The duality

A brief summary of the the national framework
[You can view the PDF here.]

The structure of a nationally-standardized private-school structure would be a progressive mix of roles and formats. Most important of the roles will be that of the district, which will have the responsibility of establishing the format – focus and philosophy – of each school and their structure as subsidiary, private, or charter schools. As for the differences: subsidiary schools would remain under the full control of the district, whereas private schools would have principals appointed by the district and charter schools would have a board of trustees with a permanent group appointed by the district and a rotating group within schools. Private and charter schools are otherwise independent in the absence of poor performance. All would have a timeframe for renewal of philosophy, directives, and appointments. A rarer form would be foundation schools, established by philanthropists or churches, whose structure would correlate strongly with charter schools.

The district remains the organizing body for all of the school’s in the community – overseeing transportation, athletics, and transfers for all schools. The district’s authority and make up are subject to local government and subsequent policy: districts in large cities will likely report to a mayor or board of education; smaller suburban and rural districts would be appointed by county government or board.

The national curriculum
During the five year privatization process, Congress would establish an educator’s advisory panel composed of teachers, researchers, and relevant officials with the intent of establishing a national curriculum for all grades and subjects of study following a brief period of town halls throughout the country.

The curriculum will encompass the core courses—math, English, history, and science—and pinnacles, including the arts, foreign language, et al. Primary focus will be on the development of curriculum for core courses as competency in these subjects will be expected of all schools.

The goals of the panel should be limited to promoting a concise, basic curriculum on which national assessments would be based and a complete, voluntary curriculum. The basic curriculum is solely an articulation of expected degrees of competency. Each school will develop their own comprehensive curriculum.

The panel will seek to enhance retention through all grades and also evaluate the competiveness of both forms of the curriculum compared to foreign peers. The panel would be tasked with the distribution of such curriculum following its approval and its regular maintenance and alteration on a yearly basis.

Organization
At its essence, decentralization is a duality of purpose: it affords greater flexibility to individual schools while also centralizing the basic systems of funding, assessment, and accountability to a broader, national context. The structure of the new systems would be based on a national department of education responsible for funding, standards, and assessment. Local districts will continue to be comprised of several thousand children and several elementary and secondary schools—their role is more specifically discussed in The District.

Tuition
Tuitions for each school would vary based on a variety of circumstances including school performance in core subjects, involvement in sports and the arts, needs of the student body, and
participation in incentives programs. The formula for determining tuition for each school would also take into account the location of the school and allow buffers promoting the integration of students with poorer performance.

School tuitions will also vary based on adherence to additional voluntary curriculums and policies offered by the federal, state, and local districts.

Testing
Assessments of all students would take place each year based on the basic curriculum. The performance for each subject assessment is determined by failure (less than 65 percent of problems correct), satisfactory (65-75 percent), exceptional (75-85%), and superior (85-100%). All students are expected to pass each core subject; 75 percent of students are expected to have scores that fall within exceptional to superior.

Other subjects for assessment, not required for each student includes the arts, foreign languages, etc All tests are accessible at all times throughout the year depending on a school’s schedule. A national rating system for schools will be established based on the school’s performance in the core areas of study and pinnacle courses where applicable.

Accountability
For five years after privatization, schools will have the flexibility to make adequate yearly progress towards national standards. If they fail, the district will be responsible for coordinating acceptable change—if necessary, changing the school’s structure.