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Goal # 1 - Prioritize Education Goals & Reduce New Initiatives

In recent years, the size of the staff at DoDEA Headquarters has grown tremendously. Each of these new employees feels the need to justify their high-paying job and they do so by coming up with an endless series of new programs and initiatives that are then imposed upon the faculties and staffs at DoDEA schools.

Some of these new initiatives are worthwhile; many are not. Even those that are worthwhile will never be fully effective. This is because faculty and staff are constantly having new programs and trainings dumped onto them, gobbling up the amount of time they have to do their real jobs: educating children.

An example:
DoDEA is requiring K-3 teachers to administer reading tests to students individually, taking upwards of 20 hours -- that's half a week -- of instruction time away from the class. What really makes no sense is DoDEA wants to require this test be given twice a year: once in the fall and once late in the spring. Since the second round of the test will be given just weeks before the end of the school year, its results will come too late to "guide and leverage" instruction, as DoDEA claims. Why take up another half week of instruction time on a test that serves no purpose? It's inefficient and takes teachers away from the job of educating students.

In order to Maximize the Learning, DoDEA must do the following:
  1. Stop the flow of new programs and initiatives.

  2. Evaluate those initiatives developed in recent years and decide which ones are priorities and which are not. To call everything a priority is to exhibit a lack of decision-making ability.

  3. Ensure that any program implemented in DoDEA schools does not take away valuable time that should be spent by faculty and staff working directly with students to further their education.

  4. For any new initiative, clearly state the impact the program will have on teaching time in the classroom.

Other Goals of the Maximize the Learning campaign

Goal #2: DoDEA must stop promoting a one-size-fits-all approach to professional development and go back to providing faculty and staff meaningful development opportunities, specific to their curricular areas and students' needs.

Goal #3: DoDEA must stop trying to make all decisions at the Headquarters level and promote more and better local decision making at all levels.

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