Principals Group Calls Obama's Four Strategies for Low-Performing Schools "Misguided"

This from NASSP:

Oppose Principal Firing through the Four Models!

NASSP has been steadfast in our opposition to the four models for school reform that would all require the principal’s replacement as a condition for receiving funds under the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program.

We remain very concerned that the U.S. Department of Education will try to expand this misguided strategy as part of its proposal to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). We therefore, encourage you to visit the Principal’s Legislative Action Center (PLAC) at www.principals.org/plac, and urge your members of Congress to oppose any legislation that encompasses the four models for school improvement.

Specifically, the SIG guidance requires districts to use SIG funds to implement one of four interventions in the identified, low-performing schools:

Turnaround Model, which includes replacing the principal and at least 50% of the school’s staff, adopting a new governance structure, and implementing a new and revised instructional program;

Restart Model, which would require a district to close the school and reopen it under the management of a charter school operator, a charter management organization, or an educational management organization;

School Closure, which would require a district to close the school and enroll the students who attended the school in other, high-achieving schools within the district; or

Transformation Model, which would require a district to replace the principal and develop and increase teacher and school leader effectiveness by implementing comprehensive instructional reform strategies such as extending learning time, creating community-oriented schools, and providing sustained support and operating flexibility with staff, calendar, and budget.

Congress does have the authority to modify the SIG requirements through legislation, although it is unlikely to do so outside of reauthorizing ESEA.

As you may know, the current SIG guidance requires states to target funding only to the lowest-performing schools in the state, including middle and high schools that are eligible for, but not currently receiving, Title I funds. But there is concern among the education community that the proposal could be expanded to impact additional schools, and as a result, the principals that lead them.

In December 2009, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Graduation for All Act (H.R. 4122) to authorize a $2 billion competitive grant program for districts to support high schools with low graduation rates and their feeder middle schools. The bill requires districts to implement one of the four Models of Success in each of the schools being served.

NASSP Executive Director Gerald N. Tirozzi has expressed his concerns with the legislation to Chairman Miller and the other cosponsors, and submitted formal comments on ESEA reauthorization that include our recommendations for middle level and high school reform.