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The Lindbergh Model for school improvement

It was 1944 and the American War effort in the Southwest Pacific Theater against the Japanese was a meat grinder for personnel. The almost incomprehensively yawning distances involved made supply tremendously difficult and dangerous. Casualty figures in the island hopping war were staggering and growing worse as supply lines from home were stretched to the maximum.

In this new type of war, maintaining air superiority was everything and involved many aircraft, including the storied P-38. The Lightning, as it had been named by the British, was the creation of the barely-out- of-college aeronautical genius, Kelly Johnson and represented leading edge technology. Powered by GM-built V-12 Allison engines, it was both heavily armed and heavily armored and provided pilots with the reassuring redundancy of twin engines. Fast and immensely powerful, it was also thirsty and could not fulfill all the mission requirements that planners had hoped for due to limited range. Enter Charles Lindbergh.

Lucky Lindy flew 50 or so combat missions with the P-38 equipped 475th Combat Fighter Group and by the time he left, he had taught the pilots to extend the range of their fighters by up to 1000 miles and added several hours to mission capability. Apparently, his pioneering 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis had taught him a thing or two about aircraft engines. By carefully adjusting power settings and flight profiles, he was able to reduce fuel consumption, significantly increase combat range and effectiveness and take some of the pressure off the necessity for transporting precious high octane aviation gasoline half way round the world.

The remarkable aspect of Lindbergh’s feat was that he did it by getting the most out of what was already there; no additional fuel tanks, no redesign of the engines or airframes and no reduction in combat effectiveness of the P-38 and no new or additional money. Long-range bomber crews could now fly with fighter escorts on their entire missions. The only downside for Lightning pilots was that they now had to sit in the cramped and uncomfortable cockpits for up to nine hours (a stunning accomplishment to us sixty-somethings), and no mean feat for the mostly 20 year-olds who were flying into harm’s way, all the while sitting on a parachute, a life raft and an oar, sans bathroom.

This lesson in performance optimization has application to education and other functions of State, Federal and local government. Before we even think about adding additional spending to government, we should be deeply examining how we can get more out of what we already have.

Prior to Lindbergh’s demonstrations, the conventional wisdom was that the Allison engines could not survive operating at the power settings he prescribed. In actuality, they not only survived, but lasted just as long as they had before. They were both more efficient and more effective.

It is beyond time for us to examine the conventional wisdom of our government entities.

In our schools, it has long been true that we can afford anything we want; we just can’t afford everything we want. Tough but healthy choices are in order. Are we going to continue to pay for schools to operate the way they pretty much always have, or are we willing to follow the Lindbergh model?

In Belmont County, our shrinking school population could be much better served by a single school district and school board. The successful model already exists. We already have more than enough buildings and we already work on a coordinated county-wide basis, smoothly and successfully serving students from every school district at the Belmont-Harrison JVS. In addition, post-secondary options are already in place and serving students from every district at Belmont Technical College and Ohio University Eastern.

By approaching education on an uninterrupted Pre-K through grade 16 (college) basis, students could have a wide array of options to move through the system at their own speeds and on a year round basis if they wish, unfettered by our archaic agrarian calendar. Two high schools in the county would allow comprehensive curricular offerings and might even approach their neighboring West Virginia counterparts in quality, efficiency and diverse offerings. Year round utilization of buildings and programs would be a simple option and allow students the flexibility to move through the curriculum at an accelerated pace or take as long as necessary to become proficient. Increased access to integrated technologies would multiply student learning options and allow more alternatives for those families choosing home schooling.

As was the case with Lindbergh and the P-38, everything necessary for full mission capability is already in place. The essential facilities, programs and administrative models are all there and waiting if we will only choose to take full advantage of them.

Lucky Lindy may be long gone, but his legacy and spirit still point the way.

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