Read Shaker Heights Superintendent's ESSA Plan Criticism

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH - This month, the Ohio Department of Education announced that it would delay the submission of its template for meeting the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Paolo DeMaria, the state's superintendent of public instruction, said it became clear through feedback on the plan that local educators felt their original feedback was not included in the state's ESSA plan.

One of the local superintendents that criticized the Ohio ESSA plan was Shaker Heights Superintendent Gregory Hutchings. Hutchings spoke to the Joint Education Oversight Committee of the Ohio General Assembly on March 9, 2017.

During his testimony, Hutchings urged the state Department of Education (DOE) to delay their ESSA plan submission until policy and philosophy at the US Department of Education became settled and clear. To him, that meant a fall submission.

The meat and potatoes of Hutchings' objections circled around the need to refine state assessments, establishing hard criteria for charter schools, and adjustments to Governor John Kasich's proposed budget.

Charter Schools

The installation of new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has brought a renewed interest and focus on charter schools throughout the nation. Hutchings believes Ohio needs to create stringent requirements for charter schools to meet.

"We all know that there are many excellent charter schools in our state," he told the Joint Subcommittee. "For example, the Breakthrough Schools in Cleveland are an exemplar we hope other charter schools will emulate. Sadly, not all charter schools are setting high expectations and providing a rigorous curriculum for our underprivileged young people."

Setting higher standards for the schools may remedy some of those issues, Hutchings appears to argue.

Kasich's Budget Adjustments

One of the stickier portions of the governor's budget proposal is a section requiring all teachers, regardless of grade levels, to get "externships" (think professional internships) to get their teaching licenses renewed. The new requirement has been predictably met with resistance from state teachers unions.

Hutchings joined a chorus of state educators battling the proposal.

"Instead of focusing on "externships" for our teachers with businesses, we should be collaborating with businesses on workforce development plans," he said.

He argues that such plans would be designed to help young people gain high-paying jobs within their communities, if they decide to enter the workforce after graduating high school.

To read more about the proposed externship program, click here.

Hutchings dispute with the governor's budget extends beyond the externship program. He also argues that the budget needs to be properly aligned to provide funding for high-quality preschool programs, Career Technical Education, the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee, and Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math (STEM) programs.

"The state also needs to adopt and fund an early-warning system to identify students who are not on the trajectory to complete high school requirement in four years," Hutchings said. "This system should use indicators such as attendance, discipline, and academic data."

Hutchings concludes by arguing that Kasich's budget needs to provide adequate funding to meet Ohio's new academic standards and academic assessments for teachers and administrators.

"We must be certain that these new learning standards are implemented with fidelity, regardless of local funding levels," he said.

State Testing Standards

Districts throughout Northeast Ohio spent much of last year decrying the constantly changing state standards for assessments. Specifically, there were myriad complaints about the State Report Card, which saw a historic number of districts perform poorly. Even high-performing districts like Solon (which had one of the highest report cards in the state) publicly cited the need for a change in assessment.

Hutchings brought forth his objections to the State Report Card and Ohio's assessment tools during his testimony. "When it comes to measuring student mastery of materials, we need to be more innovative and more creative," he said. "That's why I would ask that Ohio adopt multiple assessments and alternative assessments as measurements for mastery."

Specifically, he asks that districts be able to substitute ACT or SAT performance for student assessment test. His argument is that the tests are used to indicated college-readiness and the state should use them for the same purpose.

"We should also use nonacademic measures that include experiences students have outside of the classroom, such as internships, international travel, service projects, and community outreach," he told the Joint Subcommittee.

Then, in addressing the State Report Card, he notes that the A-F grade rating system "misleads many families in our districts or families who are considering our district as an option for their children."

"Furthermore, we need to ensure that we provide an explanation for the actual rating which in turn will limit misinterpretation of school performance," he concluded.

The state Department of Education will now submit its ESSA plan in September after considering the feedback that Hutchings and other educators provided during March hearings.

Photo from Shaker Schools