A teacher sent the following comment in a discussion about why teachers are demoralized. In Dallas, a 29-year-old TFA alum, with two years of teaching experience, has been put in charge of teacher recruitment:
A much better thing to publicize is the recent appointment of a TFA alumni to be the new Chief Talent Officer (HR manager I believe in OldSpeak) for DISD. This individual, responsible for reforming how Dallas ISD hires teachers and retains them, has spent a grand total of 2 years teach middle school social studies. He’s a poster child for the TFA philosophy of Teach For Two Years and then move up into administration and policy. And yet this man is supposed to know what a great teacher looks like on paper and in person and in the classroom and hire them for DISD?
I wonder how many of the new hires will look like him.
Relevant news stories:
Note how he dodges the questions in the second news stories.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The absurdity of allowing this “two year wonder” to be placed in a position of recruiting power is mind boggling. Here in New York State, we have an Assistant Secretary of Education who has NO experience teaching, creating havoc in the state by imposing a costly and burdensome evaluation plan on every teacher in every district. The evaluation plan is so complex that the State Ed department had to advertise for help in vetting the more than 750 evaluation plans. The funny thing about that was, neither the Assistant Secretary nor the Commissioner would have been able to get one of those “helper” jobs because they could not qualify. The jobs required a Master’s degree and five years of teaching experience. These neophytes and political appointees are in way over their heads. Oh, the Assistant Secretary with no Master’s Degree and no teaching experience was formerly associated with Democrats for Education Reform and another Ed Reform “non-profit”.
Sadly, most of the principals I have worked for had only been in the classroom a few years before becoming a principal. There is a certain amnesia that occurs once administrators leave the classroom. They forget what kids are capable of doing in a school day/ year. They don’t remember the challenges we face daily or how a lesson can go terribly awry due to unforeseen circumstances.
They didn’t forget–they weren’t teaching long enough to grasp any knowledge in the first place!
If there ever was any question that Teach For America is being used or has offered themselves up as henchmen for corporate takeover of our schools, there is no longer any doubt. The Louisiana Dept. of Education is rife with them since our new TFA superintendent took over. My question is, do these talented, well educated young people understand the purpose for which they are being used and the ultimate result of privatization? Do they know they are complicit in the destruction of the profession of teaching and the end of the careers of many experienced educators?
They believe they are the smartest people in the room. They do not care what the lowly teacher thinks. They believe they are leading a revolution in the education industry…this page used to state just that…it seems to have been deleted or reworded…now they post that “rigorous” national and state studies prove their teachers have a greater impact on student achievement.
http://www.teachforamerica.org/our-mission/investing-in-leaders
So you see they are smarter and wiser; they are more knowledgable, caring, and committed because they are elite and we are not.
I ask that question daily as a public school teacher who has to share a closet for a lounge with charter school tfas
I am not surprised considering their new superintendent is a Broadie. Does anyone know how long he even spent in the classroom, or is his military service all that matters?
Being an ex-supply officer qualifies you to be a supply officer. Training the future mass consumers of America to be efficient consumers does not make them effective learners. I don’t know what state you are in, but if the Supe is Ex-military and Broad I feel fairly confident they were not a line officer, but a supply or procurement and support duty officer.
Doesn’t this seem like the pattern on the rug you speak about Diane? Louisiana’s new hire in charge of teaching the principals/supervisors how to do the COMPASS observations is a TFA 29yo with 2 years teaching experience and now this one is hired in Dallas???????? This is starting to sound like an episode of X-files!
Yes. 1. Set wildly unrealistic expectations (NCLB) 2. Castigate schools for not meeting them. 3. Privatize schools.
Sounds like a recipe. One more step:
4. “Shop around” for student ingredients. Use only the quality* ones, and throw out the “bad” ones. Mix well, bake, then require the American public to use tax money for this “quality” student product.
* We use only the finest student ingredients your tax dollars can provide, so we can be proud of our American schools. (That’ll teach Finland!)
This superhero campaign sounds more like it’s being run by the Borg:
“You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”
Excerpts from the second link:
“This re-organization is the first step towards laying a foundation to build from over the next year and into the future, so that we are recruiting top talent, growing our current workforce, ensuring we have outstanding instruction in every classroom, and that our operations are effective and efficient.”
How is essentially firing “approximately” 50 people “growing the workforce?” The implication in the above statement is that the “approximately” 50 people are not top talent or outstanding instructors. Yet there was no mention of the criteria for such entities. Without evidence, these words are just rhetoric.
” A number of the issues that HR has experienced in the past are systemic problems that go far beyond personnel and include investment in infrastructure (technological and physical), consistent leadership, clarity and unity of vision, and a focus on student achievement.”
So basically these “approximately” 50 people are taking the blame for a previously weak investment in “infrastructure (technological and physical), consistent leadership, clarity and unity of vision, and a focus on student achievement?” Those are mostly administrative responsibilities.
“Although our work is outside of the classroom – it directly impacts what is in our classroom and moving forward with that as our priority and mindset will be a key component to creating forward progress. It will take time, a combined effort, and ultimately a rebuild from the ground up; but it is what our children deserve.”
How does one build “forward progress?” What does that even mean, and why is someone who admits that his department’s ” work is outside of the classroom” in charge if making decisions that directly affect the people inside of the classroom? Shouldn’t he be concerned about the classroom decision-makers beyond firing and re-training them?
“The functional re-organization will put in place the ‘bones’ of the operations to move towards a case based management approach of our schools and their personnel needs. In this model there is strength of relationship that must exist between HCM and our school leaders and department heads. We must also move towards cross functional training of staff and inter-departmental strategic planning; the idea being to move some of these operations out of silos and bring a diversity of thought and inter-departmental impact to the table.”
Let me ask you something, “Superman,” did you and your other Justice League cohorts ever consider supporting the existing staff members with training and collaboration instead of firing them, requiring them to re-apply for their jobs (how much more sick and twisted can superheroes get?), and THEN providing them with the support that they should be getting all along? Or is it that those already in the job had a voice that could stand up to your brand of “justice,” so you eliminate that voice by eliminating their positions? How nice of you to swoop in and other them the opportunity to ask for their jobs back.
Somebody get this clown a cape and some red underwear.
This is corporate speak of the lowest order. “Growing the workforce” indeed! This guy should work for IBM. Wonder what he says about the product? The well-engineered child?
Rad the Vanity Fair article about Microsoft’s “stacking” evaluation process — and you’ll see what’s coming for teachers: http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer
Stacking ranking (aka forced ranking, rank and yank, burn and churn, and other even less flattering terms) is well known to the readers of this blog.
I humbly refer Reed to previous posts on this blog that deal with the topic and the very article to which he provided a link.
If you don’t know what your doing, “baffle em with bullshit” seems to work every time. It’s the TFA way!!
Oh crud, I hate auto-correct…
This should read, “…to swoop in and OFFER them the opportunity to ask for their jobs back.”
Agreed, Duane. TFA=BWB.
Houston ISD (TX) was under the same kind of insanity for the past 3 – 4 years and now has to dog out of that mess.
Michelle Rhee is a “wonder,” too. She couldn’t escape the classroom fast enough. This is the woman who taped kids’ mouths shut, to the point skin came off and lips bled — and she found that “funny” enough to share with a room of colleagues who laughed with her! Yeah, she really puts “Students First.” She puts her WALLET first!
This type of practice does not surprise me. The teaching profession has taken such a beating that so many other folks are convinced that anyone can do better than a highly qualified, trained, experience, dedicated teacher. Afterall, anyone can teach!? The nation cried out when substitute umpires were making calls in the NFL games. National outcry and pointing out that they want the competent and experienced umpires back. In teaching, there is no national outcry for celebrating the zillions of awesome teachers showing up every day educating our kids. As a nation, we should be ashamed. Of course, it makes sense to too many to have a two hear TFA individual make such important decisions. At that age, they know it all!
My principal is a 3-whopping-year teaching veteran of TFA. She then worked for our state Dept. of Education (overseeing charter schools, I’m told), became a supervisor in our district (the second largest in the state), and is now heading our growing magnet school. While she has excellent intentions and some real talent for administration, her lack of teaching experience is a formidable obstacle for all of us to overcome. Had she spent 10 years or so in the classroom, she would be able to adequately advise and guide us as a faculty. She would understand how to navigate our contract’s demands, the understanding reached between the union and the higher administration, and her own vision for the school. Instead, we are now suffering from her top-down, clerical-heavy mandates and unreal expectations of teacher involvement that often are in direct breach of our contract…and of good sense. A shame. She may someday be a really really good leader, but her lack of legitimate experience may always rob her — and all of us — of that opportunity.
Just to be fair, I’m sure that if we looked we could find some very talented teachers among the ranks of TFA. They can’t all be bad, though it seems many are bad merely by the fact of being drive by teachers in the career. If TFA was a great organization, they’d work harder on training their members and making sure they stayed in the classroom long enough to really come into their own in the profession instead of bailing out.
Remaining in education and remaining in the classroom are two different things, and TFA is disingenuous when they talk about their members remaining in education. This guy in Dallas is in education, but his classroom background is shamefully inadequate to prepare him for recognizing and keeping great teachers.
The issue is nt whether there are good, humane teachers coming out of TFA; of course there are, but that begs the question of TFA’s role and behavior as an institution.
Wendy Kopp is quite open about having little interest in developing teachers who will stay in the classroom, but instead developing leadership cadre who will continue the privatization of the schools.
When looked at that way, we see nothing but a patronizing, arrogant core of self-seekers masquerading as the “saviors” of minority children, when in fact they are actively helping to destroy public education and neighborhood schools, and worsening the already critical levels of inequality seen in the schools.
In the Kozol’s review, Kopp referred to herself as a social entrepreneur. This is a very lucrative experiment for her. Only a month or so ago they had a quote on their blog in reference to TFA leaders and how they were revolutionizing the future of education. That seems to be gone for some reason. She has a $300 million surplus and JC Penney has them as charity to contribute to when you make a purchase and want to round up to the nearest dollar. She has a donate tab on her website, but she receives money for each corps member. They also receive federal funds, so who monitors how all this money is allocated? How do you maintain an not for profit status with a huge surplus while asking people for their change? Social entrepreneur or opportunistic vulture?
I’m drafting my letter to JCPenney as we speak. What nonsense.
I hope that the public starts holding these officials who deem it in the best interest of the “city” or “state” to hire someone for a position this important with so little experience. I,I, I – heck I’m at a loss for words. In most states you wouldn’t even qualify for tenure or even a Principal’s license. Perhaps that’s why these like-minded TFA wonders are so in favor of abolishing tenure and promoting New Leaders and Broad for Principal certification and licensing.
One good thing about this hire. The students, citizens, parents and politicians will know who to blame and hold responsible when things don’t improve. I just had they have a good memory. I know I do.
Yes, at some point the bills come due. One can’t eat promises. On the other hand, Wendy Kopp has promised to close the achievement gap, and twenty years have passed, and what gives?
Diane
This appears to be a pattern. In DC Jason Kamras who was the 2005 TOY in DC was put in charge of Human Capital and Teacher Talent. He at least has 9 years of experience. Here’s a snippet of his Wiki entry. You know, no one I knew in DC even knew this guy existed. HE was never active in city-wide SD/PD’s nor even in the Math Department and city-wide meetings according to several of my Math teacher friends.
During his 9-year career, he has taught mathematics and social studies to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. After graduating from Princeton University summa cum laude with a degree in public policy in 1995,Kamras joined Teach For America, which placed him at Sousa. He piloted changes in the mathematics curriculum that helped the percentage of students scoring “below basic” on the Stanford 9 test to fall from 80 percent to 40 percent in one year. He successfully lobbied Sousa administrators to double the amount of class time spent on math.
Another “Superstar” Teacher: Jason Kamras
Jason Kamras’ claims of marvelous success seem to be no more founded in reality than the claims of Michelle Rhee. Allow me to point you to my post of November 21, 2009:
I have no new data on this, but what I wrote 14 months ago still seems quite apt. I did hear later from some of Kamras’ former colleagues who said that his claims of being a teaching superstar were a joke.
(This is very charitable- I’ve heard worse. BTW – Brandenburg was very active in DCPS and the Math Department. I believe he too mentioned having not known about Kamras until 2005.)
He is also author of what he and others refer to as the “ground breaking” teacher assessment tool: IMPACT.
This makes about as much sense as me managing a hedge fund.
What do you all think about the abbreviated teacher training in the natural sciences? My institution has a program that combines a major in the college, chemistry for example, with 13 hours of Ed school classes and 6 hours of student teaching. Pass the state licensing exams, and go teach.
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
Clearly experience ranks low on the totem pole of what’s important. I wonder how many 2 year surgeons wold become chief of staff? I have found teachers don’t reallt know who they are as teachers for at least 5 years! Perhaps these organizations are following the “Peter” principal and we really want them out of the classroom anyway.