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Strategic Review of the EDUCO ProgramJuly 2010Proposal for the Implementation of a Unified System to Improve theQuality of EducationRationaleThe following proposal is the result of a request made by Vice Minister of Education Eduardo BadíaSerra to USAID and the research team on July 7th, 2010 asking that in addition to presenting the optionsresulting from the Strategic Review, there also be some recommendations about the processes and costsof implementing these options.The research team, based on its conversations with the Salvadoran public, in the interviews, in the focusgroups with teachers, principals, parents, and students, with educators, specialists, the Advisory andConsultative Groups, the National Council on Education, and the press, got a good sense of the thoughtsof the Salvadoran people, who appear to be interested in a change in course for education in the country.This opinion makes one of the options stand out as the most viable. Option D offers the greatest possibilitiesfor setting a new course for Salvadoran schools. None of the options is free of problems, butOption D appears to be the least conflictive and, at the same time, has the greatest potential for making anew, historic shift in the country to ensure the improvement in the quality of learning for all Salvadoranchildren. However, this option also has the cost of having the most complex “route to implementation.”Due to this, the research team, without the Ministry having made a final decision, has identified this OptionD as the “working hypothesis,” and explored the implications of its implementation.It is the responsibility of the research team to stress very clearly that the purpose underlying this profoundchange in the education system should be the improvement of learning. Education is centered inthe classroom, because that is where learning occurs and where educated societies are created. It is herewhere children develop their foundations for having a healthier life and where they have the opportunityto develop their creative and critical skills for making knowledge-based decisions. However, an educatedsociety does not only mean the level of knowledge acquired by its citizens, but rather the possibilityfor applying that knowledge to improving their quality of life and to ensure opportunities for all. Itis the conviction of society in the importance of an equitable, high quality education that begins in theclassroom.Definition of Option D. Create a convergent system with accountability, stability,and flexibility based on the advantages of the ACEs and CDEs, for all the country’sschoolsThis option takes the best of the ACE and CDE models to unify the education system with the purposeof improving the learning of all students in public schools in El Salvador. It would create a structure48
Strategic Review of the EDUCO ProgramJuly 2010that unifies and is implemented in all schools, whether they are currently ACE or CDE schools or haveanother type of school organization. This option would have three primary areas of intervention: schoolmanagement, school governance, and human resources management.The primary changes in the way the schools are managed would be seen in the day-to-day managementunder the responsibility of a professional principal and in the school’s governance, in a structured manner,held by parents organized in a school governing board. This means that schools would maintaintheir autonomy, but now with a more organized structure, with a clear role for management by the principaland governance by the educational community and an accountability system that works.The professional principal is the person in charge of the daily management of the school. The principal’sroles are to ensure the students learn, that MINED guidelines are observed, that the school’s staffis well trained, and that they do a high-quality job. The principal should create a culture of equality andof high expectations for all students; implement the school’s vision; exercise pedagogical leadership andguidance; be accountable to the governing body or board of governance; evaluate, along with others, theschool’s performance, to identify priorities for continuous improvement; develop policies and practices;ensure that resources are used efficiently and effectively to reach the school’s objectives; and resolvemanagement issues as they arise, such as the administration of financial resources, budget implementation,inventory and control over school equipment, furnishings and facilities, and facilities maintenance.School governance corresponds to a governing body or a governance board in which a group of parentswho represent all the parents of the school meet monthly or quarterly to make certain that the conduct ofthe school ensures the promotion of high standards of educational achievement and that the school is responsiblein meeting its goals. Along these lines, the governance board has the responsibility for establishingthe school’s strategic lines, vision, mission, and code of conduct; adopting the budget based onthe school’s plans; and reviewing the school’s final expenditure audit. This governing body is the bodyin charge of asking the school principal for an accounting and would have a role in teacher performancereviews or evaluations. The school governance board is the representative of all the parents and of theeducational community. Therefore, it should also be accountable to them.In addition to representation on this governance board—which consults with the educational community—parentswill continue to participate on committees, teams, and in other activities in support of theschool; e.g., aiding in food preparation, taking care of the school’s facilities, and helping their childrenwith homework and other learning activities.In the case of human resources management, this option presents the possibility of offering two orthree types of contracting—something that would have to be decided upon at the design stage. One typeof contract is that teachers would have total job stability and be MINED employees (but evaluated morerigorously, with community participation and the possibility of more expeditious dismissals than at present).In another type of contract, teachers would have three or five year renewable contracts; this means49
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