May 18, 2010
'Race To The Top' Turns Into 'Race Against The Clock'
Buckle up your seatbelts, there's turbulence ahead as we approach Memorial Day Weekend and the June 1 deadline for Round 2 of RTTT. Despite naysayers who continue to insist that the 'Race To The Top' hasn't done all that much to promote President Obama's progressive agenda of change for public education, we're seeing red hot reform action from coast to coast, the likes of which this nation has never seen. If you don't believe us, read the preview of the article Steven Brill wrote for next Sunday's New York Times Magazine in which Brill says, among other things:
"[the] media-alluring, if cheesy-sounding, contest called Race to the Top...has turned a relatively modest federal program (the $4.3 billion budget represents less than 1 percent of all federal, state and local education spending) into high-yield leverage that could end up overshadowing health care reform in its impact and that is already upending traditional Democratic Party politics."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Race-t.htmlOver just the past couple of weeks, in addition to the landmark teacher evaluation and tenure reform bill signed into law in Colorado, there is a deal in Central Falls that may help the state win support, or at least less active opposition, from teachers unions; exciting but largely under-the-radar action in Oklahoma; and, lots of end of session jockeying in states like Kentucky and West Virginia. Plus the usual Arizona and Texas nonsense and more. See below for details.
State Intents to File. Thirty-eight states have sent notice to the U.S. Department of Education that they intend to apply for Race to the Top Round 2: AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, UT, WA, WV, WI.
If things hold, this would leave only four states that sat out the race in both Rounds 1 and 2: Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, and Vermont. Last time around, 37 states said they would apply, and 40 plus D.C. actually did, so there could be one or two late-breaking changes. Stay tuned.
Arizona: The state says it intends to file a Round 2 application, but it's not at all clear how they plan to improve on their 40th place showing in Round 1. The Governor did sign a bill into law last week banning "ethnic studies" programs in Arizona, especially those the state deems as promoting "resentment of a particular ethnic group," but did not provide an explanation of how that would help the state make up any of the 259.8 points reviewers deducted from the state's application in March. One upside, though, is that it looks like the new law dictates that teachers won't be burdened with having to explain laws passed by the state the previous month which legalized racial profiling of people with dark skin and which will require our first black President to show proof that he was born in the United States (as if) when he runs for reelection in 2012.
You can't make this stuff up.
California: A few new districts in California (which placed 27th in Round 1) have signed up for the state's effort; San Francisco is among those joining Los Angeles, Long Beach, Fresno, and two others, which brings the total now to 6. The state's so called "bottom-up" approach of building a stronger application with a smaller number of districts - but still a large number of children - is gaining support, and has been endorsed by both the L.A. Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. Reportedly, state and local officials are working "around the clock" toward the June 1 filing deadline.
Could compelling arguments like these from the LA Times Editorial Board sway Round 2 RTT reviewers?:
"The [LAUSD} district has five times as many students as Delaware, one of the states that won in the first round of funding, and its student demographics fit Race to the Top's goals: large proportions of students in poverty, attending low-performing schools and possessing limited knowledge of English. The district already is starting on a couple of promising reforms, such as the Public School Choice program that allows outside groups to bid to manage failing schools and its initiative to keep more effective teachers in the schools. The money would do more to help a few school districts than if it were spread throughout the state, and it would be targeted toward the students who need it most."
In the midst of all this, a Superior Court Judge on Wednesday ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a class action suit brought by the CA ACLU and others, which asserts that seniority-based layoffs in Los Angeles were disproportionately affecting high-poverty, high-minority schools; the judge temporarily suspended the layoffs. Could this be the beginning of the end of "quality-blind" layoff policies in the Golden State? Could making this court ruling an official state or LAUSD policy be the Hail Mary the state needs to win a Round 2 grant?
Colorado. The Race to the Top play of the month, and in all likelihood the year, is hands down the passage of Senator Mike Johnston's (D-Denver) teacher evaluation and tenure reform bill (SB 191), which was passed on the last day of Colorado's legislative session and signed into law by Governor Ritter last Thursday. The bill was quickly hailed as a national model, and for good reason. This should move the state from the middle of the Race to the Top pack - the state placed 14th out of 16 finalists - to the front.
Our incredible team at DFER-Colorado was instrumental to passage of the legislation, working closely with the bill sponsors and supporters to build a broad coalition to endorse the bill, develop public awareness and media outreach efforts, and lobby legislators. (Go Moira!)
The Colorado Education Association vehemently opposed by the bill. Ultimately, however, the list of supporters included statewide education and child advocacy organizations, Colorado's business community, community leaders, superintendents, local school boards, Colorado's current and three former Governors, the Commissioner of Education, the NAACP, the American Federation of Teachers (!), and, of course, individual teachers and principals who brought their compelling stories to the Capitol.
This is what progress looks like.
In addition to our fearless bill sponsors, Senator Mike Johnston and Representative Christine Scanlan, a shout out goes to four DFER-CO advisory committee members who were vital to passage of this legislation - Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll who shepherded this controversial bill through the House of Representatives,Representative Karen Middleton who serves on the House Education Committee, Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien who is at the helm of the state's Race to the Top bid, and Elaine Gantz Berman who is a member of the State Board of Education, which endorsed the bill.
Key components of SB 191:
● Teachers would be evaluated every year and students' academic progress would count for half the instructors' overall rating.
● Elementary- and high-school teachers would need three consecutive years of positive evaluations to earn tenure, which guarantees them an appeals process before they can be fired.
● Educators rated "ineffective" two years in a row would be stripped of tenure protection and revert to probationary status. They could earn back job protection after three straight years of satisfactory evaluations.
Keep on rocking in the free world, Colorado!
Connecticut: Connecticut took a significant step forward on school reform when it passed SB 438 which will: require every district to evaluate teachers based on their students' achievement; establish a data system that links students to their teachers and teachers to their training programs; creates new pathways for talented classroom teachers to become principals; and eliminates caps on the number of seats allowed in high-performing public charter schools.
Connecticut ranked 25th in Round 1. So, although these measures were aimed at making the state competitive in Round 2, it's not clear that they will be sufficient to secure a win. Efforts to enact policies put forth by states with more favorable Round 1 scores, such as making student achievement a significant factor in teacher evaluations, attaching consequences to teacher and principal evaluations, or addressing resource inequities between rich and poor schools were not successful. Whether or not the state gets a grant when awards are announced in September, the state has taken a positive step forward, on which subsequent school reform efforts can be built. Big shout out to the folks at ConnCan who worked hard to win reforms no one thought possible when all this began last year.
Florida: In Florida, a deal was worked out between Governor Crist, who is now running competitively as an independent in the U.S. Senate race, and teachers unions after his veto of the legislature's evaluation and tenure reform bill. The plan, like the vetoed bill, would base teacher evaluations at least 50% on student achievement growth, phased in over several years. Local districts would also have to come up with plans to tie the evaluations to teacher pay. Because the plan leaves decisions for developing and implementing teacher evaluation systems to local school districts, one wonders whether this will give some reviewers pause or cause them to raise questions about statewide impact, especially after all the publicity around Crist's veto of the stronger bill in April. Still, given that Florida placed 4th in Round 1, they would seem to be a hands on favorite for a big $700 million RTT Round 2 win.
Illinois: The state had a pretty strong Round 1 performance in which it earned 5th place. But the Chicago Tribune today opines that the state has not done enough this time around to improve its chances in Round 2, pointing to states like Colorado that have taken bold action in the ramp up to the June 1 deadline. Smart money is still on a Round 2 Illinois win.
Kentucky: KY Education Commissioner Terry Holliday is still hopeful that a charter school authorizing law can be passed before the June 1 filing deadline. A special state legislative session, called by Governor Steve Beshear, is set for May 24th. The Governor did not include charter schools on the legislative agenda, but Holliday seems to be signaling that the issue is in play and that a bill could be introduced. Holliday argues that passage is essential to increasing the state's chances for a Round 2 RTT award.
Maryland: State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick and the state board are proposing a teacher evaluation system based at least 50% on student achievement and a system of pay bonuses to qualified teachers and principals who agree to work in low-performing schools. The Baltimore Teachers Union (an AFT affiliate) supports the state's plan, while the statewide NEA affiliate opposes it. Maryland did not submit an application in Round 1, so they are one of the biggest unknowns in the Round 2 mix. History indicates, however, that when it comes to education reform Superintendent Grasmick, as the kids say, is no joke.
Nevada: The state has announced that is beginning to take seriously its 51st in the nation ranking on "students chance for success" by Education Week in its "Quality Counts" report. The state issued a blueprint (where have we heard that word before?) for reform that is admittedly vague, but which it hopes will start them down the road to more concrete education reforms and a Round 2 RTT application. One area the blueprint does emphasize is expanding alternative routes to teaching by contracting with Teach for America. The state did not apply for RTT Round 1 because its firewall between student achievement and teacher evaluation disqualified it, but that firewall was taken down earlier this year after Senator Harry Reid, among others, chastised the Governor and the Legislature for their inertia.
New York: Top New York officials reached a deal on teacher evaluation that may turn out to be better than current policies, though it's questionable by how much. The agreement would require 40% of teacher evaluations be based on student achievement. It also specifies that state standardized-test scores won't be more than 20 percent of the evaluation with local measures forming the other 20 percent (somehow non-standardized, and as yet non-existent, local tests are all the rage in New York right now). Stephen Sawchuk at Ed Week noted that New York is the only state thus far to approve a teacher evaluation plan in which student achievement counts for less than 50% of teacher evaluations. The state legislature still must approve the deal.
All eyes now are on the Assembly to see if they follow the Senate's lead on raising the state charter school cap, the only chance left for the state to go into the Round 2 contest with a bold, statewide reform plsn. That effort got a huge boost yesterday when Bill Clinton, who launched the first federal charter school program back in 1994, urged the Assembly to pass the Senate bill.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma placed 34th out of 41 applicants in Round 1. But it looks like the state may be going into Round 2 with a bang. On May 11th, Governor Brad Henry signed into law Senate Bill 509, which takes effect immediately and gives school administrators much greater authority to restructure and/or fully reconstitute chronically low-performing schools. A second bill, SB 2033, which would establish a more rigorous system of teacher evaluation, based in part on student achievement gains, is in Conference Committee. Earleir this year, the state removed caps on charter schools. Oklahoma could really shake up the Round 2 race, especially for those states (e.g., New York) hoping to squeak by with a win in Round 2 based on its Round 1 rankings.
Rhode Island: State Superintendent Deborah Gist, fresh off of being named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential people, has spent the past few weeks holding public forums on the state's Round 2 application, garnering additional support from school districts and teachers. Although the state's teachers unions have been playing their cards close about whether they will support Rhode Island's application this time around, a deal announced Sunday with the AFT local at Central Falls which will allow teachers there to keep their jobs, albeit with new responsibilities and expectations, is widely seen as a step forward in healing wounds and massaging hurt feelings. Rick Hess has a good take on the whole Central Falls story, beginning to end, which really puts things in perspective.
Texas: The wonders of "peer review." At a Texas school last week, it was revealed that a student was beaten and kicked by a teacher while a fellow teacher watched, after a student cell phone video of the assault went viral. No one had reported the incident before the video surfaced weeks after the incident. Not even the teacher claims that the student hit or threatened her in any way before she beat him. The teacher has been suspended and it turned out she already had an outstanding warrant out for her arrest on a prior charge of "criminal mischief." Police have not yet filed criminal charges in the beating of the student. If teachers in poorly functioning schools don't report on each other when they see students being beaten, do we really think it's likely they will grade them critically on the quality of their instruction?
West Virginia: The state began a special legislative session last Thursday to focus on passage of reforms that improve it chances in Round 2, after a weak 36th place Round 1 showing. Among those items on the agenda: passing a state charter school authorizing law.
