The freedom to teach

By Emily Richmond

Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006 | 7:35 a.m.

The most dramatic schools experiment in Clark County's recent history is less than two weeks old and already Superintendent Walt Rulffes is wondering if it's good enough to parlay into a program 10 times its size.

The experiment is testing a new philosophy about campus management, by giving school principals more autonomy and authority than ever to make decisions for their own students and staff. In exchange, they would face stricter accountability measures.

It's a risky proposition, but given Clark County's languishing scholastic achievement, and the public's clamoring for change, Rulffes believes it's worth a try.

Each school has to decide how to use its newfound autonomy.

At one campus, teachers have decided to meet early in the morning to collaborate on lesson plans. At another school, professors from UNLV's College of Education will make regular visits and serve as mentors to the staff. At a third, the last class on Fridays will be used for electives, where students may choose from a variety of classes and activities.

It's not just students who have more choices.

The district hammered out an agreement with the unions that allows principals to hand-pick their own staffs, from custodians to teachers. In exchange, the district has more leeway to replace principals and teachers if schools do not perform well.

It typically takes three to five years for an educational initiative of this magnitude to bear fruit. But district officials say they expect to see results sooner than that.

Others are watching, too, because of what's at stake.

The experiment is costing a lot of money - about $600 per student, or about $1.68 million for the 2,800 pupils at the four pilot schools. The money is needed to pay for five extra school days and to give principals a 5 percent raise. Teachers are also being paid for working longer hours, which translates to an extra 29 minutes each school day.

At some campuses the time is being used for early-morning staff development. Other campuses are combining the extra minutes in blocks to extend the academic day several times each week, or to offer extracurricular activities to students.

Everyone, even the program's staunchest supporters, say it's far too soon to declare victory. There is early anecdotal evidence that the schools are performing well. But there is nothing more concrete - no test scores, for instance - on which to measure how well this new philosophy of campus management is playing out.

Nonetheless, Rulffes wants state legislators to implement this new management strategy at as many as 40 more schools.

The question before legislators will be whether to gamble on Rulffes' experiment even before the results are in on the first four schools. Whether he'll get political support will speak volumes on the kind of confidence the politicians who control the purse strings have in the man who is running the nation's fifth-largest school district.

"We're hearing interest from other schools that want to sign on - they were leery initially but the business partnerships are seen as a potential advantage," Rulffes said.

"Schools are scheduling in family activities, remaking their campuses as the neighborhood center. More community involvement, more input from families - those are things lawmakers have been telling us they want to see."

The teachers' union is all behind Rulffes' vision - as long as the money comes from Carson City.

"We will not agree to it unless the Legislature says it will step up and allocate the dollars," said John Jasonek, executive director of the Clark County Education Association. "It can't come off the backs of students and teachers at the regular schools."

While the new management strategy is new to Clark County, Jasonek said it is built on a premise long supported by the union.

"Teachers know what their kids need, and given the opportunity they'll show you how to do it," Jasonek said. "We're hearing that the teachers at the schools are being asked to give their opinions and help shape what the school looks like."

Legislators are anxiously watching the experiment, called "empowerment schools," play out at the four test campuses.

They'll have to decide in February whether to support its expansion, or wait two more years until the Legislature meets again.

How will politicians measure the success of such a new program, especially in the absence of standardized test scores to compare schools?

"There are plenty of other kinds of indicators, like teacher morale and student attendance," said Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, who co-chairs the Legislative Committee on Education. "The legislators will want to hear about all those areas."

Because of Nevada's biennial legislative calendar, Rulffes has little choice but to press ahead with the empowerment schools initiative in February, said Jim Hager, a professor of educational leadership at UNLV and former superintendent of the Washoe County School District.

"If he doesn't go now, he'll have to wait another two years to do it," Hager said.

The Legislature is "ready for something different," he said.

"We hear comments again and again that they want to put the money closer to the kids and give more responsibility to those who are in the schools on a day-to-day basis," Hager said. "If the district can show this is one way to make those two goals happen, it's going to be viewed very favorably."

While Rulffes is mapping ways to fund additional empowerment schools, the first four campuses are still works in progress.

The pilot program involves four elementary schools - Kirk Adams, Lee Antonello, Paul Culley and Rose Warren. The schools were chosen for their divergent student populations and histories of student achievement.

Each school is paired with a corporate partner that will donate $50,000 and provide classroom volunteers, backpacks and pay for field trips. Peckman Outdoor Media has adopted Adams, while the Greenspun Family Foundation will sponsor Antonello. (The Greenspun family owns the Las Vegas Sun.) MGM Mirage will partner with Culley and Wells Fargo with Warren.

At Culley, the design team voted to put all fifth graders on a nine-month calendar, while the rest of the school operates on a year-round schedule. Culley Principal Lisa Primas said the hope is that fifth graders will perform better on standardized tests as a result.

"We've often wondered if there's a better combination for year-round schools," Rulffes said. "It's a new idea, and it emanated out of the school itself - that's the whole point."

Two of the schools, Culley and Warren, are operating with nearly an entirely new roster of teachers and new principals. The majority of teachers at Adams and Antonello reapplied for their jobs and were rehired, as were the principals.

At Culley, seven out of the original school staff of 60 reapplied to stay on at the school. Primas hired five of them.

"I told the staff that this was going to be a hard climb," said Primas, who was previously principal of Red Rock Elementary School. "We were going to be held to higher accountability, and greater scrutiny. But it was a challenge that attracted us all."

There was initial resistance to the pilot program from some parents, who said they didn't appreciate their children's schools being selected without input from families.

"Once parents see the remediation and the enrichment, they'll be more comfortable with the changes," Primas said.

Some Culley parents say they're already seeing a difference.

"I've been at this school for three years and I've never felt anything like this," said Amy Brown, president of Culley's PTA. "You walk around the campus and it's totally different. The school spirit, the teamwork. I am really liking this."

Antonello Principal Linda Reese said almost all of her staff reapplied and were rehired. Her design team voted to extend the academic day to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, and to have staff come in early on Mondays for group planning sessions. Parents are also being offered after-hours workshops, including one held Wednesday for families of kindergarten and first-grade students. The school is also using a new math program popular in the private schools, which couldn't be adopted earlier because of limits set by the district on the approved list of instructional programs principals may select.

While the school year is off to a strong start, Reese said she and her staff "feel the pressure" that comes with being guinea pigs.

"We want other schools to have the chances we're having," Reese said. "It lies on us to demonstrate this can succeed in a way that's substantial enough that other schools will have the opportunity. But it's a wonderful kind of pressure to be under."