Teacher-Led School In California Sees Boost In Student Achievement, Enrollment

The AP (11/14, Hoag) reported that Francis Parkman Middle School in California "was spiraling downward with plummeting enrollment, abysmal test scores and notoriety for unruliness" four years ago. But after teachers took over leadership of the school, renamed the Woodland Hills Academy, "test scores [went] up 18 percent and enrollment has spiked more than 30 percent." The Woodland Hills Academy is one of a growing number of teacher-controlled schools throughout the US. "Proponents say teachers can turn floundering schools into flourishing ones if allowed the freedom to innovate to meet the needs of their students." But according to Claremont Graduate University education professor Charles Kerchner, student achievement at teacher run schools "has been mixed." And some skeptics question "how smoothly teachers can run a school," as "leadership by consensus often leads to slower decision-making, especially with people inexperienced in the substantial administrative work operating a school entails."