Decades ago when public schooling did not cost anywhere near the amounts per pupil that states are spending now, schools and teachers were creating classroom environments that reflected high expectations for students and students were achieving at higher levels. School administrators and teaching professionals were producing more with less funding and fewer tools and resources. When I recall how effective American public school systems were in years past, I cannot fully accept that these unprecedented levels of investment are money well spent. Only time will tell. I am not yet convinced that the problems confronting America’s school systems are due to a severe lack of funding across the board. There are definitely many school districts in lower income communities that are very much underfunded and under-resourced, and federal government mandates do cost substantial amounts to implement. However, I’m not at all sure that innovation, creativity, and flexibility in public schools nationwide carry a multi-billion dollar price tag. I am, though, certain that there are all kinds of economies of scale, efficiencies, and cost effectiveness opportunities that can be achieved from existing school processes and systems. Even though it would be hard to overstate the need to overhaul and restructure classrooms, curriculums, teacher development, and other school facilities, it seems equally difficult to accept the notion that school systems can only be improved if we spend and invest more money.

One of our national priorities has always been to adequately fund public education, which has ensured our reputation as a world leader in education at every level. However, it seems as though we got accustomed to throwing so much money into K-12 education that we failed to properly assess how we were spending and investing. We fell asleep at the wheel as micro and macro changes began to occur that warranted adaptations for how we teach and learn in schools. The domestic and global shifts did not necessarily equate to massive additional investment of public dollars to keep pace with a changing world. What we missed over the past few decades, but can recapture today, are opportunities to produce schools that are more innovative, flexible, effective, and creative. American schools can secure more bang for their bucks, without breaking the bank, by partnering with professionals, organizations, and companies that are just as committed to developing world class schools for all of our students. The shifts in 21^st century learning do demand new paradigms and focuses that are more interdisciplinary and global, and in many cases call for greater allocations of public dollars; however, our challenge continues to be investing in ways that can produce high levels of academic achievement across the learning spectrum and ensure that our schools continue to be the envy of the world.