Public Agenda, one of the nation's most respected public opinion and citizen engagement organizations, today announced a new initiative that will help those on the front lines of education reform -- teachers, parents, and school leaders -- work together more effectively to achieve key education goals. The move comes amid intensifying calls to refashion American high schools and just as the impact of No Child Left Behind is becoming more visible at the community level.
Through this new initiative, Education Insights, Public Agenda will partner with foundations, reform groups, education associations, and communities nationwide to address the problems of poor communication and lack of consensus that could slow progress on improving schools.
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There is a tremendous public stake in improving education, said Jean Johnson, Public Agenda's Executive Vice President and Education Insights' Director. And some schools and communities are showing tantalizing progress. But others are struggling to get from A to B. In some cases, leadership hasn't been able to build broad enough support for change. That's what Education Insights will work on -- helping school leaders, teachers, parents, and the community talk seriously about improving schools and joining forces to make it happen.
Over the past several years, Public Agenda's surveys have picked up strong indications that beneath the surface agreement on the need for schools to change, there are often gaps in understanding, miscommunication, confusion, and occasionally resentment. Majorities of superintendents and principals worry, for example, that some reforms are not practical in real life. Teachers often believe that they are being left out of the loop when it comes to school decision-making. Perhaps most important, Ms. Johnson added, schools simply aren't going to be able to introduce and maintain changes of this magnitude without more involvement and buy-in from parents and the community at large.
Education Insights will work with national and regional organizations, state and local districts, business coalitions, and national and community foundations to help identify communication gaps and promote broader community engagement and dialogue. Among the services Education Insights will offer are:
- Assessments of, and planning for, community engagement
- Leadership training and workshops
- Communications advice and strategy pre-testing
- Technical assistance, training, and partnerships to conduct public engagement projects
The initiative will also work to inform the larger education reform movement about areas where miscommunication or lack of support could imperil progress.
Re-Launch of Reality Check
One key component of Education Insights will be the 2005 re-launch and expansion of Reality Check, Public Agenda's signature tracking study of Americans' views on public schools. Reality Check 2005 will determine whether parents, teachers, principals, and superintendents are seeing progress on a broad range of school issues such as:
- Academic standards and college and workplace readiness
- Preparation, training and support for educators
- Closing gaps in achievement between low-income and higher-income students and between white and minority students
- Parental involvement, satisfaction, and support
- Reducing problems such as dropping out, truancy
- School and class size and adequacy of resources
Reality Check 2005 will also survey college professors and employers about the level of preparation in the graduates they see. The GE Foundation and The Wallace Foundation provided support for the new round of Reality Check.
In planning Education Insights, Public Agenda sought advice from a number of seasoned observers of education reform. As part of the effort, Deborah Wadsworth, recently retired President of Public Agenda, led an exploratory committee whose members included: Ramon Cortines, former Chancellor of Schools in New York City and former Superintendent of Schools in Los Angeles; David Coleman, President of The Grow Network; Lloyd Morrisett, former President of the Markle Foundation; Thomas Payzant, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools; Hugh Price, former President of the National Urban League; Diane Ravitch, author and former Assistant Secretary of Education; and Michael Usdan, Senior Fellow, Institute for Educational Leadership.
For more information about Education Insights contact:
Jean Johnson
Executive Vice President and Director of Education Insights
Public Agenda
6 East 39th Street
New York, N.Y. 10016
(212) 686-6610 - tel.
(212) 889-3461 - fax
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