In my wildest dreams improving education of children I discovered something in my own work that might have validity today with costs of educating going up, not down. Let us begin with central office personnel. First and foremost there must be at least one leader, usually the school superintendent. An assistant is warranted if the school system is more then two to three schools. School taxes support that small central office staff with ancillary people doing budget and allocations in the various schools.
Each school will have one leader and one assistant if warranted. Again, numbers determine. At the building level are two to three other people that serve the teachers and children. These are go-to people when a child needs additional support. The distance of staff outside the classroom should be no further then just down the hall. Teachers then are free to teach and follow a general outline suggested by the state for each grade level. No more time constraints of school day divided by fiat.
Let me suggest a scenario that would help both teacher and child and have a reporting mechanism in place to keep the parent notified and informed of progress not tied to six-week intervals or some such arbitrary measurement. Engaging the parent often and with purpose raises the profile of the teacher's effectiveness and value to the community.
If schools are individually centralized and effective the teacher's salary should be commensurate with the success of the program. The money saved would easily cover respectable earnings for the teacher. Doing away with redundant central office personnel and putting the school as central would effectively raise the profile of professionalism of the classroom teacher, not central office people. Take the onus of educating to the teacher and the building support staff not creating a distance between child, teacher and parent. This plan would work and would love to hear from others.
Robert Brooks