Now that the school funding lawsuit is over, “challenges must be met in retaining teachers, and the state hopes to coordinate numerous innovative ideas produced by a school system that is becoming more diverse each day.” Andy Tompkins, a Kansas University professor who previously served as the state’s education commissioner, takes your questions about the issues facing state schools.

Moderator

Hi folks! I’m Joel Mathis, managing editor for convergence, and I’ll be moderating today. Andy Tompkins is here and ready to take your questions.

Andy Tompkins

I am looking forward to addressing your questions and appreciate the opportunity to be with you today.

Moderator

Sir, I’ll open up with a question of my own: Now that the finance lawsuit is over, does that mean funding challenges have gone away for Kansas K-12 schools? And what other challenges are there?

Andy Tompkins

No, it does not mean that funding challenges have ended. The most imminent one is the funding for the three year plan passed by the legislature. I am sure that will be on the minds of legislators and educators in the upcoming session. Other challenges include recruiting and retaining a high quality teaching and leadership workforce and continuing to help those students who are not learning well to improve their achievement and as such their chances for success in school as well as life after school.

languagerights

One challenge faced by our State Department of Education and by our school board is preparing our students to succeed in an increasingly globalized society. As immigration rates swell, our schools are being faced with the challenge of providing a curriculum that serves the linguistic and cultural needs of our LEP students. But, what about preparing students, whose first language is English,to conduct business in a world in which languages other than English are spoken and in which students from other nations are learning English, while WE are not learning THEIR languages? Multiple reports from the Government Accountability Office suggest that we are entering the military and foreign service without the language proficiency we need to protect our country and promote healthy foreign policy. AND…KSDE does not even have a Foreign Language Consultant (I checked). Mr Tompkins, what do you think can and should be done in order to alleviate this problem? Should we begin teaching languages at a younger age? Must we just provide better funding for foreign language programs?
This is a serious deficiency and one that our state board of education must take very seriously.

Andy Tompkins

I agree that this is an area of concern. One of the problems we face is an understanding by our society that this is important for our children. We know that the earlier that a child learns a foreign language the easier it is for them to learn it and appropriate speak it. Therefore, the research would certainly suggest that we need to introduce students to foreign language at an earlier age. We have some school districts who have done this but nothing on a statewide basis. I feel that this is a topic that school districts and the state board need to address so that some beginning progress can be made.

Moderator

A question of my own: Over the last decade, questions about education – everything from funding to intelligent design to vouchers – have been among the more hotly contested debates in state government. Is this politicization of education a new thing in Kansas — and how does it affect the ability to educate our kids?

Andy Tompkins

It has certainly felt that way. However, I am sure that a part of the change process in our society includes a political discussion of issues. I have been concerned about the divisiveness of such issues but hope that over time we are getting better at addressing them in a civil and thoughtful manner.

yourdad

The Regents ruled all KS institutions of higher ed accept credits/grades for concurrent credit courses (from community colleges, local universities) taught in high schools. In some areas of the state, our high schools have bypassed/downplayed more rigorous curriculum such as AP in favor of these often easier courses. Many parents find these easier paths to credit enticing. The downside is that our gifted and talented kids have less options and are less able to compete when placed in honors courses at more prestigious institutions. Also, often these credits are simply not accepted at out of state schools.

How do we get the rigor back in the classroom? Why must the kids at the top be forced off the high school campus to find the challenges they need?

Andy Tompkins

That is a difficult question. Obviously, there is an advocacy from parents for these courses to be offered for their students while in high school. Also, many of the high schools in Kansas are not large enough to offer many advanced offerings such as AP classes unless using an online format. I do agree that we should be finding new ways to stretch our brightest and best as well as ensure that courses such as concurrent offerings are of sufficient rigor.

Moderator

One challenge you didn’t mention earlier is the shifting population in Kansas away from rural areas to urban areas. Politicians run for cover when the “consolidation” word is mentioned. What are the challenges of the state’s demographics, and how are they going to be dealt with?

Andy Tompkins

As you may know, our current state policy is to incent local boards of education to make these decisions. Over the past five or so years, we have had several districts consolidate. Also, we are seeing some moderation of enrollment declines in the state, however, some parts of our state are continuing to lose population. There is no doubt that distance learning is one way to support students in more remote areas. However, I believe that districts will continue to wrestle with this issue for years to come in our state.

sci4all

Dr. Tompkins, the Kansas State Department of Education seems to be in shambles at this time, as evidenced by the extraordinarily high turnover rate during the past year. Who should provide the leadership, then, for exploring means of teacher retention?

Andy Tompkins

The issue of teacher recruitment and retention needs attention at both the state and local level. With the shortages that we are experiencing across the state, I believe we need at the state level to step up efforts as providing incentives for people to enter the teaching field especially in high need areas with a requirement that their service to the profession will be required. At the local level, we have a growing body of research which clearly indicates that mentoring and induction programs can reduce the attrition of teachers by up to 50 percent. You are right that this is an absolutely critical issue in our state that cannot be ignored.

Moderator

You talked about consolidation decisions being made at the local level. What kind of tensions are faced between local and state education officials in driving how kids are educated? (Who is in the driver’s seat, in other words?)

Andy Tompkins

There is no doubt that it is difficult for local boards to make these decisions. Also, the expectations we have for our students to achieve and graduate from high school come from both the local and state levels. So, I do believe there is a tension created by our expectations for our students but having high expectations for our students is the right thing for their future.

Moderator

That appears to be all the questions we have. Any final thoughts?

Andy Tompkins

I have appreciated the opportunity to respond to these questions. Our state has had a rich history of support for our schools and caring for our students. It is important that we never lose this focus. Making a link between the success of our students and the success of our state is important for the students’ future and the future economic viability of our state.