Educators Urged to Boost Achievement : Payzant Stresses New Autonomy in Outlining Long-Term District Goals

San Diego city schools Supt. Tom Payzant exhorted his top administrators and principals Tuesday to use their new autonomy stemming from district reforms to improve the mixed picture of success and failure in student achievement.

Payzant outlined his vision of where the district--the nation’s eighth-largest, with more than 116,000 students--should move in the next several years to address key areas of curriculum, parent involvement, dropout prevention, black and Latino achievement and testing.

While stressing traditional hopes for what an educational system can teach--good citizenship, economic self-sufficiency, personal fulfillment and ethical character--Payzant emphasized the district’s numerous reform efforts and experimental procedures in asking that new ground be broken in the teaching process.

‘Focus on Two Things’

And he left no doubt in the minds of those at the annual Managers Conference that he expects every one of his 153 principals to be thinking about new ways to improve the uneven picture of performance in the district. Payzant himself was asked by the Board of Education in June during its annual evaluation of his performance to articulate more clearly his philosophy for where he wants the district to head.

“Schools must focus on two things: learning and teaching, even though that would appear to be self-evident to the people in this room,” Payzant said. But, while educators know a lot about how children learn, he said, they have yet to apply that knowledge fully in the classroom.

Payzant said schools should be reorganized according to learning theory and that educators must stop looking for one single way to teach, since they well know that all students do not learn in the same way. He called for a less impersonal central administrative office that would help schools work through the tension that comes with reform and change.

“We know that more of the same is not enough and that fundamental change is needed,” he said. “So let’s take what we already know about learning and teaching and change our practice.”

Payzant said he hopes that more schools this year will take advantage of the district’s restructuring program to improve their curriculum, by designing new courses, seeking waivers for team-teaching or other reforms, and working more successfully with parents.

Sensitive Issue

“There is more latitude for schools and therefore there will be more responsibility (for schools) to accept what happens,” Payzant said, touching on the sensitive issue of accountability.

“I don’t want (the fear of accountability) to stifle restructuring,” he said, acknowledging that some schools may be wary because board members or top administrators might level criticism at failed initiatives.

“I’ll try to be a force in refereeing things,” he said. “There should not be a conflict between shared decision-making and shared responsibility for the outcomes.”

But he made it clear that he will judge disputes or conflicts on the basis of how a decision will best help students.

“People in this room are often confronted with tough decisions about fellow colleagues,” Payzant said. “And sometimes the interest of employees comes (at the expense) of children. . . . It’s tough, so tough, to stand up to a colleague and say, ‘You’re making it (worse) for children.’ ”

Not all of Payzant’s talk centered on cosmic issues. He promised schools that he will consider the “bell issue.” Because of transportation logistics involving thousands of bused students, some schools begin class early in the day and others start more than an hour later. Those schools that start late perennially complain about unfairness, and Payzant promised to consider reversing the schedule periodically.

Payzant also said that with an increased emphasis on student reading, “you, as administrators, should be reading more. . . . If a student is expected to read at least one book a month, you should be reading at least two.”