Bill Dussling is board president of THSD 214 in Arlington Heights.
L ocal control — or not? Through the recent release of the first set of National Learning Standards in English and math and the inevitability of a subsequent set of assessments based on those standards, the federal government has definitively changed the landscape of the future for PreK-12 education.
Whether or not you like the move toward national standards, the reality is that, over the course of the next 30 years, these new standards and probably others will impact school curriculum and what students learn. Learning standards being set at the national level have many people, including board members, wondering what the future holds for local school boards.
I firmly believe that local school boards will be critical in the setting of policy and providing direction that ensures national standards are blended with the culture and focus of the local community.
Over the next 30 years, school board members must provide leadership in creating a seismic shift in the instructional philosophy of staff members. Our staffs must be prepared to deliver education that addresses the significant changes in ethnic demography of our student population, to provide students with skills to adapt to an ever-changing global society and to address learning for students with special needs.
In addition, with advances in technology happening at an ever increasing pace, it is our duty to teach students the skills necessary to be successful in a world in which we cannot even fathom the technology that will be available to them five, 10 or 15 years after they leave our buildings.
In addition to this new technology skills-focused curriculum, opportunities for students will expand significantly. Through the use of technology and the development of partnerships with colleges and universities, students will be able to access a plethora of information and curricular materials from across the world in real time.
It may no longer be necessary for students to physically be in our school buildings for 12 years. Perhaps they will finish high school in three years and immediately go to an institution of higher education. Perhaps they will complete their school experience virtually.
While it is impossible to forecast the specific impact technology will have on education over the next 30 years, it is possible to definitively state that technology will be more than a tool to access curriculum. Digitized curriculum will become the norm, not the exception. Board members must understand and be conversant with technology to be able to provide leadership in the expanding technology world.
Most importantly, teachers and those running our schools will only get better and better. We have phenomenal teachers in Illinois, but as we continue to refine the research around the best practices in teaching and learning, teachers will become even stronger and more adept at creating a curriculum that will allow students to adapt to changes in the world five, 10 or 15 years after graduation.
I happen to be very optimistic that we, as school board members, will provide the leadership and direction necessary to ensure that our students are well-prepared to succeed in the ever-changing global society over the next 30 years.