The Tennessee Education Association sent out this bulletin today. State Commissioner Kevin Huffman, whose only classroom experience was two years in Teach for America, has plans to adopt every evidence-free, demoralizing tactic in the corporate reform playbook.
Huffman is a purveyor of zombie policies. Nothing he advocates has any evidence behind it. “Pay for performance” has been tried repeatedly for a century and never succeeded. So he wants more of it. It failed in 2010 in Nashville, where teachers were offered a bonus of $15,000 for higher scores. But Huffman either doesn’t know or doesn’t care. It’s not his money he’s wasting.
He knows that the state’s teacher evaluation system is badly flawed, but he wants to push ahead with it anyway. Apparently, he wants to break the spirit of the state’s teachers.
How to explain people who are so indifferent to the morale of teachers? How is this mean-spirited approach supposed to improve education?
Educators are supposed to nurture children and help them grow and develop. To be effective, they must be not only competent, but kind and patient. Treating educators harshly creates a sour and mean culture. Huffman sets a bad example. If teachers treated students the way he treats teachers, they would be fired. Deservedly.
The TEA bulletin says:
“House Finance and Budget Hearing
“In a budget hearing today regarding the 1.5 percent raise for teachers that Gov. Haslam included in his budget, Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman was quoted as saying, “Our intent is that the 1.5 percent raise will not go to all teachers.” Instead, Huffman plans to have local districts develop their own pay-for-performance plans for distributing the funds. He also indicated he expects locals to base their plans on the evaluation system.
“In addition to the distribution of the 1.5 percent raise, Huffman also discussed plans to recommend major changes to the minimum salary schedule, which is maintained by the State Board of Education. TEA was able to stop Gov. Haslam’s attempt last year to pass legislation that would blow up the teacher salary schedule. This year, it appears Commissioner Huffman believes he can do administratively what Haslam was unable to do legislatively.
“Commissioner Huffman recognizes the evaluation system has fundamental flaws, yet he wants to move forward with tying teachers’ financial stability to this unfair system,” said Gera Summerford, TEA president and Sevier County math teacher. “We already have more questions than answers about the fairness of the evaluation system, and to tie teachers’ salaries to it would be reckless and irresponsible.”
TEA is working every day in the General Assembly to prevent these things from happening. We want to ensure teachers maintain a fair and objective salary schedule.
During the hearing, Huffman was also asked about the statewide charter authorizer and vouchers. He admitted a lack of knowledge about vouchers’ constitutionality after a legislator, Gary Odom of Nashville, read him a passage from the state constitution requiring the General Assembly to “provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Wendy must be so proud. Is this what she calls “transformational change”?
How many TFA dropouts does it take to ruin our country?
First, Huffman is Michelle Rhee’s former husband who has custody of their daughters. Second, both only taught for a max of two years and looks like they were not good at it for that short period of time. Third, how did big money come in behind them with no experience just TFA and two to three years of being failed teachers? Four, they do not care about facts as they are paid to ignore facts and push the oligarchs fascist policies of total corporate privatized control of everything and schools is where it all starts so why not them? The last rule to total fascism is destruction of the unions. What are they doing now I might ask?
A quibble, George: destruction of the unions is the first rule of fascism.
Most sickening, but most common aspect of all reformers, his own children’s teachers won’t be affected his policies. One attends an exclusive private school, Harperh Hall, the other a high-achieving (wealthy) public school.
I thought both girls were at Harpeth Hall. Was I incorrect?
What I was told by an informed source is that one of Rhee-Huffman daughters attends elite Harpeth Hall, the other is in a public magnet school. That is why, when asked on TV if her children are in public schools, she answers, “I am a public school parent” and will not elaborate. It is true but it is not the whole truth. There is nothing shameful about having a child in private school so long as you pay for it yourself and don’t expect the public to give you a voucher to pay for it.
It would be interesting to check out class size, curricular options and testing procedures (if any) at these two schools. I am sure her kids do not endure what she is shoving down the throats of other people’s children. I know it is abundantly clear but I cannot stand this fraud.
I wonder if Rhee’s daughter had to go through the lottery system or did they get to hand-pick the magnet school her child would attend
Why stick with the status quo when you could make the system worse and more dysfunctional? Hey, I’ve got a cagebusting idea, take all the roofs off of schools. Why waste money on shingles? Excellent teaching has been scientifically proven to repel rain.
Huffman is working to make all these changes this year and if the legislature doesn’t he plans to make them administratively through an appointed state board of education!
I hope the Race to the Nowhere runs out soon, so maybe these rats will jump ship before they completely destroy our public schools.
TEA must sue from as many substantive legal angles as it can figure. Bottom line.
This is the long haul, folks.
How is it that he can be Commissioner of an entire State Education office and only have taught for 2 years … …. how is it that these reformers folks have infiltrated so many state and county boards of ed … they’re everywhere …. but it does seem as tho there are many of us … and we are awakening and standing up again and again and stopping them in their tracks ..
Wonder how Bloomberg feels after his $1 million loss in LA .. and $250,000 in Idaho … and didn’t he also put a lot on Bennett in Ohio? we are having some success …. we just need a lot more investigative journalists to get on this …
Sue, teachers in TN ask ourselves that first question pretty regularly.
Exactly what Rhee is proposing for our city schools….check out #29!
Harpeth Hall:
10. Helping hands. In order to help our girls meet the challenges of middle and high school, each student is assigned a faculty advisor who serves as academic counselor, advocate and link to the Harpeth Hall community.
11. Our state-of-the-art library houses 28,000 books, six small group study rooms, two classrooms for library and technology instruction, and eight really comfortable chairs around a cozy fireplace.
14. Our faculty average more than 18 years of teaching experience and 80 percent hold advanced degrees.
19. AP Physics, AP English Literature, and AP Calculus BC are just three of our 28 Advanced Placement and honors course offerings.
21. Girls dance, sing, paint, act, and play music in comfortable theaters, studios, and auditoriums.
29. 8:1 ratio: Our teachers know our students.
26. Technology: Every student in grades 5-12 has a laptop computer connected by a campuswide wireless network.
27. International exchanges in China, France, Germany, South Africa, and Spain give students transformative cross-cultural opportunities.
28. Harpeth Hall girls form friendships that last a lifetime.
And there is more…there are 50 reasons why this is the school of you.
Rhee, the hypocrite!
Typo..school for you….wish I could edit after posting…didn’t catch it.
I think that the reason why there are so many “Huffman-types” infiltrating the government at such high levels with so little real world experience is they are backed by big corporate money. The Walton’s (WalMart) give a ton of money to charter schools. They have no need for true educational reform, in fact they need more minimum wage high school drop outs.
The Waltons and ALEC have a common agenda: Less government regulation; more private enterprise in public sector activities; replace public schools with vouchers and charters; cut the pay and benefits of the workforce; lower standards for entry into teaching; replace professionals with temps.
Diane, thank you for always championing public education in Tennessee and reporting what is happening here.
A bit of irony–no one can even log in to the evaluation system to see their scores because they have been transferring the data to a new server (and have been for a while.) Seems like if we are going to live and die by our evaluation scores that it might be nice for us to be able to log in and see them. I have personally not been able to log in to see my scores at any time this school year.
I will leave you with these two articles that tell the story of a teacher here who was recorded being verbally abusive to children. One of her 3rd students became suicidal as a result. I feel that her teaching license should have been revoked and that she should no longer be in any classroom. Yesterday I learned that she is again teaching (albeit now in a poor, majority minority school instead of the affluent one that she was in previously.) Why do you ask was she reinstated to the classroom? Why, her wonderful test scores, of course! Thus showing what really matters to The Powers That Be, and it isn’t the students. Administrators ought to be ashamed of not doing their jobs and protecting the students.
First article detailing what was recorded
http://www.wkrn.com/story/17951423/teacher-heard-insulting-students-on-recording-suspended
Article from yesterday detailing her return
http://www.wkrn.com/story/21551023/teacher-caught-insulting-students-back-in-the-classroom
*3rd grade students, not 3rd. Apologies.
#14 on the Harpeth list infuriates me. While Harpeth lauds experience and advanced degrees (as they should), Huffman has endorsed overhauling the teacher pay system in TN, doing away with step increases for years experience and pay bumps for additional degrees.
Huffman and Rhee can no longer chant we are “public school parents” when the younger child joins her sister at Harperth. They are elitist hypocrites who don’t listen to others and surround themselves with those who worship. I suspect their daughters are not being taught by temporary interns. On a side note, the state of the art library sounds fabulous.
The system is the way it is because we allows the powers to be to maintain the system. Things are the way they are because that is us the current prevailing mentality. I think to chane we need to figure why is the system so flawed? The answer is not a technical one but requires us to change our cultural view of education. It’s not all Bad!
Harpeth Hall students do not take standardized tests!
Huffman is not the only hypocrite in Tennessee. Dr. Candice McQueen, a huge proponent of common core, was recently named head of Lipscomb Academy in Nashville. Her first order of business was to give assurances to Lipscomb parents that she would not implement common core standards in their children’s private school.
http://nashvillepublicradio.org/blog/2014/02/10/lipscomb-academy-chief-advocates-for-common-core-but-not-at-her-school/
Star Huffman no longer attends Harpeth Hall but she did. President Obama’s daughters are still at Sidwell Friends and Sidwell DOES NOT use Common Core and they have no intention of using Common Core. So what else does one need to know about Common Core? If it is not good enough for the daughters of our President then it is not good enough for ANY American child. Kevin Huffman is a snake. Approving no-bid contracts worth over $6 million to his old employer TFA. His X Wife (Michelle Rhee) flaunting her checkbook in front of our legislators. They have an agenda and their agenda is not to improve education. It is to transform it..to destroy it..to privatize it so they can make themselves and their buddies wealthier than they already are. Living here in Tennessee is a real eye opener when it comes to corporate fascism, crony capitalism, corruption, greed. And these very same people will go to church and profess to be Christians. Well someday they will find out what happens to people that profess to be Christians but do not practice what they profess. Kevin Huffman MUST be driven OUT of education. You might want to do some research on the financial scandal involving Mr. Huffman while he was at TFA. And the scandal about test cheating under the watch of Ms. Rhee while Chancellor of DC schools. His X wife needs to be driven out of education too. But the rich and famous always stick together and protect one another. While us poor schmucks feel the brunt of their radical progressive policies. All I can say to Huffman, Haslam, Harwell, Rhee, Ramsey and many of our legislators is SHAME ON YOU. The day will come when you will answer for your greed and lust for power. AND lets not let Chris Barbic off the hook. He too is from TFA and runs the Achievement School District. He is also a graduate from the Broad Superintendent Academy Class of 2011 (as is Knox County School Super Jim McIntyre Class of 2006) The Broad agenda is to cause so much chaos that people cannot fight back as they privatize our public schools. You are going to see traditional public schools converted to Charters faster than you can blink. And all you idiots out there screaming for CHOICE will find when they get done there will be NO CHOICE and all the elected school boards will be gone and so will your local/parental control. They will convert or bankrupt all traditional schools out of existence. They will fire and replace most of the traditional teachers with drones from TFA.