Support Alabama in Anti-Common Core Fight. It is NOT an "island" Withdrawing from Common Core.

Send the above message to Alabama legislators.

From CE White in Alabama:

As you may know, Alabama has two identical bills to repeal Common Core. House Bill 254 and Senate Bill 190. There is a public hearing on Wednesday, February 27th at 3pm at the State House. I feel we have the votes for this to pass in the Senate, but the House is dealing dirty politics. One superintendent (who is connected to Broad Foundation and has invited Pearson to his district next month) wrote an article last week in a newspaper, claiming that Alabama would be "an island" if we withdrew from Common Core. Since that article, legislators have started to question why we need to pass these bills. In fact, they are using the same terminology that we might be "an island" if we pass this bill. I will be speaking at the public hearing Wednesday. However, we really need to get the word out to our legislators that we will not be "an island." We need them to know that we are not alone in our fight. We need them to know that other states are also fighting against Common Core. Could you please help us get the word out, by having your organization and other states contact our legislators and tell them to please pass HB 254 and SB 190, and we will not be "an island." We need to flood them with calls and emails. They need to know they have the support of the country. Here is the link to our Alabama legislature page, with links to contact information: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/senate/senators/senateroster_alpha.html

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Contact Alabama legislators and let them know that Alabama is not an island, but is a state joining in reclaiming state academic freedom with these states who have various anti-Common Core State (sic) Standards pending legislation:

• Missouri
• Indiana
• Oklahoma
• Michigan
• Georgia
• South Carolina
• Florida
• Idaho
• Utah
• Colorado
• Kansas
• South Dakota

These states did not adopt Common Core State (sic) Standards:

• Nebraska
• Texas
• Virginia
• Arkansas

This state adopted ELA standards only:

• Minnesota

Alabama is NOT an island and legislators are being misled if they refer to the state in this manner. This is from  the article in which superintendent Casey Wardynski refers to Alabama as an island:

The proposed bill - cosponsored by Sen. Bill Holtzclaw of Madison, Sen. Paul Sanford of Huntsville and Sen. Clay Scofield of Guntersville - would repeal the state's adoption of those standards and prevent the state school board from adopting them a second time. 

"If it was to pass, immediately we would no longer be allowed to be aligned with anything that is going on in those other 47 states with regard to this common core curriculum. That would be devastating. Alabama would become an island," Wardynski said.

Wardynski has mixed reviews as a superintendent and his association with The Broad Foundation in geekpalaver.com and Eli Broad’s Return On Investment:

So let’s recap:

• Wardynski has recommended, and the board has approved hiring PROACT Search (with direct ties to The Broad Foundation) for $110,000 to hire approximately 10 new principals.
• He has recommended, and the board has approved hiring SUPES Academy to provide professional development to new Principals for $300,000 for two years.
• He has recommended, and the board will likely approve the hiring of 110 Teach for America (supported by The Broad Foundation) for $550,000 a year.

In five months, Dr. Wardynski recommended spending just shy of one million dollars on programs supported by The Broad Foundation.

That’s not bad for a five month tenure, is it? While it’s not clear how much The Broad Foundation has spent “training” Dr. Wardynski, if the “training” for Teach for America is any indication, it’s likely in the $20,000 range. In exchange for this investment, Dr. Wardynski has already returned $410,000 in five months. In all likelihood at some point in November the rubber stamp board will approve spending $550,000 for Teach for America to hire 110 teachers who haven’t been trained to teach.

If you’d like to read more about The Broad Foundation’s “commitment” to education, take a look at “How to Tell if your School District is Infected by the Broad Virus.” You might also consider following, “The Broad Report.”

$960,000 for five months work. Not bad. Not bad at all. I wish the ROI for Huntsville’s kids were as high.

The Broad Foundation is proud of Wardynski via its twitter feed:

Congrats to #broadacademy grad Dr. Casey Wardynski, named "Outstanding Superintendent of the Year" by Alabama PTA! http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/04/alabama_pta_names_huntsville_s.html … 

It's no surprise that the Alabama PTA would name him "Outstanding Superintendent of the Year".  The PTA has received a million dollars to support CCSS (even before they were written) via The Gates Foundation and $240,000 from the GE Foundation for CCS support.  See here.

It should matter to Alabama legislators that Wardynski is wanting to implement standards that are unproven, untested and underfunded.  It should matter to these legislators he is supporting/promoting The Broad Foundation agenda while using taxpayer money.  It should matter to Alabama legislators that the PTA has been persuaded by Bill Gates and GE to support an agenda that does not protect teachers or students or parents from a vast public/private partnership that negates any local control.

Calling Alabama an island is a technique to take legislators' eyes off the pertinent facts of Common Core State (sic) Standards.  Once you examine who is behind them and why, there is no question they should be rescinded.  They are not for the "kids".  They are for organizations like The Broad Foundation, Bill Gates, TFA, PTA, etc to make money. 

Contact the Alabama legislators and tell them the truth and the facts about Common Core State (sic) Standards.  Tell them how private outside companies are trying to direct the educational delivery and direction for Alabama students and schools.

 

Why the Republicans Don't Want Common Core Rescinded.

You are invited to the educational reform party masqueraded as Common Core and School "Choice"

Common Core allows State Longitudinal Data Systems to share information.  The information does not only include state wide assessment scores and educational data, it will include invasive personal data on students and families.  This data will be used to track children from birth into careers.  This data will be supplied to various Federal agencies and private researchers/companies determined by the DOEd.  Why is it agreeable to Republicans to gather this information and disseminate your personal information for workforce development?

The party won't address Common Core and the power taken away from states because there's a lot of money to be made in these assessments and data.  We've written about Scott Joftus and referring to education as the "Wild Wild West" and an enormous amount of money to be made in education.  It's not about the kids; it's about the ed tech bubble and fortunes to be realized.  

From gigaom.com:

As I wrote last week in a story about LearnSprout, another quickly growing San Francisco startup tackling the same issue, data integration is a major headache for schools and developers. Accessing student data — from attendance records to grades to addresses — can currently be a weeks-long, labor-intensive, error-prone process that discourages schools from working with ed tech companies.

“Moving and managing data is one of the biggest things holding education back today,” said co-founder Tyler Bosmeny. The company’s traction, he said, shows how badly developers and educators need tools that integrate and normalize student data.

Some of the schools integrated with Clever include large charter school networks like KIPP, ASPIRE, and Green Dot, but the company said 50 percent of its schools are in traditional districts. Clever charges over 30 software companies, such as Mastery Connect, TenMarks, Sokikom, for access to its API so that those software companies can process student data and charge school districts for their educational services.

The company, which was founded by Bosmeny and two Harvard classmates, Dan Carroll and Rafael Garcia, was inspired by Carroll’s experience in education. After completing two years with Teach for America, Carroll managed technology and innovation for a Denver charter school and “lived this problem” with data, Bosmeny said.

Clever’s growth not only speaks to the current issues facing schools and developers, it indicates the founders’ desire to show the potential of education startups. While K-12 education has, more recently, attracted investment, investors have historically eschewed the field. To their knowledge, Clever’s founders said they think they’re the first K-12 startup accepted to Y Combinator.

“We really want to show that education can be a valuable business if you approach it the right way,” said Bosmeny. “We hope we can take away the barrier and prove that education is a real market and there’s a lot of room for innovation in this space.”

What this TFAer took away from his experience was not how to teach kids, but what was needed on the business side of education: the gathering and posting of data.  This Harvard graduates has a first hand knowledge of what data needs to be gathered, not how to educate children.  He "lived with the problem of data".  Did he "live with the problem of educating a child"?

When you hear legislators extoll the value of TFAers, remember that many of them do their two years, leave the profession and apply their business degrees to figure out how to make money from the educational machine.   

Common Core standards (written by private companies) have mandated this enormous data retrieval.  The mandates have created  a niche for private companies to compel states to spend money on these systems.  The states have to provide the data; the private companies are delighted to supply this need.   THIS is why the Republicans are loath to rescind the standards.  If there are no standards, there is no vehicle/mandate to require this data.  No data means no private start ups to gather the data.  It doesn't matter to the Republicans that these private start ups are using Federal and state money for their "entrepreneurial" ventures.

 From gettingsmart.com:

The drought is over and capital is flowing to innovators in K-12, postsecondary, and consumer learning. That’s the conclusion of a report from GSV Advisors including industry veterans Deborah Quazzo and Michael Moe. They examine the “near spontaneous explosion of entrepreneurial activity in education.”

...With more capital flowing, GSV points to four remaining challenges the primary obstacles to scale can be classified as the following:

• People: New talent is being attracted to education but there is still a short supply of management and engineering talent.
• Product: There are limited early adopters to support product evaluation and iterative development.
• Potential: Education is a huge segment of the economy but strangled by layers of policy and bureaucracy, and anti-market bias, and inefficient decentralized procurement.
• Predictability: Traditional political and budget vagaries have been exacerbated by the Great Recession, disruptive technologies, and new philanthropies.

How did the spontaneous combustion occur? Page 10 of the report is the “Magic Chart” that summarizes the coalescence of four change forces: advancing technology, maturing markets, innovation friendly education policy, and improving human capital. I would add a global overlay; the doubling of education expenditures in India and china is building demand for new learning tools, and viral apps quickly develop a global presence.

The "challenge to Potential" is being addressed and answered by Arne Duncan's policies and the Republicans' support of Common Core mandates and LDS.  The standards, assessments and curricula are becoming quite centralized, cutting out those pesky standards for education (which are state powers, not powers delegated to a centralized bureauracy) that are impediments for these education venture capitalists. 

The "Magic Chart" needs the innovation friendly education policy (school "choice") and the improvement of human capital.  The companies don't care how children are educated or what they learn, the companies just need to show improvement on the assessments these educational venture capitalists have fashioned.  Human capital are widgets.  Your children are pawns in a money making scheme masquerading as education.  The Republicans touting themselves as constitutionalists are masquerading behind the education reform mask as well.

Republicans don't want this business segment to disappear.   Common Core allows this private segment to tap into taxpayer dollars.   This is the reason you hear Republicans clamoring for school "choice".  It's "for the kids" is secondary or non-existent. 

Did Michelle Rhee or one of her TFAers Write These Rambling Letters?

Her words are empty and vague.  So are her educational reform ideas. See if you can discern what they are and what she wants...other than your money. 

Michelle Rhee and her organization StudentsFirst just won't leave Missourians alone with her talking points on educational reform sent via email.  She's about as vague on her reform plans as Arne Duncan saying we need "great teachers".  What's the definition of educational reform and what's the definition of a "great teacher"?  Who and what organizations define and implement those plans for public education?  It's increasingly becoming clear it's not the public.

Parents and taxpayers have no say in educational reform (it's been spelled out for us in Race to the Top and Common Core standards written by private corporations and bureaucrats) and the "great" teachers will be decided by accountability measures not set by local districts.

Ms. Rhee's poorly constructed letter (below) begging for support for educational reform ended up in a Missourian's email inbox.  Her idea of educational reform is as clear as mud and the links provided in her letter don't give the reader additional information on how Ms. Rhee wants to transform education.   If Ms. Rhee wants parents to trust her with educational decisions, it might behoove her to explain what she has in mind for American children.  She does make it clear she wants your donations but she doesn't explain how she will spend your $10.00 or her educational reform plans.

We have questions for Ms. Rhee highlighted yellow in the letter:

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From: Michelle Rhee admin@studentsfirst.org
Date: August 15, 2012
To:
Subject: Working for reform in Saint Louis

Hi member, Be careful if you sign up to receive emails...you are now considered a member. To put the needs of students first in every school in America, we need people committed to reform in every community. What specifically are the needs of students?  What kind of  people do you need "committed to reform" and what type of reform are you promoting? Education is a local issue with national implications. How is education a local issue when school boards are impotent to make educational policy decisions?  Missouri schools need advocates to get involved with the reform effort and make a difference.   What is the reform effort and what difference does Ms. Rhee want to see?  In the last year, we have successfully worked with our members to make progress in states across the country, including passing groundbreaking laws in Georgia, Ohio and Maine.  What groundbreaking laws were passed in those states?  Why would laws that work in other states necessarily mean they are appropriate laws for Missouri school children? This is a great start, but we all know our education system is far from fixed. We have so much more work to do to put the interests of students first.  What work do you have to do in local districts since you are a national group?  What are the interests of students? Will you work with us to bring comprehensive reform to schools near you? What IS comprehensive reform and why should parents sign onto your idea of reform?  Sign up now to take local action: http://studentsfirst.org/local-action  Read about the REAL reform needed: Common Core standards rescinded, data mining stopped in public schools and local control restored (not Rhee's national power grab) at truthinamericaneducation.com. Time and again, we have witnessed those with a vested interest in continuing the status quo rise up and squash local reform movements with their money and power. But allowing the status quo to continue means denying millions of children the chance at the American dream they deserve.  What is this status quo Ms. Rhee refers to and would Ms. Rhee please explain why she wants to raise a billion dollars to push her reforms...whatever they may be? We cannot let the reform movement be trampled once again. To make real reform possible, we need the resources in place to go out and fight for every child in America.  Tell me what "real reform" means to a billion dollar organization and how that billion dollars will help children....OR will it enrich private businesses to deliver educational products deemed necessary by private organizations while using taxpayer money. Can you donate $10 to StudentsFirst right now?  No.  You have not laid out your plan of educational reform and these one-liner educational reform talking points make no sense.  When you tell me you want to reduce federal spending and/or control in education, I'll donate to that cause. http://studentsfirst.org/donate-10-now  Instead, read what Michelle Rhee's bipartisan reform REALLY means for students and taxpayers at this site: RheeFirst! The excitement and interest pouring in from every corner of the nation is incredible. Keep spreading the word and building this movement for reform.  Jeez, who wrote this letter?  The movement for reform is coming from the corporations, NOT the grassroots.  Nobody asked parents and taxpayers for their votes on Race to the Top or Common Core standards. That was a $4.35 Billion check given to Arne Duncan for HIS (and Michelle Rhee's "vision" for reform).  Unvoted on by citizens.  We're at the beginning of something remarkable.  Yes, indeed we are.  We are witnessing something remarkable....the destruction of local and state autonomy in any decisions for students and the schools the taxpayers fund. -- Michelle Michelle Rhee CEO and Founder StudentsFirst Unsubscribe | Become a Member | Follow Us on Twitter | Find Us on Facebook 825 K St, 2nd Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 916-287-9220 The following letter from StudentsFirst  was received by a Florida reader and forwarded on to MEW.  The reader writes:  Don't be fooled by this trickery.  I would add to that statement.." and a narrative that can't be explained except that "it's students first" ":  ************************************************************************************************************* (For background information, please read this recent Tampa Bay Times opinion editorial by speaker-designate Will Weatherford of the Florida House of Representatives where he discusses the importance of accountability and testing.) Florida has led the nation in its efforts to establish strong systems of accountability. These systems hold adults accountable for serving all of our students well, and ensure our kids are learning and receiving the education they deserve. Unfortunately, Florida's precedent-setting accountability system is under attack.  From whom?  What group?  Explain. Local politicians in twelve Florida school districts caved under pressure from special interests (as if Michelle Rhee is not pushing a special interest agenda?) who are working to derail our (who is "our"?  Bill Gates? Arne Duncan?) state’s education reform efforts and adopted a resolution against testing. Could this possibly be the testing to be done every three weeks due to Common Core mandates?  Could that be a reason these districts pushed back against the CCSSI and the NGA?  These groups (what groups?) are working to remove any sort of accountability from our schools. Do these "special interest" groups want to remove ANY accountability in schools or just YOUR idea of accountability?  Several other school districts are being pressured to adopt similar resolutions in the coming weeks.  Shouldn't and don't LOCAL school districts have the authority to set their own accountability measures?  Who is Michelle Rhee to tell LOCALLY  ELECTED officials how to run their school districts? Florida cannot afford to turn back the clock on its accountability system.  Wow, she sure is concerned about students in ALL the states, isn't she, bless her heart. In the nearly fifteen years that Florida parents, teachers and elected officials have been using accountability systems to measure our students’ progress, the improvement in Florida’s educational system has been undeniable.  So why is Rhee trying to undermine parents, teachers and elected officials for HER version of accountability?  Who made her the queen of education? Education professionals across the state of Florida - at all levels - should stand up for the accountability systems that have successfully transformed Florida's education system!  If the systems have worked for 15 years, then why any district or official follow Michelle Rhee's system when she doesn't even LIVE in Florida? Email* First Name* Last Name* Zip/Postal Code* Phone * denotes required field Become a Member Our movement needs your voice, your energy, and your financial support. Become a member Sign the Pledge The movement to transform education in America begins with you.  Exactly what does transformation mean to StudentsFirst and Michelle Rhee? Sign the Pledge StudentsFirst on facebook

Who Is StudentsFirst Backing in the MO Elections?

This arrived in our mailbox this week from StudentsFirst.

We are pleased to announce our endorsements for the 2012 Missouri Primary Elections for elected offices in the State's General Assembly. The endorsed candidates below have been selected based upon their responses to a questionnaire on education policies and, if incumbents, their record of support for common sense education reform efforts. All those endorsed have clearly demonstrated their commitment to improving education for all children in Missouri.

           [Note: SF's letter did not identify party, but we have added it to show that this is not limited to one party.]

• Representative Steve Webb (D) - 67th House DistrictRep. Webb's leadership as Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus has been vital to the advancement of education reform discourse, as well as passing of education reform legislation, in Missouri.
• Representative Jamilah Nasheed (D) – 5th Senate District  Representative Jamilah Nasheed plans to bring her experiences from the State House to the State Senate this coming year. As Chair of the Urban Issues Committee, Rep. Nasheed is highly qualified to tackle the problems facing students in urban school districts.
• Representative Chrissy Sommer (R) – 106th House District Parents are among the most critical stakeholders in education. As the former President of the Harvest Ridge PTO, Rep. Chrissy Sommer has firsthand experience in working with schools to improve outcomes for students.
• Sarah Gillooly (D) – 24th House District Sarah Gillooly is a community activist who has spent her career advocating for the most vulnerable members of society. If elected, she will carry that passion with her to the State House.
• John Sellars (R) – 134th House District Throughout his career, John Sellars has held various management positions that have taught him how to be an effective leader. As a substitute teacher and spouse of a a long time schoolteacher, he brings a practitioner's perspective to the challenges currently facing Missouri's school system.
• Representative Bill Lant (R) – 159th House District Representative Bill Lant is a former school board member with a deep understanding of the problems currently facing Missouri's schools.
• Representative Sylvester Taylor (D) – 75th House District Rep. Taylor has been a strong proponent of what is best for kids in his district. If reelected, he will advocate for changes that will improve outcomes for students not only across his district, but also across Missouri.
• Derrick Good (R) – 111th House District  Derrick Good is a practicing attorney who is familiar with the intricacies of the law. If elected, he will work to prioritize education reform legislation that provides teachers with meaningful feedback on their teaching performance.
• Eugene Dokes (R) – 70th House District As a former member of the Navy and a businessman, Dr. Dokes understands the meaning of responsibility and public service and will work to ensure that Missouri's children are adequately prepared to compete in the 21st Century.
• Representative Penny Hubbard (D) – 78th House District  Representative Penny Hubbard has been one of the strongest Democratic voices for education reform that puts the student at the center of every decision in the State House. If reelected, she will continue to be a supporter of improving schools both in St. Louis as well as across Missouri.
• Representative Kevin Elmer (R) – 139th House District  Representative Kevin Elmer has a great track record of prioritizing what is best for students. In this coming legislative session, he will continue to be an advocate for Missouri's children.
• Representative Mike Colona (D) – 80th House District As the House Minority Whip, Rep. Mike Colona is one of the most influential proponents of education reform in the Missouri Legislature.
• Mike Owens (D) – 84th House District  Mike Owens is a 30-year veteran journalist who knows what it means to hold public officials accountable. Owens plans to bring this sense of accountability to the school system if elected to the State House.
• Representative Mike McGhee (R) – 21st Senate District Making sure every child in Missouri has the option to attend a high quality school is one of the priorities of Rep. Mike McGhee's Senate race. His belief in the need for real change to improve public education that, if elected, will make a difference for all children not only in his district, but also across the state.
• Martin Casas (D) – 79th House District  Martin Casas is a parent and small business owner who has campaigned on the importance of great teachers and great schools for all children. If elected, he will prioritize education reform as one of his top priorities.
• Representative Ward Franz (R) – 33rd Senate District, former Chair of the Republican Caucus  Representative Ward Franz is a leader looking to move from the State House to the State Senate. As the former Chair of the Republican Caucus in the House, Rep. Franz will be a powerful proponent of education reform in the Senate.
• Lt. Governor Peter Kinder (R)  As the current Lt. Governor, Peter Kinder has worked to help the state to prosper. LT. Governor Kinder has been an advocate for some of the most vulnerable groups in Missouri and, if reelected, will continue to be an advocate for students across Missouri.

For those who have forgotten what StudentsFirst is, this is the brainchild of Michelle Rhee who has become the darling of education reform.  You can read more about her and this group here, here, here and here.

StudentsFirst goals for Missouri are:

• revised teacher evaluations (already done with Common Core Standards and the NCLB waiver we recently received - don't know what else SF can do); 
• tenure reform (tenure is covered by district contract which is currently negotiated individually by each school district - I guess SF would like to take that decision out of local control as well)
• school choice (i.e. charter schools which will only provide choice to the parents in which building their child will be taught Common Core Standards).

Martin Casas is the only one who has some prior knowledge of SF, Rhee and education reform.  His wife was in Teach For America. It would behoove the others on this list to do a little more research into StudentsFirst and other Michelle Rhee creations before listing SF's endorsement on their campaign page. That research should make it clear fairly quickly that the education reform movement is more about corporate control and profit than student achievement.

Exempli Gratia - this email was sent to Diane Ravitch and provides a personal account not at all uncommon for TFAers (the author was actually in a Teaching Fellowship program, but it was established by Michelle Rhee and organized in almost exactly the same way as TFA.)

There has been so much debate about educational reform and about Michele Rhee and her Students First organization. I am compelled to describe my experience this past June with the Rhode Island Teaching Fellows Program, a Rhee brainchild. The Teaching Fellows work along the same lines of The New Teacher Project but the Teaching Fellows is an alternative route to teacher certification. The premise is to attract people from the public sector and after 5 weeks of training they will be employed as first year’s teachers in high needs urban schools. The catch phrase is “Let’s close the achievement gap” and get your teaching certification in an alternative route program-well yes I know all about the achievement gap and only starting to realize all the components at work and I decided to re-enter school to become a teacher and this program sounded perfect. I could not have been more wrong

We start week one learning this militant type tactics of behavioral control-such as “Do it again” “Do it now” and “Slant” to name just a few-we practice this over and over again in a highly structured environment where our every move is scheduled and monitored. We are told where to sit, when to stand and when to speak-they occasionally mix up the tables I believe so friendships are not formed and “talk” starts.  We have lunch in groups with our coaches. We are actually scheduled to meet with our coaches for “debriefing” where we are told not to talk and only answer with yes and no. We watch videos of children in which these tactics are employed in other States

Students are drilled on how to line up, hands by side, mouths closed-told which way to turn and what muscle to move next. They are instructed like they are in the military or prison. All the kids in the video are of course black-these behavioral control tactics are of course not utilized in white schools. A strict agenda is posted in the morning requiring us to adhere to it without question. We are at this point working 16 hours a day and not thinking clearly at all. We are then told to start working on lesson plans that we will implement in the field experience component in the evening and e-mail them to our coach for a review. This lesson planning has to be evidently self-taught as I have taken no education courses, which is one of the requirements of the program. 

The second week of the program we begin the field experience component is a 4 week 2.5 hour class consisting of students requiring summer school to recover credits. These are the very students we are supposed be so concerned about with the achievement gap. After 1 week of training we are individually thrown in front of this class of 22, still being monitored by training team members. I will argue that I am NOT an effective teacher after one week of training and these kids WILL suffer because of it. By the third day, 6 of my students were not in class and I believe they will ultimately drop out and as an inexperienced RI Teaching Fellow I am completely responsible; it is reprehensible what we are doing to these kids. 

At the end of this 5 week period we are then placed in an urban school where we are allowed to teach under an emergency teaching certification. At this point we are required to join the TNTP academy where throughout out the year we attend classes and workshops to get our own teaching certification after one year. So the premise is that to qualify for the $5500 educational grant through AmeriCorps you must work in a high need urban school in Rhode Island, what is called the urban4-Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, and Central Falls. These are exactly the only districts we are allowed to apply to. We are also enrolled in AmeriCorps and will receive our educational grant of $5500 after one year of service. 

The cost of this TNTP academy is $6ooo-hmmm…so I will argue that the Teaching Fellows Program doesn’t care one bit about closing the achievement gap but in fact victimizes our low income minority students to achieve their own agenda which is enrollment in the TNTP academy and to fill their own pockets with outlandish salaries. . I saw advertisements on employment agencies sites for jobs within the Teaching Fellows organization paying anywhere between $60-and $78,000.00 per year-a lot of income to certify perhaps 20 teachers a year in the State of Rhode Island and my guess is less than half of those will stay in the high needs urban public schools. When I began the program there where 28 fellows; I was the fourth to drop out by the eighth day. I believe this organization is syphoning money from public education grants to serve their own purposes and the students that are being harmed are the low income black and brown students in these high needs urban schools. Michelle Rhee and this organization need to be stopped. I have decided to continue on and obtain my M.A.T. and become an effective teacher the proper way in two years and not destroy the lives of unsuspecting students on my way. I am continually looking for ways to expose this organization for what it is and hope it’s days are numbered before any more harm is done to these students.
–Theresa Laperche

These are the kinds of programs and the thought process endemic to StudentsFirst and Michelle Rhee.

Did you know, Representative Nasheed, that St. Louis City schools have a certain number of positions set aside for these people that cannot be filled with more qualified teachers?  Did you know, Representative Sommers, that the national PTO was one of the groups behind the development of common core standards which will take control for what the children are taught in the classroom completely away from the teacher, principal and school district, when you were president of the Harvest Ridge PTO? Probably not because the local PTO is never consulted on curriculum or classroom policy. They have been relegated to being primarily a fundraising operation for the school and allowed only to participate in school functioning on the fringe. Are you aware, Lt Gov. Kinder, that charter schools have an 83% failure rate, are frequently run by hedge fund companies that are outside our state, produce test scores that are at best comparable with the local school (and often are worse) and tend to provide little control to the local board for their operation?

Is this what we want coming to our state? Is this what you were thinking of when you talked about education reform Mr.Ms. Representative?

What Does TFA Mean to Missouri Students Graduating With Teaching Degrees

On Wednesday we wrote about the Jefferson Arms building in St. Louis housing Teach For America offices and teachers once the renovation on the building is complete. Teach For America is the latest in a stream of education reforms that is meant to address, specifically, poor scores in urban and rural districts.  It is meant to harness the enthusiasm and energy of recent college graduates of STEM studies and provide them with work soon after graduation. It is meant to be a short term position which makes it an easier sell for TFA, along the lines of the Peace Corps.

But what are the unforeseen consequences of this program.  Sue Peters of Parents Across America and Seattle Education 2010, wrote about Washington State's experience with TFA.  The article provides some good warnings for unintended consequences.

On May 11, the University of Washington's College of Education announced it would sponsor Teach for America at its teaching college, providing the missing component to the deal that TFA, Inc. struck with the Seattle School District last fall.

Last November, Seattle's school board approved a (troubling and one-sided) contract to allow TFA, a short-term alternative teacher credentialing program, into Seattle's hiring pool for the first time. TFA, Inc. also demands a financial and university sponsor in order to brings its program to a new location, and charges school districts an extra $4,000 or more per year for each trainee, in "recruitment, placement and training" fees. (Apparently the millions of dollars from private investors $50 million recently granted to TFA, Inc. by the federal government isn't enough to cover expenses.) Those in the parent ed advocacy community guessed that ed reform sugardaddy Bill Gates would pony up at some point. And he did -- his Washington STEM organization will pay the $4,000 annual fee for the science and math TFAers, which would otherwise be billed to our cash-strapped district. But who would be the university sponsor? We waited for an announcement.


There were rumors that the University of Washington was going to take this on. After all, the new Dean of Education, Tom Stritikus, is a former TFAer himself, and he coincidentally wrote an op-ed  about the values of "alternative" teacher preparation programs in the Seattle Times, just a few weeks before then School Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson out of the blue proposed bringing TFA to our already teacher-filled, recession-struck district.  
The University of Washington already has a well-regarded M.A. teacher ed program (ranked ninth in nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2011). It takes two years and requires a year of student teaching in an actual classroom.

Then the announcement finally came two weeks ago. From the U.W. press release:

Teach For America negotiated directly with Seattle and Federal Way school districts to allow their corps members to interview alongside other candidates for open teaching positions in those districts. Corps members who are hired complete an intensive summer training institute before becoming U-ACT students and begining (sic) full-time teaching. Those hired will enroll as graduate students in the College of Education. They will earn teacher certification through U-ACT and, in subsequent years, a master's degree through one of the college's existing programs -- in Curriculum & Instruction, Special Education, Leadership & Policy Studies or Educational Psychology.

In this new arrangement, the students in the TFA special program will be housed alongside the full program students, but would only be required to take a five-week course, after which they would be deemed immediately eligible to apply for a full-time, full-salaried teaching position, while still learning on the job. The full-term U.W. students, meanwhile, won't be certified and able to enter the workforce until they have completed the first year of their program.
Not surprisingly, this announcement was not well received by Dean Stritkus' current M.A. teaching students. Outrage, dismay and confusion soon followed. One student referred to the UW-TFA deal as a "slap in the face." You can't blame them for feeling betrayed by Stritikus and the university.

Here they have been spending two years following the rigorous standards the dean ostensibly believes in, diligently studying the art and science of teaching, paying their own way for a $23,000 ($50,000 nonresident) masters degree at what they thought was a reputable teaching institution. They are spending hours of in-class time in actual public school classrooms getting invaluable experience, all in the hopes of applying for one of the rare teaching positions in the fall. Now they are being told that a stream of fresh grads will be brought in alongside them at U.W., given a special, condensed education, will do little to no student teaching, but will compete against them for the same jobs.

It must feel like running a 10-mile race, only to have the judges allow a group of new runners join in the last 100 yards and race you to the finish -- on skateboards.

St. Louis started getting TFAers in 2002 when 33 were hired. Since then, Teach for America St. Louis has grown to 190 teachers in 60 school in four school districts — St. Louis, Normandy, Riverview Gardens and Hazelwood — plus charter schools. This is listed as one of their success stories. Would those districts who lost their accreditation between 2002 and now think they are living a success story?

Governor Nixon likes this program and thinks they "are making a difference."  Has he asked any of the Education Bachelors and Masters graduates from Mizzou and Missouri State whether they think TFAers competing along side them without the years of special coursework they paid to obtain is making a difference for them?  Do the residents of Riverview Gardens, Normandy and Hazelwood know that they are getting teachers with only five weeks of teaching training?  And if that is in fact good enough for teaching, how do Mizzou and Missouri State justify the continued offering of a six year $80,000+ masters program in teaching?