Home  :  JOURNAL HEADLINE VERY MISLEADING

Those of you that get the Journal read in Saturday's paper that "Union leaders have agreed to tie teacher evaluation to student performance, despite previous resistance to the idea."

My first reaction was to write a scathing letter to the editor saying, "What the journal report lacks for in facts it makes up for in stereotypes". As I have reported to you in the past, the Race To The Top meetings for the first grant application were so dysfunctional the issue was never even discussed - how could I have resisted the idea? I calmed down when they stated that fact later in the article.

I do however, still have an issue with Veronica Garcia (Secretary of Ed, NM) calling it a union concession. How can we concede on a point that we never discussed?

So now, here is what you really need to know:

-Veronica called together a group of people from many groups (education, business, legislature, etc.) to decide if we had the "political will" to go for round 2.
-It was decided that we do, however, political will cannot be interpreted as selling out our core values, and this point was made.

-I came prepared, knowing that Veronica intended to finally have the discussion about the stipulation in the grant that asks the state to tie teacher evaluation to student achievement. Based on research of other districts and knowing that teachers are very willing to be held accountable for the outcomes of their work with students as long as those outcomes are authentic, and not based on an inadequate measure of that work, I wrote the attached white paper (click to download). The idea in the paper is based on "Student Learning Objectives" or "Student Assessment Goals." This concept is the basis for the Denver Pay for Performance Plan as well as Austin's new plan that has been hailed as innovative and wonderful by the President and Sec. Duncan.

- The meetings were more productive than the previous ones, although difficult. Many in the room blamed me for losing the money in the first round--as did Veronica in the press. I personally believe we lost the first round because the proposal had no substance.  Please read the AFTNM-ATF White Paper: Teacher Evaluation, Compensation & the 3-Tiered Licensure System and share it with your colleagues. I am not suggesting that your evaluation be tied to the SBA--however, the business community and Veronica are adamant that we do this.

I will be meeting again with Veronica and others on the 26th to continue this work.

In solidarity,
Ellen