Federal Update - February 15, 2008
Brought
to you by your voice at the national level,
the Association of American
Educators.
Potential Cuts in School Budgets Predicted Nationwide
Bruce Randolph School Granted Freedom
Online Courses Used to Reduce Dropout Rates
Ruling in NCLB Court Case Could be Reconsidered
House Education Committee Hearing on Public School Facilities
“Valuable NEA Political Endorsement Remains Up for Grabs”
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute recently released a comprehensive study of the collective bargaining agreements in America’s largest school districts. The researchers pointed out that principals often complain of being held accountable under No Child Left Behind but labor agreements tie their hands and do not give them the authority to get the job done. Therefore, when analyzing the collective bargaining agreements one of the main questions for the researchers was “Are teacher contracts as much of a barrier to good schools as many reformers claim?”
Unfortunately no labor agreements received the “Highly Flexible” rating the researchers were hoping for, but five districts were rated “Flexible”. These school districts are Guilford County Schools, NC; Austin Independent School District, TX; Northside Independent School District (San Antonio), TX; Dallas Independent School District, TX; Fairfax County Public Schools, VA. On the other end of the spectrum Miami-Dade Public Schools were ranked last.
The labor agreements were analyzed by looking at three main compensation categories which included performance pay, hardship pay, and extra pay for shortage subjects; personnel policies which looked at transfers and layoffs; and work rules which included professional development and faculty meetings. Each subcategory received a letter grade and the labor agreement was then giving a GPA which was used to determine the rankings.
Some of the more stunning statistics from the report showed that nearly ten percent of the nation’s African-American K-12 students attend the schools in the 15 lowest-scoring districts, leading the researchers to conclude that these contracts are “major barriers to more equal opportunities.” It was also found that most of the contracts are very restrictive when it comes to paying teachers more in hard-to-staff subject areas such as math and science. Thirty-one school districts actually prohibit schools from doing so.
As a result of their findings, Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Michael J. Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute urge union leaders to amend labor agreements to be more flexible. They ask union members, “Do you really want to defend contract provisions that treat teachers like industrial-era auto workers? Even the United Auto Workers has gotten beyond that.” They continue by stating, “An Age of Teacher Professionalism could be at hand, but it won’t happen without labor agreements that treat teachers as true professionals and principals as true executives. For the benefit of your membership, get on board the ‘flexible’ contract train.”
To read the report in its entirety, please go to http://edexcellence.net/foundation/publication/publication.cfm?id=380#A1.
Potential Cuts in School Budgets Predicted Nationwide
Recently school board members met in Washington, D.C. for the National School Boards Association’s legislative conference. A topic of concern for many board members was future cuts to school budgets. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, about half of the states are anticipating budget shortfalls. State budget shortfalls in conjunction with a decline in revenue from state taxes due to the downturn in the housing market and less property taxes as a result of a reduction in real estate value all contribute to the potential for fewer funds for local school districts. Increases in expenses such as wage and benefit costs, that make up a majority of the school budgets, as well as energy prices are also adding to the strain on school budgets.
In anticipation of smaller school budgets, board members from across the country indicated at the conference that they were considering cutting back on benefits to school employees, reducing staff, and limiting extracurricular activities available for students. A school board member from California also mentioned that reductions in class sizes and block scheduling may also be eliminated.
Jackie Magnuson, a school board member from Minnesota, commented that ballot initiatives that increase taxes may be attractive to school districts in her state but that it is an issue that voters won’t easily pass. “They’re not going to be in any real hurry to run and help support the schools and pay for increased taxes for you, even if they’d like to, because they’re already up to their eyeballs in bills,” she said.
“The watchword right now is wait and see,” said Michael Griffith, a school finance analyst at the Education Commission of the States, based in Denver, CO.
For more information about school budgets, please read the following article titled, “School Board Officials Say Cuts Coming,” at http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jSGeuBA68_gvoGXl0Iq1LiXDwLbAD8UO95081.
A new program designed to better connect teachers and policy makers was announced on February 8 by the U.S. Department of Education. The Teacher Ambassador Fellowship (TAF) will consist of two programs, the Classroom Fellows and the Washington Fellows. Up to 20 teachers will be selected to become Classroom Fellows while five teachers will become Washington Fellows.
Teachers participating in the Classroom Fellows program will remain in their classroom but will be called upon to provide their experience and perspectives to members of the department. Classroom Fellows will remain under their current contract but will be paid an additional hourly rate by the department for work done for the fellows program. Participants in the Washington Fellows program will move to Washington, D.C. and become full-time federal employees, employed at the department, in able to work on education programs and contribute to policy discussions.
“This is a terrific opportunity for educators to share their voices directly with policymakers, and I look forward to hearing from them,” said Secretary Spellings.
All highly qualified K-12 public school teachers who have taught for at least three years are invited to apply for the fellowships. The deadline for applications is April 7, 2008. The fellowships will take place during the 2008-09 school year and decisions will be made by the department early this summer. To apply please go to http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/applicant.html.
For more information about TAF please go to http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/programoverview.html.
Bruce Randolph School Granted Freedom
In a surprising turn of events on February 12, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) approved Bruce Randolph School’s request for autonomy, and moreover, granted Manual High School their freedom as well. In December the Bruce Randolph School presented the Denver Public Schools school board and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association an autonomy plan that would give them control over their budget, curriculums, and hiring and rewarding teachers. The school board approved the plan in a unanimous decision in January but until recently the DCTA would not approve the plan, citing their belief that it would hurt other teachers and students in the district.
In the wake of Bruce Randolph’s request for autonomy Manual High School, a high school in Denver, had requested autonomy as well. DCTA had previously stated that it would not consider Manual High School’s request or any other requests for autonomy until Bruce Randolph’s request had been resolved. Both schools are been low-performing schools in Denver but with the implementation of education reforms by teachers and the administration the schools have started turning around.
Some of the flexibilities Bruce Randolph and Manual High School now have include posting new job openings and hiring new teachers as the need arises instead of waiting until the spring staffing cycles; laying out their own school calendars; determining their own teaching loads and class sizes; and deciding how to distribute teacher time during the day and how to use the time when students are not in school. Both schools are still subject to employee grievance procedures.
Kristen Waters, the principal at Bruce Randolph, has already started to take advantage of the new flexibility when a math teacher asked to teach an extra class. “In the past I would say, ‘No, I can't pay you,’” Waters said. “Now I can pay that teacher to work that extra class. It's going to benefit the teacher and the students.”
For more information about the two schools new freedom, please visit read the following article titled, “Two Schools Gain Some Freedom,” at http://www.denverpost.com/education/ci_8245901.
Online Courses Used to Reduce Dropout Rates
It is common knowledge that the dropout rates in many high schools across the United States are reaching monumental heights. On average 30 percent of high school students drop out but that number increases to 50 percent in schools with low-income students. To curb the high dropout rates, some schools are focusing on using online courses to help students pass the classes they need and ultimately receive their high school diplomas.
“This is very important because in many cases, students are only lacking a few credits for graduation, but they simply won’t stay in school to get them,” said Jay Smink, executive director of the National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University.
One such program that is being used is Educational Options. In this program, students read a chapter online and then answer questions at the end. A teacher sets the number of questions a student must get right before moving on to the next chapter. It is often set at 80 percent. The definitions of difficult words are available for the students.
“You can go at your own pace. Sometimes teachers go too slow or too fast, but here you can move any way you want,” stated Jefferson Lara, an Arlington, VA student participating in the program.
The program isn’t a cure-all for the high number of high school dropouts but it will help students who otherwise may not have finished high school. Sharon Ruggieri, a teacher who oversees students taking online classes, said that in her earth science class she had 24 students this fall, but the number is now down to 12. She’s not discouraged though. “Many of them will come back. And what brings them back is that box on the application that says: ‘Do you have a high school diploma?’”
For more information on the online program please go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/10/AR2008021002068.html.
Ruling in NCLB Court Case Could be Reconsidered
In January the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that schools do not have to comply with NCLB mandates if federal funds are not sufficient. This ruling was based in part on their belief that states were not clear of their potential financial obligations when they agreed to accept federal funding. Education Secretary Spellings disagrees with this ruling and has been authorized by the solicitor general to submit a request for a rehearing of the case, Pontiac (MI) School District et al. v. U.S. Department of Education.
“I strongly disagree with the ruling and believe that if the decision were to stand, it could undermine efforts to improve the education of our nation's children, in particular those students most in need,” stated Secretary Spellings.
The case was brought by the NEA on behalf of nine school districts in Michigan, Texas, and Vermont.
House Education Committee Hearing on Public School Facilities
On February 13, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to discuss the state of public school facilities. The main focus of the hearing was whether or not the federal government should provide local schools with federal funds to repair schools.
Democrats on the committee called for more federal funds to be dedicated to school repair. “We all agree on the urgent national priority of providing every child with a world class education….It is clear that we cannot satisfy the priority unless we help states and school districts improve the physical condition of their school buildings and facilities,” stated Chairman George Miller (D-CA) in his opening statement.
Judi Caddick, a teacher at Memorial Junior High School in Illinois, emphasized the need for “Green Schools.” Every child and school staff person has the right to a school with healthy air to breathe and conditions that foster learning. ‘Green schools’ create a safe and healthy learning environment that is conducive to teaching and learning while saving energy, resources and money,” she stated.
Republicans on committee agree with Democrats that safe, quality schools are important but reminded participants at the hearing that federal funds come with costly mandates to states and local schools that would take away funds from other education priorities. Federal construction projects are subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage mandates, which drive up the cost of construction projects by requiring them to adhere to the prevailing wage in the area, which is often close to the union wage.
In his testimony before the committee, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) stated, “A number of studies have found that projects completed under Davis Bacon are 20 percent more expensive than similar projects completed under marketing conditions. At the same time many construction employees are actually underpaid using the flawed determination method…Continuing to use the current Davis-Bacon wage determination method would lead to a troubling situation in which we lose just by playing. Either taxpayers get overcharged by the system, or construction employees are underpaid. We wouldn’t teach that kind of fuzzy math in school buildings; we shouldn’t practice it when building schools.”
The senior Republican on the committee, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), stressed the importance of not infringing upon local control. “The local quality and safety of our nation’s school buildings are of paramount importance to ensuring a quality educational experience for our students. And the responsibility for maintaining those facilities lies with the local communities who know their students’ needs best.”
For more information about the hearing, please read the follow press release issued by the majority office of the Education and Labor Committee at http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel021308.html
To read the press release about the hearing issued by the minority office, please go to http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=432.
“Valuable NEA Political Endorsement Remains Up for Grabs”
On February 6 the NEA issued a press release reminding Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton that they have yet to endorse a candidate. No mention was made of endorsing Republicans Sen. John McCain or Gov. Mike Huckabee. According to the NEA the reason they have not endorsed Clinton or Obama yet is that the candidates have not made education a central part of their campaign.
Reg Weaver, president of the NEA stated, “Both Democratic candidates have strong records on education, but our members want to know about their visions and their plans for the future, and we haven't really heard that yet. If they haven't made education a central part of their campaigns, how can we feel confident that they will make education a central part of their administration?”
Weaver also reminded Clinton and Obama about the fact that the NEA’s members could be used for campaigning. “Our 3.2 million members live in every state, in every Congressional district, and in every precinct,” said Weaver. “When you look at friends and family, we're talking five to six million potential voters, and most important, we're talking about tens of thousands of committed local campaign volunteers.”
To read the NEA’s press release please go to http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2008/nr080206.html.