Attacks on the Teaching Profession Continue

HB 478 by Representative Simone Champagne who represents Iberia and Vermilion Parishes is purportedly an attempt to keep the best teachers in the classroom when teacher layoffs are necessary. (Click on the bill number to see the bill) It would do away with all seniority rights of teachers in determining the teachers selected for layoff and would instead use the teacher's ranking on the new Act 54 evaluation system. This means that the teachers ranking lowest on the evaluation system in a category targeted for layoff would be the first to be laid off. To the average observer, this may seem to be a fair and logical method for determining which teachers will stay and which will go in the event of a layoff. But let me explain the serious pitfalls of such a system.

Suppose a school system experiences a drop of student enrollment because maybe a large employer in the area shifts operations to another state causing many families to move. Suppose the local Superintendent determines that four teachers must be laid off from grades 3 through 5 out of a teaching staff totaling 25 teachers. Lets assume that all 25 teachers scored above the 50^th percentile on the Act 54 evaluation system which included satisfactory scores on the VAM portion by all 25 teachers. Let's also assume that the variation in scores were distributed over a 20 percentile range. This new law would require the local superintendent to lay off the bottom scoring 4 teachers without consideration of seniority. The problem is that statewide data analyzed so far indicates that teacher scores on VAM can often fluctuate by more than 20 percentile points from year to year even if the teacher teaches exactly the same way from year to year. Let's also suppose that two of the bottom 4 teachers on the ranking are within 3 years of retirement and they both have had excellent employment records and evaluations from their principals for all of their years as teachers. Let's also assume that their scores differed from the top scoring teacher by only 15 percentile points. The VAM data collected so far by the state indicates that this scenario is quite possible. If this law passes, the local superintendent would be forced to ignore all other factors and lay off these teachers who may have devoted their entire careers to this school system. They would be denied their full retirement benefits. I submit that such a law would be cruel and uncaring of the contributions a teacher has made over a long career. That's why I stated in an earlier post that these so called “reform” laws would change the employment status of a professional educator to the level of a teenage grocery store clerk!

The Louisiana legislature has no business interfering with local employment decisions based on this unstable evaluation system. How would they like it if the legislature dictated to their employer how to lay them off? This type of micro management would not be tolerated by any other profession. What if we mandated that doctors and lawyers be hired and fired based on their number of successful patients or clients. We know that these professionals cannot always control the behavior of their patients or clients. The same uncertainty of success also applies to teachers.

But here is the part that adds insult to injury for professional public school educators. This law would not apply to the voucher schools that may receive taxpayer support at the insistence of the Jindal administration. If they receive our tax monies for education why are they treated differently? This is just another one of the many double standards being applied to give a free ride to the voucher schools at the expense of Louisiana taxpayers.

Please consider talking to or sending an email to your legislators asking them to vote against this House Bill 478. This is a bill which is certain to further demoralize the teaching profession in Louisiana.

Jindal Reforms Based on Disrespect of Teachers

Please take the time to view this video of part of the House Education Committee that took place almost exactly one year ago. This occurred when part of Governor Jindal's education reform package was being introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill (HB 974) at that time by Rep. Carter on behalf of the Governor was designed to destroy teacher tenure just like the bill now being introduced by Senator Appel described in my previous post. Almost on a moment's notice as reported in this blog last year that the Governor intended to rush this through before teachers had a chance to react, several thousand teachers showed up wanting to testify on legislation that would possibly drastically change their profession forever. Please click on the link above to read last year's description of the legislation and tell me if I was right or not.

But the Governor's allies in the legislature including Rep. Nancy Landry and Simone Champagne representing Lafayette, Vermilion, and Iberia, were upset that teachers would have the nerve to leave their classrooms and object to their professional status being destroyed. I believe I have described the effect of this legislation as changing the employment status of a teacher to no more than that of a teenage grocery store clerk.

So Representative Landry made a motion seconded by Rep Champagne to require testifiers (for the first time in this legislative committee's history) to reveal what kind of leave they had taken to come and testify in this committee. But there were several legislators who spoke up to call this action what it really was: An attempt to intimidate citizens from participating in their government. It is ironic that this would be done to the very persons to whom we entrust the responsibility to teach this civic responsibility and right to our children.

Make no mistake about it. The entire Jindal "education reform" plan was based on disrespect for the teaching profession! If not, why would it strip teachers of seniority rights in layoffs that are enjoyed by many other employees. If not, why would it  immediately remove a teacher's tenure based on the test performance of a group of individuals who may or may not have listened to or cared about what was being presented in the classroom. If not, why would it make that one time performance on one test all the evidence needed to dismiss a teacher with 20 years of successful experience. If not, why would it set up a hearing process where two out of three of the hearing officers are beholding to those recommending a dismissal.

Those voting "yes" on the Landry intimidation motion were: Nancy Landry, Champagne, Broadwater, Henry Burns, Carmody, Cameron Henry, Hollis, Thompson, Shroeder and Carter.

Those voting against the Landry motion were: Wesley Bishop, Edwards, Alfred Williams, Pat Smith, Jefferson, Price, Richard, and Shadoin.

Special thanks should be given to those who spoke up as seen in the video and pointed out the real propose of the motion. This includes Senator Karen Carter Peterson who asked for special permission to speak on the motion even though this was unusual for a Senator to do.

So when these same bills come up in this year's legislative session, or in the special session the governor has said he may call, teachers must remember the humiliation that was attempted in last year's committee and be willing to rise to the challenge of once again defending our profession.

Teachers Fighting for Their Profession (3/15/2012)

Tenure Destruction Bill Reintroduced

Senator Conrad Appel has now reintroduced a bill (Senate Bill 89) to drastically reduce the due process needed for teacher dismissals. This bill would nullify a teacher's tenure status based on only one year of negative ratings using the new teacher evaluation system starting with the 2013-14 school year. Three separate independent researchers have published papers pointing out that the VAM portion of the new evaluation system is so inaccurate that it should never be used to dismiss or invalidate tenure based on only one year of data! For the very latest report on the flaws in VAM just click on this link to a report just sent to the legislature by Herb Bassett.

These are the same changes to tenure that were part of Act 1 of 2012 which has been ruled unconstitutional by a district court judge. This ruling is being appealed to the Supreme court by the Jindal administration. Observers see the new Appel bill as an effort to re institute the teacher tenure destruction law in the event the Supreme Court also rules Act 1 unconstitutional. This new law if passed would presumably meet constitutional requirements because it avoids the multiple subjects contained in Act 1.

Let me explain to you why I say this bill is the teacher tenure destruction bill. First, the bill does away with all tenure and all due process based on only one bad evaluation. Three independent researchers and the creator of VAM for Louisiana, Dr George Noell have all agreed that no decision on teacher ineffectiveness should be made based on only one year of VAM data. See this 5 minute video by Herb Bassett. Second, the Appel bill makes it clear that an evaluation of "ineffective" on the new evaluation without corroborative evidence of any kind is sufficient proof that the teacher is incompetent and therefore can be dismissed immediately. So having tenure means nothing if the case is open and shut just based on this one evaluation. Even if a teacher's principal has given a teacher excellent evaluations for many years and still gives a teacher a good evaluation on the observation portion of COMPASS, if the teacher falls in the bottom 10% of VAM, everything else is overruled and the teacher is declared "ineffective"! Third, and the coup de grace to tenure, is the kangaroo court nature of the tenure hearing under the Appel bill. If a teacher is recommended for dismissal, the tenure committee is stacked against the teacher. (You know the same way Jindal stacked the House and Senate Education Committees with his "yes men and gals" to insure that he could control all education legislation). The tenure hearing panel in the Appel bill would be composed of three members; one appointed by the Superintendent, one appointed by the principal and one appointed by the teacher. Need we say more?

My advice is that every educator who cares about fair treatment of teachers should immediately send an email to both their Senators and Representatives and ask them to vote against SB 89. You may want to cite just a little of the information I have given you above in your email.

Two Other Important Matters
Previous posts on this blog have made the point that all the RSD takeover schools in the Baton Rouge area have been total failures and the State is now trying to reorganize them and take over more schools to form an "Achievement Zone". I pointed out in previous posts that the takeover schools were so bad that parents pulled their children out and re enrolled them in the EBR public school system.

Now it turns out that so many students were lost by RSD that one of the schools taken over is now vacant and has been converted into a central office for RSD. Remember that White has always taken the position that a central office is unnecessary since it is better to put all authority for administration with the charter schools and cut out the bureaucracy. Well it turns out that Prescott Middle school in Baton Rouge is now being used as just such a central office by White's highly paid overseers. Well now a parent group in Baton Rouge is running a petition asking that Prescott Middle be returned to EBR since many of the students have returned and the school system needs the building! I have signed that petition and I would like to request that my readers sign it also if you agree that the RSD has no business keeping a building if they have no students to put in it. Just click on the link below and follow the steps for signing.
http://signon.org/sign/recovery-school-district?source=s.fwd&r_by=4468055

Please Consider Giving Financial Support to an Independent Voice on the schools in New Orleans

This blog does not take advertising, and I do not make one penny for publishing this blog which is dedicated to providing independent education information to educators and parents. But some causes require financial support.

Dr Raynard Sanders runs a weekly radio program called The New Orleans Imperative in New Orleans that tells the truth to parents and citizens about the RSD and its charters and the Jindal vouchers. It takes funding to keep this program on the air, so I am sending them a small contribution and I hope some of my readers will consider it also. This is how you do it.

Please join me in supporting the critical role of The New Orleans Imperative plays in advancing equity by making a donation to the The New Orleans Imperative. Donations can be made online at www.theneworleansimeprative.org or via U.S. and mail (make checks out to Faubourg St. Roch Improvement Association (checks to The New Orleans Imperative, c/o FSRIA, 1830 St. Roch St., New Orleans, LA 70117.

Faubourg St. Roch Improvement Association is a nonprofit 501(C) (3) organization. All financial contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of tax laws.