Private individuals and foundations are increasing funding to education reform groups and leveraging that funding in new ways to make a broader impact on public education in individual states and at the national level. This increasing influence is slowly receiving more attention in the media, and this week brings several articles worth reading.

Education Week is running a series of stories this week and next examining advocacy organizations that command increasing political influence in education. Check out this infographic showing how private foundations’ funds trickle down to education reform groups and, if you have a subscription to Education Week,  read the following articles.

• New Advocacy Groups Shaking Up Education Field
• New K-12 Advocacy Groups Wield State-Level Clout
• Foundation Cash Boosts Education Advocacy Groups

Writing in the May issue of Phi Delta Kappan, Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies for the conservative American Enterprise Institute, describes a shift in private foundations’ approach to giving over the last several years that enables them to have an outsized influence on education policy. Though Hess sees the potential for a positive role for these foundations, he concludes that “As for explicit collaborations with the federal government, my advice is this: Stop it.”

He explains that “When foundations are shoulder to shoulder with the executive branch or feel pressure to be ‘team players,’ it threatens our ability to seriously debate and weigh the merits of either federal or foundation efforts.” Hess goes on to say that he thinks “something very much like this happened with Race to the Top.”

CEA President Phil Apruzzese attends the education bill signing at the Capitol today.

Teachers’ commitment to students and public education was a clear presence at the State Capitol today as Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed Connecticut’s new education reform law. What a difference teachers make when they advocate through political action.

This spring, legislator after legislator commented on the volume of communications they received from teachers. CEA President Phil Apruzzese said, “My thanks to all my colleagues. Whether you made phone calls, sent e-mails, sent postcards, or met with legislators back home or at the State Capitol, you made the difference. Our rallies in April, where 2,000 of you showed your spirit and character, were spectacular events that will go down in CEA’s history books.”

In a Hartford Courant article today, Senate President Don Williams is quoted as saying that listening to teachers made a big difference. “It was critical to resolving the differences,” he said, “and it made perfect sense because I think only teachers could have given input necessary to resolve it, because they are the ones in the classroom.”

The difference between the governor’s original bill and what was enacted is remarkable and the scope and timing of the new law ensures proper planning and implementation. Some changes will not commence until July 1, 2013, while the implementation date of others is in 2014.

After the bill signing ceremony, Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor said the “Initial bill was rough around the edges, but the legislative process polished it and helped create a better bill.”

Please extend your thanks to legislators, especially Senate President Don Williams, House Speaker Chris Donovan, and Education Committee Co-Chair Senator Andrea Stillman, for their leadership and tireless efforts in legislative negotiations. The Senate adopted the legislation in a 28-to-7 vote, while the House of Representatives voted unanimously for the measure. Teachers also appreciate the job that Education Committee Co-Chair Andrew Fleischmann did managing the House floor debate.

Please use the link and phone numbers below to contact your legislators who supported positive education reform and thank them.

www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp

Senate Democrats  1-800-842-1420           Senate Republicans  1-800-842-1421

House Democrats  1-800-842-1902            House Republicans  1-800-842-1423

Here are some additional highlights of the rally coverage by news organizations last week. Watch the television spots below and see if you or your colleagues were on the news.

• CT Mirror – Top Dems join rally against Malloy’s education plan
• WNPR – Teachers dance, chant and protest Malloy’s education bill
• Reminder News – Teachers rally for responsible reform
• CT Post – Teachers rally to challenge Malloy’s reforms
• Associated Press – 1,000 Conn. teachers turn out for Capitol rally
• Hartford Courant – Teachers rally at Capitol on reform bill

 
WTNH News 8, April 25, rides along with teachers on the bus
 

 
WTNH News 8, April 24
 

 
WFSB Channel 3, April 25
 

 
News12, Bridgeport Teachers Rally in Hartford, April 24
 

 
Fox 61, April 25
 

 
Have you seen any other rally coverage you enjoyed that we missed?
 

In the wake of news reports that the U.S. Department of Education is aware of the legislative debate underway in Connecticut and is monitoring the developments relative to approving Connecticut’s waiver application, CEA Executive Director Mary Loftus Levine today issued comment.

She emphasized that the U.S. Department of Education required compliance with collective bargaining laws and respect for teachers’ voices in effective school reform in its guidelines prepared for states seeking waivers from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act.

The federal guidelines can be found at www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility. They say, “Nothing in these principles shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded school or school district employees under Federal, State, or local laws (including applicable regulations or court orders) or under the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of understanding, or other agreements between such employees and their employers.”

Loftus Levine said, “This clear direction from Washington is just one more reason why the governor’s original education bill is a dangerous experiment. By running roughshod over teachers’ collective bargaining rights, it is clear today that the governor’s proposal would jeopardize our waiver application.”

Loftus Levine continued, “In sharp contrast, Substitute SB 24 provides a better path consistent with priorities being established in Washington. We simply have to get reform done right in Connecticut.”

Loftus Levine is a member of the state Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC). State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor urged the council to approve a teacher evaluation framework (even though guidelines and the total evaluation system have yet to be developed) to enable Connecticut to qualify for a waiver. When the State Board of Education approved the framework, the commissioner expressed optimism that it was consistent with requirements promulgated in Washington.

Teachers rally at the Capitol this evening, making sure their voices are heard.

Teachers tonight rallied for public education at the State Capitol urging legislators to get reform done right.  Tonight’s event mirrored yesterday’s impactful rally where teachers emphasized that their voices need to be prominent in education reform because they are in the classroom every day.

Were you among the many dedicated teachers who stood up for students in Hartford this week?  We welcome your impressions. Teachers are building a movement for quality schools as they stand tall—trying to ensure that meaningful reform is just around the legislative corner. What’s meaningful reform mean to your students?

To date, nearly 2,000 teachers from across Connecticut have demonstrated in a show of solidarity.  They are united in their belief that the quality of the education reform bill that lawmakers ultimately enact will determine the future of educational and economic opportunity in Connecticut.

Teachers regard Governor Malloy’s proposal as a set of untested and misguided ideas.  We encourage you to share your point of view here at BlogCEA.

We were encouraged tonight as House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey told teachers that he and his colleagues are concerned about the “scale, speed, and scope” of the governor’s reform proposal “in ways that are very much untested.”

Waterbury teachers speak out.

Sharkey addressed 800 teachers as they rallied at the State Capitol to urge legislators to get reform done right. “We’ve heard you,” Sharkey told the teachers assembled. He explained that he and a handful of other top officials tonight are working on revisions to Substitute Bill 24, the alternative to the governor’s proposal that was approved by the Education Committee in late March.

According to Sharkey, the job of that handful of people is to make sure that the education reform that ultimately gets enacted does not happen “too fast, too big, or too quickly.” Sharkey continued, “We all care first and foremost about the kids.”

That theme of “students’ best interest” was sounded last night and tonight by teachers.

Berlin teacher Kristine Jutras attended tonight’s rally wanting to set the record straight. “The governor says teachers agree with his version of reform, and we don’t,” she said. She added “I’m a parent, and I talk all the time with my students’ parents. We want reform done right.”  Her colleague, Danbury teacher Melinda Scott, said, “We try every day to do the right things for kids. We’ve got to stand up.”

A rainbow breaks out over the crowd of rallying teachers.

South Windsor teacher David Olio says he wants to become an even better teacher, but threatening him with losing his job isn’t going to work.  He’s supportive of legislation that would provide a sound and productive approach to professional development.  South Windsor teacher Tim Zeuschner said that unions have a valuable role to play in school improvement, and his concern focuses on the Malloy proposal that would concentrate unprecedented authority in the hands of the education commissioner.  Bridgeport teacher Gary Peluchette, who is also president of the city’s teachers’ union, said he’s concerned that for-profit companies would end up in charge of public schools under the Malloy proposal. Berlin teacher Elizabeth Trojanowski attended Tuesday’s rally with her daughter. She said, “I want to support my profession. I want to support my colleagues. I want my daughter to get the best education possible.”

The legislature is moving in the right direction on education. The Education Committee has put forth an alternative to the governor’s proposal. While this legislation is a work in progress, the approach taken by the Education Committee is cause for optimism.

Are you feeling optimistic, especially if you joined in this week’s rallies? Let us know.

The problem is that low-income students, who begin school with a less-developed vocabulary and are less able to comprehend complex sentences than their more privileged peers, are also less likely to read at home. Many will read only during class time, with a teacher supporting their effort. But those are the same students who are more likely to lose out on literary reading in class in favor of extra test prep.

Read the complete article.

In places like Finland, Singapore, China, and Canada, teachers have a real voice in developing, monitoring, and setting goals for programs that lead to continuous student success.  While a consensus seems to be growing on lessons to be learned from these countries, a Finnish author this week reminds us that responsibility for children’s well being extends beyond the schoolhouse door. Read the author’s account of how striving for social equality plays a key role in that nation’s successful schools.

New Canaan teacher Kristine Goldhawk told the governor last night in Norwalk that she doesn't see how elements of his education plan will improve student achievement.

New Canaan teacher Kristine Goldhawk can’t find direct causation between the governor’s education plan and improved student achievement. She was one of the people who entered a lottery last night winning the opportunity to ask Governor Dannel P. Malloy a question during the latest stop on his education reform tour in Norwalk.

Goldhawk raised concerns about what she called the “radical nature” of the governor’s reform bill that was replaced last month with an alternative, Substitute SB 24, by the Education Committee.  The vote was 28-to-5.

But the 28 legislators who voted for the substitute bill were not satisfied with it, according to Governor Malloy. He said last night, “Everyone said they were voting to further advance the conversation. I want to get to a bill that moves substantially beyond what the 28 voted on—just as they want to see.”

In the words of the governor, “potentially dire consequences await Connecticut” if the legislature doesn’t adopt his version of school reform.  According to Malloy, with an NCLB waiver pending in Washington, if Connecticut doesn’t enact a strong reform package  almost every district could be judged as not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress, leading to school closures, large-scale overhauls, and loss of federal dollars.

As he has done in other meetings, the governor again last night turned the crowd’s attention to what CEA and AFT agreed to on the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC). In a compromise by consensus, the unions were among parties who agreed to a new teacher evaluation framework this winter.

Despite the governor’s claims to the contrary, the framework the unions agreed to has no connection to the teacher certification overhaul that the governor has proposed. In fact, PEAC members had no discussion and no idea that the framework they designed would ever be misused and exploited to link evaluation, certification, salary schedules, and tenure.

Westport teacher Heidi Scheckler reminded the governor about all the good programs underway in Connecticut schools—such as her district's collaborative evaluation plan.

Goldhawk, a social studies teacher, questioned the validity last night of the governor’s plan and pressed him about the need to wait for the new PEAC evaluation guidelines to be studied before being implemented—a provision advanced in Substitute SB 24. Governor Malloy responded that he “doesn’t embrace this idea that we have lots of time. This (study) has come up after the fact because people are looking change in the face.”

Westport teacher Heidi Scheckler urged the governor to “open the floodgates to teacher involvement” in education reform. Scheckler reminded the governor that there are good programs underway in our schools. She pointed to the Westport teacher evaluation plan—a collaborative effort between her union and the school administration—and offered a copy to the governor.

When asked what she thinks the most important part of education reform is, Record responded: “early childhood intervention and early childhood education.”

“I see that even impacting the experiences my high-school students have,” she continued. “We talk about an achievement gap, but we also have an opportunity gap.”

A report released today by the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) shows that nationwide funding for state pre-k programs has plummeted by more than $700 per child over the past decade — keeping the quality of many states’ preschools low even as enrollment has grown. Connecticut has kept up its quality, ranking number two on resources based on state spending, but ranks eighth in access for three-year-olds and twenty-ninth in access for four-year-olds to pre-k.

CEA strongly supports the provision in Substitute Bill 24 that would increase access to pre-k for Connecticut children, creating an additional 1,000 seats – an increase of 500 over the governor’s original proposal.

CEA has long supported increasing early childhood education and has advocated for universal pre-k for the state. As the NIEER report states, research shows that “high-quality pre-k programs significantly help prepare children for school. This in turn leads to a more educated population with higher-paying jobs, fewer social problems like crime and delinquency, and a strong economic return on the dollars invested in pre-k.”

Dear Commissioner Pryor:

As you are aware, the full PEAC committee has not met since February 6, 2012.  The February 27^th full committee meeting was abruptly cancelled and meetings with individual groups were scheduled in its place. The work group meetings for some groups have begun.  But as of today, no other full PEAC committee meetings have been set.  We have several concerns about the amount of work that must be done by PEAC in order to guide the work of the four work groups (teacher evaluation, administrator evaluation, pupil services evaluation, and implementation).

The following are the tasks we understand PEAC must complete so the work of the four groups can be appropriately guided:

1. Agree on clear definitions for the four evaluation ratings to be used: exemplary, proficient, developing, and below standard.
2. Review the Common Core of Teaching domains and develop a continuum of practice that aligns with the evaluation ratings to be used.
3. Agree on clear definitions of ‘valid, reliable, fair, and useful,’ as they will apply to evaluation of both teachers and those educators below the rank of superintendent.
4. Finalize work on the teacher evaluation guidelines, which were started last year.  This includes having discussions on, and making decisions about, issues that will affect the work of the sub groups, such as:
   1. What it means to ‘consider’ the control factors tracked by the data system, and how that will be done fairly in evaluation;
   2. What ‘minimum requirements for evaluation instruments and procedures’ means and how that will apply to all educators;
   3. Discuss how student CMT and CAPT scores are to be used in evaluation, given that March test administration results are not received until August, well after the teacher’s evaluation based on those students must be completed.
5. Agree on a communication system so members are well informed of how the work being done by the work groups aligns and interacts.

This is just the beginning of the work that lies ahead for PEAC, which by statute, is to have the guidelines completed by July 1, 2012.  The State Department of Education has said it plans for a pilot program of the new evaluation system this September.  Full implementation of the new system would follow, according to the SDE timeline, in September 2013.  However, with no meeting schedule set, it may be almost impossible for PEAC to complete the work that needs to be done before a meaningful pilot program can even be conducted.

Simply put, before the end of June, we need to complete the guidelines; develop the state model plan aligned with those guidelines; assure that rubrics are developed that align with the standards to be used in evaluation (the Common Core of Teaching and the Leadership Standards, which haven’t yet been approved by the State Board of Education); assure that tools for collecting various types of data are designed; and establish the pilot program.

The processes PEAC was assured would be in place to move this work forward have not yet been followed.  This is frustrating and disappointing, in light of the progress PEAC made during the meetings you convened in December 2011 and January 2012.  We believe that having to depend on the schedules of facilitators from outside the state has slowed progress.

We respectfully suggest that the full PEAC begin to meet as soon as possible and develop and agree to guidelines based on our agreed-upon framework, per our statutory charge and responsibility.

In addition, we need to agree on the roles and responsibilities of the work groups, in light of the above, and clearly integrate their work into the work of the full PEAC.

We look forward to your response and are willing to meet with you to discuss our concerns.  Our goal is to move the PEAC process along so we can achieve our legislative mandates.

Thank you for your attention and consideration.

Sincerely,

Phil Apruzzese                                                                        Mary Loftus Levine
CEA President                                                                         CEA Executive Director