Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for May 24, 2009 IT JUST DON'T ADD UP

Poor English, but this post is about math (and science)...

On the "scientific" end, we're talkin' studies...the "raw data" that is supposed to drive educational decision-making in the 21st Century!

DISCLAIMER: My comments below do NOT reflect the totality of my feelings about our most recent negotiations and the tentative agreement which is to voted on Tuesday, May 26th. As teachers at CJSHS will attest, I've been in the trenches "shilling" the agreement...emphasizing the positives, downplaying the negatives. I've done this willingly and mostly with a clear conscience.

The proposed contract is a good deal for a significant percentage of the certified staff. The less experienced among us are getting a better deal than they did under the previous contract.

That is NOT an accident, and it is NOT a bad thing.

At the first mention of salaries for the 2008-09 negotiations - yes, about eleven months ago! - the BOE indicated their interest in raising the starting salary of Cairo teachers...a need to be competitive with surrounding school districts so as to be able to attract new employees.

The CAT bargaining team freely agreed to go along with that approach...knowing the truth of the BOE's assertion.

We can quibble about whether the BOE's reluctance to part with their $3 million treasure chest safely ensconced in Cairo's First National Bank allowed the parties to solve that underlying problem, but more money was put into the "recruiting" end of the salary schedule than at the "experienced" end.

And - I repeat, that is NOT a bad thing.

In our last contract, everyone received the same percentage salary increase...an approach that favors the "experienced" teachers. A percentage of a small number (the salary of a less-experienced teacher) is a small number...a small dollar increase. DOLLARS are what puts food on the table...puts gasoline in the tank. Conversely, a percentage of a large(er) number is a large(er) number...the "experienced" teacher receiving the same percentage increase gets more dollars for daily needs.

So, this year's approach - to give the same dollars to ALL teachers, regardless of experience - is not "inherently evil". In the last contract, the "old folks" did better...in this contract, the "newbies" make a comeback.

I can live with that...if I were a voting CAT (which I'm not), I could vote for that.

Add in the BOE's final concession...a "pick up" of 50% of the scheduled increase in the the District's group health insurance plan (a potential savings of over $500 to each participant), heck, I can almost feel good about it.

Oh, don't think I'm a dummy. I am well aware that the BOE "made out like bandits"...will not touch their aforementioned treasure chest. The raises (and insurance premiums) will be paid for out of the savings that the District reaps from the retirements of more experienced (more expensive) teachers.

And - I repeat, that is NOT a bad thing.

Heck, that's good business...somthing that Cairo School District Number One needs to do more of. (Okay, English teachers...I hated to end that sentence with a preposition, but I just "ain't" up to restructuring this morning!)

And, here's another thing...

You forgot...although the "italics" should have reminded you. We're still in the "DISCLAIMER" stage of this post...the "digression" with which readers of julieanewell.com are so familiar!

Now, it's time for Ron's Rant...

Okay, I'm actually not even going to rant...I've done that a lot in the last few months...at the table and away.

What sticks in my craw...(I didn't know CATs had craws until these latest negotiations)...is the BOE's lack of appreciation for our part-time employees.

These 4 (or 5 since we never could even reach agreement on the number)...these retirees who came back to provide needed services that the BOE could not find elsewhere...the employees who save the District money since they do not participate in the state retirement system and do not participate in the District group health insurance program, a saving of thousands of dollars. (Yes...a sentence fragment. I'm breakin' all the rules here...I'm outta control! Somebody...HELP ME!)

Instead of being appreciative, the BOE went at part-time employees with a vengeance.

Why?

Not even going to go into it...it would be "speculative".

Well, on the other hand...this IS supposed to be a "rant".

Let's just put a big FACT on the table...the part-time employees joined CAT last year.

Before last year, the BOE "freely" gave the part-time employees their full complement of sick days and personal days. Before last year, the BOE "freely" paid the part-time employees what they had been paid previously...simply at a reduced dollar amount to reflect their part-time employment. Before last year, the BOE didn't even think about the remainder of the contract and how it applied to part-time employees...it simply gave part-time employees the same rights and benefits as everyone else.

But, that was then...this is now!

Under the contract to be voted on Tuesday, ALL employees will receive the same dollar-amount raises (depending upon which educational lane they fall into. Employees with a Master's degree will receive an extra $140.)

Are the part-time employees (who save the District money because it does NOT have to pay retirement or health insurance benefits on them)...are the part-time employees going to be treated the same?

"No, of course, not"...you might say. You would reason that, after all, they ARE "part-time employees"...they should not get the same raise...they should only get the appropriate partial amount...whatever percentage or fraction of the day or year that they teach.

I love you, Dear Readers...you are so smart...and logical!

Of course the part-timers would get less...teach half-time, get half; teach two-thirds time, get two-thirds.

RIGHT?

I'm sorry, Dear Readers...U B WRONG!

Oh, I'll still give you credit for "smarts"...the break-down in the paragraph above is correct as far as it goes...the "math" of "half or two-thirds".

But, logic?

The reason it just don't add up...

The BOE chose to single out part-time employees for stripping!

No, no, no...no strip-searches, or changes to "required performance" in their job descriptions.

No, the BOE chose to strip part-time employees of their educational accomplishments...their Master's credentials!

Well, I guess I should clarify...the BOE did not take their Master's credentials away from them...it can't. However, the BOE chose not to pay the part-timers for their credentials!

If a new employees walks through the doors of Cairo School District Number One tomorrow, the BOE will recognize their educational credentials...and pay them accordingly...along with retirement benefits and health insurance benefits. The same applies to current full-time employees.

However, the one group that saves the BOE money...the part-timers...is screwed!

Why?

There's that question again...

Without further "speculation"...or "editorializing to heighten emotion"...just step back and look at this picture...the "BEFORE AND AFTER" picture...what you get before joining a union and what you get after joining a union.

Picture seems pretty clear to me...

Oh, the article...that prompted my "reflection".

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (and basketball-playing buddy of President Obama)...the man with the BIG BUCKS to hand to school districts...like Cairo School District Number One.

Wonder what he would think about teachers who teach in challenging schools...especially math and science...teachers that are hard to find?

Well, as Cairo Superintendent Leotis D. Swopes is fond of saying, "I'm glad you asked..."

From the article:

"3. Rewarding excellence. Duncan believes in offering incentives for the best teachers and principals to serve in problem or under-served schools and districts. He also believes that math and science teachers should be paid more and given rewards for staying in that subject for a long period of time."

Better use of data, transforming high schools among ED's key priorities

By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor

Primary Topic Channel: Federal Policy , Administration

Sec. of Education Arne Duncan dicusses ED's priorities in reforming the country's schoolsRewarding effective teaching, expanding the learning time, collecting meaningful data, and transforming underperforming high schools are the four key areas the U.S. Department of Education (ED) plans to target in the next year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told school stakeholders at the Center for American Progress's "Resource, Allocation, Reinvestment, and Education Reform" conference May 18.

School administrators and education policy leaders packed into the Grand Hyatt ballroom in Washington, D.C., to hear Duncan's plan and learn from experts who are ahead of the curve.

"Our flawed public education system fails to prepare all of America's students to meet the world's demanding educational benchmarks," said John Podesta, president and CEO of the Center. "Our high school students consistently fare poorly on international comparisons of student achievement, while our domestic achievement gaps remain wide. We have inadequate human capital policies, we fund schools inequitably, and we do not have the rigorous standards, assessments, and accountability systems that we need to ensure a high-quality education for all of our students."

Podesta said he believes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) can help spur needed changes. Duncan agreed, noting the stimulus provides $100 billion in new money for education--and even though money alone won't solve every problem, unprecedented resources do, he said, "call for unprecedented reforms."

"This is a time when we need progressive action," said Duncan. "There is a sense of urgency to improve education. And it's not just in the numbers--the poor international test scores and the number of failing schools. I've seen firsthand what failing education can do to a community. We can't afford to be passive any longer."

Duncan said there are a lot of areas in education that need improvement, but four areas specifically need to be targeted:

1. Data-driven decision making. Duncan explained that without numbers and data, school leaders and ED officials are just "shooting in the dark." Every state and district needs real data, he said, including student tracking from preschool through higher education, teacher tracking from schools of education throughout their career, and better tracking of individual school progress.

2. Raising state and national standards. Duncan said most states are not preparing students adequately for the 21st-century workforce.

3. Rewarding excellence. Duncan believes in offering incentives for the best teachers and principals to serve in problem or underserved schools and districts. He also believes that math and science teachers should be paid more and given rewards for staying in that subject for a long period of time.

4. Reforming low-performing schools. Within the next two years, Duncan would like to see the 2,000 lowest-performing high schools that account for 50 percent of the country's high school dropouts change. Some of the reforms he'd like to see include prolonging the school day, week, and year; providing more after-school opportunities for students; and replacing ineffective teachers with teachers who have high expectations for their students.

Before states and school systems can undergo these extensive transformations, conference speakers warned, it will take much more than surface fixes to ensure sustainable progress.

"There is a disconnect between the all-too-common industrial-based foundation of our schools and the technological age we are living in today," said Raegen Miller, associate director for education research at the Center.

To help schools take basic steps towards change, Karen Hawley Miles, executive director of Education Resource Strategies, suggested that a shift needs to occur in how resources are used to change the underlying system.

"Here's an example of how most schools work today," said Miles. "There is a girl named Tameka. She is in sixth grade and loves school, but she has low scores in math and a basic reading level. She now has to change schools to go to seventh grade. Two out of her five teachers are new. No one knows Tameka, her scores, or how she learns as a student, because there [are] no data for Tameka and there's no system in place to track, or even assess, Tameka properly. Now Tameka is failing math and can't progress to a better reading level. Tameka doesn't like school anymore."

Miles went on to describe how it's not a teacher's fault, either: "You have these new teachers, they have no way to track their students; they have too many students; there's no way to talk to the resident teachers because your schedules don't align; and any free time you have is caught up in paperwork. You wish there was a school forum, but there are none. You are stressed and overworked."

Miles' point was clear: Schools and districts "can't throw new money on top of old structures that don't work."

In her newly published paper, "Using Stimulus Funds to Build a Bridge to Better Practice," Miles said she outlines seven steps to help schools redesign their systems--steps that Miles said are based on the scalable practices of high-performing schools:

1. Clarify high-level priorities in the improvement agenda;

2. Map current spending and, if possible, compare spending with similar districts;

3. Quantify large opportunities for reallocation consistent with this vision;

4. Focus leadership discussion on high-return actions;

5. Weigh political concerns in the context of potential impact and complete vision for actions;

6. Conduct line-item reviews by department to determine both cuts and investments; and

7. Ensure that new investments (including new stimulus funds in Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) are managed by staff members who can advance the strategic priorities.

Other helpful tips for schools that Miles encouraged were to limit class sizes to no more than 17 students, move from remediation to early prevention, move from autonomy to collaboration, move from teachers as the sole authority to using outside resources and experts, build enhanced student information systems, revamp human resources to help place teachers in the best positions possible for them, establish sturdy teacher evaluation systems, and renegotiate bad bargains.

Two districts that credit their current success to Miles and her leadership are Maryland's Baltimore County Public Schools and North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

"One of the hardest things to do is going to be to scrap the bad teachers, the bad schools, [and] to figure out what to cut and what to keep," said Miles.

(Editor's note: For more information on how ARRA funds can help spur education reform, see our Educator Resource Center on "Stimulating Achievement.")