CORBETT’S CRUSADE? Many are asking the big question- how is it that a candidate who ran and won on making school reform his first priority hasn’t been successful in achieving real reform since he’s taken office? Meanwhile, the Governor has weighed in on the debate on online schooling, criticizing the notion that online schools should be well-enough funded to provide choices that hundreds of parents use and demand. For almost 18 straight months the Corbett team has permitted the Republican House to ignore SB 1, a pathbreaking school choice bill that passed last year. Then, an effort to improve the state’s charter law to incorporate higher education in authorizing has been stalled by the status quo supporting school districts. The Governor is now taking aim at cyber charters as if cutting their funds will close the state budget gap. As Governor Corbett himself said at a school choice forum during the campaign, good education is the key to economic solvency. The Pennsylvania House adjourns June 30 but there is still time to do a real reform package, if the will is there.

“TEAR DOWN THIS WALL.” Today is the anniversary of the famous Reagan challenge to Gorbachev at the Bradenberg Gate, calling on the Russian leader to destroy the Berlin Wall that separated a country and kept half in abysmal conditions. How fitting that a similar wall holds back kids in the U.S. from social justice parity and, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, stands as tall and solid as it was when many who were elected and promised to fight the status quo two years ago.

SWIFT BOAT OF REFORM. With far too many schools drowning academically, especially in Detroit, no wonder parent trigger is winding its way through the Michigan Legislature in order to make swift changes to boost achievement. Critics fire off that parent trigger is a draconian move that thwarts real progress to be made in the schools. The point they miss is that students just don’t have the time to wait around until adults work through the bureaucracy, bear a teacher strike, or deal with ineffective after ineffective school leader to come up with a solution for failing schools. A trigger says, to lift from the 1976 film Network, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” A perfectly fitting response for a parent whose child doesn’t have time to waste getting a dead-end education.

MODELING CHARTERS. The Faison K-5 school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s, Homewood neighborhood was failing to provide adequate, let alone exceptional, education opportunities for its students. Just to illustrate, in 2007, 95 percent of fifth-grade students fell below proficient in math and 88 percent in reading. This year, though, Faison is looking to turn itself around, with a teacher-led drive to bump up achievement. And who did they look to for a model? The John B. Stetson Charter School in Philadelphia. At first a small group from Faison visited Stetson, but soon after brought a larger group to view how the charter, located in a similarly disadvantaged community with kids who previously struggled to learn, created an environment that encouraged and inspired success. Charter success breeds success, even among traditional public schools when they have thoughtful leaders.

INVESTING IN REFORM. Bond investors are careful to analyze financial and operational assumptions of any investment before they jump in. So their increasing willingness to back charter schools is another indication of a reform that is here to stay.

SAVING CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. Catholic schools, most known for their dazzling success with inner-city students, are making a comeback as vouchers edge into the education scene. St. Stanislaus, for example, in East Chicago, Indiana, had enrollment jump nearly 40 percent in 2010 due to the state’s voucher program. Nationwide, the dip in enrollment of Catholic schools is slowing, showing “signs of growth even in cities without vouchers.” It’s no coincidence that Indiana, the state with the most expansive voucher program, also shows the most dramatic enrollment increases in Catholic schools. But, as the Wall Street Journal notes, Catholic schools in states without vouchers can benefit from wealthy Catholic business leaders who donate to keep the school up and running. Catholic schools nationwide certainly fill a niche, provide an environment conducive to learning at high levels and offer values, religious or not, that allow all students to feel safe, act responsibly and with care in the classroom.

UNION BEHAVIOR. Success for the Chicago Teacher’s Union is not assessed these days by improving student math skills and more, but by reaching the magic 75 percent figure in a vote to authorize a strike. The authorization vote is the first step for the union to call for a strike vote in the fall, should contract negotiations hit an impasse. An impasse is likely, since the union has batted heads with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his plan to lengthen the school day, install teacher evaluations with teeth and pass tenure reform. It’s not that Emmanuel’s proposals are particularly bold, either. Student growth will count for a mere 15 percent of a teacher’s evaluation in year one, increasing to only 25 percent by year five. But as CER’s Jeanne Allen says in the Tribune, Emanuel has been “clear that notions like ironclad tenure and seniority should not be a proxy for a teacher’s performance.” Still there’s no guarantee he’s willing to fight them to the finish line, but at least it’s a start.

STRIKES COST. Teachers on strike cost, not only in days students loose in learning, but in real dollars. In Pennsylvania’s Neshaminy school district, teachers went on strike, although returning a day later due to a judge’s order. There may still be a risk that a strike goes into effect and, if they do, just as in Chicago, an increase in the average salary and benefit cost per teacher may just knock a fatigued economy into a flatline. Taxpayers for a Fair Neshaminy School Budget recently put together a chart that shows exactly how much the true cost is of teachers in that district. Of course, paying well for top teachers is essential, but in Neshaminy just as in Chicago, there is no guarantee that money goes for excellence nor that the union is considering, at all, the fiscal responsibility of the state.
]]> http://www.edreform.com/2012/06/june-12-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.edreform.com/2012/03/federal-lawsuit-over-michigan-teacher-tenure-reform/ http://www.edreform.com/2012/03/federal-lawsuit-over-michigan-teacher-tenure-reform/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:39:51 +0000 admin http://www.edreform.com/?p=6753 “Teachers union files lawsuit over Michigan Teacher Tenure Act”
by Lori Higgins
Detroit Free Press
March 8, 2012

A local teachers union is challenging aspects of Michigan’s Teacher Tenure Act, saying in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that a controversial amendment made to the law last summer is unconstitutional.

The amendment barred school districts from using seniority as the determining factor when making layoff decisions — tossing aside traditional “last in, first out” procedures.

The amendment was part of sweeping changes to Michigan’s tenure act. Michael Lee, a Southfield attorney representing the Southfield Education Association, said he believes it is the first time the changes have been challenged in federal court.

The case, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, stems from a dispute in the Southfield Public Schools that began when the district laid off teachers last summer. Lee said the district did not follow its own procedures for recalling teachers — procedures that were put in place following passage of the tenure changes.

That part of the dispute is addressed in a lawsuit the union filed in circuit court last month. The federal lawsuit addresses the broader issue of whether the amendment itself is lawful.

Lee said the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized tenure as a property right in cases that go back as far as 1978.

“Once you pass legislation that says ignore tenure and people are laid off as a result, you have taken away that property right, and you have done that without due process,” Lee said.

Ari Adler, spokesman for state House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said the amendment was part of needed changes in tenure laws for teachers. Legislation to enact the changes originated in the House.

“The focus was to do what we could to protect good teachers and ensure a high quality of education for the students,” Adler said. “We were hearing a number of stories where there were young teachers who were outstanding in their profession but were being laid off simply because they did not have the seniority.”

Doug Pratt, spokesman for the Michigan Education Association — the state’s largest teachers union with 157,000 members — said his organization warned lawmakers last summer that “stripping away these collective-bargaining rights … leaves no ability to use the process that’s been used for years to figure out these issues. The only thing these employees can resort to is taking their case to federal court.”

Southfield Public Schools officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Schools would have to accept new reforms in exchange for the waiver, and state Superintendent Mike Flanagan said that includes a new report card to hold schools accountable for student performance – including the achievement gaps between various student groups. Read More…

LANSING – Companies managing charter schools would no longer pay property taxes as part of reforms aimed at luring successful out-of-state operators to Michigan.

The package is headed to the state Senate, with a vote expected in the next two weeks. It includes lifting a cap on university-approved charter schools and allowing all public schools to hire companies to provide teachers.

Supporters say the bills are intended to spark more competition for struggling schools, but critics charge competition alone won’t help them do better.

“They’ve taken a free-market approach to education and providing parents with more and more choices and seeing if anything sticks,” said Donald Wotruba, deputy director for the Michigan Association of School Boards.

“But when you have a struggling business, you either shut it down or use resources to fix it. They’re doing neither to the low-performing schools.”

The reforms passed the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday on a party line vote.

Committee Chairman Phil Pavlov said it’s fair to waive property taxes for charter schools because they can’t collect taxes for new buildings or improvements, as districts do, He said tax payments for charters mean taking money from the classroom.

“I look at this as a tax abatement,” said Pavlov, R-St. Chair Township. “Governments offer tax abatements to industries all the time, so why not for education?”

The savings to schools or their landlords would be considerable. Property taxes for National Heritage Academy’s Knapp Charter Academy in Grand Rapids Township were $90,800 in 2010. The company manages 44 schools in Michigan.

Pavlov also said allowing charter schools and traditional districts to contract with outsiders to provide teachers is intended to allow districts flexibility and cost saving, not break unions, as critics contend.

Districts pay an amount equal to 24 percent of each employee’s salary into the state retirement fund, but do not have to pay into the system for contracted employees.

Wotruba said the school board association opposes privatizing teachers, adding that districts might save money but could lose control.

“I know our schools outsource transportation and janitorial services, and those people have some contact with kids,” he said. “But that’s a lot different than privatizing your teachers.”

Lobbyists expect the bills to clear the Senate, but they could meet resistance in the House, Wotruba said. He believes the goal is to have a bill on Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk by the end of November.

But a teacher union leader questions whether Pavlov can muster Senate support.

“This is going to be a step too far for many people, and it’s going to be a hard sell to the public,” said Doug Pratt, the Michigan Education Association’s public policy director.

“I’d hate to be in their seats when the public realizes that their local, neighborhood schools are under attack.”

Michigan has 255 charter schools, intended to be innovative, independent schools approved by a public university, community college or school district. Expanding their numbers is among reforms backed by state GOP leaders and President Obama.

But lawmakers and university leaders said obstacles – especially the cap on university-approved schools – are preventing successful groups in other states from setting up in Michigan.

A national school choice group said the changes could attract more operators, but noted Michigan already is charter friendly.

Michigan is ranked No. 5 by the Center for Education Reform, out of 41 states and the District of Columbia with charter laws.

Allowing community colleges and universities to authorize charters is considered a plus, and Central Michigan University is a national leader in school oversight, said Alison Consoletti, vice president for research with the Washington, D.C., group.

“There are states that allow only school boards to authorize schools, and not all of them are open to the idea of allowing competition,” she said.

Timothy Wood, who heads Grand Valley State University’s charter school office, said operators also want to have one board oversee multiple charter schools.

GVSU is the state’s second-largest authorizer with 44 schools and three set to open in 2012. He said the university would add schools, but wouldn’t expand dramatically if the cap is lifted.

“We’re looking at growth with quality,” Wood said. “We’re going to look to those quality operators who have demonstrated success, not open schools just to open them.”

He said university charter authorizers met recently with leaders from California-based Rocketship Education, Massachusetts-based Lighthouse Academies and Minnesota-based SABIS School Network, which already operates schools in Flint, Saginaw and Detroit.

Representatives from Rocketship were among those testifying before the Senate Education Committee.

So, in the face of all that accomplishment, and with nothing else seeming to occupy their legislative agenda, what could responsible elected officials do other than reward DPS?

1) Allow for more choice and educational opportunity for Detroit children and their parents. ↓

2) Tighten financial accountability to ensure money is going where it should. ↓

3) Throw more money and resources at the problem in hopes that it will go away. ↑

House Democrats have seen fit to lower the standards of what defines a “first class school district” from 100,000 students to 60,000 students, allowing for continued funding and other perks.

One perk the teachers’ union has fought for is blocking charter school growth in the city. With a current enrollment of just over 94,000 kids, Detroit is poised to lose its “first class” standing under current law. Without a legislative re-definition, the restriction on community colleges authorizing new charter schools would be lifted.

The House may consider the new definition of a “first class school district” today, and with a party line vote expected, congratulations to DPS and the teachers’ union on your victory. If you lower expectations enough, perhaps one day you will be seen as successful.

Keep up the good work.