A note of farewell

By TED SANDERS

As I depart my position with the Illinois State Board of Education, I'm tempted to dwell at length on what the state has accomplished in education during my tenure as state superintendent. Limited space and the possibility of detracting from a far more pressing message do not permit that indulgence. Instead I shall once again share my concerns about the future of education in our great state.

Although I'm sure he had something else in mind, singer Paul Simon aptly described the condition of education in Illinois when he used the phrase "slip slidin' away." Less than four years after the euphoria surrounding the 1985 Education Reform Act, the twin goals of educational opportunity and excellence for all children in Illinois seem to be retreating from our grasp, slip slidin' away into the quicksand of politics and provincialism.

While some may think this judgment too harsh, they should keep in mind that it is one which is shared by parents, citizens and many editorial boards. The Chicago Tribune and Sun Times, the Rockford Register-Star, the Peoria Journal-Star, the Southern Illinoisan, the Moline Dispatch, the Champaign News Gazette and many other newspapers throughout Illinois have repeatedly criticized the state's failure to take the actions clearly necessary to help the schools. Business and industrial leaders have been joined by the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Chicago Urban League in calling for a more systematic and reasonable approach to the financial support of education. And, at a recent meeting in Pana, a crowd of angry citizens told legislators that it was time to stop pointing fingers and to get on with the business of improving education in Illinois.

The problems facing education in Illinois in this spring of 1989 are not mysterious; we know what is wrong and we have already agreed upon what needs to be done to improve things. What has been in short supply is the will to make and stand by a tough decision.

The issue of school district organization is a case in point. In 1985, the State Board of Education presented irrefutable evidence that students attending small high schools (those with fewer than 200 students) have lower achievement than their peers and fewer opportunities for either remedial or advanced coursework. Almost 200 high schools in Illinois fall into that category.

To address the inequities and inefficiencies of small high schools, the law passed in 1985 included provisions requiring only that a systematic review of and plebiscite on school district reorganization be conducted in each region of the state. Within weeks of its signing, the outcry from small communities, fearful about losing their schools, had caused the General Assembly to gut the law by making unanimity rather than majority rule the final determinant in reorganization. It is not surprising that not one significant school district organization change occurred as a consequence of that revised process.

Needless to say, coming from a rural background, I understand and sympathize with the desire of small communities to maintain their schools. For more than a century, the schools have been the hub of social, recreational and even economic activities for many towns — a source of pride, a source of identity. But we must face the fact that many of these communities have chosen to sustain their schools — particularly the small high schools —at the expense of good education for their children. No matter what virtues small high schools may have, it is readily demonstrable that they are not providing the depth and breadth of education necessary for our young people to compete in today's world.

I believe that something is wrong with a system that forces communities to choose between survival and reduced educational opportunities for their children. And I believe that there are things we can do to correct this situation; for example, we can make it easier for school districts that want to reorganize to do so. For these things to succeed, however, we must pull off the kid gloves and deal with the issue of school district organization in Illinois directly and decisively.

The accountability provisions of the 1985 Education Reform Act face a tenuous future. There was probably no issue

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on which there was greater public and legislative accord in 1985 than increased accountability. Parents, citizens and legislators agreed that they wanted to know how good a job schools are doing for our students. They wanted to be able to make comparisons, using uniform standards rather than rumor or word of mouth. The resulting Illinois learning assessment and school improvement system and the Illinois school report card have been lauded and copied throughout the country.

There are now serious pressures for relaxation of the accountability provisions of the 1985 law. We cannot let that happen. It took a long struggle to assure that the public had access to reliable school, district and statewide information about how well students are learning in the fundamental areas of education. In the long run, both schools and children will benefit from that struggle. We cannot retreat now.

Some will suggest that accountability is not the only endangered part of the 1985 Education Reform Act. Certainly it is true that the pace and character of reform efforts have been pervasively affected by the inability or unwillingness of the state to provide its schools with adequate funding. The promises made in 1985 for progressively increased funding echo hollowly against the repeated necessity to downscale activities or abandon desired programs. Perhaps the most dramatically affected has been the early childhood education program for three- and four-year-old students at risk of academic failure. Of the 112,000 children estimated to be in need of such programming, we are now able to serve only about 11,000. Many of those who remain enter school virtually assured of failure, even though we know what to do to avert that reality.

Significant legislation was passed last fall to improve the schools of our largest city. Chicago. However, if that law is not to be considered superficial and serving only the needs of various adult pressure groups rather than those of children, much remains to be done. First and foremost, our political leaders must bite the bullet on new state taxes to fund programs for the generation of students who will graduate in the year 2000. Otherwise, I see a bleak landscape in which parents and citizens whose hopes have been renewed finally realize that the Chicago reform law supported not a single new initiative serving the children in the city's schools. That oversight must be addressed, and this year is not too soon to accomplish that task.

I am a great admirer of Thomas Jefferson, who was a strong advocate for public education. Jefferson and his associates understood that the quality of our democracy, our economy and our society depend heavily on the quality of education we provide for our young people. Although they worked to create an educational system that emphasized local control and local financing, they knew that the common good was a matter of state and even national concern. Today, in a far more complex environment, the responsibility of the state to be the primary supporter of public education is greater than ever. It is the only level of government that is in a position to both address the political and economic inequities among local school districts and equalize resources to respond to shared needs. There is now broad acceptance of

. . . the blame for this shameful retreat from providing adequate support for education must be placed squarely on the state itself

the notion that the major financial support for elementary and secondary schools should come from the state and we should bravely and forcefully move to make Illinois a national leader in that regard.

Unfortunately, our state, rather than leading, has been backing away from its responsibility. During the past decade, the state has provided an ever-smaller percentage of the costs of operating schools. Since this proportional decrease has coincided with a decrease in farm property values and an increase in the proportion of otherwise taxable property sheltered under various economic development initiatives, local school districts have found themselves further and further out on a limb. At least one in every five Illinois school districts is now on the State Board of Education's "financial watch list"; these districts and many others are facing the difficult dilemma of trying to provide a quality education without sufficient resources. The words are familiar but they must be said again. Illinois is not only in danger of losing its education reform; it is in danger of losing the heart of its public school system. We are now facing a crisis of the first magnitude — and the blame for this shameful retreat from providing adequate support for education must be placed squarely on the state itself.

A recent column in a Springfield newspaper caused me to think about what makes the place where you live really seem like home. For me, home is a place where, for one reason or another, you put down roots. I've done that in Illinois. My two oldest children — Audrey and Drew — have married here and my first grandchild — Geoffrey — was born here. Here they will remain, as will my two younger children —April and Tony — who are attending Illinois colleges. Those are mighty deep roots.

Home is also a place in which you invest a great deal of yourself. I have done that in Illinois, through long days and nights, the sacrifices of my family and an ever-increasing personal commitment to the children and the schools of this state. In return, serving as the state superintendent for just over four years has given me an opportunity to get to know and love the diversity of Illinois. I've worked with some remarkable people, including the members and staff of the State Board of Education, and I've met a good many more. It has been a great challenge and a wonderful experience.

Finally, for me, home is a place whose welfare is of continuing concern. As I prepare to leave Illinois for Washington and a whole new chapter in my life, I find that I continue to care very, very much about what is going to happen to education in this state. That is the primary reason I sought to make this final letter a call for action on some of the many problems facing us. While there is much to be upbeat about education in Illinois, it is the things undone that should have our attention.

My eyes will continue to be focused on Illinois — after all, this is home.

Ted Sanders became Illinois' third state superintendent of education in January 1985. He was confirmed as U.S. under secretary of education on April 19, 1989.

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