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A Few Clouds Broken government, Part II: 'interoperability'
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We need to figure out how to address the problems of criminal behavior, poverty and general dysfunction by utilizing our existing services more effectively. (There are no more tax dollars available.) Instead of having the largest prison population in the world — which is not only unjust, but also extremely expensive — we need to use our existing social service manpower and money to help young people with drug, alcohol and mental health issues before they become emergencies that send them to jail, the halfway house or the morgue.
Test scores of third-graders in low-wealth, high-risk school districts aren’t all that different from the scores in wealthier districts. By eighth grade, however, the scores of poorer, riskier populations have plummeted, while their peers in wealthier school districts have moved up. Why? The poorer districts simply have more children facing dysfunction, and no more resources — and likely fewer — than wealthy districts.
One guidance counselor, one school psychologist and one social worker may be enough in a district with plenty of two-parent households and where those parents have good jobs and adequate health insurance. Unfortunately, that small a staff in a lower-wealth school district just isn’t enough. These less-well-off districts and students need more resources, but there’s no more money available for them.
We should instead focus on using our existing social service resources outside the schools, which deal with emergencies, and make them interoperable with the schools. When a teacher sees a student falling asleep in class, or doing worse on tests, or getting into a fight, or not showing up at school, that student (and his or her family) should be matched with existing services before the problem gets worse and becomes a social emergency.
By making schools interoperable with social service agencies (and law enforcement), teachers could focus on teaching, social service professionals could address the problems they’re trained to address, students could thrive, we could spend less on jail and poverty programs — and we could make people’s lives better by focusing on building stronger families.
Test scores of third-graders in low-wealth, high-risk school districts aren’t all that different from the scores in wealthier districts. By eighth grade, however, the scores of poorer, riskier populations have plummeted, while their peers in wealthier school districts have moved up. Why? The poorer districts simply have more children facing dysfunction, and no more resources — and likely fewer — than wealthy districts.
One guidance counselor, one school psychologist and one social worker may be enough in a district with plenty of two-parent households and where those parents have good jobs and adequate health insurance. Unfortunately, that small a staff in a lower-wealth school district just isn’t enough. These less-well-off districts and students need more resources, but there’s no more money available for them.
We should instead focus on using our existing social service resources outside the schools, which deal with emergencies, and make them interoperable with the schools. When a teacher sees a student falling asleep in class, or doing worse on tests, or getting into a fight, or not showing up at school, that student (and his or her family) should be matched with existing services before the problem gets worse and becomes a social emergency.
By making schools interoperable with social service agencies (and law enforcement), teachers could focus on teaching, social service professionals could address the problems they’re trained to address, students could thrive, we could spend less on jail and poverty programs — and we could make people’s lives better by focusing on building stronger families.
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