The Indiana P-16 Plan is the newest effort in Indiana
education reform.
Its purpose and need is stated in the Final Working
Draft (#4) page 1. “Providing all children with
the academic foundation they need to navigate today’s
complex and interconnected world is the basis of the
Education Roundtable’s P-16 Plan for Improving
Student Achievement. Each education sector has an
important part to play in ensuring all students succeed
as they progress. This success will only be realized
if Indiana’s entire education system (from the
early days of a child’s life, through early
childhood education, elementary school, middle school,
high school and college) is geared to prepare and
enable all students to achieve at high levels. This
is essential if our states’ education system
is to meet its primary purpose of providing every
student with the preparation they need to be active
and productive citizens.”
The Plan will go forward in two phases: The Strategic
Framework outlining the steps that need to be taken;
and then Implementation - a fleshing out of the details
of how it will be done, who will do it, the time-line,
and the source of funding.
Page 2: The Plan is built around ten key components:
(1) Academic Standards, Assessments, and Accountability,
(2) Teaching and Learning, (3) School and District
Leadership and Governance, (4) Early Learning and
School Readiness, (5) Eliminating Achievement Gaps
and Ensuring Academic Progress for All Students, (6)
Ensuring College and Workforce Success, (7) Drop-Out
Prevention, (8) Higher Education and Continued Learning,
(9) Communication, (10) Effective Use of Technology
and Efficient Use of Resources.
This plan is just about controlling everything, isn’t
it? And notice the goal:
To benefit society: “A highly skilled, technologically
literate work force is essential to growing new jobs
in business and industry, generating personal income,
and creating an overall better quality of life for
all Hoosiers.” (Page 1, Indiana P-16 Plan.)
It should also be noted that the Indiana P-16 Plans
definition of “academic standards” is
not what we usually think of, and the accountability
is not to the students or their parents, but to the
federal government. P-16 Plan aligns Indiana with
the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal act of 2002.
It’s a federal curriculum and about money. Only
about 7% of state spending comes from the federal
government but money is the carrot stick.
In my estimation the most ominous component of the
plan is “Early Learning and School Readiness.”
On page 9 (On-Line version) it states: “Parents
deserve to have the latest information on what they
can do to promote healthy brain development in their
infants and children.” (As if parents aren’t
intelligent enough to provide it themselves.) The
Plan then states: “Many parents struggle to
find and afford quality programs for their children.
Children and education cannot be thought of as separate
entities. High quality childhood education is a good
economic investment.”
Investment for who? Society?
On Page 9 the Plan states: “Involve parents
in planning and implementation of all early learning
and school readiness efforts.”
(INVOLVE PARENTS? Whose kids are they? What audacity
that they should make and implement plans, and then
say “INVOLVE Parents!”)
The Plan goes on: “GUARANTEE access to appropriate
health screening and high-quality developmental checkups
for ALL children BIRTH to age 7.”
As an aside: Even more revealing is a statement made
and recorded at a Forum on Early Learning and School
Readiness held on June 10, 2003. The minutes state:
“The wisest investment society could make would
be on the front end, in children from before birth
to age five.”
On Page 4: Three goals stated include: “High
quality and affordable child care for ALL. A high-quality
medical home for every child, Prenatal to five. Parent
skill-building that recognizes parents must be fully
INVOLVED in school readiness.”
On Page 6: “How do WE ENGAGE parents and families
as the first and most important teachers of young
children?” (As if parents aren’t capable
of doing anything on their own)
On Page 7: “Change the concept of P-16 to Prenatal-16".
Page 8: “Educate parents, starting BEFORE their
children’s birth.”
Page 9: “Change the mind-set about when educations
begins.”
The last step in Draft #4 for this section states
“Establish an Early Learning and School Readiness
Commission for COORDINATING BIRTH to age six early
learning and school readiness experiences.”
(All emphasis mine)
Is this what we want for our children? Whose children
are they anyway? If so much of K-12 education has
already failed as evidenced by so many children who
can’t pass the ISTEP test and who can’t
read, what makes the Roundtable think they can do
any better with preschool? And where do they think
they even have the right to attempt to a take-over
of our children? Go back to my first question “Do
we want P-16?” Answer for yourself, a resounding
NO?
And this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is
much more in the Indiana P-16 Plan that everyone should
know, but time and space limit me at this time. If
you want more information, you can contact me at 765-289-1312.
