Cleveland’s Education-Reform Plan

Twenty twelve has not been a banner year for teachers’ unions. From California to Illinois to New Jersey, unions across the country have been threatening strikes, combatting legislation, and kindling protests in response to attempts by governors to reform their states’ public-education systems.

With the images of teachers storming the capitol building in Madison, Wis., still fresh, you might think the chances of finding common ground between unions and reformers in other states would be slim. But legislation passed earlier this month in Ohio suggests compromise is possible. The deal — struck between Republican governor John Kasich, Democratic mayor of Cleveland Frank Jackson, and a bipartisan group of local officials, businessmen, and, yes, even the local teachers’ union — is an impressive, encouraging break from the trend of conflict and stalemate.
The Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools puts in place a series of comprehensive reforms that drastically reshape the city’s failing school system. Cleveland has seen 30,000 students leave its public schools over the past decade for suburban or private schools, and those who have stayed graduate at a pitiful rate of 63 percent, with just 7 percent of high-school students going on to graduate from college. Test scores are well below the national average, and 500 teachers were laid off this year, stretching meager resources even thinner.

Read more: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/310205/cleveland-s-education-reform-plan-harry-graver