Join the "Save Our Schools" March on Washington

Teachers and parents may have their differences from time to time, but they all agree that providing our nation’s children with the best possible education is a top priority. That’s why parents and teachers are joining forces to make our voices heard in Washington, D.C.

I hope you’ll join me, other concerned parents, and teachers at the “Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action” in Washington, D.C. on July 30.

The main goal of the event is to advocate for education policy reform that will enhance educational opportunities for all children. Objectives include:

· Equitable funding for all public school communities

· Full public funding of family and community support services

· Teacher, family and community leadership in forming education policies

· The use of multiple and varied assessments to evaluate students, teachers and schools

· Educational opportunities that develop every student’s intellectual, creative and physical potential

The march toward the Department of Education will begin at 2:00 p.m. on July 30. A rally preceding the march will take place at Ellipse Park at noon, featuring speakers, music and other activities.

If you can stay longer, workshops, seminars and a film festival will be held at American University on July 28, July 29 and July 31. Inspirational speakers and informative workshops will offer attendees strategies for taking action in their communities and school districts.

To attend the “Save Our Schools March” or to obtain more information, please visit saveourschoolsmarch.org

I hope to see you there.

Natalie Schwartz

Chair - Parent, Family and Community Outreach Committee

Save Our Schools March

Uninformed Reformers, Part II

In his second State of the Union address, President Obama conveyed the following assertions:

1. “Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation.”

2. “…reform isn’t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities.”

3. “Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect.” (In reference to how teachers are treated in South Korea.)

In January 2010, I posted an entry about President Obama’s first State of the Union address. I titled it “Uninformed Reformers” and lamented that the President was not paying enough attention to the thoughtful and insightful letters that the members of “Teachers’ Letters to Obama” sent him.

A year later, education reform continues to progress in the wrong direction, as President Obama’s address last night indicates.

The President and the Department of Education continue to tout the Race to the Top program. Race to the Top turns the distribution of education funding into a contest with winners and losers, instead of providing all schools with access to adequate resources, ensuring all children receive a quality education. Race to the Top also places too much weight on standardized tests, which do not adequately measure a child’s knowledge, skills or understanding.

President Obama contends that education reform is not a top-down mandate, and input from local educators and communities is important. But to receive Race to the Top funds, states must implement reform plans that meet the federal government’s criteria.

If the Obama administration really respected teachers and valued their input, efforts to thwart the administration's misguided reform policies would not have gained so much momentum over the past year. The “Teachers’ Letters to Obama” Facebook group has amassed 3,195 members, up from 760 a year ago. And a new grassroots movement is gathering steam: the “Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action” is headed to Washington, D.C. this summer to advocate for equitable funding for all public schools, an end to high-stakes testing, and teacher and community leadership in education policy reform (see my December blog post).

I wholeheartedly agree with President Obama on one point, though: “It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child.” If our children are to love learning, we must embrace innovative lessons that spark their intellectual curiosity and shun dull, uninspired and scripted test preparation. We must ensure that all children have access to the resources, staff and materials they need to succeed, regardless of where they live. And parents and teachers must join together to promote thoughtful and appropriate reforms that truly benefit our children and secure our country’s future.

Tenure In Trouble

In their misguided efforts to enact school reform over the past year, government officials have routinely targeted teachers. First came the calls for merit pay, then a wave of mass teacher firings. Now tenure is under attack.

The state of Colorado is leading a national movement to tie teacher tenure to student performance. Under a new Colorado law, student performance will count for half of a teacher’s annual evaluation. Teachers need three consecutive years of positive evaluations to earn tenure. Tenured teachers who receive two poor evaluations will lose it.

Proponents of the law fail to realize that a student’s academic success depends on a variety of factors. Even the most dedicated and talented teachers will face difficulty when dealing with such obstacles as unmotivated students, uncooperative parents or unsupportive administrators.

I support tenure because it protects teachers from the many people who have the power to jeopardize a teacher’s job. Teachers are observed and evaluated regularly by students, parents, administrators and school board members. If a teacher disappoints, fails to impress, or antagonizes just one of these interested parties, his or her job could be at risk. And tenure does not guarantee job security. Although it is more difficult to discharge teachers with tenure, they can be dismissed for legitimate reasons, typically related to serious misconduct or job performance.

The recent developments in Colorado reflect the Obama administration’s push toward evaluating teachers based on student test scores. Further movement in this direction will be detrimental to students. The pressure on teachers to produce acceptable standardized test scores is forcing them to spend more time on test preparation strategies and less time on creative and intellectual activities that motivate and excite students. In addition, the focus on testing will widen the achievement gap. High-achievers will spend time on enriching activities, such as music and art, while at-risk students focus on test-taking skills.

I’m Confused

Here are the teacher-related news stories from around our great nation that the diligent folks at Google e-mailed me today:

* “Rockford School District to Lay Off All Nontenured Teachers” (Rockford Register Star)

* “Senate Bill 6: Unfair to Teachers” (The Ledger)

* “Teacher Tells Students to Punch Classmate in Face” (NDTV.com)

* “California’s Quality Blind Layoffs Law Harms Teachers and Students” (Los Angeles Times)

* “Teachers Ask About Their Job Futures” (Tulsa World)

* “Indian Prairie School Board Eliminates 145 Teacher Jobs” (Chicago Tribune)

* “NJ Gov. Chris Christie Calls for Teachers, School Workers to Accept Wage Freeze to Prevent Layoffs” (The Star-Ledger)

* “Daley Spars With Teachers Union” (MyFox Chicago)

* “Edwardsville School District Lays Off 60, Including 25 Teachers” (Belleville News Democrat)

* “School Reform Has U.S. Grant High School Teachers On Edge” (NewsOK.com)

What do all of these stories tell us? With words like “layoffs,” “harms,” “on edge,” and “punch,” it’s pretty clear that for teachers, the news is bad.

So why am I confused?

1. Why is all the news bad? Surely there is some good news about some teacher somewhere. I’ve met and spoken with many teachers and parents, so I’m certain of this fact. But the media seems to focus on stories about teachers behaving badly or getting the boot.

2. Why doesn’t our society respect teachers anymore? When I was in school, parents and students respected teachers for the contribution they make to society and the impact they have on our lives. Now, they’re publicly disparaged, not only by the media, but also by the federal government. Chastising teachers is now public policy. To receive federal “turnaround grants,” school districts must fire at least half the staff at low-performing schools or close them. President Obama came out in support of the very public firing of the entire faculty at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island.

If you want to know the general attitude toward teachers, ask finance expert Suze Orman. In my blog entry on May 28, 2009, I expressed my discontent that Ms. Orman told The New York Times Magazine she feels teachers are not empowered and have no self-worth. She couldn’t be more wrong. Teachers have a profound impact on the lives and futures of children across America—a powerful position and a fulfilling experience.

The groups that protect and support teachers from all of this backlash—teachers unions—are vilified by the media, school districts and the government.

3. Why can’t parents and teachers get along? When their child is performing poorly or behaving badly, who do parents usually blame? The teacher. A few of them may have good reasons. But in many cases, if the parent would make an effort to express their concerns to the teacher in a constructive way, listen to the teacher’s point of view, and work together with the teacher to address the issue, they would be making a big contribution to their child’s academic progress and personal growth (see my August 12, 2009 blog post, “Building a Successful Partnership With Your Child’s Teacher”).

As with most relationships, the disconnect between parent and teacher is often the fault of both parties. Teachers are frustrated by some parents. But if they would reach out to the parent in a positive way, they could accomplish a lot together (see my August 19, 2009 blog post, “Building Successful Partnerships With Parents”).

Many parents and teachers have cooperative, successful relationships that greatly benefit the student. But many don’t. Parents and teachers share the same goal: the academic success of the child. They would have a greater chance of realizing this goal if they worked together as partners.

Despite all of this bad news, dedicated, talented teachers across the country are inspiring, supporting, guiding and mentoring children in their classrooms. They’re pushing aside all of the negativity that’s swirling around them and doing their jobs. It’s not because they make a lot of money—they don’t. It’s certainly not for the praise and gratitude. And if you think it’s because they get summers off and work until 3 o’clock, you’re buying into some big misconceptions about the teaching profession. Most of them do it because they want to make a difference. And for that, I admire them, and I’m grateful to them.

But if the attitude toward teachers continues to deteriorate, how many gifted, motivated, altruistic college students are going to pursue a teaching career? Our education system is the foundation of our society. I don’t think it’ll function too well without any teachers.

The Blame Game

Since when do we target a group of people and hold them solely accountable for society’s problems?

In an effort to improve the performance of Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, the school board on Tuesday approved a plan to fire the entire faculty and staff.

Other school districts around the country have also attempted to fix failing schools by cleaning house. The Chicago Board of Education voted Wednesday to close or turn around eight schools, which means about 300 teachers will lose their jobs, according to Chicago Public Radio. School board members in Houston voted a couple of weeks ago to fire teachers whose students consistently fail to improve on standardized tests, according to ABC News.

Standardized test scores are often used to gauge a teacher’s efficacy. But standardized tests do not adequately measure a student’s knowledge, skills or understanding. And the pressure on teachers to produce acceptable standardized test scores is forcing them to spend more time on test preparation strategies and less time on creative and intellectual activities.

I interviewed more than fifty teachers for my book, The Teacher Chronicles: Confronting the Demands of Students, Parents, Administrators and Society. I was alarmed by the many obstacles society hurls at teachers. And then we blame them when things go wrong.

But there’s plenty of blame to go around. Parents need to be involved partners, rather than adversaries, if they want their children to succeed. Administrators and school boards need to give teachers more support and freedom, rather than issuing paralyzing threats. Taxpayers need to be willing to compensate teachers for the vital service they provide.

Above all, the federal government must ensure that all schools have adequate funding so teachers can do their jobs effectively. It’s unacceptable that students in low-income areas are deprived of the resources, supplies and experiences that students in affluent areas enjoy.

The real losers in the blame game are not the teachers; it’s the students. The teachers at Central Falls High School provided more than an education—they offered stability and support to children in a community rife with poverty and unemployment. “My teachers, they’re there for me. They push me forward,” a 17-year-old senior told The New York Times yesterday.

Yes, some teachers are incompetent. Every profession has its share of incompetence. If a teacher is not capable of fulfilling the job’s requirements, he or she should be replaced. Teachers want ineffective colleagues to be dismissed. But blaming all teachers—as a group—is wrong.

Are Chicago, Houston and Central Falls harbingers of what’s to come? President Obama said in a speech in November that states have to be willing to turn low-performing schools around by replacing a school’s leadership and at least half its staff.

And how far will society’s campaign against teachers go? Parents in Detroit recently demanded teachers serve jail time because students received poor scores on a standardized math test. I hope parents, administrators, school boards, government officials and taxpayers stand up and assume their share of the responsibility for our education system’s failings before things get worse.

Uninformed Reformers

In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama said he reads letters from citizens every night. He quoted letters from a determined small business owner, a patriotic woman, and a generous eight-year-old boy.

I wonder if he’s read the ninety-six letters Anthony Cody, a teacher coach, collected from teachers and mailed to the President in November. Or the additional letters, comments and discussions posted by the 760+ members of Cody’s “Teachers’ Letters to Obama” Facebook group. Or the letters Cody published in his Education Week commentary and Teacher Magazine blog.

I’ve read some of the letters that have been posted online, and I think they offer valuable insight into the learning process and reveal the shortcomings of the President’s education reform plan and “Race to the Top” program. Here are some of the highlights:

* Standardized tests, and multiple choice tests in particular, do not adequately measure a student’s knowledge, skills or understanding.

* The pressure on teachers to produce acceptable standardized test scores is forcing them to spend more time on test preparation strategies and less time on creative and intellectual activities.

* Innovative lessons motivate students and spark excitement about learning. Dull, uninspired, scripted lessons, and repetitive test preparation, turn students off of school.

* The focus on testing will widen the achievement gap. High-achievers will spend time on enriching activities, such as music and art, while at-risk students focus on test-taking skills.

* A student who is not a skilled test-taker may be a gifted writer, a talented artist, or a budding musician. Due to the focus on standardized tests, their abilities may be overlooked and their self-esteem damaged.

* Education grants should not be based on a political contest like “Race to the Top.” All schools should have access to adequate resources so all children receive a high-quality education. Students shouldn’t be penalized because their state governments drafted proposals that the federal Dept. of Education deemed unworthy.

* The “Race to the Top” program attempts to force business practices on schools. Children are not products; they’re people.

* Although teachers have the greatest insight into the classroom environment and the learning process, they’re being excluded from the discussion on education reform.

When addressing education reform last night, President Obama said, “In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential.”

Unless President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan consider the input of teachers, their education reform plan will not accomplish the intended results.

Please visit “Teachers’ Letters to Obama” on Facebook for more information.

Talk To The Student First

When a student is struggling with an academic, behavioral or social issue, it is important for the teacher to enlist the parent’s help in resolving the problem. But in the following guest blog entry, a middle school teacher explains why she approaches the student before making that phone call home.

Teachers and parents agree that communication between school and home is a key component to a successful academic year for the student. As a middle school teacher, I find that communicating with the student before making the phone call home leads to a more productive outcome for all parties.

In moments of frustration, whether it be an academic or discipline issue, a teacher may look for a quick fix by calling the parent immediately. Excluding emergency situations, my experience tells me to remove myself from the situation for a short period of time (a couple of hours or overnight) so I am calm and objective. After this time, discuss the situation with the student first. This arms you with valuable information (i.e. specifics and quotes!) to share with the parent during the phone call.

Having all pertinent information and details will eliminate back and forth communication and can clear up any incorrect information or confusion. Having all the facts and specifics prior to making the phone call arms the teacher with the confidence and ability to suggest a plan of action, thus moving in a positive direction to ensure success for the student—the common goal of all parties involved.

Ann Marie Torre

Ann Marie Torre is an English teacher and professional organizer in the New York tri-state area. She is a member of NAPO, the National Organization of Professional Organizers, and helps teens and adults set up organizational systems that last. Her company, The Organized Life, has been featured in The New York Times and the Spring 2009 edition of What To Do: Armonk, Bedford & Chappaqua. For more information: atorre@theorganizedlifenow.com or (914) 242-1178

A Teacher’s World Is “Not All Flowers and Sausages”

We picture elementary school as a bastion of learning, teeming with the creativity and inspiration that flows from the collective energies of the dedicated faculty. But “It’s Not All Flowers and Sausages,” according to “Mrs. Mimi,” who depicts in her new book a reality where devoted teachers struggle to engage and enlighten their students amid a suffocating environment. The book is based on the popular blog by “Mrs. Mimi,” the pseudonym assumed by second grade teacher Jennifer Scoggin.

It’s Not All Flowers and Sausages: My Adventures in Second Grade (Kaplan Publishing) is highly amusing and thoroughly entertaining due to Ms. Scoggin’s breezy narrative style, sharp wit and biting sarcasm. Although she relates her story with humor and aplomb, the underlying message comes across loud and clear. Dedicated, talented teachers are constantly encumbered by administrative hassles, unnecessary distractions, and counterproductive colleagues.

While the book recounts the frustrating obstacles Ms. Scoggin faces daily, her passion for teaching and rapport with her students is palpable and touching.

In the book, Ms. Scoggin takes us inside her New York City classroom, where we meet her students (she calls them her friends), colleagues and administrators. She candidly discusses her interactions and observations. Time and again we see how her efforts to impart knowledge and skills to her students are hamstrung by a raft of assessment tests, mountains of paperwork, time-wasting policies, and intrusive meetings and assemblies.

And then there are the constant disruptions, such as inconsiderate visitors and irritating phone calls. Ms. Scoggin talks about the morning three plumbers barged into her classroom and started turning the faucets on and off while talking loudly, distracting the students. One engaged in a personal conversation on his cell phone. The men returned to the classroom in the afternoon to change a light bulb. One of them actually stood on a student’s desk while the child was working at the desk.

Detractors who dismiss Ms. Scoggin as a complainer are missing the point. It’s Not All Flowers and Sausages offers administrators, taxpayers, parents and the governmental powers that be valuable insight into the real problems facing our school systems—problems that threaten to impede our teachers and hamper the success of their students.

Drowning in a Sea of Tests

Ms. Scoggin is currently taking some time off from teaching to pursue her doctorate in education. I had the opportunity to speak with her recently about the issues she raised in her book. She cited the crush of assessment tests as one of the biggest challenges she faced as a teacher.

“When they start mandating a prescriptive curriculum, and all the paperwork that comes with that, these are all things that eat away at a teacher’s time and creativity,” she says. “There’s so much pressure around it, you end up having to cater all your instruction to the tests rather than the students’ needs and interests.”

Every year she was required to add a new test to the schedule, and some duplicated existing tests.

“Elementary school is about having magical, creative experiences, and that’s just gone, and that’s a huge loss,” she says. “Those experiences are the most powerful ones, the ones people remember into adulthood. There’s so much learning happening.”

Administering the tests cuts into instruction time, as does preparing students to take the tests. They have to learn the tricky language on the tests and engage in practice drills.

“I believe if you have good teaching and non-scripted curriculum, and you teach really well and deeply, that’s your test prep,” Ms. Scoggin says. But that’s not enough at many schools, which are under pressure to deliver acceptable test scores. Teachers are often required to focus on test preparation, limiting the time they can spend on valuable lessons and activities. “Because that pressure is so high, I question whether or not the kids are prepared to do anything.”

Ms. Scoggin agrees with the many educators who warn that standardized tests are not a valid measure of a child’s aptitude.

“It’s a very narrow way of looking at intelligence and a very narrow way of looking at how we’re doing,” she says.

Schools often mandate the teacher’s curriculum, such as the reading program used in the class. “They don’t give you any control, and then they judge you on the results. That’s a scary scenario,” Scoggin says.

Shackled by Bureaucratic Red Tape

Ms. Scoggin was also stymied by a lack of support from some administrators, staff members and parents.

“When you’re working with people who are not as invested as you are, it makes it more difficult than it needs to be,” she says.

The unrealistic demands on her time, including paperwork and filing procedures, were also frustrating, she says.

“I’ve had people say to me, ‘Do an hour of math, an hour of this, an hour of that,’ and it adds up to 15 hours. They put things on you that are physically impossible, and then they say, ‘You work it out.’”

Reaching Out to Parents

Ms. Scoggin’s persistent efforts to involve parents eventually yielded positive results. Only a couple of parents would show up for parent-teacher conference night or volunteer to chaperone field trips when she first started. Later they were lined up outside her door for conferences, and she had to compile a waiting list for field trips.

To keep parents informed, she sent out a monthly newsletter recapping what the students learned in the previous month. She also provided advance notice of upcoming events, such as concerts, field trips and writing celebrations, and welcomed parents to attend.

She sent home packets that complemented her lessons, including games and activities parents could do with their children at home. She also sent home bags of school supplies to ensure parents and students had the necessary materials to work at home. She paid for a lot of the supplies herself, but she also accumulated them from a variety of sources, such as the DonorsChoose.org website, donations from generous friends, and contributions from parents.

To involve parents in the class, she found out whether they had a special talent, such as art or cooking, and invited them in to share their expertise with the students. Parents who came into the class received a thank you note from her and from one of the children, who wrote the note on behalf of the class.

If she was unable to reach a parent to discuss an issue their child was facing, she kept detailed records reflecting every attempt to make contact.

Ms. Scoggin says parents may avoid their child’s teacher if they think the teacher communicates only when their child is struggling with a problem. To counter this perception, she sent positive notes home periodically.

In the beginning of the year, she and her students would write a positive note about each student together. The activity served as a shared-writing exercise and allowed the students to get to know one another. It also reinforced positive behavior because the students enjoyed the recognition from their peers.

Learning from “Mrs. Mimi”

When asked what teachers need to be successful, Ms. Scoggin cited the following:

* More freedom and control over their time. The interaction between the student and the teacher is the most important factor in determining a student’s success, based on Ms. Scoggin’s research for her doctoral degree. “The more demands they put on teachers, the less time we have to develop that interaction and become experts at that part of our job,” she says.

* Access to the proper supplies and materials. “It’s important that they ask us what we need,” she says. “I would get a handful of googley eyes and rubber bands. I need pencils.”

* Input into policy decisions. “Teachers need to feel more invested in the school as a whole,” she says. Federal and state governments should also gather input from teachers when formulating education policies. “Decisions are coming from the top, which doesn’t make sense when the most important interaction is happening at the bottom.”

http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com/

A Sad State of Affairs

Is anyone happy with our education system?

* Teachers aren’t. A new study by Public Agenda and Learning Point Assoc. revealed 40% of teachers are “disheartened.”

* Students aren’t. When Highlights magazine asked kids, “What is your biggest problem right now,” more than 23% said schoolwork. Survey participants cited schoolwork most often, surpassing sibling issues (8.7%), parental issues (8.1%), friendship issues (7.3%), illness/physical problems (5.6%), and bullies (4.3%).

* President Obama isn’t. Education reform is high on the President’s agenda.

The Public Agenda study identified three groups of teachers: disheartened (40%), contented (37%), and idealists (23%). According to an article in Education Week, “The view that teaching is ‘so demanding, it’s a wonder that more people don’t burn out’ is remarkably pervasive, particularly among the disheartened, who are twice as likely as other teachers to agree strongly with that view.”

Interestingly, disheartened teachers expressed frustration with students (“disorder in the classroom”) and the bureaucracy (“an undue focus on testing”)—the two other groups that are dissatisfied.

The Obama administration seems to be dissatisfied with teachers. The administration’s “Race to the Top” plan promotes a merit pay system, which would hold teachers solely accountable for student achievement (see my July 29 blog post on this issue). And U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently stated that the nation’s teacher colleges “are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21^st century classroom,” according to an Education Dept. press release.

Media outlets were quick to agree. An editorial in The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that Duncan’s assessment “confirms what lackluster student performance on standardized tests has shown for years. Reforming public education and boosting student achievement must begin with better teacher training - mediocrity is unacceptable.” And an editorial in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram stated, “Most of the criticism I hear about teachers colleges — from education professors, student teachers and teachers in the classroom — centers on the idea that teachers are being shortchanged.”

So I guess the media is also unhappy.

In the Highlights study, “Respondents said they struggled with completing homework on time, finishing projects and/or studying for tests.” (This finding seems to support my Oct. 16 post, “The 9 to 5 School Day?”)

I haven’t seen any studies or reports recently on the attitude of parents, who are integral to the education process. I did read that the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District introduced a plan that would allow parents to initiate major reforms at low-performing schools. I’m all for parent involvement, but if schools are low-performing, shouldn’t the school board and district administrators be aware of the problem and take steps to address it? They’re the education experts.

But it’s not all gloom-and-doom in our nation’s schools. Most of the “contented” group of teachers strongly agree that “teaching is exactly what I wanted to do,” and the “idealists” believe “their students’ test scores have increased a lot because of their teaching,” according to Education Week.

Another positive revelation: a lot of kids like their teachers. When Highlights asked kids who they admire and respect, aside from family members, 17.2% said teachers, which ranked second to friends (28.4%).

There are a lot of successful teachers, motivated students and satisfied parents out there. Unfortunately, they’re rarely acknowledged.

Resources:

“The State of the Kid,” Highlights, 2009. http://media.highlights.com/pdf-newsroom/StateoftheKid.pdf

“State of Mind,” Education Week, October 19, 2009. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/21/08publicagenda_ep.h29.html?tkn=WLRFS9a6i7JpaTp213g2qRDBp1FwWsbYiltP

“U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Says Colleges of Education Must Improve for Reforms to Succeed,” U.S. Dept. of Education, Oct. 22, 2009. Department of Education. http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/10/10222009a.html

“Editorial: Teaching the Teachers,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 30, 2009. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/67472532.html

“An Apple for the Education Secretary,” Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Oct. 27, 2009. http://www.star-telegram.com/242/story/1715776.html

“L.A. Unified to Allow Parents to Initiate School Reforms,” Los Angeles Times, Oct, 28, 2009. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd28-2009oct28,0,1211739.story

Is Obama's "Race to the Top" a Fair Game?

The Obama administration has clearly presented its stance on teacher accountability.  Speaking to the NEA and the AFT earlier this month, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan maintained that teacher compensation decisions should take student achievement into account (“The Trouble With Merit Pay,” July 15).  Last week the administration put some muscle behind its viewpoint when it unveiled the “Race to the Top” program on July 24.

At stake is $4.35 billion in competitive grants, which will be awarded to states that are driving reform based on the government’s criteria.

“We will use the best data available to determine whether a state can meet a few key benchmarks for reform—and states that outperform the rest will be rewarded with a grant,” President Obama said in a speech at the U.S. Dept. of Education headquarters in Washington. 

The program’s goal—to improve the quality of our nation’s school system—is positive and admirable, and I applaud the President for making education a priority.  But I question whether the Dept. of Education can create a fair system for awarding grants.  I’m most concerned about the administration’s insistence on evaluating teachers based on student achievement.  States that prohibit linking data on student achievement to teacher evaluations will be ineligible for grant money unless they change their laws.

Correlating teacher quality with student achievement does seem logical.  But it’s not that simple.  I think teachers would be comfortable with this method of evaluation if a teacher’s talent and skills were the only factors influencing student performance.  But teachers know the realities:

• An elementary school teacher in Connecticut told me parents have asked her to excuse their children from homework assignments because of hockey tournaments, family trips, pageants, or other extracurricular activities and events.  Students who don’t take responsibility for completing their assignments face no consequences, she added.  “When the parents get the test scores and they are low, they come running to us wondering what happened, asking us what we did wrong, what we didn’t teach their child in order to pass the test,” she said. 
• A middle school teacher in New York said the most stressful aspect of test preparation is that teachers must rely on each student’s sense of responsibility and level of motivation.  Some children are not mature or motivated enough to understand that they have a vested interest in performing well in school.  And if undisciplined students don’t study for exams or do their homework, and they don’t perform adequately on the tests, it reflects poorly on the teacher.
  
• A retired middle school teacher in Tennessee contended that schools and teachers should not be penalized for poor test scores because circumstances sometimes arise that prevent a child from performing well on a test on a particular day.  For instance, a child might have had a difficult experience at home the night before.  “People want education to function like industry; we’re working with human beings,” she said. 
  
• An elementary school teacher in New York felt her first grade students would respond better to the “phonics” method of reading instruction than the “whole language” approach.  But her principal, a “whole language” advocate, would not allow the teacher to use “phonics.”  By the end of the year, only two of her 30 students could read. 
  

Detractors will say these teachers are just griping and making excuses.  I disagree.  These anecdotes (taken from “The Teacher Chronicles”) demonstrate that uncooperative parents, unmotivated students, and unsupportive administrators can adversely affect student performance, despite the teacher’s best efforts.  In addition, a student’s home life can also play a role in their academic success or failure.

Another issue to consider is whether school districts in low-income areas will be at a disadvantage when competing for “Race to the Top” grants.  Parents in affluent communities can hire tutors and purchase additional study aids to give their children a boost.  Some students in low-income areas lack basic school supplies. 

The Obama administration has the right idea—invest in education and take steps to improve the effectiveness of our school system to ensure we’re producing citizens capable of competing in the global marketplace.  But the “Race to the Top” plan has the potential to penalize teachers and schools for circumstances beyond their control, even though the intention is to motivate them to succeed.  A more direct route to bolstering student performance would be to provide schools with the resources they need to reduce class size (a proven approach to enhancing student performance) and ensure all students have access to the necessary books and supplies.

Finally, we should invest in programs that encourage parental involvement, which is a major factor in a student’s academic success.  Children benefit when their parents take an active role in their education by communicating expectations, attending school functions, and developing partnerships with teachers. 

http://www.edgovblogs.org/duncan/2009/07/president-obama-secretary-duncan-announce-race-to-the-top/

A Distress Call in June, A New Outlook for September

A phone conversation with a concerned parent on the last day of school prompted this New York middle school teacher to reflect on the importance of parent-teacher communication.  Her guest blog post below illustrates how parents and teachers can work together to bolster student achievement.

It’s June 25^th.  The students are on summer vacation, and the teachers are packing up their classrooms.  I receive an e-mail from my principal asking me to contact a parent who called her to ask what I teach in math strategies, an extra help math class that complements the regular math course.  I call the father back.  He expresses his dissatisfaction with his daughter’s performance on the math final, and has a lot of questions about my teaching procedures in the regular math class and in math strategies.  I’m happy to answer his questions, but keep thinking, “Isn’t it a little late to be having this conversation?”  If he had contacted me earlier in the year, I could have addressed his concerns and enlisted his support in helping his daughter succeed in my class.  Math is not her strongest subject.  She had struggled in math in elementary school and continued to struggle this year in 6^th grade.

As the conversation continues, I discover the numerous missed opportunities for us to work together to benefit this student throughout the year.  The father tells me he hired a math tutor to help prepare his daughter for the final exam.  If he had informed me, I could have communicated with the tutor to help the tutor better support the student.  The father tells me the tutor complained that my study guide for the final was not specific enough, didn’t offer any examples of problems, and contained only a list of concepts to study with the number of questions per skill.  But the study guide came with four packets that included the specifics and sample problems the tutor was looking for.  I ask the father whether his daughter showed him or the tutor the packets.  She didn’t.  I ask if he or the tutor visited my website, which contains additional study materials.  He replies, “How do you get to your website?”  I scan and upload to my website class assignments, worksheets and study guides throughout the year and refer my students to my website often.  If the father or tutor had e-mailed or called me to express their concerns, I could have referred them to the study packets and additional materials.

The father asks me about my homework grading policy.  I remind him that I discussed the policy at Back to School Night.  He explains that it was a long night, and he doesn’t remember what was discussed.  If a parent sees a grade on the parent portal that he or she does not understand at any point during the year, the parent is welcome to e-mail me and I’ll explain it.  The students are also aware of the grading policy.

After the conversation, I think about what I could have done to prevent it. I realize that I shouldn’t assume my students will relate information to their parents, that all parents are familiar with school websites, and that parents understand the importance of contacting the teacher as soon as a question or concern comes up.  I also acknowledge that parents are overwhelmed with the information they receive at the beginning of the year, and they may not remember everything they hear at Back to School Night.  Thanks to this concerned father, I revamp my initial letter that goes home to parents the first day of school to encourage their involvement throughout the year.  It now contains more detailed information about the 6^th grade math syllabus, my website, my grading policy, and other important topics.  It prominently displays my contact information and urges parents to contact me with any questions or concerns that come up during the year.  It requests that they sign and return the bottom portion of the letter so I can be sure they have read it.  The letter is ready to go out to my new class in September.

Amanda Schwartz

Middle School Teacher

New York

Teachers at the Table

The Teachers at the Table Act of 2009, introduced by U.S Senator Russ Feingold, would establish a Voluntary Teacher Advisory Committee to give Congress and the Department of Education input on how education legislation impacts students, families and the classroom learning environment. 

Many of the teachers I interviewed for The Teacher Chronicles contended that teachers should have more input into education policy.  From their vantage point in the trenches, they have firsthand knowledge of how policy decisions affect students, teachers and schools.  Teachers are particularly concerned about the flawed practice of relying on test scores to determine teacher quality.

A teacher from Tennessee said that circumstances often arise that prevent a child from performing well on a test, such as a difficult experience at home the night before.  She told me: “People want education to function like industry; we’re working with human beings.”

An elementary school teacher in Connecticut told me a lack of cooperation from parents can adversely affect a student’s performance on an assessment test. Parents have asked her to excuse their children from assignments because of hockey tournaments, family trips, pageants, or other extracurricular activities and events. She said, “When the parents get the test scores and they are low, they come running to us wondering what happened, asking us what we did wrong, what we didn’t teach their child in order to pass the test.”

A middle school teacher in New York said the most stressful aspect of test preparation is that teachers must rely on each student’s sense of responsibility and level of motivation.  If undisciplined students don’t study for exams or do their homework, and they don’t perform adequately on the tests, it reflects poorly on the teacher.

Perhaps teachers could also express their frustrations with government bureaucracies.  The teacher from Tennessee told me that one year the state education department refused to supply the school with its students’ math assessment scores because one test was missing.  The school repeatedly explained the test had been discarded because a student vomited on it.  The next year, another student vomited on the test.  The teacher sent the vomit-covered test to the education department in a Ziploc bag.

Linking test scores to teacher quality is only one of the many policy issues teachers are uniquely qualified to weigh in on.  A systematic approach to gathering input from teachers is long overdue.

Link to “Calling All Teachers to the Table,” Lynne Varner, The Seattle Times

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/edcetera/2009278595_calling_all_teachers_to_the_ta.html

Link to Teachers at the Table Fact Sheet

http://feingold.senate.gov/issues_teachersfact09.html