The San Diego Unified School District‘s recent decision to shuffle around a handful of administrators is nothing more than a shell game designed to distract us from the real issue: historically low test scores among our most vulnerable students.
The district has failed a large segment of the student population and replacing a handful of administrators will not solve the problem. Removing area superintendents may make the board and superintendent feel better and give the illusion the district is doing something to address underperforming students, but this will change nothing. Much more needs to be done.
The 2022 standardized test scores recently released show that 66% of Black students do not meet standards in English language arts, and 81% do not meet standards in math. 62% of Latino students do not meet standards for English language arts and 76% do not meet standards for math.
San Diego Unified officials will attempt to blame the COVID pandemic for the drop in student test scores, but it was not the pandemic’s fault but the district’s decision to close schools while many businesses continued to operate.
Reassigning eight middle-level area superintendents appears to be the district’s band-aid approach to addressing the horrendous effects students are still experiencing due to school closures and distance learning. It is abundantly clear that distance learning did not produce equal results for all students, but socially promoting students and releasing them into the job market without basic reading, writing and math skills is simply wrong.
Instead of socially promoting students, the SDUSD needs to extend the school year or even extend the school day for those who are failing or struggling. What’s needed is uninterrupted, full-time instruction just like students receive during a traditional school year that continues into the summer.
SDUSD schools are in session for 180 days. I recommend a 220-day school year for failing students along with lower class size and tutorial support outside of class.
Having an extended school year is not a new concept. Many countries have much longer school years than we do. In most of Australia, the primary and secondary school year lasts about 200 days. In Japan, the minimum number of school days in a year is 210. And in China, the average length of the secondary school year is 245 days.
When you factor in student absences, children in the United States receive far less than 180 days of instructional time. Extending the school year is what is required for students who need to catch up due to learning loss, not shuffling around a number of school administrators.
SDUSD must also ensure that graduating seniors be provided with the education they need to develop the skills required by today’s job market. Socially promoting students is essentially setting them up for potential failure.
High school graduates are now competing for jobs with graduates from other countries, and our students are being surpassed in math and science by their counterparts in most developed countries. Therefore, it is crucial that we address the learning losses caused by the district’s decision to shut down schools for almost two years.
The school board’s decision to stop in-person instruction to keep students safe during the pandemic ushered in a different set of dangers: anxiety, depression and other serious mental health conditions. Instead of hiring back eight highly paid, middle-level administrators they should hire many more school counselors.
The district plans to spend $1.8 Billion dollars this school year to educate our children. With that amount of money spent on public education we should demand better results. Shuffling around a few administrators is merely a distraction from what is really needed — better learning and academic results for all students.
Mark Powell has a master’s degree in educational counseling and is former vice president of the San Diego County Board of Education. He has been a teacher, vice principal and dean of students in the San Diego Unified School District.