Top-Down Mandates in Academic Plans: Just Say No!

There is no meeting at our school more dreaded than the annual academic plan review. Our principal presents her proposal for the following year's goals and objectives, and we go through it page by page, seeking consensus. There are a few vocal teachers who slow the process down, asking questions and sometimes expressing opposition, and some amendments are made. Most of the faculty seem to just want to get it over with. In the past, it has been mostly innocuous, not very controversial. There is a sense that it is a meaningless endeavor; in the end, the principal has the final say. The school community council, made up of elected stakeholders, serve as an advisory council, but they go through the motions of approving what the teachers have approved. We are used to being disempowered - we have been in restructuring since 2004, having lost control of the federal Title 1 money allotted to our school to corporate education providers, and doing what they tell us to do.

But this year, it was different. This year, we were presented with a "pre-filled" academic plan with mandates from the state. This year, it was not innocuous, it became increasingly worrisome, and controversial, ending in a postponement to next week. We passed through the universal screener (testing we're already doing) and state-wide curriculum (more standardization), implementation of the Common Core Standards, and other state mandates, without much debate. I myself, was in a bit of of an apathetic mood.

But when we got to implementation of the Danielson model for classroom observations, red flags came up. My colleagues, who are active in the union, started to speak up. We knew that this is part of the new teacher evaluation and we knew that we are in the process of negotiating a new contract in which agreements about teacher evaluation are being considered. The vice principal tried to salvage the situation and offered an amendment to reassure us that this was to be a pilot. I read ahead to the next item: "Implement the Effective Educator System" which includes the four parts that are being piloted this year: Classroom Observations, Student Learning Objectives, Tripod (Student) Survey and Student Growth Percentile.

Sometimes it takes my brain a few minutes to get into the proper gear, but when I read that, I knew I had to speak up. I asked if we had ever included evaluation in our academic plan before. No. I expressed how this academic plan seems overwhelmingly top-down which seems to go against the whole idea of the financial and academic plan process being collaborative. I get that there will be mandates that the employer requires, but then why go through the process of seeking consensus, of appearing to be collaborative? My principal told us that the principals said the same thing at their meeting when they were told they had to do this. We applauded her. Yet, they were told to just do it. She tried to move the meeting along and asked us to approve the amended item. There was no response except that we said we needed to get our union's take on this. I think we were shell-shocked. So the meeting will resume next week.

I immediately called our Uniserv Director who said he would look into it. Two days later, he said he got this response from his colleagues: (Paraphrasing because lotus notes is down) They (teachers) can leverage their right to an open, collaborative and democratic process in school-based budgeting decisions.

Okaaaay. That is what we are doing. But we are being told it is a "state mandate."
I wanted to find out if this was a state directive. I still did not get an answer on this. As far as I know, it is only coming from our complex. If it is, then we deal with it on our complex, to our complex area superintendent. But if it is a state directive, which our CAS and our principals say it is, then we need to move and move fast. The state DOE is out of line, increasingly authoritarian.

In what way is the state out of line? According to HSTA, it is not grieveable. But that doesn't mean we can't and shouldn't protest. This is what I had believed: the idea of Act 51 was to decentralize decision-making and bring control to the schools. It gave the principals more authority, and involved stakeholders through the School Community Councils, who were supposedly elected by their constituents. The principal puts together a plan based on school needs. It seems that principals vary in how much input they get from their faculties. At my school, we go through both the financial and academic plans and we take a show of hands to indicate agreement. Then it is brought to the SCC for recommendation. And so it goes.

I did a little digging to find out why these "pre-filled" academic plans seem different, as I said at the meeting, "it feels oppressive and I am getting the heebie-jeebies." I found a speech given by Randy Moore, the recently retired assistant superintendant in charge of facilities, who was responsible for the implementation of Act 51.

He said: "The change mandated by Act 51 will turn the Department of Education upside down. It will end command and control, where not only what to do, but how to do it, are determined at the state office and communicated down through the organization to the schools."

I looked up Act 51 itself, called the Reinventing Education Act of 2004, which brought huge changes to public education in Hawaii. I pulled this quote: "It is the legislature's intent to place a far greater number of decisions, and a much higher percentage of moneys, directly in the hands of individual schools and their leaders."

So my heebie-jeebies come from the real world. Act 51 was supposed to lessen bureaucracy, lessen a top-down management system. It was supposed to be empowering to the local level, as it was a response to then-governor Lingle's plan to completely dismantle our one-district school system and create local school districts. We supported Act 51 because we were against Lingle's policies, and what could be more local than giving power to the school itself?

Why the mandates in the pre-filled academic plans? The Department wants to implement the Educator Effectiveness System, which was a huge component of their Race To The Top application. We are now in negotiations for which this is a contentious issue. The union's surveys and focus group sessions have provided data that the current pilot of the EES does not adequately address the concerns of the system and work out the kinks. In fact, it appears that the Department has not used the piloting for this purpose, but appears superficial, a pilot in appearance only. We are asking for changes in the system and another year to pilot it, using the pilot authentically, to collaboratively ensure that the system works as a fair and reliable way to evaluate teachers.

Perhaps the Department saw the Academic Plan review process as a way to work-around the union. Perhaps, someone at the Department says, hey, if we can get all the schools to approve these "mandated" items in their Academic Plans, we can say we got the buy-in of all the stakeholders, including teachers, and we don't have to get an agreement on this through the union.

Someone tell me another reason why this is happening? What else could it be? I am open to ideas.
If there is a chance that I could be right on this, then we need to do something. At the very least, we can tell our teacher representatives on our SCCs that we do not approve state mandates relating to evaluation. Our teacher reps can try to convince the other stakeholders to not approve this, saying that we cannot approve something that we know nothing about, that has not been properly piloted to ensure fairness. If the principals override the SCC's recommendation, as they seem to have the right to do, then at least we are on record as opposing, which can be reported to the federal government. They cannot use this means as a way to show stakeholder support. We can announce to the media that this is happening.

I know there will be spin that we are afraid of being held accountable. There is nothing more accountable than having an open door policy. Come into my classroom and see what I do. Help me out while you're here. I have nothing to hide. We only want to be evaluated fairly. It is our career, our chosen profession. We are afraid of being deprived of our career, losing our ability to do what we love to do based on an unfair and unreliable system. We are afraid of losing good teachers because of an unfair and unreliable system. It is not only receiving an unfair bad evaluation that we are afraid of- we are afraid of a pressure-cooker system, even if we get good evaluations.

And losing good teachers not only hurts teachers, of course it hurts students. Losing good teachers will be devastating to students. Yes, they will be replaced, but they too will go. It will be a revolving door. Only business owners who love the low-wage personnel model see this as a good thing. When all of public school teaching in the US becomes like the Peace Corps (the TFA model), then we will know we have gone into backwards-land. Will we ever be able to escape?

Don’t put teachers last

Here is a letter that did get published in the West Hawaii Today on 12/13/12. I recently received an email from a teacher questioning why HSTA doesn't do (fill in the blank). One of the things she wishes HSTA would do is write letters to the editor. I replied that it would be more powerful coming from teachers, telling their own stories. I challenge her and you and anyone else to do the same. Speak up! Stand up!

My Letter:

One of the popular slogans seen on the signs and T-shirts of teachers protesting on the streets near their schools all over the state is: You can’t put students first if you put teachers last.

Today, along with more than 80 schools, Kealakehe Elementary School teachers and supporters were out sign-waving in force. One of the teachers at my school told me a parent didn’t like that slogan because it sounds like we don’t put students first.

I was shocked and dismayed by that perspective, but I am always grateful for an opportunity to shed light on a topic. There are other slogans similar to this one with the same sentiment: “A teacher’s working environment is a child’s learning environment.” And “ain’t nobody happy if mama ain’t happy.” Or how about taking care of your own oxygen supply before helping others?

Though we give and give of our time, energy, attention, care and money, there comes a point when you do not get enough back to replenish your reserves. When this happens, people quit. Hawaii, like the rest of the nation, has a problem with teachers leaving the profession. It is a shame when these are good teachers leaving for better opportunities.

We want to fix this. And we don’t ask for much: respect, a fair contract, fair evaluations and fair evaluators, and a wage commensurate with our educational level and the workload required. I hope the community will see that by supporting teachers, they are supporting students. Give us the oxygen, so we can give oxygen to the students in our care.

Inspired to Problem Solve Education Dilemmas

Since I stopped going to church on Sunday mornings, it seems that I have adopted another Sunday morning ritual, watching The Next List on CNN. For those of you who don't know the show, the host, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, finds people who are doing remarkable cutting edge things in diverse fields. Today, I made the connection that the show was like church for me. The subject was a genius entrepreneur, Jim McKelvey. (http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-next-list/)

The show starts out showcasing his artistry as a glass-blower and how he founded this company after talking to another glass-blower about the lack of opportunities in this field. It then shows how he developed a technology company called Square, as a way of solving a problem involving accepting a payment. How McKelvey branches into different endeavors from glass-blowing to computer programming to job creation for underserved communities is showcased; the thread that connects each endeavor is that he is fierce about solving problems. "If something is wrong, who's going to fix it? If not me, then who?"

I know he doesn't egotistically believe that he can solve all the problems of the world, but he does want to solve that ones that come his way, the ones that engage and activate him. There are problems enough for all of us. What he did, was inspire me to activate that mode.

I have been involved in education activism for many years, questioning and speaking out about the fallacies of No Child Left Behind and the high-stakes testing culture that public schooling has become all across the country. In the Obama era of Race to the Top and teacher evaluation based on student test scores, the problems are even worse. The adoption of the Common Core standards are intrinsically connected with the madness of current reform efforts, but I hear very little opposition to them among my colleagues. The effect of focus on testing and standards has produced a huge problem that I would like to be able to solve somehow - we have lost sight of the child, the student, as an individual.

When I first got into teaching, it was all about that. It was about being child and student-centered. It was about multiple intelligences and different learning styles. It was about unit teaching and integrating subjects into cohesive, connected learning experiences. The debate between whole language and phonics had been resolved - you needed multiple approaches, not just one. It was about engaging students. It was about inquiry. It was about solving problems. It was about building confidence. Empowerment. This was the profession I fell in love with. It has changed. And not for the better. It has devolved. The things I am proud of as a teacher are relegated to my blog writing. The things that seem to count are the things that I could care less about. Yes, test scores. I could care less about test scores. I care about my students learning and I value tests as a way to keep track of their progress, but the obsession with data, data, data in current practice is over the top.

Old-timers will tell you that if you have been in teaching long enough, you will experience pendulum swings. So if I don't like some "fad" or initiative, just wait it out, the pendulum will swing back. I really think there is something more ominous going on than a fly-by-night harmless pendulum swing. So - I have identified the problem. Public schools and public school teachers are judged by the test scores that their students produce. Teachers, like me, are not in the profession to raise test scores, they are in it to connect to children, to make a difference in their lives. There is a huge disconnect. What is the result of a system whose main concern is the raising of test scores? Less time, attention, and resources on activities chosen for engagement and joy, and more on activities directly related to testing.

Since I am now in the "winter" of my career, the way I had chosen to solve the problem is to look forward to retirement. I see the writing on the wall in regards to teacher evaluation based on student "growth," and the implementation of the Common Core, and I will soon say, good luck and good-bye. But then I get a dose of inspiration from a glass-blower named Jim McKelvey, and I wonder - Is there a way to solve this problem? How can we make the system more child and student focused? How can we have public schools that are models of innovation and aloha? Can it be done at my level, at the grass roots?

I don't have a solution. I only have a reignited desire to solve the problem.

"Find Another Profession" : Really? Is That the Only Answer?

As president of our chapter, I often get questions about the contract. I do my best to answer but mostly I refer them to someone at HSTA or Paul, who has been our negotiations representative for as long as I've been president, but this one really got to me.

Question: Is it a violation of our contract for a principal to suggest that teachers seek other employment options? Thanks!

My answer: That's terrible! If she thinks a teacher is not up to par, she needs to go through the process of evaluating with the tool we have now, the Pep-T; a teacher would have due process rights in case he/she feels the unsatisfactory eval is unfair. It is hard to say whether it is a violation of the contract but if you have an active APC, it would be a good topic and you would speak to teacher morale. As we go forward with the new contract, we can speak to the cause of such a statement. I am thinking it has something to do with overwhelming demands put on teachers and the principal trying to pressure teachers into accepting this as a condition of the job. As much as possible, teachers should try to ask for time to do these tasks that are mandated by principal but not given time to do them. There is a lot we do beyond our work day, but we do it if we find value in it, like for me, keeping up with my grading. But if it is demanded beyond my work day and I hate it and I disagree with it as valuable, I would not do it unless time was allotted for it, somehow. Unless teachers stand up for their rights, the principals will keep demanding more and then try to do mind games to get you to do them.

One of the ideas we came away with at the Town Halls was that we are the experts, we are the ones who should be informing education policies, as opposed to outside entities who think they know how to fix everything. I can just imagine what happened at her school to make the principal say such a thing. I have talked to teachers from her school who report increasing demands - meetings, data collection, etc. Someone must have said something about the workload and this must have been the principal's response.

So, if this is the scenario at your school as well, you need to speak up. That is the only way things will change. This can be addressed in negotiations. We negotiate pay, benefits, and working conditions. We want to improve all aspects of our profession, but we need to articulate the working conditions that we envision by which we can provide our students with a truly quality well-rounded education, that is not only about test scores. Maybe you're sick of hearing about Finland and Singapore, but one of the aspects of their working conditions is that they are paid fairly for their non-instructional time! Yes, we had some of that before furloughs. But, those days always had restrictions. Imagine that we got our non-instructional days back and with those days we could pursue activities of our choice that were in line with goals that we chose, that we valued. Imagine the best professional development or the best planning sessions you have ever had. Imagine if they were rejuvenating rather than depleting.

Okay, those of you who know me, know that I am the eternal optimist. And maybe I am more like Don Quixote chasing windmills. But the only way things ever got better or even invented, was having an idea, and manifesting that idea. So, if someone asks you what do you think would improve education, make sure you take the opportunity to tell them.

Here are the questions that were asked at the Town Halls. Share your mana'o, please. Answer the questions that resonate with you or all.

1. What should be the 5 biggest priorities of focus for improving our schools? Be as broad or specific as you like, but please try to be concise and clear.

2. Measuring ‘student learning growth’ has been central to the current discussions on school reform. How should we measure and define student learning growth? What are the best assessments or mix of assessments?

3. It has been suggested that teachers do not want to be evaluated at all. We know this is false, but we need to positively engage this issue. So, how should teachers be evaluated? How can teacher evaluations be used to improve classroom practice?

4. We hear many teachers argue that student learning and school quality are deeply intertwined with issues affecting the greater community – poverty, language access, etc. So how can we better engage the community in education? What issues in the community need to addressed in order to support students and schools?

Help spread the word. Please share.

From self-tagging kiosks at Hawaiian Airlines to my classroom - Connections

Not only are there self-service computers at the airlines where you get your own boarding pass, but now there is one set aside for self-tagging. Good thing there are actual humans who warn you that you're on your own if you use these kiosks. I went to the semi-self service ones immediately. The agent there was in good humor, joking around about how we made a good choice coming over and then joked that in a couple of years he's not going to have a job. My brother and I were reflecting on the loss of human contact as automation and computerization increases. And there's something troubling about that especially in Hawaii, the Aloha state. (It would be worse if we were talking about Aloha Airlines.)

It made me think about the trend in education towards more computerization. We already have statewide online standardized testing. To prepare for that, all schools had to beef up their inventory of computers as well as their Internet accessibility. In my class, on a normal day, I have half of my class on laptops doing Moby Math, IXL, or Education City, while I teach math investigations to the other half, and then we rotate. I try to look at the results of their computer learning daily to,track,their progress or intervene if necessary. I like it because I can touch base with more kids more often. It's a good balance for me. It allows me to have more contact with kids, not less. But I hear that the next trend in education is more computer-based learning and less teacher-contact learning. In fact, there are several charter schools set up with that premise. It seems to be profitable because you have fewer humans to pay. Maybe the students will do well on the online standardized testing, but I worry, for the same reasons I worry about more automation in the business world - loss of the human factor.

Why does that matter? On Friday, I had some unplanned time at the end of the day. The scheduled bike education lesson went shorter than planned, so I had about twenty minutes to fill. Earlier, the Honolulu Theatre for Youth Artists in the Schools program for which our ELL get pulled out to participate, had started. I asked my ELL students what they had learned in drama class and they taught us one of the games they learned. The students walk around the room following certain guidelines about personal space, focus, and self-control. The teacher gives a signal to stop, and then a number, and the students get into that number of students in a group. Then the teacher gives a shape for the students to make. One notable round, the number was 2. I have 25 in my class. One of the rules is that if there is someone who doesn't have a partner, one group takes him or her in. So there was one group if three, which happened to be a triad that included 3 challenging boys. The shape I called out was "rectangle." It's easy for a duo to do a rectangle, but I thought there might be a problem with my one trio. But they came up with an ingenious solution, led by my one most hard-to-focus student who got the others to implement his idea. I was impressed with their solution to the problem. In the normal classroom setting, none of these boys are the star students, the ones who will volunteer the answers. But in this situation, they got a chance to experience being the stars.

A student who gets his or her education via a computer without much contact with a human, professional educator committed to encouraging and nurturing students' potential, will not have those types of experiences. So, yes. Welcome technology as a means to enhance education, but be wary of the potential for abuse, for overuse of the technology, for loss of the human factor.


Sent from my iPad

A Governor, a Girl, and a Couple Dozen Teachers

Tonight the Hawaii Democratic Party hosted a rally for the Kona area with the Governor and Mazie as headliners. We decided to take advantage of the opportunity to show our signs and red shirts to the governor, political leaders, and members of the community attending the rally. We had about 25 members, their children, and supporters there -Teachers Taking a Stand - as one of the signs said.

We started our sign-waving at about 4:30. The red shirts do make quite a statement. We had good responses from the public as they came to pick up their kids at school and as they were coming to the rally. Some of the folks going to the rally stopped to speak to us and also shared their disappointment in the governor.

An unassuming sedan came up honking and we are always happy to hear the supportive sounds of cars honking but elated when we saw it was Mazie. She then walked down the sidewalk to talk to us, which was such a good move on her part. There were a few photos taken with her so I hope I can post those soon. When she spoke later in the rally, we all stood and cheered for her. In fact, it was pretty much a standing ovation. By contrast, about a tenth of the audience stood for the Governor. There was quite an obvious difference in the reception towards Mazie and the Governor. That's a statement !

Back to the sign-waving: One of our teachers decided that she would walk across the crosswalk with her sign if she saw any SUV-type vehicles with tinted windows. She correctly identified these cars, the first one was driving Lt. governor Schatz. The second one was the governor's car. I didn't see this, but was told that this car did not slow down as she crossed the crosswalk, unlike every other car driving in this school zone. After barely letting her pass, the driver sped into the lower parking lot. Teachers who saw this said that some students waiting there told them to slow down. The cross-walking teacher went into the cafeteria and confronted him face-to-face, scolding him for almost running her over and then about the contract. Other teachers took turns talking to him. One of the teachers who had a chance to talk to him told me that as she was talking to him, a Big Island Senator and his ally, muttered that he wasn't going to listen to us anyway. She was visibly annoyed with us. Finally, they got him to break away from the red shirts, and Skyla Graig-Murray, a student at West Hawaii Explorations Academy and daughter of one of our teachers, Erin Graig, boldly asked to speak to him. She wasn't wearing a red shirt and he recognized she was young. She told him "I have fantastic teachers. And I love them all. I want them to feel like they can continue to teach." He responded, "I do too, but I've spoken to you here more than I have the (representatives)".

Kealakehe Elementary teacher Erin Graig and her daughter, WHEA student Skyla Graig-Murray, who the Governor admitted made an impression on him. 

We know we made an impact. Neil's speech had undertones I believe were directed at us, about having disagreements, but the need to respect each other despite our disagreements, and being "pono." In fact, he mentioned Skyla and said that he was impressed by her, but also is impressed by a teenager fighting for her life in England who was shot in the face for expressing her desire for an education. Referring to Skyla, he said: "This young lady felt that she could speak freely and openly and that she would be respected for it." He spoke about the value of freedom "that I'm experiencing right at this very moment, being able to speak with you, and to have the opportunity to be listened to by those who have serious issues not only with my administration or ... about Act 55 ... or what we might do or things that cause you to have concerns. The fact that we can do this is very precious to me and that I don't take for granted. I think about that young woman who I think speaks for entirely what this is about..."

I recall a debate I was having with someone about high-stakes testing and I was winning so my opponent brings up that we should be doing something for the starving children in Africa instead of putting so much time and energy into such a lame issue such as testing. That the governor compares Skyla's comments to the horrible story of the Pakistani girl shot for saying girls deserved to be educated shows that we touched him. He had to frame our presence. He chose to frame it juxtaposed to the Pakistani heroine, fighting for her life, not able to enjoy the freedom that we have. In a way, it was an attempt to minimize our presence. But on the other hand, it acknowledged our presence.

"Iron Sharpens Iron" - Amy Nestman, Hawaii Island Teacher of the Year

One of the problems with teaching is that we are relatively isolated in our classrooms. We don't really know what other teachers are doing if they are not on your grade level or department, especially in a very large school like ours, Kealakehe Elementary. We may know who is warm and friendly, but we don't really know who the outstanding teachers are. So, when Amy Nestman, a teacher at my school, became the Big Island nominee for Hawaii State Teacher of the Year, I was reminded of the isolation of our profession, because I did not know of her "outstandingness." After learning more about her for this blog, I am certain her recognition is well-deserved. 



I wanted her to be the subject of my first teacher profile because that is the reason I started the blog, to publicize teacher greatness. The other problem with our profession is our humility, we don't like to toot our own horn. But because she agreed that improving the public image of teachers is important, she couldn't say no. In fact, she didn't immediately agree to complete the application for Teacher of the Year when first nominated by our principal. But she had to break through the inclination to be humble, and embrace the opportunity.

 

The focus in Amy's classroom is on team-building. The students work in teams to support each other to achieve goals, academically and socially. Teams earn points for effective communication, collaboration in getting their resources ready quickly and when everyone turns in their homework. The emphasis on character-building is exemplified by a wall chart on which the students can post when they have demonstrated the general learner outcomes. Students are recognized throughout the day when they demonstrate an outcome and they are celebrated by putting their initials by the GLO on the board, they also get a sticker for their sticker book. At the end of the day they record the GLOs they demonstrated in their Home School Notebook so their parents can share in their child’s success at school.  She puts a lot of emphasis on student accountability, which is a tall order for second graders, but they rise up and meet that challenge, knowing they are believed in, supported, and expected to be successful.



Amy said that what motivated her to become a teacher was being inspired by teachers growing up in Kona, what she calls, "the ohana factor." She dreamt of becoming a teacher since she was in second grade, it was a spark within her that she couldn’t ignore. Her family, teachers in her children’s lives, teachers she worked with in different arenas as a volunteer, reading tutor and ELL Coordinator encouraged her to never give up on her dream; she was always told by all she met to pursue her goals and never lose sight of what she yearned to achieve. She not only honored the teachers in her children’s lives in Kona, she also remembers the teachers she has had and how they took her under their wings and inspired her to  discover her personal best in all she pursued. 

Today she’s living her dream of teaching and is committed to return those blessings she received in her community, by giving back to the children here. Her philosophy is to extend the ohana factor into her classroom climate. What keeps her going and keeps her inspired are her fellow teachers and their "unfailing dedication to their students, their support for each other, and their passion."

 Bringing positive attention to Kealakehe Elementary School and the amazing teachers she works with is one of the most rewarding aspects of this accomplishment for her. She is her grade level representative on the Instructional Leadership Team, which promotes school improvement through teacher leadership, and meshes well with her own passion for fellow teachers.



“Teaching is not just a job; it is an honorable mission and journey to positively impact our future generations and empower them with hope, conviction, and confidence through education. One of the most powerful influences and motivators for us as teachers is the influence of our fellow teachers. It reminds me of a bible verse which voices that “Iron sharpens iron” (Prov. 27-17.) To me that speaks so much about the amazing things that happen when teachers come together, support, and strengthen each other to make these missions for our students become reality. “ - Amy Nestman