Endorsement : Burbank Middle School
It is a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism that we endorse Burbank Middle School’s proposal to create three pilot school academies on their campus. In a district that badly needs serious, in-District reform efforts, the Burbank Middle School community is helping to lead the way towards positive change. The principal, Mr. Samaniego, has worked hard with his staff and the parents of the community to develop a serious reform plan at Burbank.
Their plan splits a large school up into three separate academies of less than 500 students each, giving parents choice and allowing each student to get the personal attention they need. The current principal, Mr. Samaniego, is clearly a talented and dedicated school leader, and his leadership should provide a huge boost to this newly designed school. Additionally, their “elect to work” agreement makes important strides towards adult accountability, allowing some additional contract flexibility to its otherwise traditional UTLA contract, and giving school leadership greater staffing control.
We remain disappointed with aspects of the plan. While there is increased accountability, it still falls far short of the ideal. While the pilot school model gives some increased autonomy and budgetary control, it does not go nearly far enough in allowing local control and freeing the school’s budget from a massive, inefficient centralized bureaucracy. And it is worrisome that there is no existing track record of success – Burbank’s current student performance is alarmingly poor.
In conclusion, while we remain concerned about some significant aspects of Burbank’s plan, we do not believe this is a time to let perfect be the enemy of good. We urge Superintendent Cortines to select this plan, and implore the Burbank community to prove any skepticism we have wrong, and show that in-District, kids-first reform is indeed possible.
