Hoping for plan's success

TMcDaniel, who took over as superintendent last summer, has rejected calls to put off implementing this plan. Instead, the reconfiguration of the district will begin with the 2019-20 school year, which starts in August.

he Oklahoma City school board has approved a plan intended to expand opportunities for students districtwide, and thus, it is hoped, improve outcomes. Although the success of this initiative won't be known for years, it's hard to argue that such wholesale change isn't needed now. This was underscored with last week's release of the state Department of Education's new school accountability system. By that measure, 19 of the Oklahoma City district's 72 schools — 26 percent — received failing grades and scored in the lowest 5 percent of schools statewide. At two Oklahoma City elementary schools, Martin Luther King and Thelma Parks, none of the students who took state tests proved to be prepared for the next grade, course or level. Those two schools are among four elementary schools — Britton and Rockwood are the others — that Oklahoma City Superintendent Sean McDaniel has identified as “high need.” Under the plan recommended by McDaniel and approved by the board Monday, those four schools will get teams of experienced leaders to direct “transformation” efforts. The plan, dubbed “Pathway to Greatness” by the district, will close 15 schools and reconfigure or relocate 17 others. Three of the schools on the closure list received F grades on the state's new report cards; nine others received a grade of D. It's those sorts of results that have led McDaniel, who took over as superintendent last summer, to reject calls to put off implementing this plan. Instead, the reconfiguration of the district will begin with the 2019-20 school year, which starts in August. The intention is to make better use of the district's school buildings, which are at 60 percent of capacity, and use subsequent savings to pay for improvements throughout the reshaped district. Research that helped shape McDaniel's recommendation found that 40 percent of the district's elementary schools have grades with only one teacher. After this plan is implanted, 84 percent of elementary schools should have three or more classrooms per grade, allowing for important collaboration among teachers. Among middle schools, the percentage with enough students to support three or more classrooms will climb from 30 percent to 92 percent, and at the high school level, the rate jumps to 63 percent from 30 percent today. Full-time counselors will be available at all elementary schools; today, only one in four elementaries has a fulltime counselor. Under this plan, each elementary teacher will have full-time physical education, art and music teachers, and more STEM offerings. All sixth-graders will have access to fine arts, performing arts, athletics and other electives — compared with 20 percent today. McDaniel has noted there are “pockets of excellence” across the district, but not enough of them. This plan is an attempt to change that for the better. Anyone who cares about Oklahoma City's ability to continue its remarkable renaissance should hope it succeeds.