Management cannot change an organization’s core activities without the cooperation of its workers.  Nevertheless, wunderkind Mark  Roosevelt’s initial strategy for change in Pittsburgh amounted to "more and better" central management.

That's changing - at least for curriculum development, reports the Post-Gazzette’s Joe Smydo. The superintendent is cutting $2.4 million out of Kaplan K-12 Learning Services $8.1 million contract, shifting responsibility from the NY-based firm to the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, and hiring teachers to write the remaining units. Asking staff to create the new means of reform carries risks, but offers the best hope for buy-in. At least as important here, Pittsburgh teachers resisted the use of curriculum developed by outsiders. Even the best courses are a waste of money if they are not used, or not used properly.

Smydo also captured an insightful admission from Kaplan about the financial assumptions of a business model based on helping districts do a better job of central management. With half of the funds already spent and two years left on the contract, Kaplan's role is confined to its information system and test preparation. Seppy Basili, Kaplan senior vice president, said it's not uncommon for a district to "take back more of the work" in the second or third years of a contract. "The decision to go in this direction was based on some of the feedback really all through the year from teachers who, I think, wanted a greater voice and greater stake in the process...." 

Taking advice the late Vermont Senator George Aiken gave Lyndon Johnson on the war in Vietnam, Kaplan is declaring victory and going home. But the next time the firm issues a press release on one of these contracts, should we discount its announced value by a quarter?