Brad Lager's Capitol Report -- Accountability in Education

The over arching issue of the 2011 legislative session is job creation. While it is vital that we do everything possible to advance a pro-jobs agenda, these short term factors are just part of the overall equation. In order to create the greatest number of economic opportunities for the greatest number of Missourians in the long run, the most important thing we can do is develop a skilled and well educated workforce.

Our goal should be to create life-long learners who are able to adapt to an ever changing environment because of their quality education. This quality education relies on quality instruction, and quality instruction relies on quality teachers. Without quality teachers, it will be very difficult for us to reach our long term goals. Unfortunately, in today’s educational environment we do a poor job of clearly articulating the expectations we have for our educators thereby leaving us unable to appropriately benchmark performance. Missouri’s educators deserve to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated. If a teacher fails to meet prescribed goals, there needs to be a professional development plan in place that helps them reach the desired level of performance. If they continue to fail, then Missouri’s school children deserve a new teacher.

Any discussion about improving educational attainment, leads to a debate about the optimal methods to create the desired outcomes. I believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Jefferson City should not be micro-managing this process. I believe that each school district along with the parents in those districts should utilize whatever methods work best for their districts. In fact, the state’s role is to provide our local schools with the tools and resources available to help them meet their responsibility to their students.

We have a fundamental responsibility to do everything we can to ensure Missouri’s schoolchildren have the greatest educational opportunities available. My approach seeks to bring fiscal responsibility and increased accountability to the entire system. Greater responsibility in our state’s budget process helps protect our ability to support our school districts financially. Increased accountability throughout the process helps ensure we are doing everything we can to equip our students with the tools they need for a lifetime of success. Working together, I believe we can create an educational system that lays a solid foundation today so that we are able to create better economic opportunities tomorrow.

As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. The Capitol number is (573) 751-1415, my email is brad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 422, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.