Branstad: Education reform to be major focus of 2012 legislative session

DES MOINES – Iowa proudly proclaims its tradition of educational excellence on its commemorative state quarter. However, Gov. Terry Branstad is concerned that image is getting worn and tarnished.

“Our rank has been dropping in relation to other states,” said Branstad, noting that a number of other states are reforming their educational systems. “Iowa used to be the leader in education. We're now in the middle of the pack. There are a whole lot of states that have gone past us – a lot of states doing some really innovative, dynamic things.”

For that reason, Branstad said he plans to hold a special summit in July featuring U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and experts in teacher effectiveness, assessments and high-performing school systems to help fashion a major reform initiative that he expects will be the main focus of the 2012 legislative session.

Branstad said he envisions making significant changes in education that will be “a dramatic break from the way that things have been done.”

The governor said some ideas that he wants to explore include moving toward a system of paying K-12 teachers based upon the performance of their students, providing the guidance and help needed to make teachers more effective, and making the teaching profession more attractive but also making it harder to get accepted into college education programs by establishing new assessments and exams that applicants have to pass.

He said he also wants to reform the preparation programs for teachers and principals, “having some really quality evaluation systems that will recognize and reward the best, improve those in the middle and find a way to eliminate those that are failing the kids.” Another approach would be to fund higher education more on a basis of rewarding universities for graduating students rather than how many students they have enrolled, he added.

“That is the direction that we're looking at,” Branstad said in an interview.

The governor said he hoped to convince educators in Iowa to buy into the ideas, noting that teachers in Illinois bought into proposed changes but “in most states they've fought it tooth and toenail” so he was bracing for the potential of a tough election-year battle.

“My goal would be to try to build consensus, to get them involved, to try to let them see that, hey, there are some things that would be good for education here. But, it's going to be good for the teacher that's willing to work hard and excel and perform and improve their students' performance and for those who are just trying to get by it probably won't be so good,” he said.

Mary Jane Cobb, executive director of the Iowa State Education Association, said members of the state's largest teachers' union share many of the goals Branstad has laid out but the devil may be in the details, especially when it comes to adequately funding a new initiative given the backdrop of the current session in which Branstad-led Republicans are locked in a major disagreement over the level of state aid to education the next two fiscal years.

The funding issue “keeps me up at night,” Cobb said. “The changes or the things we need to do to improve education in the state cannot be done for free. If we are unable or unwilling at this point to simply add a modest increment into funding our schools for the next year, I'm very worried about what sort of a sweeping overhaul would cost and whether or not it's going to be imposed on us without any additional resources to accomplish it. That is a real concern.”

Cobbs said teachers are looking with interest at what is happening in other states that Branstad is holding up as examples of reform, noting that some of the things being done there already are in place in Iowa. She noted that attracting high-caliber candidates into education is a worthy goal, but students will pursue other fields if the entry-level salary for beginning Iowa teachers stays at $28,000 a year.

Cobb said her group plans to participate in the July summit and hopes the conversation will lead to positive collaboration within the context of Iowa's unique educational system. She said it was a positive move that Branstad is no longer talking about trying to accomplish the changes he envisions in a special session but rather plans to make it a major focus for 2012.

“I don't think that the education system in Iowa is profoundly broken and so I hope we don't begin to explore solutions that would create more disruptions in the system than what's necessary to make the gains that we need to make,” she said. “I don't think that we have to go the full distance that other states have gone because we're already there.”

Leaders of the Iowa Association of School Boards plan to hold a pre-summit meeting with the governor next month and are reserving judgment on what might become the policy outgrowths of the gathering of more than 1,600 Iowa educators, experts and policymakers.

“It would be premature for us to take a position at this time on any of the governor's ideas, but we do look forward to the summit, where we can hear from a broad range of educators and explore with them the current initiatives,” said Veronica Stalker, IASB interim executive director. “We will be gathering input from our membership at our district meetings across the state in June. Our position after the summit will be based on the best research-based practices brought forward and on the needs identified by our members.”

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