Arthur Andersen urges going
beyond educational improvement

JACKSONVILLE, FL (BUSINESS WIRE) - "America's school system is working better than ever," Richard L. Measelle, Worldwide Managing Partner of Arthur Andersen, told education and business leaders gathered here today, "but it is the wrong system."

The present system was workable for the Industrial Age it was designed to serve, but is "obsolete in a world where just learning the basics is no longer sufficient."

Delivering the ninth annual Frederick H. Schultz Distinguished Lecture on Economic Development and Educational Policy sponsored by the Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida and the Duval Public Education Foundation, Measelle called on educators and business leaders to adapt a new paradigm of education -- one that will produce people ready to handle the challenges and opportunities of the Knowledge Age of the 21st century.

"We need a new education system," he said, "a system that educates all children, not just those who can adapt themselves to it...one that goes beyond the basics to put more emphasis on thinking skills...and one that does this at a lower cost, because America's schools are now the costliest in the world."

Measelle pointed to Arthur Andersen's "School of the Future" as an example of a possible direction. Begun in July of 1996, the School of the Future is a partnership venture with Alameda Public Schools in California. The school serves about 150 students in grade seven to twelve.

In it, students learn in a high-tech version of a one room school that concentrates on self-directed, project-based learning, working in teams, and progressing at speeds suited to their individual learning needs. The students work in an environment composed of "islands" -- modular learning installations that include networked computers, computer simulation tools, Internet access, CD-ROM capabilities, books, and other technologies for research and communications. The islands integrate math, science, physics, language, and other skills into real life problems that have meaning for the students. Teachers serve as facilitators, mentors, and thought leaders.

"Based on their own testimony, and that of parents and teachers, students have experienced a fundamental change in their attitude toward learning," Measelle said. "They still learn specifics; but they also learn how to learn. This may be the most important skill of all for the challenges of the Knowledge Age of the 21st Century."

Though requiring a significant capital outlay for infrastructure and computer-based learning tools, operating costs for the School of the Future will result in net savings of about 20%, Measelle said. The biggest savings, he said, come from the results of the educational system in terms of the quality of the people it produces.

Measelle said the system could come into existence without job losses or pay cuts for teachers and could, in fact, boost teacher pay substantially over the course of their careers.

Business people have a special role to play, he said. "We need to recognize that schools are our personal problem...we understand the magnitude of the change needed because we are directly affected by the schools' output." The business community can provide financing, apply its expertise in planning and quality management, utilize the new facilities for after school programs for employees' and their children and as true Community Learning Centers to support adult retraining.

Whether educational improvement is addressed on the federal, state, or local level and whether as public or private citizens, three precepts should govern the move for change:

- Total transformation is needed, tinkering isn't good enough.

- The pressure for change must be intense. Alternative schools operated by business can boost research and development, create awareness of new approaches, provide alternatives, and build public support.

- Personal involvement of leaders of the business community is key.