By Christina A. Samuels | Ed Week
November 19, 2010
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has formally requested a state waiver to make publishing executive Cathleen P. Black the city’s schools chief, even as opposition to her selection has become more vocal this week.
Ms. Black is a person of “extraordinary skills and accomplishments” with firsthand knowledge of the demands and challenges of today’s workplace, the mayor wrote in a six-page appeal to state Commissioner of Education David M. Steiner. The letter dated Nov. 17, was posted on the website of The New York Times.
Under state law, district leaders in New York are required to have at least three years of teaching experience, a master’s degree or higher, and successful completion of a professional certificate in educational leadership. The commissioner is allowed to grant a waiver, however, for “exceptionally qualified” people.
Read on...
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Why learning languages matters
This is a really thoughtful blog post worth reading.
-Patricia
By Dr Shirley Lawes | Battle of Ideas Blog
Friday, 19 November 2010
Ask most adults if they think that being able to speak another language is a good thing and they will invariably answer ‘Yes’ and then add, ‘ but I was useless at it at school’. Ask them why it’s a good thing, and they start to flounder. Vague answers about how the economy needs people who speak other languages is the most common response, followed by how useful it is to be able to “get by” on holiday abroad. That’s a fair enough response from the general public, but when the needs of the economy and tourism are the reasons policy-makers, teachers and government give to justify the importance of foreign language learning, then you know we’re in trouble.
Why? Instrumental arguments for learning languages are problematic because they are restrictive and reductive. They are, however, prevalent and difficult to challenge in the present climate where education has come to be seen in almost entirely instrumental terms. We no longer talk about a body of subject knowledge to be transmitted, but of skills to be acquired and applied. The aims and purposes of education now serve directly the perceived needs of society and the economy rather than being seen as a good in itself concerned with the intellectual development of the individual. No longer do we see any intrinsic value in education; ‘useful’ knowledge is all that counts.
From this perspective, the study of other languages becomes a marginal pursuit, at a time when English is the global language of business. But if we take the view that foreign languages have a broader cultural and intellectual role to play both in education and society, as well as contributing to the personal enrichment of the individual, then the position of the English language takes on a relative rather than dominant position.
Defences of foreign languages as a field of knowledge in its own terms are few and far between at the present time. Even those who recognise the contribution of foreign languages to the all-round education and personal development of individuals and the subject’s potential for broadening the horizons of young people, often still feel the need to justify their arguments in instrumental and functional terms. Perhaps what such arguments miss is to recognise what is unique about foreign language learning. The study of a foreign language has a unique transformational capacity that differentiates it from other subject disciplines in the potential that knowledge of foreign languages has of opening individuals up to human culture. As the veteran language teacher and academic, Eric Hawkins once wrote, the study of foreign languages serves to, ‘emancipate the learner from parochialism’.
Foreign languages have the unique potential of breaking down barriers between people and countries and promoting a sense of universalism in an individualised world. This is at the heart of what makes the study of foreign languages unique and that is why I believe that they should be an important part of every young person’s education throughout their schooling. Never mind the needs of the economy.
-Patricia
By Dr Shirley Lawes | Battle of Ideas Blog
Friday, 19 November 2010
Ask most adults if they think that being able to speak another language is a good thing and they will invariably answer ‘Yes’ and then add, ‘ but I was useless at it at school’. Ask them why it’s a good thing, and they start to flounder. Vague answers about how the economy needs people who speak other languages is the most common response, followed by how useful it is to be able to “get by” on holiday abroad. That’s a fair enough response from the general public, but when the needs of the economy and tourism are the reasons policy-makers, teachers and government give to justify the importance of foreign language learning, then you know we’re in trouble.
Why? Instrumental arguments for learning languages are problematic because they are restrictive and reductive. They are, however, prevalent and difficult to challenge in the present climate where education has come to be seen in almost entirely instrumental terms. We no longer talk about a body of subject knowledge to be transmitted, but of skills to be acquired and applied. The aims and purposes of education now serve directly the perceived needs of society and the economy rather than being seen as a good in itself concerned with the intellectual development of the individual. No longer do we see any intrinsic value in education; ‘useful’ knowledge is all that counts.
From this perspective, the study of other languages becomes a marginal pursuit, at a time when English is the global language of business. But if we take the view that foreign languages have a broader cultural and intellectual role to play both in education and society, as well as contributing to the personal enrichment of the individual, then the position of the English language takes on a relative rather than dominant position.
Defences of foreign languages as a field of knowledge in its own terms are few and far between at the present time. Even those who recognise the contribution of foreign languages to the all-round education and personal development of individuals and the subject’s potential for broadening the horizons of young people, often still feel the need to justify their arguments in instrumental and functional terms. Perhaps what such arguments miss is to recognise what is unique about foreign language learning. The study of a foreign language has a unique transformational capacity that differentiates it from other subject disciplines in the potential that knowledge of foreign languages has of opening individuals up to human culture. As the veteran language teacher and academic, Eric Hawkins once wrote, the study of foreign languages serves to, ‘emancipate the learner from parochialism’.
Foreign languages have the unique potential of breaking down barriers between people and countries and promoting a sense of universalism in an individualised world. This is at the heart of what makes the study of foreign languages unique and that is why I believe that they should be an important part of every young person’s education throughout their schooling. Never mind the needs of the economy.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Latino kids now majority in state's public schools
This is astounding. Latino students make up 3.1 million students out of 6.2 students statewide (total no. of students), as compared to 1.7 million whites, 526k Asians, and 424k Blacks (and 335k others). Texas, Florida and many other states are rapidly headed in this direction. We increasingly need enlightened policies that take into consideration the cultural, social, and economic situatedness of this group.
Angela
Latino kids now majority in state's public schools
Will Kane, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Latinos now make up a majority of California's public school students, cracking the 50 percent barrier for the first time in the state's history, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Education.
Almost 50.4 percent of the state's students in the 2009-10 school year identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, up 1.36 percent from the previous year.
In comparison, 27 percent of California's 6.2 million students identified themselves as white, 9 percent as Asian and 7 percent as black. Students calling themselves Filipino, Pacific Islander, Native American or other total almost 7 percent.
While the result was no surprise to educators, experts say the shift underscores the huge impact Latinos already have on California's politics, economy and school system.
That influence will only grow as Latino parents - now in the majority - realize many of the schools their children attend are underfunded, said Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley.
"It turns upside down how we think about California students," he said.
"A lot depends on the extent to which Latino parents come together and organize," Fuller added. "These are parents who historically have not had much political power. But as they are coming together and feeling their oats, they may organize around education."
corresponding growth
It's no surprise that Latinos make up the new majority in California schools, considering that their numbers have grown by leaps and bounds in recent decades. In 2009, Latinos made up 37 percent of the state's population, a number that continues to increase, according to the California Department of Finance.
But their electoral sway has not grown by similar amounts, because almost 40 percent of adult Latinos in California are ineligible to vote, said Lisa Garcia Bedolla, an associate professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education.
The challenge, she said, is finding ways to get Latino parents involved in schools when they cannot vote for members of their local school board.
"How do we come up with constructive ways to do that, considering the limitations on how these parents can participate? That's the question from here," she said.
In San Francisco, where an estimated one-third of public school students have a parent who was not born in this country, voters were asked this month to allow noncitizens to vote in school board elections. While Proposition D lost, 45 to 55 percent, the support the ballot measure received from civic leaders showed the growing concern about the role of immigrant parents in local schools.
electoral clout
While underrepresented on the voting rolls, Latino voters are an increasingly important factor in California elections.
In this month's gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Meg Whitman's firing of an undocumented immigrant housekeeper who worked for her for nine years, and her handling of the controversy after the employment was disclosed, was seen as damaging her standing among Latinos and hurting her at the polls.
In that election, 16 percent of likely voters were expected to be Latino, according to a Field Poll released the day of the election. Latinos now make up 22 percent of the state's registered voters, according to the same survey.
California schools need to do a better job of reaching out to that increasing number of Latino students, said David Gomez, president of the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators and a school superintendent in Ventura County.
everybody bilingual?
Nearly 1.5 million students are English language learners, but many more still struggle in the classroom with difficult, subject-specific terms, he said.
"For example, if you are studying social science, understanding words like 'justice' and 'beauty' can be difficult," he said. "In math, it can be even harder."
Fuller, the UC Berkeley professor, suggested state educators look at language education in an entirely new way.
"If the majority of the population is becoming bilingual," he said, referring to the growing Latino population learning English, "why shouldn't the white minority also become bilingual?"
latino students by the numbers
Hispanic or Latino students now make up a majority of public school students in California. Here is the statewide breakdown compared with major Bay Area school districts.
The full report can be found at the California Department of Education website at sfgate.com/ZEFD.
Angela
Latino kids now majority in state's public schools
Will Kane, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Latinos now make up a majority of California's public school students, cracking the 50 percent barrier for the first time in the state's history, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Education.
Almost 50.4 percent of the state's students in the 2009-10 school year identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, up 1.36 percent from the previous year.
In comparison, 27 percent of California's 6.2 million students identified themselves as white, 9 percent as Asian and 7 percent as black. Students calling themselves Filipino, Pacific Islander, Native American or other total almost 7 percent.
While the result was no surprise to educators, experts say the shift underscores the huge impact Latinos already have on California's politics, economy and school system.
That influence will only grow as Latino parents - now in the majority - realize many of the schools their children attend are underfunded, said Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley.
"It turns upside down how we think about California students," he said.
"A lot depends on the extent to which Latino parents come together and organize," Fuller added. "These are parents who historically have not had much political power. But as they are coming together and feeling their oats, they may organize around education."
corresponding growth
It's no surprise that Latinos make up the new majority in California schools, considering that their numbers have grown by leaps and bounds in recent decades. In 2009, Latinos made up 37 percent of the state's population, a number that continues to increase, according to the California Department of Finance.
But their electoral sway has not grown by similar amounts, because almost 40 percent of adult Latinos in California are ineligible to vote, said Lisa Garcia Bedolla, an associate professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education.
The challenge, she said, is finding ways to get Latino parents involved in schools when they cannot vote for members of their local school board.
"How do we come up with constructive ways to do that, considering the limitations on how these parents can participate? That's the question from here," she said.
In San Francisco, where an estimated one-third of public school students have a parent who was not born in this country, voters were asked this month to allow noncitizens to vote in school board elections. While Proposition D lost, 45 to 55 percent, the support the ballot measure received from civic leaders showed the growing concern about the role of immigrant parents in local schools.
electoral clout
While underrepresented on the voting rolls, Latino voters are an increasingly important factor in California elections.
In this month's gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Meg Whitman's firing of an undocumented immigrant housekeeper who worked for her for nine years, and her handling of the controversy after the employment was disclosed, was seen as damaging her standing among Latinos and hurting her at the polls.
In that election, 16 percent of likely voters were expected to be Latino, according to a Field Poll released the day of the election. Latinos now make up 22 percent of the state's registered voters, according to the same survey.
California schools need to do a better job of reaching out to that increasing number of Latino students, said David Gomez, president of the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators and a school superintendent in Ventura County.
everybody bilingual?
Nearly 1.5 million students are English language learners, but many more still struggle in the classroom with difficult, subject-specific terms, he said.
"For example, if you are studying social science, understanding words like 'justice' and 'beauty' can be difficult," he said. "In math, it can be even harder."
Fuller, the UC Berkeley professor, suggested state educators look at language education in an entirely new way.
"If the majority of the population is becoming bilingual," he said, referring to the growing Latino population learning English, "why shouldn't the white minority also become bilingual?"
latino students by the numbers
Hispanic or Latino students now make up a majority of public school students in California. Here is the statewide breakdown compared with major Bay Area school districts.
The full report can be found at the California Department of Education website at sfgate.com/ZEFD.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Immigration, budget top Texas lawmakers' agendas
For those of you who are interested in staying connected with the pieces of legislation being filed, start by going to the Texas State Legislature MyTLO website and create an account.
I also encourage you to use Google Reader, or another RSS feed to receive updated news on pieces of legislation and committee hearings.
-Patricia
By APRIL CASTRO Associated Press | Houston Chronicle
Nov. 8, 2010,
AUSTIN, Texas — Cracking down on illegal immigrants in Texas — on the roads, at schools and in the work force — was the focus of many bills Texas lawmakers filed Monday, the first day for proposing legislation to be considered in the upcoming session.
With a bigger majority in the House, Republican lawmakers and lawmakers-elect also want to make it legal for concealed handgun license holders to carry handguns on college campuses, prohibit state money from going to facilities that perform abortions and keep Texas from enforcing new federal health care laws.
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, spent Saturday and Sunday nights in front of the chief clerk's office in the Texas House to be the first in line to file her bills.
The first one she filed when the office opened Monday morning was a proposal to require voters to provide proof of eligibility with either one form of photo identification or two forms of non-photo ID.
"A visitor that walked by told me that I reminded them of the kids that camp out for Duke basketball tickets in Durham, North Carolina," Riddle said. "It was eye-opening to realize that people think it's normal to be passionate about something like college basketball, but odd to be passionate about your state's politics."
She also filed measures that would make it a violation of state law for illegal immigrants to be in Texas, allowing state and local police officers to arrest them, and requiring school districts to report the number of illegal immigrants enrolled.
Riddle's were among dozens of hardline bills on immigration filed on the first day.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, filed a similar bill that would allow suspicious law enforcement officers to inquire about a person's immigration status and make an arrest based on the answer. His measure also makes an officer, his agency and state and local officials immune from any resulting litigation.
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed a measure that would require all state and local governments and their contractors to use E-Verify — a joint program of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration used to verify workers' immigration status.
By midday, 338 bills had been filed in both the House and Senate. Last session, almost 7,500 bills were filed, but less than 20 percent of them became law.
Lawmakers have until March 11 to file bills.
The Legislature is set to convene for the biennial session on Jan. 11 and will adjourn May 30.
Monitoring immigration legislation will be a priority for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas during the session.
"On the first day of prefiling, it's pretty tough to know what's going to happen during a legislative session," ACLU lobbyist Matthew Simpson said. But, he called the focus on immigration a "solution in search of a problem."
"It's almost a red herring, at least a diversion or a move away from what I think are the critical issues facing the state," he said.
Some of the proposed legislation also reflects the dire situation lawmakers will face when writing the next two-year state budget. Texas has an expected shortfall of more than $20 billion. One bill would require all school districts to consolidate into countywide districts. Another proposal would eliminate the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and consolidate its duties with the Texas Education Agency.
Nelson filed a handful of bills that would require state agencies to streamline operations.
Patrick also filed a bill that would make it illegal for former lawmakers to become registered lobbyists until two legislative sessions after they've left office. The measure would likely hamper the plans of many of the 21 Democrats who lost their re-election bids last week.
I also encourage you to use Google Reader, or another RSS feed to receive updated news on pieces of legislation and committee hearings.
-Patricia
By APRIL CASTRO Associated Press | Houston Chronicle
Nov. 8, 2010,
AUSTIN, Texas — Cracking down on illegal immigrants in Texas — on the roads, at schools and in the work force — was the focus of many bills Texas lawmakers filed Monday, the first day for proposing legislation to be considered in the upcoming session.
With a bigger majority in the House, Republican lawmakers and lawmakers-elect also want to make it legal for concealed handgun license holders to carry handguns on college campuses, prohibit state money from going to facilities that perform abortions and keep Texas from enforcing new federal health care laws.
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, spent Saturday and Sunday nights in front of the chief clerk's office in the Texas House to be the first in line to file her bills.
The first one she filed when the office opened Monday morning was a proposal to require voters to provide proof of eligibility with either one form of photo identification or two forms of non-photo ID.
"A visitor that walked by told me that I reminded them of the kids that camp out for Duke basketball tickets in Durham, North Carolina," Riddle said. "It was eye-opening to realize that people think it's normal to be passionate about something like college basketball, but odd to be passionate about your state's politics."
She also filed measures that would make it a violation of state law for illegal immigrants to be in Texas, allowing state and local police officers to arrest them, and requiring school districts to report the number of illegal immigrants enrolled.
Riddle's were among dozens of hardline bills on immigration filed on the first day.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, filed a similar bill that would allow suspicious law enforcement officers to inquire about a person's immigration status and make an arrest based on the answer. His measure also makes an officer, his agency and state and local officials immune from any resulting litigation.
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed a measure that would require all state and local governments and their contractors to use E-Verify — a joint program of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration used to verify workers' immigration status.
By midday, 338 bills had been filed in both the House and Senate. Last session, almost 7,500 bills were filed, but less than 20 percent of them became law.
Lawmakers have until March 11 to file bills.
The Legislature is set to convene for the biennial session on Jan. 11 and will adjourn May 30.
Monitoring immigration legislation will be a priority for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas during the session.
"On the first day of prefiling, it's pretty tough to know what's going to happen during a legislative session," ACLU lobbyist Matthew Simpson said. But, he called the focus on immigration a "solution in search of a problem."
"It's almost a red herring, at least a diversion or a move away from what I think are the critical issues facing the state," he said.
Some of the proposed legislation also reflects the dire situation lawmakers will face when writing the next two-year state budget. Texas has an expected shortfall of more than $20 billion. One bill would require all school districts to consolidate into countywide districts. Another proposal would eliminate the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and consolidate its duties with the Texas Education Agency.
Nelson filed a handful of bills that would require state agencies to streamline operations.
Patrick also filed a bill that would make it illegal for former lawmakers to become registered lobbyists until two legislative sessions after they've left office. The measure would likely hamper the plans of many of the 21 Democrats who lost their re-election bids last week.
Monday, November 8, 2010
HISD looks at how to grade teachers
New criteria for evaluation will likely include kids' test scores
By ERICKA MELLON | HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Nov. 8, 2010
About 99 percent of teachers in the Houston school district receive satisfactory job evaluations, with their students' academic success barely playing a factor.
That's likely to change next year. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the school board are developing a new appraisal system for the district's 13,000 teachers. The process will affect who's promoted and fired, as well as the training teachers receive.
The nitty-gritty of evaluations might seem incidental, but the topic has become a cornerstone of public education reform, with President Barack Obama calling on schools to hold teachers more accountable for their students' performance.
Ann Best, the Houston Independent School District's chief human resources officer, acknowledged that teachers are nervous about the changes, but she said they, along with parents and administrators, are represented on committees developing the new criteria.
"This effort is designed to ensure that we have effective teachers in all of our classrooms," Best said, "and part of having effective teachers is giving teachers really clear feedback about their performance. What we should expect coming out of this initiative is more effective teachers in our schools."
Still, HISD's largest teachers group is threatening a possible challenge at the Texas Education Agency.
Texas law says any teacher evaluation systems that veer from the state-approved model must be "developed by" school-based committees and a district-level committee.
Gayle Fallon, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, questioned whether HISD officials are letting the committees drive the process as required.
"What we're getting back from the teachers is they feel they're window dressing — that all the decisions have been made," Fallon said. "If (the new evaluation) isn't really developed by them and accepted by them, then we will promise a challenge at the state."
Best and Dan Weisberg of the New Teacher Project, a nonprofit helping HISD with the evaluation process, rejected the claim that teachers are being sidelined.
"There is no secret tool in any file that someone could say it's already been developed," Best said.
Sticking point
Committees have met over the last two months and, according to a presentation made to the school board, have agreed on three broad categories for the ratings: student performance, instructional practice and professional expectations.
The main sticking point, by all accounts, will be how to define student performance. The current appraisal tool focuses mostly on principals' observations of teachers — not on student test scores or other data.
The HISD board approved in February a policy ordering future evaluations to include an analysis of test score data called value-added, but trustees did not set any details, such as how much the scores should count in teacher ratings.
Value-added is meant to be a statistical measure of teacher effectiveness, looking at whether students' test scores met, exceeded or fell below expectations based on each child's past performance.
Fallon, whose union represents more than 7,000 educators, said it would be a "deal breaker" if the evaluations included the value-added data that HISD uses to determine teachers' bonuses. She and Chuck Robinson, who heads the district's second-largest teacher group, repeatedly have said the formula developed by North Carolina statistician Bill Sanders is confusing and unreliable.
HISD model criticized
HISD's general counsel, Elneita Hutchins-Taylor, declined to speculate what would happen if the committees decide against making value-added data part of the evaluation as the board policy mandates.
"It's premature for us to comment on what will or will not be in there," she said. "Obviously the board policy exists. I think it's a policy of an aspirational nature."
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, met with members of the Houston chapter in October to encourage them to work with the district to adopt an "evaluation system that does look at both teacher observations and student learning."
Weingarten made headlines in January when she said she favored including student test scores and other measures of student performance in evaluations. But she has blasted HISD's value-added model.
"The more we look at it, the more concerned we are it's not ready for prime time," she said. "It's like a weather forecast."
A study of four years of teachers' evaluations in HISD found, as in other districts nationwide, that few teachers got poor marks. Of all the ratings, 62 percent were "exceeds expectations" and 37 percent were "proficient." The other 1 percent were "below expectations" or "unsatisfactory."
Best said she expects the new appraisal to better differentiate among teachers.
"To me it's impossible that nearly 100 percent of our staff are performing at the highest levels because there are varying levels of performance in any profession," she said.
Robinson, who leads the Congress of Houston Teachers, said it's more important to train principals or other evaluators than to change the appraisal document.
"It's the way it's applied and used and the kinds of instructional leadership you have in a building," he said, adding that teachers expect the new evaluation will lead to more firings.
"There's just a lot of fear, a lot of insecurity and a lot of mistrust - and not from people who are lazy, indifferent people who just want to collect a paycheck."
The focus of the evaluations, Best said, will be on helping teachers improve their skills.
"What we want to assure people of is the first step is not termination," she said. "The first step is having accurate data to inform a plan for your development. Then we have to assess the extent to which the implementation of that plan actually works."
By ERICKA MELLON | HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Nov. 8, 2010
About 99 percent of teachers in the Houston school district receive satisfactory job evaluations, with their students' academic success barely playing a factor.
That's likely to change next year. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the school board are developing a new appraisal system for the district's 13,000 teachers. The process will affect who's promoted and fired, as well as the training teachers receive.
The nitty-gritty of evaluations might seem incidental, but the topic has become a cornerstone of public education reform, with President Barack Obama calling on schools to hold teachers more accountable for their students' performance.
Ann Best, the Houston Independent School District's chief human resources officer, acknowledged that teachers are nervous about the changes, but she said they, along with parents and administrators, are represented on committees developing the new criteria.
"This effort is designed to ensure that we have effective teachers in all of our classrooms," Best said, "and part of having effective teachers is giving teachers really clear feedback about their performance. What we should expect coming out of this initiative is more effective teachers in our schools."
Still, HISD's largest teachers group is threatening a possible challenge at the Texas Education Agency.
Texas law says any teacher evaluation systems that veer from the state-approved model must be "developed by" school-based committees and a district-level committee.
Gayle Fallon, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, questioned whether HISD officials are letting the committees drive the process as required.
"What we're getting back from the teachers is they feel they're window dressing — that all the decisions have been made," Fallon said. "If (the new evaluation) isn't really developed by them and accepted by them, then we will promise a challenge at the state."
Best and Dan Weisberg of the New Teacher Project, a nonprofit helping HISD with the evaluation process, rejected the claim that teachers are being sidelined.
"There is no secret tool in any file that someone could say it's already been developed," Best said.
Sticking point
Committees have met over the last two months and, according to a presentation made to the school board, have agreed on three broad categories for the ratings: student performance, instructional practice and professional expectations.
The main sticking point, by all accounts, will be how to define student performance. The current appraisal tool focuses mostly on principals' observations of teachers — not on student test scores or other data.
The HISD board approved in February a policy ordering future evaluations to include an analysis of test score data called value-added, but trustees did not set any details, such as how much the scores should count in teacher ratings.
Value-added is meant to be a statistical measure of teacher effectiveness, looking at whether students' test scores met, exceeded or fell below expectations based on each child's past performance.
Fallon, whose union represents more than 7,000 educators, said it would be a "deal breaker" if the evaluations included the value-added data that HISD uses to determine teachers' bonuses. She and Chuck Robinson, who heads the district's second-largest teacher group, repeatedly have said the formula developed by North Carolina statistician Bill Sanders is confusing and unreliable.
HISD model criticized
HISD's general counsel, Elneita Hutchins-Taylor, declined to speculate what would happen if the committees decide against making value-added data part of the evaluation as the board policy mandates.
"It's premature for us to comment on what will or will not be in there," she said. "Obviously the board policy exists. I think it's a policy of an aspirational nature."
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, met with members of the Houston chapter in October to encourage them to work with the district to adopt an "evaluation system that does look at both teacher observations and student learning."
Weingarten made headlines in January when she said she favored including student test scores and other measures of student performance in evaluations. But she has blasted HISD's value-added model.
"The more we look at it, the more concerned we are it's not ready for prime time," she said. "It's like a weather forecast."
A study of four years of teachers' evaluations in HISD found, as in other districts nationwide, that few teachers got poor marks. Of all the ratings, 62 percent were "exceeds expectations" and 37 percent were "proficient." The other 1 percent were "below expectations" or "unsatisfactory."
Best said she expects the new appraisal to better differentiate among teachers.
"To me it's impossible that nearly 100 percent of our staff are performing at the highest levels because there are varying levels of performance in any profession," she said.
Robinson, who leads the Congress of Houston Teachers, said it's more important to train principals or other evaluators than to change the appraisal document.
"It's the way it's applied and used and the kinds of instructional leadership you have in a building," he said, adding that teachers expect the new evaluation will lead to more firings.
"There's just a lot of fear, a lot of insecurity and a lot of mistrust - and not from people who are lazy, indifferent people who just want to collect a paycheck."
The focus of the evaluations, Best said, will be on helping teachers improve their skills.
"What we want to assure people of is the first step is not termination," she said. "The first step is having accurate data to inform a plan for your development. Then we have to assess the extent to which the implementation of that plan actually works."
Immigration, budget top Texas lawmakers' agendas
By APRIL CASTRO | The Associated Press
Monday, Nov. 8, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas — Cracking down on illegal immigrants in Texas — on the roads, at schools and in the work force — was the focus of many bills Texas lawmakers filed Monday, the first day for proposing legislation to be considered in the upcoming session.
With a bigger majority in the House, Republican lawmakers and lawmakers-elect also want to make it legal for concealed handgun license holders to carry handguns on college campuses, prohibit state money from going to facilities that perform abortions and keep Texas from enforcing new federal health care laws.
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, spent Saturday and Sunday nights in front of the chief clerk's office in the Texas House to be the first in line to file her bills.
The first one she filed when the office opened Monday morning was a proposal to require voters to provide proof of eligibility with either one form of photo identification or two forms of non-photo ID.
"A visitor that walked by told me that I reminded them of the kids that camp out for Duke basketball tickets in Durham, North Carolina," Riddle said. "It was eye-opening to realize that people think it's normal to be passionate about something like college basketball, but odd to be passionate about your state's politics."
She also filed measures that would make it a violation of state law for illegal immigrants to be in Texas, allowing state and local police officers to arrest them, and requiring school districts to report the number of illegal immigrants enrolled.
Riddle's were among dozens of hardline bills on immigration filed on the first day.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, filed a similar bill that would allow suspicious law enforcement officers to inquire about a person's immigration status and make an arrest based on the answer. His measure also makes an officer, his agency and state and local officials immune from any resulting litigation.
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed a measure that would require all state and local governments and their contractors to use E-Verify — a joint program of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration used to verify workers' immigration status.
By midday, 338 bills had been filed in both the House and Senate. Last session, almost 7,500 bills were filed, but less than 20 percent of them became law.
Lawmakers have until March 11 to file bills.
The Legislature is set to convene for the biennial session on Jan. 11 and will adjourn May 30.
Monitoring immigration legislation will be a priority for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas during the session.
"On the first day of prefiling, it's pretty tough to know what's going to happen during a legislative session," ACLU lobbyist Matthew Simpson said. But, he called the focus on immigration a "solution in search of a problem."
"It's almost a red herring, at least a diversion or a move away from what I think are the critical issues facing the state," he said.
Some of the proposed legislation also reflects the dire situation lawmakers will face when writing the next two-year state budget. Texas has an expected shortfall of more than $20 billion. One bill would require all school districts to consolidate into countywide districts. Another proposal would eliminate the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and consolidate its duties with the Texas Education Agency.
Nelson filed a handful of bills that would require state agencies to streamline operations.
Patrick also filed a bill that would make it illegal for former lawmakers to become registered lobbyists until two legislative sessions after they've left office. The measure would likely hamper the plans of many of the 21 Democrats who lost their re-election bids last week.
Monday, Nov. 8, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas — Cracking down on illegal immigrants in Texas — on the roads, at schools and in the work force — was the focus of many bills Texas lawmakers filed Monday, the first day for proposing legislation to be considered in the upcoming session.
With a bigger majority in the House, Republican lawmakers and lawmakers-elect also want to make it legal for concealed handgun license holders to carry handguns on college campuses, prohibit state money from going to facilities that perform abortions and keep Texas from enforcing new federal health care laws.
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, spent Saturday and Sunday nights in front of the chief clerk's office in the Texas House to be the first in line to file her bills.
The first one she filed when the office opened Monday morning was a proposal to require voters to provide proof of eligibility with either one form of photo identification or two forms of non-photo ID.
"A visitor that walked by told me that I reminded them of the kids that camp out for Duke basketball tickets in Durham, North Carolina," Riddle said. "It was eye-opening to realize that people think it's normal to be passionate about something like college basketball, but odd to be passionate about your state's politics."
She also filed measures that would make it a violation of state law for illegal immigrants to be in Texas, allowing state and local police officers to arrest them, and requiring school districts to report the number of illegal immigrants enrolled.
Riddle's were among dozens of hardline bills on immigration filed on the first day.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, filed a similar bill that would allow suspicious law enforcement officers to inquire about a person's immigration status and make an arrest based on the answer. His measure also makes an officer, his agency and state and local officials immune from any resulting litigation.
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed a measure that would require all state and local governments and their contractors to use E-Verify — a joint program of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration used to verify workers' immigration status.
By midday, 338 bills had been filed in both the House and Senate. Last session, almost 7,500 bills were filed, but less than 20 percent of them became law.
Lawmakers have until March 11 to file bills.
The Legislature is set to convene for the biennial session on Jan. 11 and will adjourn May 30.
Monitoring immigration legislation will be a priority for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas during the session.
"On the first day of prefiling, it's pretty tough to know what's going to happen during a legislative session," ACLU lobbyist Matthew Simpson said. But, he called the focus on immigration a "solution in search of a problem."
"It's almost a red herring, at least a diversion or a move away from what I think are the critical issues facing the state," he said.
Some of the proposed legislation also reflects the dire situation lawmakers will face when writing the next two-year state budget. Texas has an expected shortfall of more than $20 billion. One bill would require all school districts to consolidate into countywide districts. Another proposal would eliminate the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and consolidate its duties with the Texas Education Agency.
Nelson filed a handful of bills that would require state agencies to streamline operations.
Patrick also filed a bill that would make it illegal for former lawmakers to become registered lobbyists until two legislative sessions after they've left office. The measure would likely hamper the plans of many of the 21 Democrats who lost their re-election bids last week.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Insiders Ask: Can K-12 Dodge Congressional Gridlock?
By Alyson Klein | Ed Week
November 5, 2010
Now that Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives and bolstered their minority in the U.S. Senate, it remains to be seen if education is one area of federal policy that can avoid the partisan stalemate that many observers predict will paralyze Washington for the next two years.
Republicans and Democrats famously came together to pass the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. That law, the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, placed new accountability demands on schools and authorized more federal spending on education. Its renewal has been pending since 2007.
In his postelection news conference, President Barack Obama cited education as one of a handful of areas for possible cooperation.
“I think everybody in this country thinks that we’ve got to make sure our kids are equipped in terms of their education, their science background, their math backgrounds, to compete in this new global economy,” Mr. Obama told reporters Nov. 3. “And that’s going to be an area where I think there’s potential common ground.”
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November 5, 2010
Now that Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives and bolstered their minority in the U.S. Senate, it remains to be seen if education is one area of federal policy that can avoid the partisan stalemate that many observers predict will paralyze Washington for the next two years.
Republicans and Democrats famously came together to pass the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. That law, the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, placed new accountability demands on schools and authorized more federal spending on education. Its renewal has been pending since 2007.
In his postelection news conference, President Barack Obama cited education as one of a handful of areas for possible cooperation.
“I think everybody in this country thinks that we’ve got to make sure our kids are equipped in terms of their education, their science background, their math backgrounds, to compete in this new global economy,” Mr. Obama told reporters Nov. 3. “And that’s going to be an area where I think there’s potential common ground.”
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