Eduflack

Gone Fishin'?

Eduflack — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:49:25 GMT

As many of you have noticed, I haven't been posting to Eduflack lately. Truth be told, I am taking a bit of a sabbatical from this blog. The reason? I've started working on a book on education reform.

So for now, my meager editorial talents are focused on a first cut of this new manuscript. From time to time, I may post to Eduflack if a pressing topic demands it. Otherwise, I hope to be back up on this site in the spring, after opening pitches have been thrown in ballparks across the country.

MLK and the Function of Education

Eduflack — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:59:57 GMT

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Truth and Hope in Education Reform

Eduflack — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:38:59 GMT

Too often, education reform discussions focus just on the hard facts. They spotlight the difficult truths of public education, where too many kids are failing to perform at goal, where too many students are dropping out of high school, and where too many children are denied access to a exemplary public education.

But if we are serious about improving our public schools, and if we are truly committed to ensuring that all kids -- regardless of race, family income, or zip code -- have access to great public schools, we must focus on both the truths and the hope. We must be honest about our shortcomings but forthright about the possibilities.

Last month, I had the honor and privilege of speaking at the Connecticut NAACP State Convention. In remarks focused on both the truth and hope of education reform, I talk of the social contract we have to provide all kids with a great public education. You can see most of the speech here. The first few minutes are missing, but it is still worth a watch ...

(Originally published on Yes Conn, We Can blog.)

Just Say No to ALEC's Latest Move

Eduflack — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:52:00 GMT

Every three or five years, I changed school districts as a child. I spent my K-12 years in four different states. With each move, I was faced with a different set of academic standards and a different set of expectations.

After some moves, I found myself greatly ahead of the curve. In another, I found myself behind what was expected. And in my final move, made before my junior year of high school, I actually had my new high school try to say I was ineligible to be valedictorian because I had taken chemistry "too early" in the sequencing.

We are now a nation on the move. Families move in search of work, to take care of family members, or simply to find better opportunities. With each of those moves, each and every child should be able to expect the same thing from school Sixth grade should be sixth grade, whether it is sixth grade in Connecticut, Georgia, Colorado, or California.

Fortunately, over the past several years 45 states came together to develop a common set of standards for our schools, clearly identifying what should be learned in kindergarten through 12th grade. Led by our nation's governors and top education leaders, these standards -- known as Common Core State Standards -- are voluntary benchmarks that assure all kids are getting a world-class education.

Why are these standards important? Five simple reasons:

* Common Core offers fewer and clearer standards, providing teachers the ability to focus on their student and tailor their lesson plans to the needs of the classroom

* Common Core goes into greater depth within fewer topics and theories within subjects, allowing for more engaging learning and deeper understanding

* Common Core provides faster results when it comes to assessment, empowering educators to address and course correct

* Common Core is built to focus on understanding and not memorization, prioritizing comprehension, mastery, hands-on learning, and learning that sticks with students

* Common Core allows for better materials for the classroom and allows educators to share ideas and resources

Here in Connecticut, school districts are hard at work to adopt the Common Core, working with educators and communities to develop the lesson plans, professional development, classroom support, and assessments that will provide a path for improvement in all of our classrooms.

Unfortunately, later this week, a group called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) will be taking up an amendment condemning the Common Core. Between now and the 16th, ALEC's Board of Directors will vote on whether to approve its "Comprehensive Legislative Package Opposing the Common Core State Standards Initiative."

Put simply, this is the wrong vote at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. Now, more than ever, the United States needs common academic standards to ensure that, regardless of the state a kid lives in, a 10th grade education always means the same thing. We need to be doing more to establish clear standards, standards that individual states can't tinker with or lower to make themselves look good. We need one high standard that all states follow, so we can truly compare apples to apples.

It is time to tell ALEC no. Common Core is a positive step forward that this board should not act against. We need to focus our energies on strong implementation and fostering its embrace by the entire school community. It's the least we can do for our kids.

(The above blog post originally appeared on P atrick Riccards' Yes Conn, We Can blog on November 8, 2012.)

The Power of Teachers Unions

Eduflack — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:33:25 GMT

With just about a week to go before the 2012 presidential elections, all eyes are turned (at least once Sandy passes into the history books) into Get Out the Vote efforts and how successful folks are in getting folks to the polls.

In past presidentials, we have seen the power of the teachers' unions -- the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association -- in getting their candidates elected. When dear ol' Eduflack was in electoral politics, there were few organizations as important to the win than the teachers' unions.

Today, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now released a new study that scores states based on the strength of their respective teachers unions.

According to Fordham, the top 10 teachers' union states are, in order: Hawaii, Oregon, Montana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, California, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and Washington. For those counting, just one, Pennsylvania, stands a swing state for next week's balloting.

In Tier Two, we see two swing states, Ohio (12) and Wisconsin (18). Then we see states like Nevada (25), New Hampshire (30), Colorado (35), Missouri (38), Virginia (47), and Florida (50) rounding out the list.

The full report, How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions?, can be found here.

Over at my Yes Conn, We Can blog, I take a closer look at Connecticut and its number 17, Tier Two ranking. There, I wrote:

All told, Fordham paints an interesting picture of the power of Connecticut's teachers unions and their impact on policy. When we see those states ranked ahead of Connecticut, we see that AFT and CEA enjoy a strong reputation without fully demonstrating the muscle to back it. Through a strong membership base and state law that fully embraces collective bargaining, the unions are able to enjoy a power that their involvement in politics or perceived influence warrant.

Regardless of the rankings, Connecticut's teachers' unions will continue to enjoy their reputation for being a major power in Connecticut politics. And it is a reputation well deserved. But if this year has taught us anything it is that one voice alone should not and must not dominate the discussion on how to fix our schools.

Happy reading!

Vote for Somebody!

Eduflack — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:22:32 GMT

Election Day is two weeks away. The debates are now over. TV commercials are on heavy rotation. Game on.

Regardless of which candidate or which party one prefers, we can all agree how important is is to vote. That's why it is so terrific to see the video that is taking the nation by storm. The citizen-scholars at Democracy Prep's Harlem school have put the importance of voting on November 6 to music, offering a terrific remake of Call Me Maybe ... Vote for Somebody.

Give it a look. It is a terrific piece, and it is a reminder of the power of kids and the importance of great schools for all.

The video can be found here -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVkfNUxRh7g&feature=player_embedded

Happy viewing!

A Roadmap to Eliminating the Gaps

Eduflack — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:02:41 GMT

When we discuss achievement gaps, it is hard not to dwell on the negative. Put simply, we struggle as a nation to provide an equitable education for all students. We find solace in incremental gains, even if white or wealthy students are gaining faster than their minority or low-income peers.

Some will maintain the gaps are just figments of our imaginations, and that our students have never achieved as much, academically, as they do today. But tell that to a poor Black student in the South, or a Latino student in South Central. There, the achievement gaps are very real. And they are more than just statistics. They are walls preventing far too many students from succeeding, both in school and life.

As much as we may talk about the problems, when it comes to education reform, we really focus on the solutions. Yes, it is important we understand the achievement gaps and appreciate the enormity of the problem. But being aware isn’t nearly enough. We also need to identify a path for eliminating those gaps, for providing hope and opportunity to the many kids that have long been denied both.

To forward that discussion, today the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) released an exciting new report – The Roadmap to Closing the Gap: 2012-2020. In the Roadmap, ConnCAN explores what is necessary to close the achievement gaps in Connecticut, the state with the largest such gaps in the nation, by the year 2020.

In this report, ConnCAN moves away from abstract percentages and depressing statistics. And instead identified - using a student-centered approach - a path for closing the gaps.

As a state, Connecticut needs to add just 2.8 points a year to its average SAT score over the next eight years to get to the magical 1,550 level. The Nutmeg State needs to graduate just 456 more students a year to hit a statewide graduation rate of 90 percent. And to move student performance from the current 65.5 percent at goal to 80 percent, we need to move just 719 kids per grade statewide to goal or better.

In each of the state’s 30 lowest-performing districts, how many kids need to get to “goal” on the state tests? How many more students in each of these districts need to graduate from high school? How many more points must we add to the average SAT score to ensure every student in each of these districts is college ready?

The answers to these questions may surprise you. Despite the enormity of our deficiencies, we can close the gaps in less than a decade.

The Roadmap breaks down the achievement challenges in each of these 30 districts (known as “Alliance Districts”), showing what those cities and towns must do to ensure that we can get 80 percent of our students performing on grade level; we can achieve a 90-percent graduation rate; and we can get our average SAT score up to 1,550.

New Haven can raise its four-year graduation rate from the current 62.5 percent to 90 percent by graduating 54 more kids a year between now and 2020. In Hartford, students can boost their average composite SAT score from a current 1,194 to the college-ready measure of 1,550 by adding 44.5 points a year. And in Bridgeport, where just 31.8 percent of students are performing on grade level, we can boost that to 80 percent by moving 82 students per grade per year to goal or above on state measures.

Yes, these are significant goals, and the seriousness of achieving them should not be underestimated. It is possible, it is doable, and it is necessary. But for it to happen, we have to act, and we have to act now.

The Roadmap is a call to action, a map to demonstrate that meaningful education reform is both possible and achievable in the next decade. This report won’t take Connecticut all the way to where public education needs to be, but it provides an important and clear starting point.

Connecticut’s path to reform has just begun. The Roadmap tells which direction to go. And it serves as a model for how other states can join in the journey.

Stepping Up Through AP

Eduflack — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:41:13 GMT

In our national quest to have every student college ready and to ensure all learners have the math and science knowledge to succeed in the 21st century, are there many stronger yardsticks than AP?

Over at USA Today, Greg Toppo takes a look at the push to get more kids enrolled in AP courses, particularly in math and science. In what was once an area where just a select few students were deemed "worthy" to take an AP course, Toppo chronicles AP classes than now have 25 or 30 students in them, all in pursuit of that college- and career-ready tag.

What is particularly interesting is folks are finally realizing that AP is about far more than simply securing that elusive 5 on the end-of-course exam. Instead, it is now about the rigor of the course. It is about pushing students to do more. About the learning that happens in such advanced classes.

This is summed up nicely by the principal featured in Toppo's piece:

Principal Sean Callender said he pushes AP classes "every time I talk to parents." He invokes a sports analogy to explain his line of reasoning with prospective students: "If you're getting good grades already," he said, "why don't you step up to the next league?" Teachers also push struggling students to attend after-school tutoring sessions each Tuesday and Thursday help "to get them used to the rigor," he said.

There is something novel about Callender's approach, and about the general push to increase access and exposure to AP courses, perhaps the best way to expose today's high school students to college-level learning. And it may just be one of those great equalizers to help us close the achievement gaps that dog far too many high schools.

With anti-testing fever at an all-time high, and many believing it is unfair to actually assess whether a student has learned something in a class, AP is the ultimate measure of testing. After completing an AP course, every student in the nation will take the same exam. They will be graded on a scale of 1-5. And as more and more students take the test, more and more are likely to score 1s and 2s in those early years.

But taking the test shouldn't scare kids away from the courses. Despite an assessment, the content of the course and the lessons learned throughout the year are a worthwhile investment. Even scoring a 1 or 2 shouldn't prevent students from going AP. Students who are capable should "step up." Taking an AP test is not the demise of modern civilization.

What we all know, and what the USA Today article focuses on, is that students benefit from taking more rigorous courses. The push should be on expanding AP, IB, and dual-enrollment programs so that more kids -- and ultimately all kids -- have access to them and can be pushed to doing more rigorous work in high school. We should all be demanding increased access to AP math and science courses, particularly for those students from historically disadvantaged populations.

Perhaps the teacher highlighted in the lede of the piece says it best:

"People need to strive to do things that are meaningful and good and hard," she said. "The more kids you can convince to do tougher things, the better off your society will be."

Can We Effectively Evaluate Teachers?

Eduflack — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:45:00 GMT

"Where are we as a nation with teacher evaluations? Are we evaluating the right things? What role should student data play in professional development? What about employment decisions?"

These are the questions that National Journal is asking this week on its Education Experts blog. Following up on the Chicago Teachers Union Strike, National Journal is touting the latest discussion section under the header, "Teacher Effectiveness 'Here to Stay.'"

Dear ol' Eduflack weighs in on this week's question, touting ConnCAN's work in the development of its Measuring Teacher Effectiveness: A Look "Under the Hood" of Teacher Evaluation in 10 Sites. Released in May by ConnCAN, Measuring Teacher Effectiveness offers a detailed look at 10 strong teacher evaluation models.

From my post:

We know there are few factors as important to student success than that of an effective educator. To ensure that every child has that effective educator, we must implement comprehensive evaluation models. Measuring Teacher Effectiveness is an important tool in understanding what teacher evaluation leaders are doing and what components must be factored into a meaningful evaluation model.
Each site we studied is working to continuously improve their evaluation systems with the belief that the challenges they encounter can be overcome. As Measuring Teacher Effectiveness reported, “None of these systems claims to have cracked the code for teacher evaluation. Nonetheless, we consistently heard that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good.”

Happy reading!

"Doing Nothing is Not Going to be Neutral"

Eduflack — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:26:43 GMT

"Doing nothing is not going to be neutral. It's not going to yield us the status quo. It will be yielding decline. Trying to do something and trying to change, and moving the ball forward through trial and error will yield the kind of results you should be proud of."

- Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, speaking in Connecticut on the important of education reform, advocating that one needs to be "all in" for change if we are to deliver real results for the kids.

"No Way to Measure the Effectiveness of an Educator"

Eduflack — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:03:07 GMT

"There is no way to measure the effectiveness of an educator. Further, there are too many factors beyond our control which impact how well some students perform on standardized tests, such as poverty, exposure to violence, homelessness, hunger, and other social issues beyond our control."

- Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, after failing to bring forward a vote to end the CTU strike. Apparently, she hasn't paid much attention to what her AFT brothers and sisters in New Haven, CT have done, when the established the Teacher Evaluation and Development system in partnership with New Haven Public Schools as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

The New Haven Federation of Teachers seemed to break new ground and establish a fair system for measuring the effectiveness of an educator. The system has been regularly promoted by national AFT President Randi Weingarten, education leaders across the country, thought leaders and the media. Guess the news never quite made it to Chicago, though.

Yes Connecticut, We Can

Eduflack — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 13:57:00 GMT

Long-time readers of Eduflack will notice that I have been writing a great deal about Connecticut lately. In my professional life, I'm fortunate enough to work with a terrific education advocacy group in the Nutmeg State -- the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now.

ConnCAN's mission is to fight so that every child -- regardless of race, family income, or zip code -- has access to great public schools. By focusing on the achievement gaps and pushing for real solutions, ConnCAN is committed to better schools, better and better supported educators, and better outcomes.

So obviously much of what appears on Eduflack is often seen through the lens of education improvement in Connecticut. That's why I am happy to announce I'm now writing a new blog focused on education reform in Connecticut -- Yes Conn, We Can.

What's even more exciting is that Yes Conn, We Can is now part of a family of blogs found at the New Haven Register. Yes Conn, We Can is one of four community blogs currently included in the Register's Connecticut Blogs section.

From time to time, I'll repost some Yes Conn, We Can posts here on Eduflack, if they are particularly relevant to the national education discussion.

Happy reading!

Ed Reform Is a Path to Economic Success

Eduflack — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 19:44:06 GMT

While we all know about the importance a strong public education system plays in preparing today's students for tomorrow's success, we speak far too infrequently about the specific ties between our nation's economic success and the educational policies that help us achieve it.

At the Democratic National Convention, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel told a gathering that "there's no denying connection between economic growth and education." Mr. Van Roekel is absolutely correct.

That growth comes requires the ability to adjust and adapt to the changing conditions of our society. It requires an ability to reform. Our economy recognizes that, and has demonstrated it over the history of this great nation. So why are we so resistant to public education adjusting and adapting to those same conditions and expectations?

Over at the ConnCAN blog, I have a blog post exploring how education reform equals economic growth. From that post:

But why are we so resistant to similar change in education? With such a strong connection between economic growth and education, we’ve seen our economy transform as we try to teach our kids using the same systems, approaches, and expectations as we did nearly a century ago.
Our consumer-driven economy should yield a consumer-driven educational system. A system where families have a choice in the schools their kids attend. A system where moms and dads are assured their kids have great teachers in the classroom and a great principal leading the school. A system where all students are funded equally, rejecting the establishment of two classes of public school students in the same city.
We cannot and should not continue a public education framework just because it is the way we have always done it. Those who continue to defend a model that has failed so many of Connecticut students for decades must ask what they are defending.

Thoughts?

Choosing Reform in CT's Largest City

Eduflack — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:22:00 GMT

Yesterday, the voters of Bridgeport reiterated the need for the continued push for reform in the Bridgeport Public Schools. With Hernan Illingworth, Jacqueline Kelleher, and Kenneth Moales now CONTINUING THEIR SERVICE on the Bridgeport Board of Education and with John Bagley joining the Board, the city can continue to move forward, ensuring that all Bridgeport kids receive a world-class education.

Without question, there has been a great deal of vitriol surrounding the progress made in Bridgeport over the past 10 months. Those seeking to protect a broken system, a system that simply was not serving the families of Bridgeport, have been quick to lob any charges (no matter how baseless) to try and slow or outright derail the improvements recently adopted in Bridgeport.

DURING THE PAST YEAR, we have seen the cost of the Bridgeport Public Schools’ central office greatly reduced, ensuring that the community’s tax dollars are going where they need to – toward the education of kids.

During the past year, we have seen the school district right its financial ship, restoring a trust in the stewardship of Bridgeport schools.

During the past year, we have seen an unprecedented focus on student learning, with educators and advocates, parents and policymakers joining together to improve the quality of local schools.

During the past year, we have seen all corners of Bridgeport join together to help turn around the James J. Curiale School, demonstrating a real community commitment that no child should have to attend a failing school.

During the past year, we have seen the city pledge to ensure that all Bridgeport kids have exemplary teachers lead their classrooms, as the city joins in the state’s groundbreaking student learning-focused teacher evaluation efforts.

And the during the past year, we have seen city residents embrace the possible and the hopeful in Bridgeport Public Schools, trusting in the leadership of Superintendent Paul Vallas and his plans for restoring Bridgeport schools to glory.

Let there be no mistake, change is hard. Change is particularly hard when it means breaking practices and behaviors that have ruled the roost for decades, leading folks to believe that change is impossible. But Mayor Bill Finch has demonstrated that change is possible, is necessary, and is achievable. Superintendent Vallas has PROVIDED THE BLUEPRINT for achieving that change. And now the voters of Bridgeport have reaffirmed the execution of that blueprint.

Every child in Bridgeport, and every child in Connecticut, deserves a world-class public education. Cities like Bridgeport are now working to make that happen, with no excuses.

(The above blog post, authored by Patrick Riccards, was originally posted on the ConnCAN blog -- www.conncan.org -- on September 5, 2012.)

Fun? Striking is Supposed to Be Fun?

Eduflack — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:40:00 GMT

"Y'all continue to have fun."

- Chicago Teachers Union President President Karen Lewis addressing striking teachers in the Windy City. Approximately 400,000 students are unable to enter the classroom in Chicago, as Lewis encourages those on the picket lines to "have fun" and then complains that having to go back to the negotiating table to reach a deal on salary and benefits for more than 25,000 educators and get those 400,000 kids back to learning is "the silly part of my day."

A 16-percent raise already secured, day three of a strike that is disrupting the lives and learning of hundreds of thousands of Chicago families, and out-of-work teachers should have "fun" and negotiating a settlement is the "silly part" of all of this?

Priorities, Ms. Lewis, priorities ...

Breakfast: The New Collective Bargaining?

Eduflack — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:11:00 GMT

"Collective bargaining. noun. The process by which wages, hours, rules, and working conditions are negotiated and agreed upon by a union with an employer for all the employees collectively whom it represents."

Up until now, Eduflack thought he understood the meaning of the term collective bargaining. The grandson of a Teamster and the son of an NEA teacher who walked the picket lines to increase those wages and work conditions for her fellow teachers, collective bargaining is a concept I believe is essential to having a strong and protected workforce and middle class.

But it was a real head scratcher when Eduflack was reading the latest out of Los Angeles. Seems LAUSD enacted a new school breakfast program that is serving 84 percent of LAUSD's students. The same students that many defenders of the failed status quo say can't learn because the come to school without breakfast.

At any rate, the local union is taking issue with the breakfast program. They weren't consulted in its implementation. They find the food and trash a distraction. So they are now demanding that the new breakfast program be part of the union's collective bargaining agreement with the district.

Over at the ConnCAN blog, I share LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy's view that the union's stance here is just "incomprehensible."

From that blog post:

Incomprehensible is putting it kindly. For years now, ConnCAN has fought to ensure that the needs of students were included in any arbitration decisions involving teacher contracts. Yet it is still illegal for Connecticut to consider the interests of the child in any such decisions. After all, those status quo defenders contend, collective bargaining agreements are all about protecting the rights and interests of the adults in the system.
Fair enough. But then how can one possibly insist that contracts governing the pay and benefits for teachers should act as a forum for unions to negotiate whether or not a community can provide breakfast to its poorest children?
It is just another example of public education being all about the adults in the room, with no real concern for the children we are supposed to be serving. Such logic is indeed incomprehensible … and unconscionable.

Happy reading, and enjoy your breakfast. A little ed reform and eggs this AM.

In Ed Advocacy, It's All About the States

Eduflack — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 13:11:23 GMT

How do you raise awareness about educational improvement in the United States? That is the big question this week over on the National Journal's Education Experts blog. Riffing off of some of the education reform activities at the recent political conventions, the folks over at NJ are actually hypothesizing that there is no disagreement on our need to improve.

Those seeking change and improvement know that is far from the case. Those forces seeking to defend the status quo, those looking to protect a system that fails millions of kids (particularly kids who are black or brown or poor), will resort to almost anything to stand against those seeking to bring a better public education to all kids.

Dear ol' Eduflack weighs in on the discussion, focusing on the importance of state-led advocacy, as opposed to national advocacy, to bring the real change we need while respecting our nation's history of local control in the schools.

At the end of the day, lasting education reform is not going to happen at the national level. As a country, we have too much pride in local control and community involvement in public education. Instead, those changes we seek and need will come because of advocacy at the state level, where the voices of diverse communities can come together and demand common change. One where those diverse voices can leverage their power to demand real change from their governor and legislature, change where the haves and have-nots in the state have access to the same excellent public schools, regardless of race, family income, or zip code.
In Connecticut, we are just now, after nearly a decade of work, starting to see the policy results of such a state-based advocacy approach. The real challenge now is not letting up on the gas, and continuing to speed toward the reforms we need. It means finding common ground with groups we have previously sparred with, and partnering with individuals we have once stood against. It means continue to do what is right, even if that means facing the vitriol and assaults from those who currently benefit from a failed status quo.

Happy reading!

Chicago on Strike!

Eduflack — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:27:07 GMT

This morning, 25,000 Chicago Public Schools teachers headed to the picket lines, as the Chicago Teachers Union declared a strike after failing to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement with leaders of the nation's third-largest public school district.

According to media reports, CPS negotiators have offered 20 proposals to union officials. Agreement seemed to be reached on a 16-percent pay raise for teachers, while disagreement remained over teachers' share of health care costs and an evaluation system that would include measures of teacher effectiveness.

CPS is now enacting contingency plans for district operations. The city's 118 public charter schools, though, will remain open, with teachers and students continuing the learning process that only began a week or so ago.

Today's actions has dear ol' Eduflack reflecting on March of 1990, when public school teachers in the State of West Virginia went on a statewide strike (80 percent of counties participated). For two weeks, edu-Mom walked the picket lines with virtually all of her fellow teachers. Then, the strike was over pay, with Mountaineer teachers being paid among the lowest salaries in the nation for public school educators. Following legislative and legal interventions, the strike ended after two weeks. Then-Gov. Gaston Caperton agreed to boost teacher pay, moving West Virginia into the center of the pack for teacher salaries. The move transformed Caperton into the "education governor" and moved West Virginia away from competing with Mississippi for the worst teacher pay in the nation.

What was particularly interesting about that West Virginia strike was the enormous support that teachers had from citizens across the state, particularly in that first week. Visiting my mother and her colleagues on the picket lines, I saw parents and non-parents honk in support, drop off food and drinks for the picketing teachers, and generally check in to see how the teachers were doing. It energized the teachers on the lines, and showed the media and the politicians that there was strong public will for this exercise of their labor rights.

As the West Virginia strike headed in double-digit days, though, that public support started to wane. Parents didn't know what to do with their kids, and couldn't afford to continue to take days off of work or pay for babysitters. Public will started to shift, as local school districts filed lawsuits to get teachers back in the classroom. After 12 days, teachers returned to work with a pledge from the governor and legislature for better pay and better respect.

Then, it was a simple narrative. West Virginia teachers wanted to be paid fairly. In a state with a strong union history and a respect for public education, the strike made sense. Pay our teachers better than 48th or 49th in the country. After all, we all understand what it means to be underpaid and under-respected.

The Chicago experience, though, is a little more complicated. Currently, Chicago has an unemployment rate of 10.5 percent. According to CBS Chicago and other sources, the average Chicago school teacher is making more than $70,000 per year, while the average Chicago worker is making slightly more than $30,000 per annum. So a 16-percent raise seems more than reasonable, and seems to be a pay increase both sides have already agreed to.

If the strike is over a teacher's share of health care benefits, most American workers are seeing their personal health insurance costs increase. Gone are the days when healthcare is covered 100-percent by the employer. As costs rise, workers across the nation fortunate enough to have coverage are paying more for it.

And if the strike is over evaluation, it becomes more and more challenging to secure a 16-percent raise in tough economic times, and then say one doesn't believe in greater accountability for those educators serving in the system and demanding those raises.

Yes, it is a complicated narrative that CTU is trying to sell. If the media reports are correct, this is no longer about salaries and paying teachers fairly. Instead, it is whether teachers should be treated like other professionals, bearing additional healthcare costs and being held to a greater level of accountability than in years past. That is a narrative that is going to be very difficult to sell to Chicago families, many of whom are experiencing unemployment, reduced benefits, frozen pay, and other financial challenges.

Of course, the strike isn't just about the salaries and benefits being negotiated as part of the a new CBA. No, the CTU is using this strike to speak out against the needed reforms being pushed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his administration. Since becoming mayor, Emanuel has embarked on a bold reform agenda. He extended the school day (ridiculously, Chicago had one of the shortest school days in the nation). He established specific efforts to drive improvement in schools across the city. He sought to reward teachers willing to hold themselves to greater levels of accountability than the CBA called for. And he did all that facing a sizable budget deficit in a district with needs growing by the day.

Last night, Mayor Emanuel said, "The kids of Chicago belong in the classroom." He is absolutely correct. While some defenders of the status quo may take issue with the sentiment or see it as some sort of punchline to a reformer joke, the ones most hurt by this strike are the kids. The kids are losing out on instructional days. The kids are now being shuttled around as part of "contingency plans." After just returning to school, the kids are being denied their rights to a public education.

As Emanuel continued, "This is totally unnecessary. It's avoidable and our kids don't deserve this ... This is a strike of choice."

The mayor is correct. Here's hoping that both sides figure out how to choose to end this strike quickly, and get our kids back in the classroom.

UPDATE: To further complicate the narrative here, CTU has now released a one-pager articulating what they are looking for from Chicago Public Schools. The challenge? Can one really address "educate the whole child," "address inequities in our system," "teach all children," "partner with parents," and "fully fund education" as part of a collective bargaining agreement intended to focus on salary, benefits, and working conditions of the adults in the system?

"We've Done Things Wrong ..."

Eduflack — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:11:28 GMT

"I know we've done things wrong both as a union movement as well as a teachers' union ...

I know sometimes my members get really upset at me when I say this, but you have to look at yourselves and say, 'How can you change? How can you do things better? And what we've done as a movement as a movement, we focused, we fixated on fairness. We thought, like, when they talk about justice and teachers unions, we would say, 'That's the boss's job to fire somebody. That's not our job."

- AFT President Randi Weingarten at the Democratic National Convention (courtesy of Huffington Post), reminding us with this acknowledgement that AFT can continue to be a major lever for real reform in public education.

Education: Dem Convention Edition 2012

Eduflack — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:34:00 GMT

Earlier, Eduflack highlighted the strong edu-language uttered at the Republican National Convention by folks such as Jeb Bush and Condi Rice. Today, we look at the Democratic response, provided at this week's Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC.

Interestingly, until last evening, the edu-talk just wasn't that strong. Most of it centered around dollars, and what would happen to everything from preK funding to Pell under a Romney/Ryan administration. A few speakers -- including San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro -- spoke eloquently on the personal importance of a strong education. But there was little policy discussion -- until President Barack Obama himself spoke last evening.

From the President's speech:

You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle-class life.
For the first time in a generation, nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning. Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading. Millions of students are paying less for college today because we finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders.
And now you have a choice_ we can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don't have the money. No company should have to look for workers in China because they couldn't find any with the right skills here at home.
Government has a role in this. But teachers must inspire; principals must lead; parents must instill a thirst for learning, and students, you've got to do the work. And together, I promise you_ we can out-educate and out-compete any country on Earth. Help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers in the next ten years, and improve early childhood education. Help give 2 million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job. Help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next 10 years. We can meet that goal together. You can choose that future for America.

And with that, the Gentleman from Illinois drops the edu-microphone ...