For our students, please veto HB 2301
This guest column is co-authored by: Brian Haliski, 1st and 2nd Grade Teacher, Tigard-Tualatin; Brian Hall, Middle School Teacher, Eagle Point; Helen Jacobs, Bus Driver, Albany; Jane Killefer, Middle School Teacher, Salem; Rebecca Konefal, Language Arts Teacher, Eagle Point; Michael D. Lamb, Chemistry Teacher, Klamath Falls; Andy Porter, High School Math Teacher, Lake Oswego; Gail Rasmussen, OEA President and Education Support Professional, Eagle Point; Lynda Sanders, 8th Grade Science Teacher, Coos Bay; Scott Shamen, High School P.E. Teacher, Fern Ridge; Lois Stark, Special Education Para Professional, Salem; Hanna Vaandering, OEA Vice President and Elementary P.E. Teacher, Beaverton; Erin Whitlock, Behavior Specialist, Springfield
Right now, students across the state are beginning their summer vacation knowing they’ll start school next year with larger class sizes and fewer educational options. Because of budget cuts, districts have been forced to close neighborhood schools, cut valuable programs, and shorten the school year. Hundreds, if not thousands, of teachers have been laid off. And in the face of all this funding turmoil, the Oregon Legislature caved to political pressure rather than standing up for students.
The fact is, the majority of Oregon’s Republican legislators, a few Democrats and Governor John Kitzhaber, have just agreed to permanently siphon hundreds of millions away from our schools and hand deliver them to for-profit, out-of-state, unregulated, virtual school vendors.
Republicans are celebrating, claiming that because the legislature approved and the governor has agreed to sign House Bill 2301, “another 20,000 students across the state could enroll in virtual charter schools”. This may cost struggling school districts as much as $206 million in the next biennium.
And what did the governor and Democrats who supported the bill get for it? They got $25 million in one-time dollars. They got a few, good education policy bills that should have and would have passed on their own merits (unanimously as it happens). And the governor got a bill to look at how we can restructure (not increase) the dismal, underfunded budgets for pre-K through post secondary schools – something he could have accomplished through an executive order.
Oh, and they get to leave town and go home to their families.
The more important question to ask: What do Oregon students get? They get a guarantee that teacher layoffs, school closures, shorter school years will be our permanent status quo.
In Salem, they get layoffs of 291 teachers and 150 education support professionals and administrators. In Lake Oswego, they get to close a school. On the South Coast, they get schools that are forced to lay off teachers and close their doors early.
What about Oregon taxpayers? What do they get for it out of this deal? They get to ship their dollars out of state, away from their community classrooms to corporations and shareholders and a few online teachers, who may or may not be licensed to teach and who most likely do not live in Oregon.
And here we thought public education and Oregon job creation were the top priorities.
What makes this whole debacle even more unpalatable is that the public was completely shut out of the backroom dealing. HB 2301 never had a public hearing. Parents, educators, and school leaders were never given the opportunity to weigh in and talk about how this will impact kids in the classroom.
We want to be sure to thank the 27 House Democrats, two Republican Eastern Oregon representatives and a dozen Senate Democrats for doing the right thing and standing up for Oregon students.
Sadly, in their frenzied rush to get out of town, the majority of legislators and the governor played politics with our schools. Our students are the ones who will suffer. If this concerns you, take a minute to let the governor know and ask him for a veto.
But despite what some of our lawmakers hand us, Oregon educators will continue to come to work every day and do our best to mitigate the damage done to students by bad public policy and back room deals. We’ll continue to partner with parents and community volunteers to fill the cavernous gaps that are left when there is no money to fund music, art, p.e., and other enrichment programs. We’ll continue to be in our classrooms afterhours to help the student we couldn’t get to during the day because of the other 39 in our class who needed attention. We’ll continue to work with local school leaders to provide the best education possible.
I just wish we had more support from our elected leaders to do it.
|
July 01, 2011
Posted in guest column. |
More Recent Posts | |
Albert Kaufman |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
Kari Chisholm |
Final pre-census estimate: Oregon's getting a sixth congressional seat |
Albert Kaufman |
Polluted by Money - How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America |
Guest Column |
|
Albert Kaufman |
Our Democrat Representatives in Action - What's on your wish list? |
Kari Chisholm |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
connect with blueoregon
12:02 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Charter schools are public schools, and there are thousands of Oregon students who choose charter schools because it works better for them. Like all public schools, they have to have highly qualified teachers, and do the same state testing that all public schools are required to do. They use the same books (published outside Oregon) that other public schools use. Why is choice a bad thing when it comes to public education? What is the point of denying students and families the option of an education that is better tailored to their needs, and at a lower cost? (Charter schools get less funding per student, and little of no funding at all for school construction.)
You want to blame 20,000 Oregon students for the bipartisan lack of spine when it comes to K-12 funding in Salem? Not the kicker? Not the billions in tax expenditures? Seriously?
1:29 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Hmm..this analysis seems fundamentally flawed to me.
Although I agree with the final graph that there are plenty of other ways that the lege didn't address school funding needs, this bill wildly exacerbates the problem.
In my research around the online charter schools in question, the are serious problems with graduation rate, parent satisfaction and the way that the funds are sent out of state, away from teachers & classrooms.
This bill should be vetoed.
1:09 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
Surprisingly, I have read the exact opposite ... weird.
10:11 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
Educational research, not being scientific research since there are no control groups nor can you control the variables, is used to make both sides of whatever argument seems to fit the person's prejudices. You are much better off using common sense to analyze educational problems and arrive at solutions for your own problems than using supposed "research".
With charter schools it stands to reason there would be good ones and bad ones and mediocre ones.
In the case of online charter schools my two main questions are these: 1) Do you want to dilute the money for your regular public schools? Washington doesn't for instance. 2) Is it a good thing for most kids to sit home spending lots more time on their computers instead of interacting in the regular public school settings?
10:00 p.m.
Jul 2, '11
Steve,
I've read your blogs and I know you care about improving education, so I can only assume that you shot from the hip on that reply.
There is absolutely use of controlled experiments in educational research. There are literally thousands of peer-reviewed research results.
"Nor can you control the variables," what does this mean? Educational research can use statistical controls in its models, and doing so has the same strengths and weaknesses of any statistical design.
Claiming that "common sense" is better than "supposed" carefully constructed scientific research into educational methods is simply wrong and feeds the tendency in far too many quarters to rely on anecdotes and guesses to create public policies.
8:40 a.m.
Jul 3, '11
Geoff, given that ORCA's graduation rate is at 30%, which is up from 24% (this is objective fact), I'm curious where you're reading otherwise?
http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_bd630e00-7092-11e0-9f14-001cc4c002e0.html
This is vastly worse than the statewide average, btw.
9:41 p.m.
Jul 22, '11
Something you should check out is that the Graduation rate was figured using data from the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school year. 2007-2008 school year ORCA only had K-11. Prior to the 2008-2009 AYP attendance numbers had been used. Schools like ORCA are also penalized when students re-enroll in there local school districts. They are counted as drop outs on the schools AYP.
1:18 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
The post implies that without charters districts perceived as undesirable would be immunized against their inability to attract and retain students. That is false, they would still lose students to other districts as families either moved out or never moved in to begin with. PPS for instance has seen steadily declining enrollment while surrounding districts gained. Is it unfair that PPS gets relatively less money now? If not, what difference does it make if the beneficiary of PPS’s loss is another district or a charter?
2:04 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
I genuinely respect public school teachers and invested my working life to help them succeed with their students.
The Governor is not going to veto HB 2310. He published a guest editorial in newspapers big and small across the state yesterday. In it Kitzhaber wrote, "The resulting package of reforms represents the most significant education policy in two decades - abandoning the status quo - and moving toward a more student-centered education system designed to achieve our state's education and economic objectives."
Governor Kitzhaber noted in his guest opinion that "Too many students are falling through the cracks - less than a quarter of at-risk first graders are able to meet state reading benchmarks and fewer than one in four Oregonians is ready for college upon leaving high school."
The statewide 4 year high school graduation rate is 60%. Forty percent of Oregon's high school seniors are not graduating in 4 years.
Many many good teachers have changed the life of a child. They go in everyday and give 110% despite tough odds caused by mostly poverty. Some of them teach in public Waldorf charter schools, public online schools,or in alternative high school in downtown Eugene as well as the bricks and mortor schools.
Changes in the Democratic Oregon House leadership have Reps. Tina Kotek and Ben Cannon in the chute for the next session. Sen. Mark Hass (D) who chaired the Senate Education Committee and stated in the WWeek, "This is by far the most productive education session for two decades." I look forward to their leadership on public education next session.
In the same WWeek article Rep. Brian Clem(D)stated "I think the message for OEA might be, "You've got to change the way you lobby - you can't just be against things."
2:51 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
So, in other words, Paulie, let's lay off more teachers, take more money from neigborhood schools, so we can fund agenda laden, unproven charter schools, in order to act as if we're actually doing something about education. If you ask me, the failures start squarely with school boards, their willingness to fund elite sports programs to entertain the public, while not holding parents accountable to actually enforce any iota of educational or behavioral discipline that is the real groundwork of student readiness for education. Ask any public school teacher about the support that school boards have for instructional discipline in the classroom, extending the school year, banning cell phones and ipods, a real dress code, and you will hear how this alleged respect you have for public school teachers is not real, nor reciprocated. The next time Kitz and one of these Dem. legislators wants support from the public school teachers, they ought to get a big raspberry.
7:21 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
Because the status quo supported by the education establishment is working so well? Because Oregon community colleges and universities have not one but three remedial (no-credit) math classes to bring Oregon high school graduates up to the minimum level to begin learning college level math and calculus? Because a horrendous graduation rate for PPS and other districts is acceptable?
And some really want to blame the legislature and governor for expanding on-line charter school opportunities to an additional 1% of public school children? Seriuosly now, the OEA and Education Administrators have got to show some critical thinking and offer alternatives instead of burying their collective heads in the sand. In the immortal words of Pete Townshend, "We won't get fooled again."
4:23 p.m.
Jul 2, '11
"Because Oregon community colleges and universities have not one but three remedial (no-credit) math classes to bring Oregon high school graduates up to the minimum level to begin learning college level math and calculus?"
Please remember that recent high school grads aren't the only ones going to community colleges and universities. The college I go to has an average student age on the 30s. That means it has been years and years since they've had any math, which in turn means it is no surprise that remedial math would be needed.
In many of my classes I'm still the young one in the bunch and I'm 33. It's been 15 years since I've had a math class of any kind. How long do you think it has been since my classmates have taken a math course?
You can't blame things like remedial courses at college entirely on the K-12 system.
9:33 p.m.
Jul 2, '11
Well said, Jenni. While most of us use calculation skills in daily life, higher math skills don't get used unless we're doing work that utilizes them. This means that many folks returning to school might need a remedial course--not just in Math but in English--to get back into the groove.
7:11 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Paulie, tell all that happpy talk to the 291 teachers laid off from the Salem-Keizer district. One of them known personally to friends is an extraordinarily gifted teacher, a single mother with two children, skilled in integration of technology in instruction. Had the misfortune of being recently hired from a private sector school where she was an administrator, thus had low seniority. This gifted educator was kicked to the curb, while Gov. Kitz launches a give-away of educational funds to dubious charter school enterprises, taking funds from community schools.
This gifted educator and the rest of us were deceived by Kitzhaber into thinking that he put neighborhood public schools first. We should all reconsider his and other Dem. legislator's promises of commitment to public education.
What kind of equity is going on when Salem-Keizer loses 291 teachers and closes several schools, while Medford loses none?
1:14 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
Seniority? Why should that matter, she's gifted right? Who do you want teaching our children, those with seniority or, those that are gifted?
4:42 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Bill, I live in another universe where we did not lay off a single teacher, we completed Interest Based Bargaining in 3 months to reach a settlement and both sides mutually respected one another throughout the process. In addition we did not cut an instructional day. We deeply regret having to cut professional days and hope to bring them back as quickly as possible.
We are far from closing the acheivement gap among our 12,500 students. We work everyday with the goal of creating a more successful environment for our students.
The creation of the Educational Investment Board is another way of moving forward for our kids from early childhood to community colleges, vocational training and college graduation.
I give credit to Chalkboard, Stand for Children and OBA for working together to help give Kitzhaber the opportunity to make a real difference in the future of education in Oregon.
6:03 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Do you have a librarian teaching academic research and resources in every school, Paulie?
A family member works in a district where the administration laid off all librarian /media specialists except for one high school, and has no librarian in the other high school, risking loss of accreditation for both the high school and the baccalaureate students. Zero staff were laid off in the district administration building.
The administrator and school board are utterly clueless about what goes on on class rooms. The administration elected to restore the golf program in one school rather than retain one of the teachers in that same high school that are being laid off. Not one coach laid off, while huge numbers of teachers and aides are sent packing.
Everything I said is true about the values and priorities of school boards across this state. You value your precious Black Tornado football team more than a single drop-out who gets lost in your system. The fact is, the school boards and their malgovernance IS the failure of the educational system. You expect teachers to heal the failures of our toxic culture, and blame them when they don't, while you continue to pander and enable that same toxic culture. The issue here is the failure of school boards, parents, and legislators to support the work of teaching, and to face up to what the real problem is. Until then we are going to hear again and again about fake fixes like charter schools and hear these attacks on teachers and teacher's unions, like those of yours above. The failure to govern our educational system lies squarely in your court.I don't believe your happy talk about Jackson County. And I doubt seriously that teachers experience any more support there in their work than the rest of the state.
You expect a new teacher to make the financial investment of an M.A. in a university education 5-6 years to become a teacher so they can then be subjected to every abuse under the sun from students without discipline and parents without respect, to receive a second class salary, to be undermined and unsupported by school boards and administrators, and to play second fiddle to football and golf coaches. This is your system and your failure, not theirs. And now it is becoming Kitzhaber's and the Legislature's failure. There will be no significant change and our best and brightest are not going to enter teaching because of it. But when everything else crumbles into dust those Black Tornadoes and their stadium will still be there. Because that's what the people want.
1:01 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
I wish I could "like" this comment 15 times and place it at the top of the most liked comments list. Especially this part:
You expect teachers to heal the failures of our toxic culture, and blame them when they don't, while you continue to pander and enable that same toxic culture.
My sister is a teacher, the kind who speaks two languages in her classroom, buys basics for kids who can't afford them, and worked with a family to rid one of her students of lice. And for this she took a 6% pay cut along with all of the other teachers in her district. She teaches in Arizona, where Jan Brewer rules, but still... teachers get punished for good deeds all the time.
7:44 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
Speaking to the best and the brightest not entering teaching...
Several kids I know who truly want to go into teaching are getting strongly counseled against it by parents and their parents' friends.
The job the parents and friends have in common? Teaching. These aren't poor teachers, these are recognized, high-quality teachers. Their kids show the signs of good teacher potential--sharp, good steady attitude, able to deal with lots of stuff going on around them, good minds.
And all of us are telling them "don't go into teaching." Even those of us who love teaching are advising others not to go into it. Not given the current systemic disrespect toward the profession.
9:01 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
Do the teachers counseling against entering the profession teach at public schools or charter/private?
9:36 p.m.
Jul 2, '11
Public schools, dude. Public schools. Again, these are teachers who have been recognized by community and by professionals alike as good to great public school teachers. They're telling their kids, who have the same talents, to not go into teaching.
It's not the crappy teachers telling their kids this stuff. It's the good teachers.
That should worry folks.
4:49 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Apparently, the Salem-Keizer School District board thinks it is better to fire all the librarians, even the Oregon Schools Librarian of the Year (PDF). And we can, in part, thank HB 2301 for that.
9:37 p.m.
Jul 2, '11
Unfortunately, firing all the librarians appears to be the Budget Cut Fad of the year.
8:45 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Our students need the educational opportunities and cost savings that a range of current technological choices could offer them. OEA, and its members, should stop whining and stop being the Luddites of educational technology. It's a lost cause that hurts the teaching profession and students.
10:34 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Sorry, David, you can say what you want, but it doesn't make it true. Have you stepped inside a classroom lately? As a former librarian and tech teacher, OEA supports "its members" (um, me and my colleagues) in best practices, including teaching technology and information skills. OEA makes sure that our contracts are honored, that our prep time (you know, the time teachers need to plan and innovate) is honored, that our evaluations are fair, that I was able to explore possibilities, work with teachers to develop exciting curriculum, and was supported in my mission to help teachers stay current with new ideas and approaches to integrating technology into curriculum. Of course, teacher librarians (the front-line teachers of information skills) are being cut all over the state and diverting millions of dollars to out-of-state private enterprises will only accelerate that. I'd like to see an online teacher somewhere outside of Oregon teach a class of 3rd graders the essential information/research skills they will need to be successful. Good luck with that model.
9:06 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
"I'd like to see an online teacher somewhere outside of Oregon teach a class of 3rd graders the essential information/research skills they will need to be successful. Good luck with that model."
Given that computers will increasingly be the vehicle by which we access information and do research, I don't see anything implausible about teaching those skills online.
8:44 a.m.
Jul 3, '11
Accessing information and doing research is a slice of education. Especially at the primary school level.
Education isn't merely accessing information and absorbing it. I would never allow my children to sit at a computer all day for the purposes of rote memorization, which is what the above comment implies. That's not teaching and it sure as hell isn't getting an education.
5:50 p.m.
Jul 2, '11
Please do not think I confuse the many good things OEA does with the few terribly bad things it does. And please do not think that online education can do everything. In Oregon, we could have much, much more part and full time online learning that would be better for students and reduce costs. We do not because of the teacher unions. It is not in the long run interest of teachers to stand in the way of such techological progress, nor is it in the long run interest of Democrats to let Republicans be the only advocates for such changes.
8:44 a.m.
Jul 3, '11
David, instead of joining the union-bashing crowd, why the heck don't you take a good hard look at what's really going on with regard to education technology? The cold hard reality is that the finances to support more technology in the schools does not exist. Districts might get excited about something like equipping classrooms with SmartBoards, for example. But then they fall down in the areas of installation, training and maintenance.
Most experienced teachers are reluctant to jump on the technology bandwagon due to watching good money getting thrown after bad by partial investments, then seeing the equipment getting misused or not used at all because the administration didn't spend the money to get it set up right/keep it maintained.
10:50 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Salem-Keizer already has a well used online course program. But they have found, like everyone else, that these programs are not a panacea and require student readiness and discipline, as well as skilled instructors to design and interact with real students. Those who do best at online classes are already motivated and higher skill students. Some people who post here are in love with their "vision" of education and technology but know very little about the reality of educating real students.
I think this betrayal by the governor and Dem. legislators should prompt a major revelation that Kitz and his political allies find teachers and neighborhood schools totally expendable, and are willing to not only abandon them but also scapegoat them for the failures of the educational/governmental system to fully support the work of classroom teachers. Teachers need to know who their friends are, who supports the day to day classroom experience. of learning and who is willing to posture for political gain.
The 291 teachers of Salem-Keizer, the neighborhood school closures and the children and parents who attended have been thrown under the bus and stabbed in the back with this decision. And there will be consequences.
11:17 p.m.
Jul 1, '11
Many if not most of my colleagues support increased online learning opportunities. In fact, Rep. Harker and I worked with the OEA to sponsor SB 927, which would have created the Oregon Online Consortium to increase the number of online courses for all Oregon students. Despite our efforts that bill did not move forward.
11:56 a.m.
Jul 3, '11
Thank you Suzanne, for your work on SB927.
Not a suprise that it didn't get anywhere given that OEA was vocally in favor of it. OEA is everyone's favorite whipping boy these days and some would rather eat glass than support anything OEA puts forward.
Those awful, overpaid teachers who aren't improving the education system at all (except for teaching any and all in the public schools) and are just in the job for the money and benefits. /sarcasm--in case you couldn't tell.
8:29 a.m.
Jul 4, '11
SB 927 went nowhere because it would have killed innovation and choice. It would have created yet another administrative bureau and would have set districts up to determine which district students would be allowed to utilize on-line learning. It would have needlessly complicated on-line learning options.
SB 927 did nothing by solidify the status quo within the education establishment.
4:32 a.m.
Jul 2, '11
Paying teachers less in charter schoos, reducing mastery requirements, providing little or no retirement, letting religion be part of the curriculum does not seem to be a positive step forward in Oregon education. Expecting teachers to reduce their eaarnings "for the good of the children" is a failed argument I have heard repeated in Oregon for over 60 years. Charter schools do typically increase parental involvement in their schools but that shouldn't take a charter school to bring about that change.
1:37 p.m.
Jul 2, '11
I've heard second-hand that Connections Academy is using Art Robinson's ideological non-science based science curriculum.
Can anyone confirm whether that's true or false?
If true, my estimation of Connections Academy will have plunged far and fast.
12:06 a.m.
Jul 5, '11
Hmm. I can't seem to find any mentions of Robinson's curriculum on the Connections Academy site - nor mentions of Connections Academy on Robinson's site.
Unless and until I see something more definitive, I'm going to assume that this is rumor, not fact.
2:01 p.m.
Jul 7, '11
Well, don't bother asking paid shill Matt Wingard about this. He doesn't return calls or answer emails. Probably because he's too busy collecting his next 'Connections' paycheck for his abuse of the legislative system.
7:11 a.m.
Jul 3, '11
Thank you, Suzanne. OEA does support educational improvements. We supported a number of good bills during this session.
I am very grateful for the passage of HB 3362 allowing Oregon to finally move forward on funding career and technical education in this state. It has taken years to get to this point following the lead of many other states including Washington and California.