by Michael Karpman
A new NLC task force has begun work on an issue of critical and growing importance to cities of every size: education.
At its first gathering in Norfolk, Va., on October 5, the School Improvement Task Force, chaired by St. Petersburg, Fla., Mayor Rick Baker, discussed initial steps toward advancing the efforts of NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) to assist municipal leaders seeking improvement in their cities? public schools.
?I am excited to lead this important initiative launched by the National League of Cities,? said Baker. ?By connecting city officials with promising approaches and practical ideas, this task force will play a pivotal role in supporting progress in communities across America.?
The task force will seek to identify new ways in which municipal leadership in education can be promoted and advanced by the YEF Institute and NLC?s Council on Youth, Education, and Families in the years ahead.
In carrying out its work, the task force will examine innovative approaches by mayors and other city leaders to the daunting challenges that now face America?s public schools. The task force will also review past and current efforts related to school improvement by the YEF Institute and Council, including key technical assistance projects, publications and national partnerships.
Bolstering Local Initiatives
These new efforts will build on the significant progress that the institute has made in the past six years in developing a national framework of support for municipal efforts to improve public schools.
The institute is currently providing five cities ? Corpus Christi, Texas, Hartford, Conn., Phoenix, San Antonio, Texas, and San Jos?, Calif., ? with site-level technical assistance to help them promote alternative high schools that offer flexible systems of support and an academically rigorous and personalized education to students who struggle in traditional high school settings.
The YEF Institute has also built the Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN) into a vibrant peer network of mayoral education advisors from 62 of the 75 largest cities. The network provides a forum for these senior municipal officials to share information, insights and lessons learned on improving student achievement. In April, Mayor Baker hosted a Mayors? Leadership Forum on Improving Public Schools in conjunction with an EPAN meeting.
Finally, the institute has published an action kit for municipal leaders on ?Improving Public Schools,? and a report on lessons learned from the three-year Municipal Leadership in Education technical assistance project, titled ?Stronger Schools, Stronger Cities.?
Importance of Collaboration
Several themes emerged from the task force?s discussion on specific areas in which municipal leaders can make a difference. The task force emphasized the importance of collaboration with school district officials and engagement of a diverse group of stakeholders.
?By forming collaborative partnerships with school boards and superintendents, city leaders can play an active and unique role in strengthening local education systems,? said task force member William Isler, who is school board president in Pittsburgh, Pa., and president of Family Communications Inc. ?The National League of Cities, through the work of its Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, has the knowledge and expertise that cities and schools need as they work together to make reform efforts succeed.?
Some of the areas identified in which city-school collaboration can make a positive impact included addressing school safety concerns, creating joint use agreements to turn schools into centers of community life and promoting school readiness through early care and education. Task force members also focused on the looming No Child Left Behind reauthorization and the need for equitable systems of school finance.
Return on Investment
One important ally frequently mentioned during the meeting was the business community. The task force?s efforts will help cities capture information on the returns gained from informed investments in education as a way to highlight the business community?s stake in students? academic achievement.
?When a family or business is thinking of moving into or staying in a community, one of the first things they ask is, ?How are the schools??? says Mayor Baker. ?Economic prosperity and the quality of the school system are inextricably linked.?
Mayor Baker has spearheaded a number of innovative efforts to engage the business community in St. Petersburg through the Mayor?s Mentors and More program. The mayor has encouraged corporate sponsors to provide mentors, tutors and equipment donations to local schools, attracted and retained qualified teachers through housing and student loan forgiveness programs, and sponsored an annual awards program to honor and reward schools that have improved their grade or maintained an ?A? according to State of Florida standards.
Education Agenda
Looking ahead, the School Improvement Task Force will further refine its strategies for supporting municipal leadership in education, beginning with three practical steps:
1) Creating an online database that inventories various school improvement initiatives;
2) Creating a call-in inquiry system for questions about school improvement; and
3) Developing a ?starter kit? for city leaders beginning school initiatives.
?If our children are not getting a quality education, their opportunities to become part of the American Dream, to advance themselves, to become contributing members of society are going to be limited,? said NLC First Vice President Bart Peterson, who as mayor of Indianapolis has direct chartering authority to create innovative new schools within the city.
Details: To learn more about NLC?s efforts to support municipal leadership in education, visit www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Lucinda Dugger at (202) 626-3052 or dugger@nlc.org.