I received an email from Stephen Earley, an elementary school principal in Vermont. He reminds us that the state of Vermont decided not to request an NCLB waiver. It wasn’t because Vermont likes NCLB but because the state education commissioner realized that Arne Duncan’s mandates are no better than those in NCLB.
Because the state of Vermont rejected the waiver and showed independence and critical thinking, Vermont is the first state to join our honor roll.
The honor roll is the place we recognize individuals, school boards, PTAs, districts and now a state because they support public education.
Here is Stephen Earley’s comment:
The state of Vermont withdrew its NCLB waiver request because the state refused to compromise its beliefs about what is best for children. This statement came from the Commissioner’s office at the time:
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“However as the Vermont Department of Education has continued to negotiate for the flexibility that was promised since we started in August, it has become clear that the USED is interested in simply replacing one punitive, prescriptive model of accountability with another.
The term “flexibility” is a misnomer. Two of the more heavy handed methods the USED is still insisting on are using a single test to determine accountability, and using that test to represent a majority of a teacher’s evaluation.
We cannot continue to expend energy requesting a detailed accountability system that looks less and less like what we want for Vermont. We do not have confidence that the requirements we are being asked to meet is the formula for success. We want to move forward towards a system that is better for our schools, our educators, and most importantly, our students.”
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The state consistently has some of the best scores on the NAEP exam, but over 70% of its schools are not meeting AYP standards now, in part because they never lowered the cutoff on the test as other states have. With such a high percentage of schools not making AYP, it might have made sense to some to jump through all of the Feds’ hoops and proceed with the waiver process. But the state board of education saw what was being demanded, and saw how harmful it would be, and ultimately (and unanimously) said no.
In addition, the state’s high-stakes test is given during the first week of October, which means that test prep and cramming are kept to a minimum, and what is emphasized is actual knowledge that can be retained over the summer.
It’s heartening to hear of at least one state that’s not in the tank for rheeform.
I was in the state this summer. This is true. The understand that evaluating schools and teachers by student scores is ludicrous and they will not participate. Unfortunately, the do have a choice system that is causing havoc.
iPad… Sorry…to ‘the’ s are ‘they’ 🙂
Unfortunately, MI is NOT so forward thinking. Our past and present governors LOVED the federal dollars. Our previous governor used federal dollars to plug the state budget holes; then the dollars ran out and she took the money from the school aid fund…which just happened to have a surplus. Of course, there is NCLB. Sucks to be a taxpayer in Michigan.Our present governor worships on the altar of federal dollars and is on board with Common Core and RTTT. We lost our RTTT grant because the union got involved. With all that said, perhaps we should all move to Vermont. That way our children would get an education WITHOUT gov’t interference and being “taught to the test” and have a chance at an education that will stand them in good stead.
Thank you for recognizing Vermont. IMHO we deserve it!
“…perhaps we should all move to Vermont.”
Please don’t. The entire population of Vermont is probably about 627,000. As a summer visitor, I know they will not appreciate an influx of people trying to tell them how to do things, and rightfully so. They get a stomach full of “the outside world” as a vacation mecca. They are an independent lot who think for themselves. I am not surprised that they thumbed their noses at Washington.
2old2tch…I wasn’t serious about people moving to Vermont. I wouldn’t want a bunch of people moving to my state either. It was more of a tongue in cheek response. However, I do wish though that more states had the same mindset that Vermont has and stand up to the gov’t know-it-alls in DC. Unfortunately too many don’t realize what kind of strings are attached to federal dollars.
I know you weren’t serious. It was a useful segue. My state salivated over the money. You don’t want to move to Illinois.
2old2teach…Michigan did more than salivate. Our governor went for the money and any money that any other state returned. Michigan needs a new gvernor. Unfortunately he won’t be up for re-election until 2014. You don’t want to move to Michigan either. Hopefully the 2 people we have running for state board of ed can make a difference. A lot of people don’t think to turn their ballots over to vote the non-partisan positions. November 7 will tell the story.
A Vermont Teacher’s Commentary: Choosing a Non-Education President –
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20121018/OPINION03/710189925/1018/OPINION