Island Voices
Education solution lies in bold leadership

By James E. Kerr
President and CEO of SuperGeeks.net

A possible HSTA strike and the continued frustration surrounding public-school education, in general, are two artifacts of a much bigger problem that requires bolder leadership and better insight to resolve effectively.

As all of us would agree, a comprehensive solution that underscores the value of education is required immediately. However, simply increasing wages or demanding performance won’t eliminate the divisiveness currently facing Hawai‘i. Here’s my two cents:

Make our expectations about education clear to teachers, administration, parents and students. Define what our goals are for public education and make those goals measurable. What should our children know and understand at each grade level? How should Hawai‘i’s schools compare to national and international standards? What kind of performance increases should we target? How many students should graduate from high school every year and enroll in college? How much should we spend per student per year to provide an excellent education?

Give the schools the tools they need to get the job done. This means better textbooks, after-school tutors, smaller classrooms, year-round schooling, performance bonuses, etc. If you don’t have the money, find it.

Hire the right people and pay them well. Increase starting teaching salaries to attract promising talent, generously reward teachers and principals who are doing a terrific job, and remove anyone who is underqualified or consistently under-performing. This sink-or-swim model should apply to all sectors of the DOE, including administration.

Get out of their way. Let the teachers do what they do best. Make sure the money is there to keep the machine humming, and carefully watch those benchmarks to be sure we are all headed in the right direction. Keep the politics out of the cycle.

The one thing we can all agree on is that our state has some serious problems with how we are running our schools. The real solution won’t be an appeasement here and an appeasement there.

Instead, we need leadership, a broader perspective on the problem, and some good ol’ decisive action.

This one’s up to you, Ben. Let’s work together and help you get the job done.

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