Obama's Ed Budget: Change We Can Believe In?

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Things just got more interesting. Obama's education budget strikes some themes beyond Ed. Sec. Duncan's refrains so far of KIPP, TFA, and value-added data-tracking systems as the "proven strategies" to push. The new themes in the budget overview on education strike me as more promising - maybe more of Obama, less of Duncan? - and hint at reforms progressives have been calling for. Highlights are below, but you can download the full report here.

Early Childhood Education

"The Budget invests additional resources to encourage State and local investment in early childhood education; support coordination among local, State, and Federal partners and a seamless delivery of services; and provide better information to parents about program options and quality."

--no arguments here. I hope there are provisions for childhood nutrition and health in other parts of the budget. Anybody know?

Supports high Standards and Rigorous Assessments Aligned with the Demands of the Global Economy

"Assessments must accurately measure students’ knowledge and skills, including critical thinking skills. Building on the Recovery Act, the new Administration will help States increase the rigor of their standards so they prepare students for success in college and a career  resources will also be available to improve the quality of assessments, including assessments for students with disabilities and English language learners.  Such reforms will lay the groundwork for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act."

--No surprise that NCLB isn't going away. The emphasis on improving assessments to "include critical thinking" is promising, as well as the acknowledgment of NCLB's current weaknesses concerning special needs students and English language learners.

Prepares and Rewards Effective Teachers and Principals.

"The Administration will invest in efforts to strengthen and increase transparency around results for teacher and principal preparation programs, including programs in schools of education, alternative certification programs, and teacher and principal residency programs. The Budget supports additional investments in State and local efforts, developed in consultation with teachers and other stakeholders, to implement systems that reward strong teacher performance and help less effective teachers improve or, if they do not improve, exit the classroom. Resources are also included to develop better systems and strategies for recruiting, evaluating, and supporting teachers and other educators to provide a better supply and distribution of well-prepared and effective education workforce."

--This one's tough. Teacher and administrator certification approaches could surely use improving, so the obvious question is "how"? Any predictions? Developing policy for performance pay and dismissal of low-performing teachers sounds more labor-friendly with the "in consultation with teachers" phrase, but it's too early to tell what this will look like. Ditto the system for teacher recruitment, evaluation, and support: will it be tied to the higher-quality assessments called for above? With reforms of professional development and mentoring? Will it seek to protect tenure while at the same time pushing unions to cooperate when ineffective teachers don't make the cut, however that cut is defined? Too soon to tell.

Supports innovative and Effective Strategies to improve Achievement.

"Through the Innovation Fund, the Administration will invest in school systems and non-profit organizations with demonstrated track records of success in raising student achievement to expand their work or implement new innovative approaches. The President’s Budget also provides funds to support Promise Neighborhoods, a new effort to test innovative strategies to improve academic achievement and life outcomes in high-poverty areas. The program will be modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone, which aims to improve college-going rates by combining a rigorous K-12 education with a full network of supportive services—from early childhood education to after-school activities to college counseling—in an entire neighborhood from birth to college."

Funds Education Research to Ensure that Teachers and School Leaders have the Tools and information They Need to Prepare Students for the Global Economy.

"The Budget includes funds to carefully study, improve, and scale up promising educational innovations that focus on improving student learning and achievement.  The additional funds will also be used to rigorously evaluate Federal education programs so that Federal investments are preparing students for success in college and the workforce."

--This could be code for more charters, or it could mean seeking ways to implement innovations from charters and other alternatives in traditional public schools. Again, worth watching and too soon to tell.

Promotes Successful Models for Turning Around Low-Achieving Schools.

"The Budget builds on the Recovery Act’s focus on strategic investments in scaling up educational practices that show results and cultivating promising new practices. The President’s Budget commits resources to turn around high-need, low-performing schools with strong supports, not just sanctions. The Administration’s new strategy will support State efforts to diagnose and address the root causes of schools’ low performance. In addition, the Budget increases funding for the Charter School program to support the expansion of successful charter school models, while increasing State oversight to monitor and shut down low-performing charter schools."

--Again, a middle path vowing support, not sanctions, for traditional public schools, and support for charters. It's nice to see the call for more oversight and accountability of charters, since they see their fair share of failures too.

There's more about higher ed that's encouraging: an emphasis not just on getting high school students into college, but also getting them through it. And best of all, the spanking of the private college loan lenders like Sallie Mae and Citigroup you can read about here.

Before we get too excited....

Mike Madden at Salon reminds us,

In the end, exactly how much Thursday's release will really mean is unclear. The annual posting of the White House budget outline always sets off a frenzy in Washington, one that's vastly out of line with what the document actually means. Various interest groups and local lawmakers pore over the White House proposal looking for ways to be outraged by it; the media breathlessly reports proposed cuts and increases alike as if the budget proceeded, magically, from the Government Printing Office into law. In fact, for better or for worse, Thursday was just the beginning of a long, often tortuous process.

Because this is Obama's first year in office, the administration won't release detailed budget numbers until April. After that, in theory, Congress has to write, debate and pass a budget resolution, plus 12 different appropriations bills, before most of the ideas in the White House proposal ever have any actual impact. But most years, lawmakers can't quite manage to do that; several times during the Bush administration, Congress never bothered to pass a budget resolution, and it's rare that all 12 spending bills are handled individually. . . .

Even so, the priorities Obama laid out Thursday couldn't be more different from those of his predecessor. But putting the budget document out is the easy part. Now Obama has to sell everything in it. Otherwise, this election won't turn out to have quite so many consequences, after all.

Your thoughts?