Archives for the month of: June, 2012
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Is Rhode Island the Worst State?

By dianeravitch
June 19, 2012 //
9

Teachers in Rhode Island frequently write me to tell me that the state is rapidly deteriorating in its commitment to public education, especially after winning $75 million from the Race to the Top. Commissioner Deborah Gist is enamored of evaluating teachers by the test scores of their students, and she fought hard to increase the number of charter schools in the state, over the determined opposition of parents. The parents in Cranston actually defeated the state’s efforts to bring in the charter chain Achievement First, which now is bound for Providence. Commissioner Gist is a member of  the rightwing group called Chiefs for Change, which is affiliated somehow with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and is religiously devoted to data, testing, accountability, grading, ranking, rating, and other means of turning children and teachers into data points. Chiefs for Change sent out a press release congratulating Louisiana on the passage of Jindal’s legislation to dismantle public education and replace it with vouchers and charters, while reducing the status of teachers to at-will employees who can be easily fired.

I personally don’t think Rhode Island is the worst state, as compared to states like Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Indiana. But it deserves credit for moving in the same direction and seeking to earn its spurs in the competition for worst.

In Rhode Island, all the teachers in Central Falls were fired, and a year later all the teachers in Providence were fired. Commish Gist’s PhD dissertation (defended about a month ago) was on this horrendous new evaluation plan. Principals from around the State were begging her to slow the process down because it was impossible for them, and for teachers, to get it done. In many cases, one principal was responsible for evaluating 123 teachers, complete with scripts, multiple classroom visits, and tons of paperwork on both sides. Many teachers and admins have retired because of this madness.
Categories Charter Schools, Chiefs for Change, Education Reform, Race to the Top

Is Ohio the Worst State?

By dianeravitch
June 19, 2012 //
3

As we scour the nation to identify the state that has reached the zenith in its efforts to destroy our public education system and to discourage its teachers, our eyes must necessarily turn to Ohio. Here a Tea Party Governor, John Kasich, is working in tandem with a Republican-dominated legislature to do their level best to achieve the dubious distinction of creating the most toxic school reforms in the nation. Readers may recall the battle last year when Kasich’s SB 5–which banned collective bargaining–was rejected by 61% of the voters in a referendum. Some observers thought he made a mistake by including police and firefighters along with teachers. That created a united front against SB 5. Of course, that was a minor detail in the ongoing effort to reduce the status of  teachers and their ability to have a say in what happens in the schools of Ohio. Ohio is incredibly welcoming to for-profit charters and for-profit cybercharters.

Here are some readers’ comments:

Ohio is beginning the same idiotic system this coming school year, only 50 percent of our evaluation will be based on student test scores. I hope none of my students have an ear infection, are hungry,had their grammy put in the hospital or their dog run away because my future would be at risk. Does anyone see how absurd this is?

Here in Ohio we have been under attack on a state and local level. We have a union busting governor who tried to take on the firefighters, police and teachers with his infamous SB5 which was put to a vote in 2011 and defeated by a large majority. Recently, the mayor of Cleveland (also in charge of schools because of legislation from a previous mayor), went on the assault of the bargaining rights of teachers and of course it was essential that his proposed legislation be pushed through in Columbus quickly for the sake of the children.
In my own smaller suburban school district, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, 3 recently voted in school board members won the election based on the premise they were going to give the voters a school district they can afford. We have earned an excellent with distinction report card with the state of Ohio 13 years! However, these school board members have been quoted(not publicly of course) that they were going to “break that union”, “that if you teach in Brecksville you should not be able to afford to live there”,”that the proposed 10 percent pay cut would not affect that many families because most of the teachers are women and it is only a second income”. The school board’s proposed contract also would take away our insurance and replace it with a low level plan, decrease our prep/planning time by 50 percent and even has a clause whereby a teacher drinking an adult beverage at a restaurant, imbibes a little too much could be “reported” to the school board and be reprimanded.
Please check out link on our very public web page Brecksville-Broadview Heights schools an click on the link to “Negotiations” and read the half truths.
Categories Accountability, Education Reform, On-Line Education, Teacher Tenure, Unions

A Letter from Jill Biden to You

By dianeravitch
June 19, 2012 //
40

Some readers received an email signed by Jill Biden. They asked what I thought of her message. They asked me how I would respond if I were in their place.

The letter says:

Dear  –

I’ve been a teacher in public schools and community colleges for more than 30 years.

Being an educator is about more than teaching — it’s about instilling confidence. There is no better moment than when I see a student realize that she can do whatever she sets her mind to do. I’m sure you know that feeling, too.

President Obama knows what that’s like, too. He understands that improving the education system takes all of us, and that teachers are absolutely critical to those efforts. He listens when teachers explain the challenges they face in overcrowded and underfunded classrooms. And he knows that education is key to a healthy economy and a strong country. That’s why he’s working so hard to improve our schools.

You are receiving this email because you have told the campaign you also work in education.

Today, I’m proud to invite you to join me as a member of Educators for Obama, a new group of supporters dedicated to re-electing the President, who was once a college professor himself. Sign up and get connected with the Educators for Obama community today.

President Obama has made education a priority. He is giving states the flexibility they need to strengthen their schools and end the practice of teaching to the test. When states were cutting their budgets and laying off teachers, he took action to keep more than 400,000 educators in the classrooms where they were needed. He’s proposed competitive funding to make sure teachers and educators like us get the respect we deserve. And he’s made federal student loan payments more affordable by ensuring public school teachers who make their payments on time will have their remaining debt forgiven after 10 years.

Our students deserve a president who is committed to their education — and to the teachers who help them succeed.

As a member of Educators for Obama, you’ll be kept in the loop about important news and events. We’ll also provide you with the resources you need to organize your friends and colleagues in support of the President.

So join teachers, principals, educational professionals, and me, and stand with President Obama this November:

http://my.barackobama.com/Join-Educators-for-Obama

Thanks,

Jill

Of course, everyone should write whatever they believe.

This is what I would say.

Dear Jill,

Since you are an experienced educator, I know you can sympathize with my plight. I admire President Obama and remain grateful for his work in providing stimulus dollars to prevent budget cuts in 2009-2010. That meant a lot to me and to fellow educators.

However, I am surprised that you think that Race to the Top has introduced “flexibility” or that “competitive funding” (i.e. Race to the Top) gave “respect” to educators or that Race to the Top will “end the practice of teaching to the test.” None of this is true, and I assume that someone in the Department of Education has not informed you accurately about the negative effects of Race to the  Top on educators and our nation’s schools. 

Race to the Top has made “teaching to the test” even more important than No Child Left Behind. Because of RTTT, my state now ties teachers’ evaluations to student test scores. Because of RTTT, many states are passing laws to remove any protection for teachers’ freedom to teach, as it will be easier to fire teachers for any reason or no reason. Because of RTTT, my job and that of other teachers and principals requires that we teach to the test.

My state was lauded by Secretary Duncan for opening more privately managed charter schools, which takes funding away from the public schools, so we now have larger classes and fewer resources to help the neediest children, who are not welcomed by the charter schools. So, yes, there is overcrowding and underfunding, and the diversion of public funds to charter schools and vouchers is one cause of those conditions. 

As this terrible movement to dismantle public education and to reduce the status of teachers to at-will employees gathers momentum, I have not heard either President Obama or Secretary Duncan speak out forcefully against it. I have not heard either of them denounce the legislation that hurts our nation’s public schools. Instead, Secretary Duncan has given federal funds and plaudits to some of the states that are enacting the most toxic legislation.

I voted for President Obama and Vice-President Biden with enthusiasm in 2008. I am certainly not attracted to Romney, whose ideas are even worse for educators and public schools than Race to the Top.

But I wanted you to understand why I and so many other educators are disappointed in the education record of the Obama administration. It is likely to be a close election, and the Obama team needs our votes. I remain hopeful that the President will eliminate Race to the Top. Words will not be enough to persuade educators that this administration is on their side. 

Yours truly,
Categories Education Reform, Obama, Race to the Top

Vouchers in New York State?

By dianeravitch
June 19, 2012 //
12

Legislation was introduced on June 15 proposing to repeal the Blaine Amendment in the New York State constitution.

Enacted by many states in the nineteenth century, the Blaine amendment prohibits the allocation of public money to religious schools.

The proposed legislation would clear the way for vouchers for religious schools.

This is an opportune time for the repeal effort by supporters of religious schools. The proliferation of charter schools has dimmed the bright line that separates public and private schools. Many charter schools are private schools that operate with public funds. They are not open to all. They are free to write their own rules and to kick out kids who don’t live by their rules. They operate with minimal oversight. Most have wealthy directors, usually hedge fund managers, who supply extra funds. Most have a smaller proportion of students with disabilities and English-language learners than their nearby public school. And they claim to be better because they are not regular public schools. Also, there are places like Wisconsin, Indiana, and Louisiana, as well as D.C., that already send public funds to religious schools.

Now that it is hard to know what is a public school and what is a private school, it becomes harder still to explain why it’s okay to send public funds to thousands of privately managed charters but not to religious schools, or why some states may directly fund religious schools and others don’t. And that’s why voucher legislation becomes feasible in these times.

Since the change in the state constitution in New York requires a popular vote, this is no slam-dunk. There may still be voters who remember what they were taught in school about separation of church and state.

Diane

Categories Education Reform, New York, Vouchers

A Sickening Feeling in Philadelphia

By dianeravitch
June 19, 2012 //
1

I wrote a blog about the press for privatization in Philadelphia, and someone sent me the following email. For a minute, I felt as helpless as he does, then I took a deep breath, redoubled my resolve, and determined to fight back. We can’t let the elites take away what belongs to all of us.

He wrote:

I read your recent article about privatization in Philly.  Thanks for the support.  We need it.  You likened it to the nineteenth century when we were dependent on the largesse of the wealthy.  The current threat is even worse.  Organized money is picking over the carcass of public education.  Taxpayers pay taxes to enrich the already wealthy who have bought lobbyists and politicians.  Even the robber barons didn’t do that nearly as blatantly.  Sadly, we are losing ground and the end could come this summer.  As a “little person” I’ve done what little people can do.

Categories Education Reform, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Privatization

Update on New Jersey’s Bad Idea

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2012 //
7

Earlier today, I posted a blog about a bill in the New Jersey legislature that would remove seniority and tenure from teachers in that state and require that they be fired after two consecutive negative evaluations.. I just received  the  latest report from a reader in New Jersey.

You will notice two bad things about this “victory”:

1. Teachers and school boards have been pitted against each other. This is wrong. They should be working together.

2. Teachers have been pushed so far into a corner defending due process and seniority that they have acceded to demands to be evaluated by test scores. Interesting that the US will be the only nation to accept this untried, unproven teach-to-the-test approach to teacher evaluation.

I have reports from two teachers in New Jersey. There are differences in what they say, but there is concurrence that the political leadership of the state wants to cut teachersdown by making their jobs less secure. Bear in mind that New Jetsey is consistently among the top three states (the others being Massachusetts and Connecticut) on the federal NAEP. Why teachers need to be humbled in a high-performing state is anyone’s guess (I’d say the same in any state, actually).

So, from teacher #1:

Here’s an update regarding how NJ tenure reform bill S-1455 fared in committee today.

The text of tenure reform bill S-1455 as posted on the legislative web site at this hour still includes a provision requiring principals to revoke teacher tenure after two low performance evaluations.

However, today the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee advanced a substitute bill in which unilateral tenure revocation no longer appears to be a factor.  Instead, an inefficiency charge leveled against a teacher after two low performance ratings would result in binding arbitration.  The New Jersey Education Association supports the substitute version of the bill because, in addition to respecting due process rights, the bill no longer aims to weaken seniority.

The New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) is not happy to know that experienced, more highly paid teachers will retain the benefit of seniority.  NJSBA governmental relations director Michael Vrancik was quoted as saying, “The war is on.  There’s more to fight.”  http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/state_senate_committee_approve.html

And now another take from teacher #2:

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2012/06/tenure-confusion-in-nj.html

Categories Education Reform, New Jersey, Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure

Greetings to Readers in Rwanda

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2012 //
0

I just checked to see where my readers are and saw that there were 8 readers in Rwanda today. That could be Tim Slekar of Pennsylvania, who is on an education mission in Rwanda, logging in 8 times–or I have a small core of friends there. Tim is the moderator on the radio show “the Chalkface.” hi, Tim, come home and report back on what you learned.

Diane

Categories Education Reform

Is Louisiana the Worst?

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2012 //
14

Louisiana is a very strong contender for the worst state in the nation in relation to its treatment of teachers, students, and public schools.

Governor Bobby Jindal has been hailed by rightwing privatizers for his bold plan to dismantle public education. And indeed, his legislation established vouchers, charters, and a punitive regime for teachers. If teachers can’t cause their students to get higher scores year after year, they will be rated ineffective and terminated. This is my personal candidate for the worst state in the nation, but I don’t know the details in every state and there are still more states vying to be even worse than Louisiana. It is just hard to imagine how much worse it can get than Louisiana, where the money for vouchers and charters will come right out of the public school budget and where teachers are treated so shabbily.

Readers write from Louisiana:

Louisiana here. Since the tabula rasa that Katrina offered, New Orleans and now the entire state has been given reform in the way you mention—-more dictatorial than democratic. There seems to be a well organized symphony occurring across the U.S. with ALEC, TFA, DataCorp, PacificMetircs (two data companies with contracts totaling 120+ million dollars), New Teacher Project and Students First (Rhee’s two $ generating non-profits) all playing towards a crescendo where public education is a thing of the past. Additionally, our Gov. Bobby Jindal, has been mixing vindictive style politics into this whole mess by yanking any ‘nea’ votes on his ed reform legislation from committee chairmanships and vice chairmanships as recent as this week.Another reader writes:

 
It’s tough being a teacher in Louisiana. Public funds for education have been cut while private and charter schools are getting all the funding. Increased pressure on public schools via test scores continues while private schools receive vouchers with no way of knowing if they really provide a better education. Teachers are being evaluated using COMPASS and no one really knows how those scores are computed.To top it all off, we have a Supt. of Education who has no concern for improving failing schools, offers no solutions except moving the students to other schools, and is a lap dog for a Governor who runs the state like a fascist dictator.Another reader writes:

As a parent with sons in public schools, I would love REAL education reform. However, ALEC, through the Jindal administration, rammed vouchers for private schools that teach children with DVD’s, lowered teacher qualification requirements – while maintaining “high expectations” of student performance, all while under the guise of parent choice though they never brought parents to the table to ask what choices they actually want.An obvious set up for failure… what’s going to happen now to our children who already in one of the lowest performing states in the nation?

Another reader writes:

It’s worse than people realize. Most of the true data people are gone or silenced. The longitudinal.database the feds gave Louisiana millions of dollars for has been abandoned and the halls of LDOE are being filled with politicians pulling down exhorbitant salaries as long as they parrot the governors agenda. Who needs data when you just invent your own data to support your agenda as you go along? They also refuse to release data to anyone who won’t write something favorable about them, hiding behind FERPA. They actually discussed that openly while I was there.
Categories Education Reform

New Jersey Has a Bad Idea

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2012 //
11

A reader sends this note, relevant today, but relevant beyond today. It is part of the rightwing assault on the teaching profession. The state gets to define “effective,” then can take the right to due process away from those who don’t meet the benchmarks arbitrarily created by the state, which is eager to fire teachers and make room for teaching temps. I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Teachers without the right to due process may be fired for any reason or for no reason. Teachers without the right to due process will never teach anything controversial. Teachers without due process rights will never disagree with their principal. Teachers without due process rights have no academic freedom.

IN NEW JERSEY TODAY (6/18), tenure reform bill S-1455 (the TEACHNJ Act) will be voted on in committee. But not by the Senate Education Committee which discussed this bill at length during its March meeting. No, on Thursday 6/14 this tenure reform bill was “transferred” to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for a quickie vote to be held Monday 6/18. The main purpose of this tenure reform bill is to dismantle the right to due process by making it not only something a teacher can earn but also something a teacher can lose. If an administrator should give a teacher two summative performance ratings on the lower half of a 4-point scale (“ineffective” or “partially effective”), that teacher will then lose his/her previously earned right to due process and can be fired without the opportunity to appeal the decision to a third party. So in other words, in New Jersey a teacher will be able to EARN the right to due process but it will then be TAKEN AWAY precisely when the teacher might actually need to exercise that right.
Categories Education Reform, New Jersey, Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure

Is North Carolina the Worst?

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2012 //
0

A reader writes from North Carolina, where far-right Republicans control state government and are more than willing to hand public schools over to the private sector to mine for profit:

In North Carolina, the Republican dominated legislature lifted the cap on charter schools, provided a fast track approval process, and created a new certification board stocked with corporate cronies and charter school proponents. Now communities like mine, Chapel Hill, that love their neighborhood schools are having new charters, many of them run by for profit franchises, rammed down our throats with state approval and backing.

Categories Education Reform
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