schools That Do Too Much," veteran educator and Fulbright scholar Etta Kralovec writes, "... the power of standards may ultimately lie in their ability to influence time and budget priorities in our schools."

This is usually a missing piece of school reform. Impetus must come from concerned parents who are smart enough to know that weakening standards is a non-starter.

Hoff wants to see additional schools like the Federal Way Public Academy, but that's not all: social promotion ends; social engineering and athletics are curtailed; savings are funneled to existing and new programs that help low-achievers; 10th-graders get a coveted driver's license only if they pass the WASL, and then just for one year. Passage of additional WASLs for juniors and seniors would be required for annual driver's license renewals and high-school graduation.

With such steps, says Hoff, "You could double WASL math scores in a year," usually a good indicator for success in reading and writing, too. "You couldn't keep the libraries open long enough. There has never been a line drawn in the sand."

Prescribing such strong medicine certainly makes Charlie Hoff a voice in the wilderness. Too bad: He's also a voice of reason.

Matt Rosenberg is a Seattle writer and regular contributor to The Times' editorial pages. E-mail him at oudist@nwlink.com. His Web log is at www.rosenblog.com

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