In Maryland, a group called the Kirwan Commission has recommended a $4 billion dollar a year improvement in the Maryland public education system.  The gist of the Kirwan Report  is that Maryland has a “mediocre” educational system despite being the fifth wealthiest State in the nation.  Moreover, it is a “mediocre” system within the United States which itself is “mediocre” on an international basis.  Major corrections are needed to develop a “world class” educational system.

The Maryland State Department of Education has released information indicating that 53% of kindergarten students are not academically or socially prepared for kindergarten.  For those of you who thought that kindergarten was the introduction to school for children, think again.  While Kirwan endorses many other changes, its solution to the “kindergarten problem” is a voluntary “full day” pre-K to adequately “prepare” 4 year-olds for their 5 year-old experience in kindergarten and “full day” pre, pre-K for economically disadvantaged 3 year-olds.

Where to start?  What sort of test is used to determine the social skills of a 5 year-old?  Not too long ago, having proper social skills meant the ability to play with other kids or your cousins without a call to 911.  Skeptics might say that the average 4 year-old probably doesn’t need a full day of “school.”  Some play, a snack, a nap and maybe an hour of Sesame Street should do.  However, there is considerable sentiment for full day pre-K which parents may like because it solves many child care issues.

Despite the gloom and doom of the Kirwan Report, less than 10 years ago Maryland was ranked as having the #1 public education system (K-12) in the country for three years in a row.  How it went from #1 to “mediocre” in such a short period is nowhere explained. 

The Kirwan recommendations have been embraced by the Democratic leadership of the Maryland General Assembly for passage in the upcoming 2020 General Assembly.  Republican Governor Larry Hogan is opposing the $4 billion price tag which he maintains will lead to substantial tax increases.  Hogan was elected on an anti-tax message in light of tax increases initiated and passed by his Democratic gubernatorial predecessor to pay for an earlier round of public educational enhancements enacted (2002) as the result of the Thornton Commission which – among other things – established compulsory full day kindergarten for all 5 year-olds.

The State Teachers Union made its first television ad buy saying that passing the recommendations are crucial for Maryland’s children.  Advocates are criticizing Hogan for raising “dark money” to oppose these recommendations.  Unions supporting Kirwan are suggesting new taxes on corporations and, of course, on millionaires.

Lost in the political rhetoric, is an examination of the pre-K component.  They say that the “devil is in the details” and the details indicate that the Teachers Union is intent on making sure that the pre-K education occurs in public schools so that the new teachers can become dues paying members.  

Presently, the pre-K world is run by private entities.  Kirwan changes that model.  While the recommendations call for the pre-K education to include non-public schools, those schools must have a similar “quality” as the public schools. 

My sister just retired from her 34 year career as a “pre-K” teacher.  By all accounts, she was remarkable with her students.  However, she would not qualify under the Kirwan plan as a “lead teacher” (bachelor’s degree and a “certification” in early childhood education) and neither would her school if she remained employed.

Does this matter?  Well, of course it does.  My sister’s students paid to attend her school.  Kirwan provides that a family of four making $77,250 or less would attend the new pre-K schools for free (with the state shelling out $12K a year per child) and families making less than $154,500 would receive a subsidy for attending the new pre-K schools.  Meanwhile, my sister’s school would not receive any “free” or “subsidized” students until a properly certified teacher was in place.  Net effect:  Some schools may be up against the wall and their students may be going elsewhere threatening their financial viability.

So what’s the problem?  Isn’t it better to have “quality” pre-K schools?  That begs the question of whether a newly minted college graduate with an early childhood education “certification” from the Maryland State Department of Education is a proxy for pre-K “quality.”  I would take my sister anytime as she had far more experience with youngsters.  She raised three sons and, for decades, taught youngsters in beginner swim classes.  She had “kid sense” which – to my mind ‒ is essential for a pre-K teacher.  

And if many private schools will draw the short straw, others will get no straw at all.  The real losers are the home daycare providers who are allowed up to eight kids but provide no substantial educational component.  So a working parent with a 4 year-old (or, in some cases, a 3 year-old) will now have the option of either “free” or “subsidized” pre-K which will be offered, as a practical matter, in a public school.  

So you say: “Is this an anti-union screed?”  Not really, but it is intended to show certain bad effects of public employee unions.  Unlike industrial unions, public employee unions are intimately involved in electing the “management” with whom they bargain.  When the Teachers Union approaches for an increased pension or more pre-K, the legislators who say “yes” are guaranteed an endorsement, PAC money and, in many cases, poll workers in their next election.  In Maryland, unions like SEIU (Service Employees International Union) have been remarkably successful in targeting independent state senators and replacing them with robotic acolytes.

The pre-K component of Kirwan is an $800 million a year expenditure which will require new teachers, all now candidates for union membership.  And for those who say that teachers unions favor “quality” education, that is true only if the “quality” occurs in the monopoly of public schools.  Otherwise “quality” be damned.  Consider the following:

1. Proposals for “charter schools” favored by African-American parents in failing school districts:  The public education establishment led by the state teachers union has undermined them in Maryland at every turn.

• Aid to Catholic elementary schools with excellent academic outcomes for kids in failing school districts:  Absolute opposition.

• Parental school vouchers:  Mass the army in opposition, descend on the Legislature, and tell legislators that their opposition will determine their electoral fate.  God knows the parents aren’t smart enough to determine the best school for their kids.

The political swack of the national teacher unions is nowhere more evident than in the current preening for support by Democratic presidential contenders.  Some are absolutely opposed to charter schools (inner city parents be damned) and even the “moderates” say more constraints are needed.

Sadly, we have poured billions into the public educational system in the last 20 years in initiative after initiative (No Child Left Behind, Race To The Top, the Common Core Standards, the Every Student Succeeds Act) and yet we have not achieved any improvement according to the latest study.

It may be that money is not the real solution.  Training teachers to teach may be one silver bullet.  The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a standardized test given every two years to measure 4^th and 8^th grade achievement in Reading and Math.  The most recent results show that one State made more progress than any other State.  If you guessed Mississippi (yes, Mississippi!) you would be correct.  “4th graders in Mississippi are now on par with the national average, reading as well or better than pupils in California, Texas, Michigan and 18 other states.”

Maybe it’s time to reassess what we are doing. In doing that reassessment, let’s ask the people in Mississippi first, parents second, working teachers third, all other constituencies next and the unions dead last.