Enhance School Quality through Funding and Operational Improvements

Addresses Risk Factor:

Limited Commitment to the Value of School

Youth who no longer ﬁnd value in school as a learning environment that will contribute to their lives are at higher risk of substance use, violence, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of school.

Youth Peer Favorable Attitudes Towards Substance Use

Youth who don't think it's wrong for their peers to use alcohol, marijuana, or other substances are at higher risk of substance use, violence, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of school.

Youth Perceive Substance Use as Low Risk

Youth who believe that there is little harm in the use of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances are at higher risk of substance use.

Early Initiation of Substance Use

Youth who experiment with alcohol, marijuana, or other substances before 13 years old are at higher risk of substance misuse later in life.

Increases Protective Factor:

School Rewards for Prosocial Involvement

When youth are recognized and rewarded by their parents and teachers and feel safe at school, protection increases and they are less likely to be involved in substance use and delinquency.

How does this strategy address these risk factors and protective factor?

Decades of research has shown how school funding impacts student learning: Greater funding leads to better outcomes for students. This is particularly true and important for schools serving marginalized communities, where research has shown that more funding is needed in order to balance the many gaps and challenges imposed on those students and their families by systems that fail to serve or provide opportunities to meet their needs. [1] The primary funding sources for public education are often state and local taxes, e.g., through property tax and vehicle registration fees.

Given this and the fact that sustained positive impact is only evidenced in sustained long-term funding increases, the road to improved school funding is necessarily through policy changes. [2]

Abundant research has also shown the centrality and impact of teacher quality on student outcomes. [3] In fact, a number of studies suggest that teacher quality is by far the most signiﬁcant predictor of student achievement. [4] Factors inﬂuencing teacher quality include recruitment and retention, compensation and workplace conditions, professional development, pathways and pipeline into the profession and principal quality. Considerable research also shows the importance of speciﬁc focus on diversity, representation and cultural responsiveness in all these areas. It is important to note that all of these factors require funding and that improving their provision requires increases to school funding.

Before You Begin

Understand the relationship between funding on school quality. Research shows that funding impacts not only school quality, but also student outcomes.

Resources:

Understand the factors that influence school funding in your state and community. Each community will fund its public schools through a variety of funding sources. To best work in this strategy, your coalition should first understand what sources exist and how they are influenced.

Colorado Resources:

Identify and connect with other organizations and individuals working or interested in this area, as well as those that hold decision-making power. Working with other organizations and/or individuals is the best way to maximize your coalition’s power and allows for a greater influence. Before selecting implementation activities, your coalition should take time to understand who is already working in this space, who has power to influence decision making, and what efforts are already underway. Reaching out to these organizations and individuals can help you form partnerships and learn from current and/or previous systems-level work in this area.

Resources:

The National Academy of Community Organizers offers A Guide to Power Analysis in Community Organizing, which can help coalitions understand where power sits within a community around a particular issue.
Great Education Colorado, Colorado Children’s Campaign, Building a Better Colorado, Colorado School Finances Project, and Early Milestones Colorado are all engaged and impactful in research and/or systems change for increased educational funding.

Understand the inequities that are related to this strategy and consider the systemic and structural causes of disparities.By understanding the factors that contribute to this strategy, your coalition will be better able to identify the action that needs to be taken. Additionally, new and/or existing policies and systems-level approaches have the potential to exacerbate existing inequities, making it important for your coalition to critically examine your action plan for signs of negative consequences.

Resources:

The Government Alliance on Race and Equity offers Racial Equity Toolkit An Opportunity to Operationalize Equity.
Dismantling Institutional Racism in Education [DIRE] is an initiative launched by the National School Board Association to assist state school boards associations and other education leaders in addressing racial inequities
Closing America’s Education Funding Gaps | The Century Foundation offers research on the impact of school funding on student achievement plus an interactive national map showing analysis of what additional funding is needed in each school district in order to bring student outcomes up to national averages
Teacher Diversity & Equity Policy Scan - The Education Trust offers an interactive tool highlighting teacher equity and diversity policies in all 50 states

Implementation Activities Aligned to Research

It is important to note that the uniqueness of your community, its resources, and its needs will ultimately determine what implementation of this strategy will look like. Additionally, it is important for your coalition to approach this strategy in a way that is aligned with your overarching goal(s). The list below offers suggestions and ideas of evidence-informed actions your coalition can consider taking as part of your implementation of this strategy.

Educate stakeholders on policy changes that may increase school funding.

Colorado Resources:

Educate stakeholders on the importance of operational improvements in education systems and schools.

Resources:

How the World’s Most Improved Education Systems Keep Getting Better | McKinsey & Company

Educate stakeholders on the importance of recruitment and retention of quality teachers and promote policies and practices that support teacher recruitment and retention.

Resources:

Closing America’s Education Funding Gaps, The Century Foundation and Bruce D. Baker, Ed.D., of Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, July 22, 2020; retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/report/closing-americas-education-funding/?agreed=1
It’s not nothing: The role of money in improving education, The Brookings Institution, Mark Dynaski, March 2, 2017 retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/its-not-nothing-the-role-of-money-in-improving-education/
Teaching Profession Playbook produced for the Partnership for the Future of Learning by the Learning Policy Institute and the Public Leadership Institute in collaboration with 26 organizations and five individual experts, 2021
Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes, by Jennifer King Rice, Economic Policy Institute, 2003