Local Control at Stake Legislators are quick to note that the stakes are high in maintaining Iowa's prized local control. Most of us, including myself, believe in local control. Stilwill has confidence in the local approach. As long as communities really want the best for kids, they won't set the standards too low. They won't defer on the question of accountability and they will believe that they have a strong compact with their community to deliver on those results.
Education works when communities own what needs to happen for kids.
A Tool for Improvement and Decision Making Reporting and analyzing results for students can be a powerful decision-making tool for school boards, said IASB Executive Director Ron Rice. School boards, by their nature, are accountable to their communities. Reporting progress to the community is important. But the real power of gathering data on how well students are learning comes as school boards use that data to focus goals, resources, staff development and other supports on improving those results. This can point out where the strengths and weaknesses in instruction lie and set a clearer target for improvement, said Rice.