Upgrading a school system with fair state funding - Lake Washington School District, Redmond, Washington

American Education, August-Sept, 1984 by Rod Chandler

As the United States faces its worst education crisis in history, it is reassuring to know that something can be and is being done to correct it. In the case of one school district, outraged citizens demanded reform of their schools and got it. Today, the district is viewed as a remarkable demonstration of what can be done when people become dissatisfied and demand change. At the same time, citizens are looking to the future and preparing for tomorrow's education challenge.

Last spring, the National Commission on Excellence in Education shocked a complacent nation with its report: A Nation at Risk. The worst fears were confirmed by strong statements from a group of men and women who had studied for months our ailing educational system. Statements such as "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war." They were harsh words. But the impact of the report is still being felt as citizens across the country search for answers to the crisis in education.

The Commission's report offers five major recommendations and other studies provide solid guides to those who must implement reforms. But there is also experience to draw upon--case studies of school programs which have been reformed with astonishingly positive results. One instance is the Lake Washington School District of the state of Washington. In that case, a district with severe problems, not unlike those calamitous ones described by the Commission, marked a major turnaround based on two significant reforms. One was internal and the other from the state's legislature.

Population profile

The Lake Washington School District serves the communities of Redmond and Kirkland, both suburbs of Seattle. Eighty thousand people live in the area and the schools educate over eighteen thousand students, fourth largest in the state. There are 895 teachers, counselors and librarians on the staff with 55 administrators (including principals). For the most part, citizens of the district are middle income, white collar workers. The education level of the district is high. Many are professionals or technicians attracted to the area by the Boeing Company or a growing electronics industry.

Considering those circumstances, the casual observer might expect to find a school district which would deliver service matching the expectations of its patrons. On the contrary, by 1976, the district had disappointed just about everyone and the situation was in total disarray. The community did not support the schools. In fact, the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce in that year recommended that citizens oppose the school's property tax levy since things had gotten so bad. Predictably, the levy was turned down, making matters even worse.

By almost any measure, the situation had reached crisis proportions. Overtaxed property owners objected to higher and higher school levies. The morale of teachers and administrators was low, which undoubtedly affected their performance in the classroom. Students did poorly on achievement tests. Parents whose children had special needs and handicaps became impatient with the level of service provided. Citizen frustration was vented at the one place where the least good could occur: the ballot box. With failures of operating levies, which accounted for up to nearly half the school budget, even more teachers had to be laid off and more programs cut. Of course, when that occurred, citizens became even more frustrated.

In 1976, two events dramatically revised the fortunes of Lake Washington schools. A newly elected school board hired a bright, aggressive, reform-minded superintendent and gave him authority to clean house. And citizens concerned about education in Washington formed a statewide coalition which led to stability in education funding. Dr. L.E. "Bud" Scarr began his tenure as superintendent of Lake Washington by establishing the basics. Working through the board and with a broad-based representation of the community, he guided the development of a mission statement. "What is it we want our schools to do?"

Defining needs, setting goals

From there, he and the board identified special needs of students. There were problems of behavior. The gifted needed and deserved a more challenging program. Handicapped students had special and often difficult education requirements. But, most of all, the average, ordinary student needed to read, write, and cipher.

With a mission statement in place and considering the specific needs of particular students, the district set goals for itself. From the goals evolved a set of strategies--how to get from here to there. In the gifted program, for example, the goal was to provide a more stimulating and challenging educational environment to children who simply became bored in the regular classroom. Teachers trained to deal with the gifted were assigned to classes with only gifted children. A transportation system was established so that gifted children could be brought together in one school. A special curriculum was developed for the youngsters.