Dear Colleague,

As the 2012-2013 school year draws to a close, there is a piece of litigation in the news that could become law by the time school starts again in late summer. AB 1266 would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs, activities, and facilities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with his or her perceived gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records. In other words, if a boy thinks he’s a girl, he gets to play on female sports teams, use the girls’ bathroom, shower, etc. For more info on the bill, go to

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_1251-1300/ab_1266_bill_20130425_amended_asm_v98.htm

If you believe the education establishment and mainstream media, you might think we are going through a bullying epidemic. However, as Choice Media’s Bob Bowdon reports, this is false.

… according to a task force report by the American Educational Research Association, that isn’t so.  In fact, the report found that the idea that bullying is worse now than in the past is simply not true. It says bullying is down 50 percent between 1995 and 2009.

To read more and access the AERA report, go to http://choicemedia.tv/2013/06/03/how-much-school-bullying-is-media-myth/

Bowdon also exploded another myth about the alleged evils of “for profit” charter schools.

The most recent serving of anti-for-profit narrative was in a Washington Post blog of May 20, by David Pickler, President of the National School Boards Association, titled "What's wrong with school 'choice"?  Here's what." (Choice was put in quotation marks.)  He referred to Louisiana's voucher law as "driven primarily by outside forces that want to make big profits on the backs of our nation's most vulnerable children."  Sounds bad, eh?   

It was enough to set off Jason Bedrick of the Cato Institute, who published a response the very next day, using a parallel interrogative title structure.  His piece was called, "Who's Afraid of School Profits?"

Bedrock pointed out that most of the private schools taking Louisiana vouchers are, in fact, non-profit.  Then he goes on to explain in the piece how selectively people like Pickler   apply their "money is corrupting" logic.  Jason Bedrick explained it to me too.

Oh, "outside forces want to make big profits on the backs of our nation's most vulnerable children."  Which is just patently absurd.  Nobody says, "That business, they're making a profit on the backs of their paying customers."  It doesn't make any sense at all.  When you think about it, really, these are schools that these families have chosen.  Who's really benefiting on the backs of these vulnerable children?  I would say it's the people that are fighting to continue the public school monopoly.

To continue reading, go to http://choicemedia.tv/2013/05/28/backlash-against-for-profit-school-bashing/#.UbnkQpxQCJ8

 

Researcher Greg Forster recently released his latest study on school choice and, as usual, his findings fly in the face of what the educational establishment tells us. A few of the key findings:

• Twelve empirical studies have examined academic outcomes for school choice participants using random assignment, the “gold standard” of social science. Of these, 11 find that choice improves student outcomes—six that all students benefit and five that some benefit and some are not affected. One study finds no visible impact. No empirical study has found a negative impact.
• Twenty-three empirical studies (including all methods) have examined school choice’s impact on academic outcomes in public schools. Of these, 22 find that choice improves public schools and one finds no visible impact. No empirical study has found that choice harms public schools.
• Six empirical studies have examined school choice’s fiscal impact on taxpayers. All six find that school choice saves money for taxpayers. No empirical study has found a negative fiscal impact.

To read more, go to http://www.edchoice.org/Research/Reports/A-Win-Win-Solution--The-Empirical-Evidence-on-School-Choice.aspx

 

In the current Education Matters, the Association of American Educators newsletter, there is a very interesting piece about online learning and one teacher’s experience with it. “How Blended Learning Saved My Teaching Career” details the story of a young teacher who had reached the breaking point and found that the blended learning model saved his career.

Blended learning is not about replacing teachers with machines. Rather, it’s about leveraging technology to provide students and teachers with immediate feedback, holding each individual student accountable for his or her academic success, and personalizing course work to best meet students exactly where they are. Dave Levin, one of the founders of the KIPP charter network, recently emphasized that blended learning relies upon skilled teachers. This point is absolutely critical: without highly e­ffective teachers and instruction, a blended-learning model cannot be successful or sustainable.

To continue reading this compelling story, go to https://www.aaeteachers.org/images/em/2013junnews.pdf

In the current issue of Education Next, there is a very informative article in which June Kronholz examines the recipe that has made Teach for America’s 24 year record of growth possible. 

Among the key reasons, she finds, are TFA’s accountable, analytical, and adaptable managerial practices….

TFA placed 10,400 teachers in 2012 and its plans call for expansion to 15,000 teachers by 2015.  Its teachers worked in 3,200 public schools in 2013.  Of the 48,000 applicants for TFA openings in 2012, which included 11 percent of Yale’s graduating class, only 8,200, or 17%, were accepted.  TFA reports that 550 alumni have become school principals, 100 are system leaders, and 70 hold elected offices.  Almost three-quarters of TFA’s revenues came from philanthropy in 2011—$194 million, up $40 million from 2010.  To meet the new goals, including projects in another 18 countries, TFA will need revenues of a half billion dollars a year.

To read more, go to http://educationnext.org/still-teaching-for-america/

It’s hardly a secret that America’s schools of education – to understate the case – don’t do a very good job. In the summer 2013 issue of Education Next, National Council on Teacher Quality president Kate Walsh does an excellent job of pinpointing the problems and makes some good common sense suggestions as to how to improve teacher training.

Shocked by teacher education’s refusal to train teachers to use scientifically based reading methods, Reid Lyon, who headed a 30-year study at the National Institutes of Health of how people best learn to read, once stated, “If there was any piece of legislation that I could pass it would be to blow up colleges of education.”

To read this hard-hitting piece, go to http://educationnext.org/21st-century-teacher-education/

Talking about “hard-hitting,” LAUSD chief John Deasy, fed up with playing nice with abusive teachers, got rid of a bunch of them last month. He axed 100, got 200 more to resign and is “housing” 300 others.

The personnel files stretched the length of the 15-foot conference table in Superintendent John Deasy's office, a chronicle of the corporal punishment, verbal and physical abuse and sexual misconduct reported in the classrooms of the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

Cuts and bruises. Curses and racial slurs. Caresses and pornography.

In the past, the misdeeds detailed in the teachers' files would likely have earned the offender a disciplinary memo, maybe a week's suspension, perhaps a transfer to another school.

Today, they're grounds for firing.

Under the zero-tolerance policy that Deasy enacted after the Miramonte Elementary sex-abuse scandal erupted in February 2012, the school board has voted to dismiss more than 100 teachers for misconduct, and accepted the resignations of at least 200 others who were about to be terminated. Nearly 300 additional teachers accused of inappropriate behavior remain "housed" in administrative offices while officials investigate the complaints.

To read more, go to http://www.whittierdailynews.com/bellremembered/ci_23220307/lausd-cracks-down-teacher-misconduct-100-fired-200

 

We recently sent you a special email about National Employee Freedom Week. In case you missed it, here is the salient information:

National Employee Freedom Week is a national effort to inform union employees of the freedom they have regarding opting out of union membership and making the decision about union membership that’s best for them. Often that choice is freeing themselves from union membership, becoming an agency fee payer, or identifying as a religious/conscientious objector. 

Additionally, many employees are thrilled to learn that alternative professional associations provide better benefits and professional development opportunities for a fraction of the cost of union membership. 

To learn more, visit the NEFW website – http://employeefreedomweek.com/

 

If you are still using a school email to receive these newsletters, please consider sending us your personal email address. More and more school districts are blocking CTEN.  In any event, if you enjoy these letters and find them informative, please pass them along to your colleagues and encourage them to join us.

If you would like to see us address certain issues, topics, etc. in these newsletters or on our website – http://www.ctenhome.org – please let us know. And have a great summer!  

Sincerely,

Larry Sand
CTEN President

Dear Colleague,

There has been no shortage of education legislation in Sacramento over the past month. Perhaps the most contentious was SB 441, a tame bill that would have made slight adjustments to the current teacher evaluation system. (http://unionwatch.org/parents-students-businessmen-mayors-reformers-civil-rights-groups-conservatives-liberals-et-al-vs-teachers-unions/) Reform groups like StudentsFirst, EdVoice, National Action Network Los Angeles and many others were in favor of it, with only the teachers unions opposing. Not surprisingly, the legislators, not wanting to run afoul of CTA, killed the bill.

At the same time, Bhavini Bhakta, a former teacher of the year, wrote an eloquent blog post about teacher quality, tenure, LIFO, etc. on the StudentsFirst website. Currently teaching in Arcadia, she has been bounced from school to school because of our state-mandated seniority rules. 

Despite receiving the Teacher of the Year Golden Apple Award and making incredible achievement gains with my students, I would get laid off at the end of every year because of a law called “Last In First Out,” or LIFO. This law requires layoff decisions to be based solely on a teacher’s hiring date, rather than how well they teach.  

In my 9 years of teaching, I have worked alongside teachers who go above and beyond to ensure the success of their students. For these teachers, it doesn’t matter how many hours it takes, or how many supplies they have to purchase – they are committed to delivering an effective and engaging lesson everyday.

What bothers me about my profession is that we operate under the notion that all teachers are the same. We believe that they are all effective, they are all impacting kids positively, and they all work to ensure students learn.

While I’ve worked alongside phenomenal educators, both veteran and novice, I’ve also worked alongside ineffective educators, both veteran and novice.

And it breaks my heart to see highly effective teachers receive the same “satisfactory” rating on their evaluations as those that clearly need significant and immediate assistance to improve.

To read the rest of the post, go to http://www.studentsfirst.org/blog/entry/a-teachers-two-cents

Talking about the state education code, we sent out a special email last week about the Students Matter case. (For a quick refresher on this pending litigation, go here - http://www.ctenhome.org/PDFdocs/CTENLTL11-12.pdf ) The lawyers are looking for teachers who want to become involved in the case and sent me the following to share with you:

For far too long, the voices of teachers have not been included in the conversation about the future of education and what's best for our students. 

The upcoming 20-day trial for Vergara v. California will offer teachers the unprecedented opportunity to be heard and make a difference. Vergara v. California is sponsored by Students Matter, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to sponsoring impact litigation to promote access to quality education. The groundbreaking statewide education lawsuit, filed by nine California public school students, challenges the state laws that handcuff K-12 administrators from making personnel decisions prioritizing teacher quality and serving the best interests of students.

In May, the court granted the Motion to Intervene filed by the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, allowing the state's two largest teachers unions to join the State of California in defending the status quo and keeping the state's harmful and outdated laws in place. 

As we gear up for trial, set to begin January 27, 2014, Students Matter is launching a statewide effort to elevate the voices of teachers advocating for change in our public schools. If you would like to join the conversation around the future of education and why having equal access to quality teachers is a key component of giving our children the quality education they deserve, please contact Jackie Matthews at jmatthews@griffinschein.com.

On another reform note, E4E’s Ama Nyamekye wrote a compelling op-ed in Huffington Post in response to the United Teachers of Los Angeles vote of no confidence in LAUSD chief John Deasy. She criticized the union for missing “a critical opportunity to have a substantive conversation about what could transform Los Angeles schools, instead forcing teachers to simply choose sides.” She went on to say,

Educators 4 Excellence recently interviewed members for their input on this "Vote of No Confidence" process, the approach to engaging teachers in critical conversations about leadership, and how it could be improved. We heard three overarching themes: 

• We need our union to be more transparent and informative
• We need our union to be solutions-oriented
• We need our union to fight for teachers and students

We wish Ms. Nyamekye well in her quest, though if past efforts to reform the teachers unions are any indication, it is doubtful that her ideas will be realized. To read her article, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ama-nyamekye/los-angeles-school-reform_b_3088825.html

In fact, if there is any doubt where CTA stands on reform issues and their advocates, the union sponsored a resolution at the state Democratic convention last month in Sacramento.

WHEREAS, the so-called “reform” initiatives of Students First, rely on destructive anti-educator policies that do nothing for students but blame educators and their unions for the ills of society, make testing the goal of education, shatter communities by closing their public schools, and see public schools as potential profit centers and children as measureable commodities; and

WHEREAS, the political action committee, entitled Democrats for Education Reform is funded by corporations, Republican operatives and wealthy individuals dedicated to privatization and anti-educator initiatives, and not grassroots democrats or classroom educators; and

WHEREAS, the billionaires funding Students First and Democrats for Education Reform are supporting candidates and local programs that would dismantle a free public education for every student in California and replace it with company run charter schools, non-credentialed teachers and unproven untested so-called “reforms”;

To see a clip of CTA president Dean Vogel’s talk at the convention, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ung8bB7lA4U  For my two cents on the resolution, go to http://www.city-journal.org/2013/cjc0516ls.html

The lawsuit we wrote about in the April letter is going forth. As the press release states,

The Center for Individual Rights (CIR) today filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of 10 California teachers and the Christian Educators Association International, challenging the constitutionality of California's "agency shop" law, which violates the First Amendment by forcing public school teachers to pay annual fees to support powerful teachers' unions extensively involved in political activity.  The suit was filed against the lead defendants, the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the National Education Association (NEA), as well as 10 affiliated local teachers' unions, and local school officials.

To continue reading the press release, go to http://news.yahoo.com/center-individual-rights-files-suit-behalf-non-union-160000721.html  To read the actual complaint, go to  http://www.cir-usa.org/due_complaint1.pdf

Confused by common core? You are not alone. Here is a brief video which has six noted education reformers weighing in on the subject - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Ev2ceWxSM&list=UUu5zghH1Ohi5kCk-VFjkuVA&index=1

As California’s fiscal future isn’t exactly rosy, it would behoove teachers to start looking at other pension options. A recent National Council on Teacher Quality post tells us that teachers aren’t as wedded to the “defined benefit” type of plan that many of us have come believe is sacrosanct.

There must be many state policymakers across the land who feel trapped between the fiscal reality that their teacher retirement systems are teetering under huge deficits that only continue to grow and the political perception that teachers are determined to keep their defined benefit pensions. 

But is that really how all teachers feel? A new study from Dan Goldhaber and Cyrus Grout adds to the growing evidence that many teachers are quite open to other types of pension plans. Goldhaber and Grout look at data from Washington state, where teachers have been able to choose between a traditional defined benefit plan and a hybrid plan that combines a defined benefit component with a defined contribution component.  

To continue reading, go to http://www.nctq.org/p/tqb/viewStory.jsp?id=33616

 

As always, we at CTEN want to thank you for your ongoing support. We value your feedback, which in turn helps us meet your needs by keeping you informed and provoking lively discussion.  

Sincerely,

Larry Sand

CTEN President

Dear Colleague, In the world of education, teacher evaluation has become a hot topic of late. In that vein, California state senator Ron Calderon introduced SB 441 in February. The bill, amended last week, can be read here - http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB441 . If you have any thoughts on this proposed legislation, it would be a good idea to make them known to your state legislator. On the subject of teacher evaluation, the National Council on Teacher Quality is continuing its in-depth study of evaluation policies in various school districts. Its latest report covers Oakland. The report is worth reading no matter what school district you work in because there will undoubtedly be aspects of the report that are similar to your circumstances. Some key findings: ·         Schools have too little say regarding who joins their faculty, meaning that they have no assurance that a teacher will be a good fit. Having this staffing authority is at the top of the wish list of principals we spoke to. ·         Oakland's teacher evaluation system is confusing, unhelpful to both teachers and the district, and is in dire need of an overhaul.  It identifies only a few teachers a year for extra support and does nothing to identify the district's superstars.  ·         The school day for elementary teachers is woefully short at 6-3/4 hours, leaving little time for Oakland's elementary teachers to meet with their colleagues.  To read the report, go to http://www.nctq.org/tr3/districtStudies/viewStudy.jsp?id=10 The yearly California dropout report was released last week and the news would appear to be good. According to the press release (http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr13/yr13rel42.asp), Graduation rates among California's public school students are climbing and dropout rates are falling, with the biggest gains being made among African-American and Hispanic students, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today. Overall, nearly eight out of 10 students, or 78.5 percent, who started high school in 2008-09 graduated with their class in 2012. That is up 1.4 percentage points from the year before (Table 1). Among African-American students, 65.7 percent graduated with their class in 2012, up 2.9 percentage points from the year before. Among Hispanic students, 73.2 percent graduated with their class, up 1.8 percentage points from the year before (Tables 2 and 3). But is the news really good? Whereas middle school dropouts have been ignored in the past, they are acknowledged in the press release, but not included in the dropout report. Also, there was no mention anywhere about those students who leave their district school for a county school and drop out from there. Bottom line: don’t take the report’s numbers too seriously. Our website has a lot of information about agency fee logistics as they pertain to NEA/CTA, but we don’t have information about AFT/CFT. If you who are an agency fee payer in an AFT/CFT district, I would appreciate your contacting CTEN and letting us know how your district handles union resignation. It would help us assist teachers who want to go the agency fee route. If you haven’t heard of Agenda 21 yet, you certainly will in the near future. People from both sides of the aisle are weighing in and most seem to be against it. For a general description, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_21 For an opinion from the left side - http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/ and from the right - http://www.eagleforumofcalifornia.com/ExposeAgenda21TaskForce1.html. Interestingly, there is a defense of Agenda 21 from a conservative former mayor – http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/07/gop-ditch-the-agenda-21-tinfoil-hat-brigade.html Michelle Rhee’s organization, StudentsFirst is looking for candidates for its Transformation Academy. Formerly known as the Teacher Fellows Program, the Teachers for Transformation Academy is now accepting applications for the 2013-14 cohort. StudentsFirst is seeking current, high performing teachers who believe all children can succeed despite challenges they face and who regard teaching as a high impact profession that should be structured to match the values of the responsibilities at stake. The program offers teachers the resources and tools to build and lead active networks of educators who want to create meaningful change across the education landscape. To learn more, go to http://www.studentsfirst.org/pages/open-jobs?jvi=obUgXfw2,Job If you have questions, please direct them to teachers@studentsfirst.org  CTEN sent out the results from its Survey Monkey poll a couple of weeks ago. In case you didn’t receive that email, the results can be seen here - https://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=Fo8bQGAy905_2fSULK_2fSc5fB9LL42y9F2I9yNqP5ABstA_3d Many thanks to those of you who took the time to respond. Not surprisingly, among other things, the results show that not all teachers are in lock-step with teacher union orthodoxy. Also, in case you missed it, we sent out an email last week concerning a possible lawsuit in California with the subject line, “Lawsuit against teachers' unions' forced collection of non-members' dues.” The body of the email: Dear Colleague, I have been contacted by attorneys from Washington, D.C., who are interested in bringing a lawsuit against teachers' unions' forced collection of non-members' dues. The basic theory of the lawsuit would be that the First Amendment prohibits the unions from forcing non-member teachers to subsidize their activities because those activities are inherently political. If they win the lawsuit, it would eliminate any obligation of public school teachers to pay dues to teacher unions if you don't want to. To help bring this lawsuit, the attorneys are looking for individual teachers who would be willing to participate. Participation would be completely free.   If you are interested, the best way to get involved would be as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. This would mean that when they file the lawsuit, you would be named as one of the people challenging the unions' legal authority to deduct dues from your paycheck. While the attorneys do not anticipate this taking much of your time, it is possible that, at some point, you would have to provide some information about your employment status and your school's collective bargaining agreement. It is also possible that you would someday be deposed about these issues (basically interviewed by lawyers for the other side). I am told that participation in this lawsuit is unlikely to require a major time commitment. Because the success of this suit would be a major benefit to all of you who object to subsidizing the teachers' unions, we encourage you to get involved. If you are interested, please let me know and I will pass your name along to the attorneys organizing the case. Thank you very much. Larry Sand We have received emails from a few teachers interested in becoming plaintiffs, but the lawyers would like to have more. So please shoot me an email if you are interested. Also, the lawyers would like to have a copy of an agency fee rebate letter. If you any of you have one, and are willing to share it, please scan and send a copy to cteninfo@ctenhome.org Thanks. As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, I was on a panel discussing education reform with Terry Moe, Gloria Romero and CTA president Dean Vogel. Before the panel discussion I taped a program called “The Right Side” which aired in northern California in March and is now available on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHTh1HYAC6w ) Gloria Romero also taped a segment, which can be seen here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mck1CIqHy-I   CTEN has two Facebook pages. If you have a Facebook account, we urge you to visit ours and let us know your thoughts. Having a dialogue among teachers is an effective way to spread information and experiences and to share ideas. Our original Facebook page can be found here http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=125866159932&ref=ts   Our second page, which deals with teacher evaluation and transparency, can be accessed here - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=126900987357825&ref=ts In any event, if you enjoy these letters and find them informative, please pass them along to your colleagues. We know that there are many independent-minded teachers in California who are looking for alternative sources of information. Thanks for your continuing support and interest. Sincerely, Larry Sand CTEN President