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Cathy Lord
Journal Staff Writer
Saturday, September 13, 2003
EDMONTON — An American researcher
and author has singled out Edmonton Public Schools as the best managed
school district in North America.
"The fact that you've got 87 per cent of first
graders and 92 per cent of 12th graders at or above grade level
in the provincial achievement tests is really incredible,"
says William Ouchi, a professor at the Anderson Graduate School
of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"I hope the rest of North America will copy Edmonton
public, because they will help themselves if they do," Ouchi
said Friday from Toronto, where he is promoting his new book called
Making Schools Work, A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children The
Education They Need.
Ouchi studied 223 schools in six cities and contends
that management and accountability are at the heart of a successful
school district, not class size, teacher training or funding.
He identified seven keys to successful schools and
in his book shows how they work in schools of all sizes and types.
He concludes that Edmonton public is the most successful
example of how those basic fundamentals work.
He lauds the district's decentralized system -- brought
in 30 years ago by then-superintendent Mike Strembitsky -- where
every principal is an entrepreneur who takes control of every aspect
of the school, a revolutionary leap from the old "top-down,"
centralized management system.
Ouchi is currently working with the governor of Hawaii,
who hopes to implement the "Edmonton system" in all schools
in the state. In New York City, the Edmonton model is being introduced
in 1,200 schools.
It has been used in Seattle since 1995, in Houston
since 2000 and is in its second year in Cincinnati.
All the praise pleases Edmonton public's superintendent
Angus McBeath. It's a welcome change from last spring, when the
district was criticized for poor financial planning and told to
monitor its school-based budgets more closely in an audit by Alberta
Learning.
"Over the last 30 years, Edmonton Public Schools
has established an international reputation for innovation in educational
practice, site-based decision making and program choice," said
McBeath. "That reputation is the result of our willingness
to continue improving and making decisions that ensure superb results
from all students."
In his book, Ouchi cites Jasper Place high school
as "the Swiss watch" of high schools.
"It really is a jewel," he says. "Bruce
Coggles is a perfect example of an entrepreneurial principal."
Jasper Place has a mix of special needs children,
honours students bound for university, industrial-vocational students
and a special program for those in danger of dropping out.
"If Coggles were in a traditional, bureaucratic
system where he had to ask permission from the superintendent to
make any changes in his budget, there is no chance on Earth he would
get there," says Ouchi.
Coggles said he is thrilled by the book's recognition
of his staff and is particularly honoured "because there are
so many excellent schools in Edmonton."
He and his staff are committed to looking at the needs
of individual students rather than just general programs.
He also appreciates the latitude he is given within
the district to accomplish his many tasks.
"If that kind of climate didn't exist in your
district, it wouldn't be possible to do some of these things."
clord@thejournal.canwest.com
7 KEYS TO SUCCESS
In his new book, Making Schools Work, American author
and education consultant William Ouchi outlines seven factors that
identify a top-flight school district.
- Every principal is an entrepreneur.
- Every school controls its own budget.
- Everyone is accountable for student performance
and for budgets.
- Everyone delegates authority to those below.
- There is a burning focus on student achievement.
- Every school is a community of learners.
- Families have real choices among a variety of
unique schools.
Ran with fact box "7 Keys to Success",
which has been appended to this story.
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