The article I have chosen is "Can Reconstitution Fix Failing Schools?" from the January 1999 issue of NEA Today.

Reconstitution means disbanding a schools faculty and reopening the building with a new staff, structure and curriculm. Usually reconstitution is based on poor student performance on large scale assesment tests. According to the NEA survey although the majority of educators felt reconstitution could help under certain circumstances many were unhappy with its implementation. More than 25% of the educators who experienced reconstitution were not aware that their schools were considered low performers.

NEA staffer Jacques Nacson states "Reconstitution won't work unless the process is used judiciously-as a was to offer technical and other assistance-to improve schools". A low performing school should first be given a notice that it is eligible for reconstitution. Next it should be given a warnig that a deadline has been given for improvement. The deadline needs realistic benchmarks to be set that recognize steady and continous improvement. One of the keys to improvement is to teach what the students are being tested on.

I feel that reconstitution is a drastic way to improve school performance and that states who use it must have strict and fair guidelines for implementation

-- Anonymous, January 20, 1999

Answers

I agree with your reponse on "reconstitution". I feel schools should be supported by the community and the state in their efforts to improve. At the State level a new program is forming to help target schools with the lowest basic skills test scores. A group of professional educators are going to go in and work with schools to help them get their test scores up. I am not sure of the exact protocol in this and it is so new that CFL doesn't know exactly how it will work. But, i am hoping it will be a worthwhile endeavor, where the school and the state come out ahead.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 1999

I am not so sure that I agree with "throwing out the old teachers" and "bringing in the new." I strongly agree that something must be done to raise the test scores of out students. However, I cannot always control what my students do. I have students who play dot-to-dot on their tests. They have no desire to achieve a passing score. They are unaffected by those tests. Some students are not going to try to succeed until those test scores determine whether or not they graduate. I think that may be a motivator!

-- Anonymous, February 16, 1999