A Flaw in School Decision

In his three years at the helm of the San Diego Unified School District, Supt. Thomas W. Payzant has exhibited many outstanding qualities, not the least of which is a deep commitment to seeing that all students have the opportunity to learn and achieve.

Though his ideas have not always carried the day, Payzant has been on the cutting edge of such issues as eliminating the unfair “tracking” of students, developing a sensible policy for students or staff members who contract AIDS, and allowing girls to play contact sports. When he has failed, it has been when he tried to implement his innovative ideas without first building grass-roots support. Such would seem to be the case in the recent Lincoln High debacle.

Lincoln long has ranked near the bottom of the district’s high schools academically. It has the second highest drop-out rate of any high school in the city, and parents in the mostly black neighborhoods whose children go there have demanded that the educational program be upgraded. In October, school district officials announced that Lincoln would be transformed into an “Academy of Language and Classical Studies” and that the medical magnet program there would be removed.

The reaction from community and faculty at Lincoln was immediate and negative, with most of criticism growing from the perception that the new curriculum was impractical or too difficult for the students to master. And, though the plan also had its supporters, most Lincoln parents were shocked that so radical a change was to be implemented without advice and consent from the community.

They would seem to have a very fair complaint. It may be that the Lincoln proposal was not as illogical as it seemed on the surface. But Payzant and his aides should know by now that it is much easier to build support for major change when the affected constituents feel they are part of the change force, not victims of it.

The attention being paid to Lincoln High is certainly justified. With the parents and community now involved in discussions with school officials, an appropriate curriculum probably will be devised. But in the future, school administrators should remember that not all knowledge flows from the Education Center. Teachers and parents have good ideas to offer, too.