Groups: Get more pre-K input

Joining a growing chorus, officials of two education groups said Tuesday they want a bigger voice in designing Louisiana’s revamped pre-kindergarten system.

John Warner Smith, chief executive officer for Education’s Next Horizon, said his group, while intensely interested in details of the changes, has been limited mostly to submitting ideas in writing to state officials.

“We thought it would be appropriate to invite stakeholders into the room to be part of the planning process,” Smith said. “That hasn’t happened.”

Melanie Bronfin, director of the Policy Institute of the Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families, said the work needs input from more experts.

“I would think that a plan is more likely to be successful if the folks that have to implement it are involved in its creation,” Bronfin said. “It is going to be hard to get the details right if you don’t have the folks on the ground doing it.”

The need for more public input — including parents, child care providers and business leaders — is the first of several recommendations submitted to state education leaders by both groups.

They echo concerns aired on Monday by Wyatt Graves, president of the Child Care Association of Louisiana, to have a bigger say in hammering out the pre-K changes.

“Those details are what affect child care providers every day in business,” Graves said. “And that is why we are so concerned about what the details look like.”

Graves said that, to date, his group’s role in crafting the new system has been largely limited to offering comments, conference calls and a few face-to-face meetings.

State Superintendent of Education John White rejected the criticism.

“We are happy to work with anybody,” White said. “We have been working closely with a lot of those groups and want to keep working with them.”

The changes stem from a law approved earlier this year by the state Legislature at the urging of Gov. Bobby Jindal.

It is designed to overhaul what critics call a sprawling system of pre-kindergarten classes with a wide range of quality, standards and costs. The law requires the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to come up with a definition of kindergarten readiness.

BESE is also supposed to craft performance targets for children under age 3, academic standards for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds, and an accountability system for publicly-funded pre-K programs, including letter grades.

White is set to discuss the issue with BESE on Oct. 17.

Smith’s group calls itself an advocate for education from pre-K through 12th grade.

The Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families and its Policy Institute calls itself an independent source of data on young children for policymakers.

The Child Care Association of Louisiana claims about 600 members, including pre-K facilities and individuals who work in the field.

Smith said his group has worked with state officials on planning for the pre-kindergarten changes, including nine regional community forums held in July and August to get input.

But Smith and others contend the nitty-gritty of the planning is limited to six interagency groups involving the state Department of Education, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Health and Hospitals.

“They have taken the input,” he said. “We think that is good.”

“But as we go through the detailed planning process we think it is important that stakeholders be at the table,” Smith said.

Comments

1) Comment by civitasiveritas - 04/10/2012

Have no idea what planet nimby and ***** are from. Their comments make no sense at all. I can see why John White may want to prevent anyone with any expertise from being in those actually meetings where the policies are hammered out. It is rough when everyone in the room knows more than the leaders. Not hard in the case of John White and his TFA debutantes. No experience, training, or maturity makes it difficult for them to work in the light of day. In the cause of vouchers, it seems pretty obvious from the lies of John White that there was no actual planning, or "vetting" of the schools. No wonder he who said in August that the info requested by the Associated Press would be released in September is now refusing to release it. how do you release that which does not exist? He says now, not then, that the request is too "overly broad." Yes, that is his claim now. Because the media is used to John White's attempt at "muddying the message" and trying to slither out from clear evidence of idiocy, they ask for all documents relating to the development of the policy. Again, I see John White's dilemma. There was no development of policy. They are probably getting with ALEC and all of their non-profit profiteers to see what kind of "policy" they can pretend to have! White lies.

2) Comment by Noel Hammatt - 04/10/2012

@bourbon_soda: Who mentioned unions above? While I do understand the problems of a heckler's veto, I think that, were you to attend any of the "input sessions" in the Department of Education, you would realize that is NOT the problem. The idea that one would ignore experienced experts in the field in favor of two-year wonders and ideological purists is more than a little disturbing to me. A bit like the huge "Conference" that Representative Carter had here in Baton Rouge, where only the ideologically pure "reformers" were allowed to present. It was in no way meant to be a real conversation. Instead it was merely a pep rally to get ready for the Blitzkrieg at the Capitol. We read the term "lip service" in a post earlier today. I think it fits in the above conversation. Here is the classic recipe used by the current Department of Education. Bring in highly paid "propagandistas" (and much better if they have little to no experience in the areas they will be overseeing) to run the program. Gather all the interested parties together... have them make long lists of their suggestions, concerns, and cautionary notes. Invite them to make statements on camera or in writing about how "open" the administration has been. Then, after the participants have left, shred the lists, save the film and the statements, and go publish the program you already had handed to you by ALEC, BAEO, and the Chamber of Commerce, among other villains. When the participants cry "foul," show the videotapes and read the statements of those who claimed the process was "open" just a few months prior. Yes, that is EXACTLY what is being practiced today.

3) Comment by timesright - 03/10/2012

Keep fighting and demanding a voice at the table. Experts in the field should be included. However, he doesn't think experience is of any importance. John White has none in this area. His last job which was in NYC was to locate sites for charter schools, especially in public school buildings. How's that and his 5 week TFA training? Was his RSD experience in New Orleans a success? Did he leave it with outstanding improvements? No expertise here!

4) Comment by nimby? - 03/10/2012

sounds like more layers of bureaucratic ***** , like walking thru a mine field to get help . only those drawing a salary will benefit . for all of the so called experts who want to voice their input so they can pat each other on the back for a job not done a bit of free advice , until parents are forced to be parents advice and funds are worthless . incentives don't work , perhaps consequences will .

5) Comment by bourbon-soda - 03/10/2012

A good strategy for preventing change would be to insist that experts, unions, and the general public each have more representation in the process until each had a "heckler's veto."