In January at a meeting of high school principals and superintendents, Doug Christensen, the Nebraska Commissioner of Education, warned the audience that schools, especially high schools, need to make dramatic changes. He went so far to say if changes were not made within the next decade, many schools would be forced to close their doors. As you might expect, this message was disconcerting for many present. Though it was disturbing, it was not surprising. This is because they know the basic mission of public school education has dramatically shifted over the last ten years. The mission has gone from universal access two decades ago to universal proficiency today.

This shift in emphasis may seem slight. But, in fact, it is dramatic. Public education has gone from being responsible for offering quality programs to being responsible for all students succeeding in their programs. The original mission was relatively simple. It was a matter of presenting information. If students did not take in the information, that was their choice. The responsibility fell squarely on their shoulders. Today it is not enough to simply present information. Now schools must also make sure that students are learning it. Those schools that do not fulfill this new mission are punished either through government sanctions (No Child Left Behind) or through losing students to other options.

Where did this shift of emphasis come from? There is no question the No Child Left Behind legislation had a large impact on this. This federal mandate changed the whole discussion on why schools exist. It held schools responsible for the learning of each group of students. These groups include students of poverty, students of all races, special education students, students who do not have English as their first language, and so forth.

This requirement may be unreasonable in some respects. However, it sure does change the way schools judge their success and failure. It is no longer possible to claim effectiveness if you simply have a good average student score or if a high percentage of your students go to college. These were the measures that were used to judge school success for more than a century. Now a claim to success can only be made when all classes and categories of students are well prepared for life beyond high school.

Recently a small book called Who Moved My Cheese was very popular. The premise of the book was many people today find the basic expectations of their work have changed. They have basically two choices when this happens. One choice is to resist the change and like a mouse lost in a maze, never find their cheese. A second choice is to change, adapt and even thrive in the changed environment. People that respond in the latter way find more cheese than ever before. Usually change brings an opportunity for great improvement and even greater fulfillment and satisfaction.

This is where public education is today. We are in the midst of a dramatic change. Some in education find it easier than others to adapt and find the cheese in the midst of the new maze of challenges. Many are rising to the occasion and using it to become better at what they do. They welcome the challenge and see this as a motivation to get better at what they do. The other choice is to fail to recognize the need to change and work as if the mission of schools is the same as it was during the last century.

This is the challenge of school districts throughout the state and country. They must not only recognize that times have changed. They must also rise to the occasion and devise new and creative ways of making sure that all students succeed. Is this an easy change to make? Obviously it is not. However, discovering the keys to unlock learning for all students, even those who are failing, will bring greater fulfillment and satisfaction to educators than any other accomplishment has in the past. After all, this is the reason people enter the learning business. They want to make a difference in students’ lives. The new mission of schools allows them to tackle this goal with greater vigor and focus than ever before.

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