From the Publisher How Houston Reformed Its Schools

Let’s begin with the good news. The Dallas public schools are functioning. The district’s overall TAAS scores are up 22 percent since 1994. Kids are going to college; more than 5,000 earned scholarships to pay for it. Despite a dysfunctional school board, despite having five superintendents since 1995, despite “community leaders” (as the News continues to characterize people whose only demonstrable leadership skill is in holding press conferences), despite scandals and investigations, the DISD plugs on.

Of course, there’s bad news. Only five Dallas high schools-out of 21- made it to our list of the 72 top public high schools in the region. Out of 119 high schools, that means Dallas contributed 36 percent of the losers.

But who expects more? After all, these are poor kids (72 percent). These are minority kids (91 percent). These are kids with problems (unquantifiable). Nobody should expect these kids or their teachers to perform. To that I can give a one-word answer: rubbish.

Ten years ago, Houston elected a school board committed to reform. The results are now in: The turnaround has been nothing short of miraculous. But it wasn’t easy. Here’s how Houston school board member Don McAdams sums up the complex battle to save Houston’s schools:

“The Houston story is about the clash of superintendents and business leaders with huge egos, the weakness and demagoguery of board members, me hardball tactics of a tough teach union leader, the politicization of state education officials, the hyperbole of community activists, and the apathy of voters. It is also about a great city that through all this manages to pull itself together and significantly improve its public schools.”

McAdam’s new book gives a behind-the-scenes account of Houston’s battle that is candid and eye opening. Here are four prescriptions that are at the heart of Houston’s success:

■ Elect a reform majority to the school board. School board single-member districts are democracy carried to its logical extreme (where logic becomes illogical), in which as few as 70 to 100 activists or school employees can determine the winner-and thwart the city as a whole. But strong-minded candidates, capable of resisting special interest groups, can be elected from enough districts to form a phalanx for reform.

■The business community must take responsibility. The Dallas Chamber and the Citizens Council have spoken up. Now we’ll see if they put their muscle and their money where their mouths are.

■Only a non-traditional superintendent can instill accountability for results. Educrats like Bill Rojas are the problem, not the solution. Houston and Chicago have turned around under the leadership of people outside the educational establishment. The educrats have failed. Don’t rely on them.

■ Give the superintendent total authority over personnel. The school board sometimes acts as an employee-protection agency. Get a new school board. Then gel it out of the business of second-guessing.

When we ran that cover 20 years ago, Dallas responded. The business community rallied, voters elected a new school board, a reform superintendent named Linus Wright was given citywide support, and the schools showed immediate improvement across the board. Excellence is never the norm, and where the drive for excellence is not maintained, things will settle into mediocrity and lassitude, as they have in the intervening years in Dallas schools. But excellence can he achieved. Dallas did it once, and Dallas can do it again.

Wick Allison

TWELVE REFORMS THAT CHANGED HOUSTON’S SCHOOL

In Fighting to Save Our Urban Schools…and Winning! Don McAdams tells astor^ that Dallas can copy. Although the battle was long and hard, Houston’s schools are performing well. Here are the reforms pushed through in only one year of that long battle, 1996-97, that had substantive impact.

1. Eliminated board authority over personnel.

2. Allowed students free choice in which Houston school to attend.

3. Set up 18 new charter schools.

4. Aligned the curriculum so that student progress could be monitored from grade to grade and school to school.

5. Reintroduced phonics to improve reading skills.

6. Streamlined employee terminations.

7. Established a new teacher appraisal system.

8. Began an employee whistleblower policy.

9. Installed new management systems.

10. Outsourced facilities management,

11. Outsourced food service.

12. Reengineered its outdated human resources department.