Six Steps to Fixing Memphis’ ‘Failing’ Schools

By Vivian Gunn Morris

Jane Walters, a local school leader and former Tennessee education commissioner, explains why all citizens in the Memphis metropolitan area should be concerned about the education of all our children:

“Our lives are inextricably intertwined with other people’s children. … You are going to eat in restaurants where food is prepared by other people’s children. You’re going to drive in cars built by other people’s children. If you go to the airport and fly, the chance of your own child piloting that plan is infinitesimal. So you are going to put your life in the hands of other people’s children. … Most of us are going to end our days in hospitals and nursing homes run by other people’s children. And if those children have not had adequate education, all our lives are going to suffer.”

What if these six initiatives were employed for all children in Memphis City Schools classrooms who are performing below the proficient level, whether they are enrolled in “failing” (high- priority) schools or schools in “good standing”?

1. A high-quality extended-day program of enrichment activities. Recent research reveals that participation in high-quality after- school programs is associated with higher grades and test scores for low-income children. However, Robert Halpern, an expert on after- school programs, reminds us that such programs must include adequate facilities and funding, appropriate program structure, and a high- quality, stable staff.

2. School leaders who were first exemplary teachers. They understand the cycle of support required to improve the academic achievement of students. All teachers deserve a highly effective principal who understands teaching and learning for adults and children and who comes from the ranks of highly skilled teachers.

3. Highly effective veteran teachers placed at the most needy schools and adequate teaching materials and equipment waiting in each classroom before school begins. Marian Wright Eldelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, communicates eloquently the concern about the quality of teachers and resources in schools with a large number of low-income children and children of color:

“Is it fair that poor children in the poorest neighborhoods have the poorest schools, the poorest prepared teachers, the poorest equipment, the poorest school buildings, libraries, laboratories, the fewest computers, counselors, school nurses, and enrichment programs and the lowest expectations by teachers, and a public that blames them for achieving poorly on the tests for which we have not prepared them?”

4. A well-designed comprehensive evaluation plan for each initiative implemented in the district. Such plans are designed to measure the effectiveness of the effort in order to determine if the program met the intended outcomes and is deserving of tax dollars.

5. Small-school communities that operate differently from failing large-school communities. Research reveals that participating in small-school environments contributes to improving academic achievement, high school graduation rates and college acceptance rates of low-income children. But Tom Vander Ark of the Gates Foundation notes that quality small schools require strong leaders who maintain a clear vision, who work toward that vision by establishing the appropriate curriculum and organization, use of technology and teacher coaches who work together with the community and higher education in the best interest of children.

6. A program for “Bluff City Scholars.” Wellington Webb was mayor of Denver when he initiated the Mile High Scholars program in Denver Public Schools in 1997 to recognize youth who were good students and good citizens. This program was sparked in part by a young man who stated: “I have a scholarship to an Ivy League school, and my cousin, a gang member has a larger scrapbook than me.”

Students in the scholars program were selected because of their character and scholastic record and were invited to a graduation ceremony where they received a certificate signed by city and school district officials. They also received free tickets to city facilities, such as the art museum and the zoo, and from Denver’s professional sports teams.

The purpose of the program was to communicate to students that it’s OK to be smart and to be good citizens. Could Memphis, with the cooperation of the school district, city, local sports teams and local media, establish a Bluff City Scholars program that communicates to children that it is great to be smart? The accomplishments of the scholars should be the focus of the local media, rather than gang activity.

Communities that refuse to implement and continually evaluate and adjust high-quality initiatives like these ensure that they will have schools that fail to provide an equitable education for all children, as well as low high school graduation and college acceptance rates. In addition, other negative consequences will affect the entire metropolitan area, including increasingly crowded dockets in juvenile and criminal courts, increased numbers of families eligible for welfare benefits, and a surplus of citizens who qualify only for low-paying, poverty-level jobs. This is not the dream that good citizens have for their communities, nor the dream that good parents have for their children.

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Ask not for whom the school bell tolls. It tolls for thee. That’s the point Vivian Gunn Morris makes in today’s guest column.

Vivian Gunn Morris is a Faudree professor, assistant dean for faculty and staff development, and director of the New Teacher Center at the University of Memphis.

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