October 13, 2000 (217) 782-4648 or (312) 814-3490
Chicago
– Mayor Richard M. Daley, whose personal crusade to turn around
Chicago’s public schools has led to awe-inspiring, system-wide improvement,
today was honored as the National Association of State Boards of Education’s
(NASBE) Policy Leader of the Year.
The
award is given annually to a national or state-level policymaker or education
leader who has shown creative, committed and enduring leadership toward
improving public education. The award was given at NASBE’s annual conference,
held this year at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in St. Louis.
Illinois
State Board of Education Chairman Ron Gidwitz nominated Daley for the award.
“The vision he shared with the city has now become the city’s vision as
evidenced by increased parent volunteers, improved test scores and enhanced
community activities to keep kids off the streets,” Gidwitz said.
“Through
his leadership, the citizens of Chicago are again proud of their city and their
schools,” he said.
In
his nominating letter, Gidwitz recalled the “dark days” of Chicago education
when, in the late 1980s people nationwide started to think of Chicago public
schools as the worst in the nation.
Fed
up with such criticism, Daley in 1995 invoked his personal and political clout
to convince the Illinois General Assembly to pass a raft of new laws to give
Daley complete authority over – and responsibility for – Chicago’s public
schools.
That
move in itself – riskier than most people realize – would merit public
commendation, Gidwitz said.
But
then two things happened.
First,
Chicago’s school actually started showing real, meaningful improvement in
almost every category – academics, enrollment, attendance and safety.
And
secondly, people nationwide started to notice the improvement. Eventually,
Chicago was seen as a model for innovative, tough and, most importantly,
successful school reform.
Daley
is “a person of vision and bold action,” said NASBE Director of Government and
Public Affairs, Dave Griffith. “He set clear objectives and goals, but what is
more important, is that he achieved them.
“He
has tackled tough issues in the Chicago public schools and has radically
revamped what is happening in Chicago public education,” Griffith said.
Honoring
Daley is somewhat unusual, Griffith said, in that the award usually goes to a
state-level policymaker. But, Chicago has such a significant impact on the rest
of the state that Daley’s work has had tremendous reach statewide, he said.
NASBE
also released a study strongly condemning the concept of social promotion –
that is, automatically passing a student to the next grade whether the student
qualifies for promotion or not.
The
report, “Failure is Not an Option: The Next Stage of Education Reform” was
written by a NASBE study group chaired by Illinois State Board of Education
Vice President Marilyn McConachie.
It
calls upon state boards and other education leaders to allow local districts
and schools increased flexibility to structure curriculum, instructional
practices and classroom time so that all students can meet increased academic
standards.
The
report also strongly criticizes the persistent achievement gap between white
and minority students. It found such factors as inadequate educational
opportunities, the “tyranny of low expectations,” poverty, lack of parental
involvement and peer and cultural influences all must be confronted if
education reform is to advance.