School principal plan holds great promise
Most efforts at school or educational reform stand or fall on the active involvement of individual school leaders.
In virtually every case, strong leadership by a principal is key to a school's success. True, the real business of education centers on the interaction of teacher and student, but the overall success of a school depends on an active, involved principal.
That's why the latest initiative by public high school principals around the state holds such promise. As reported recently by Education Writer Beverly Creamer, principals are banding together to reshape how our high schools approach learning.
It's called the Hawai'i High School Leadership Council, and it relies on the latest research and the best efforts and ideas of individual principals to redesign how our public high schools work.
Since this initiative will bring with it change to the established way of doing things, there will be some resistance. That must not derail a worthy effort.
Most of the ideas being discussed are sensible, and many have been tried in one form or another in individual schools. What is new is that the principals — the folks on the ground with the most direct knowledge of what is happening on their campuses — will be in charge of this effort.
It is not a top-down idea imposed by the central administration or, worse, by the Legislature.
It is also an approach that fits well with the school "reform" plan called Act 51, which seeks to devolve more authority and decision-making power to individual school administrators and their advisory councils.
The are several key components, including:
These sensible ideas can work. It will require leadership, with principals working together as a group, sharing knowledge and ideas. It also requires buy-in from parents, school communities and — most important — individual teachers.
When it comes to public education, too many good ideas fall by the wayside because folks are simply resistant to change.
That must not be allowed to happen here.
