Supporting Schools
Good News about Texas Public Schools
Building Support for Public Education
Following are excerpts from recommendations of the NSBA  Federation Member Executive Directors Liaison Committee Subcommittee on Building Support for Public Education.
There is a pervasive assumption across the United States that the public school system in this country is in crisis and that schools are failing to adequately educate a majority of children.
This assumption has, in fact, become conventional wisdom and an unrefuted presumption. When the statement is made that public education and public schools are failing, there are few, if any, dissents. Even though this perception is often based upon half truths, misconceptions, and factual inaccuracies, the statement goes unchallenged.
This perception of failure has led to a serious loss of support for, and belief in, the fundamental role of public education in this country. This loss of support and belief, if not addressed, could lead to the collapse of the American public school system.
By prompting a more accurate dialogue in the public and the media, more rational debates about education can be achieved at the national, state, and local levels. More honest and straightforward discussions will lead to a better understanding of the role education currently plays in our society. Ultimately, the program is aimed at rebuilding public support for a continually changing education system that is reflective of a continually changing society.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, public schools are performing better than ever before in American history. However, society is changing faster than ever before in numerous respects. These include demographic shifts, technological advancements, and volume and flow of information. The dramatic nature of these changes and the speed with which they occur will only increase in the years ahead.
While schools are performing better than ever before, the speed at which they are changing to meet new demands has not been able to keep pace with the speed at which the demands themselves are changing. Expectations for schools have increased and diversified over the years. Some of these expectations have been inappropriately placed on schools. Others are appropriate, but we have not equipped the schools to deal with them.
To address these issues means coming to grips with what we—as a country, state, and community—expect of our schools. We must come to agreement in re-establishing our expectations if we're to move forward. Once that is accomplished, we must provide schools the resources to meet those expectations.
Public schools are not failing. Rather, they are striving to respond to the swift, substantive changes in society and the challenges for reform. We, as citizens, must create an environment of support so public schools can continue to change and improve. We must shift from bashing public schools to empowering continual public school change. Only then can we create motivation for true reform.
Used with permission of the National School Boards Association.
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