On August 14th, Governor Bill Haslam sent a “Welcome Back” letter to teachers across the state. In the letter, he thanked teachers for their hard work in helping Tennessee improve its student achievement scores. He said he appreciated what they did for Tennessee students every day.

Apparently, some teachers haven’t forgotten that this is the same Bill Haslam who promised to make Tennessee the fastest improving state in the nation in teacher pay in October of 2013 and included a teacher pay raise in his 2014 budget address … only to break that promise in April.

Some teachers sent responses directly back to Haslam. And some of those same teachers sent their responses to TN Ed Report under the condition we keep their names anonymous.  Here are some of the responses we received:

Teacher Response #1:

I appreciate your attempt to understand the inner workings of a classroom and appreciate your words of appreciation for those of us who chose to serve others through teaching. However, I am highly disappointed at the turn of events in which you announced that teachers would not receive pay raises. We already make much less than other TN State employees and much less than teachers of other states.

It is easy to make promises and to break them:
http://tnreport.com/2013/10/04/raising-teacher-pay-a-top-budget-concern-for-haslam-administration/   

I am personally insulted in your lack of support for the teaching profession. My colleagues and I work hard for the families we serve. A normal day for most of us is  7:45 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Though we are only paid to work 8:00 until 3:15, our jobs cannot be completed in those hours. Many times we take student work home with us and are constantly looking for ways to improve our teaching on our own time.

Teachers are generally told “no one teaches for the money”. TRUE, but teachers never expected to be put on the “budget cutting” chopping block each time raises are considered. We feel betrayed with popular campaign promises and rhetoric.

In closing, make no mistake that our hard work is not completed for you or any elected official. Our hard work is for the children we PROMISED to educate when we accepted our jobs. Your letter of appreciation proves that WE have not failed those who have put their trust
in us, including you.


Teacher Response #2

Please tell the PR firm that suggested you send these letters that we teachers are well educated and therefore insulted that they would believe a letter full of empty words could ever make up for what you and your administration have done and are doing to ensure the destruction of public education in Tennessee.

Teaching is more than a job to me. Teaching is my calling. I sincerely love all of my students and work tirelessly for them. I most often work six full days a week to ensure that they have exactly what they need to succeed. I spend hundreds sometimes more than a thousand dollars of my own limited income every year to make sure that their needs are met. I was always proud to be a teacher but, not so much these days. Mostly these days my heart aches for my children. I spend many hours crying for them. Your administration has stripped our classrooms of all joy. Teacher morale is low because we are working in hostile conditions.

Finally, please keep your empty words. This letter is too little, too late.


Teacher Response #3

I am in receipt of your letter of August 14, 2014.
 
I appreciate the welcome back to school. And it is nice to hear the words “thank you.”
 
In your letter, you note that Tennessee is the fastest improving state in the nation in terms of student achievement. You attribute this success directly to teachers.
 
I seem to remember that in October of 2013, you also promised to make Tennessee the fastest improving state in teacher pay — an acknowledgement of the hard work so many Tennessee teachers are doing every single day.
 
Your budget, proposed in early 2014, also indicated at least a nominal raise for teachers was forthcoming.
 
Then, in April, you abandoned that promise.  When the state revenue picture changed, the budget was balanced on the backs of teachers. Not only did your new budget take away promised raises for teachers, but it also reduced BEP funding coming to school districts. Now, teachers are being asked to do more with less.  And students suffer.
 
Your words ring hollow when your actions make it clear that teachers don’t matter. That our schools can wait just one more year for the resources students need to succeed.
 
As for your “thank you” for the work I do, I’d note that I can’t send it to the bank to pay my mortgage. A thank you isn’t going to fix my car when it needs repair. When the price of groceries goes up, I can’t simply use your thank you letter to cover the increase. And when my health insurance premium inevitably rises in January, your letter won’t put money back in my paycheck to cover the cost.
 
The raise you promised but failed to deliver would have helped with all of these things. But your letter does nothing but remind me that you say nice words and shortchange our schools.
 
In my classroom, I place a high value on integrity. That means doing what you say you’re going to do. On that scale, sir, you rate an F.


We received copies of other responses that mentioned the poor communication style of Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman and the loss of collective bargaining rights. While teachers may not have a viable alternative to Haslam on the ballot in November, those sending us copies of their responses made it clear they won’t be supporting Haslam.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow@TNEdReport

In a desperate attempt to save Kevin Huffman's credibility and job, a petition was started by rich people.  The signatures on the petition are an elite "who's-who" list of people who get generous paychecks from the reformy charter gravy-train.  There are quite a few "name not displayed" entries on the petition, but from doing internet searches of the people who did sign their name, it is easy to see that these people are enemies of public schools. For example:

• Rebecca Lieberman (managing director of school and sector initiatives for the Charter School Center) was quoted in the Tennesseean's article about the petition.  Lieberman has a nice, cushy job at the Charter Incubator.  According to the 2012 990 tax filing, she made a nice salary of $102,673. (their 2013 990 isn't available, but we bet she made even more last year).  Her organization hit the jackpot financially under Huffman's leadership.  The CEO's salary at the Charter Incubatorincreased a whopping $73,586 in one year! (from $120,750 in 2011 to$176,336 in 2012).  2012 was obviously a boom year for their organization, because they also added a COO position for Justin Testerman with a sweet salary of $127,015.  Nope, you certainly can't make that kind of salary as a public school teacher!
• Teach for America corps members, Derik Ohanian, who taught as a temporary teacher through Teach for America, was then super-launched into an internship with the White House for 4 months over the summer, and then landed a sweet job with the TN Department of Education (working under his boss, Kevin Huffman) as a "Leadership Coaching Consultant" for the past 5 months.  His signature surely bought some brownie points from his boss.
• Achievement School District staffers also signed the petition, of course, like Margo Roen and Alex Little.  Their jobs depend on Huffman, so it makes sense they'd sign it.
• Elissa Kim is a no-brainer signing her name since she works as Executive Vice President for Recruitment and Admissions for Teach For America.   Kevin Huffman was her former co-worker at TFA.  Huffman signing that big $6 million no-bid contract for Tennessee with TFA meant job security for her. Her salary is more than Kevin Huffman's at $224,000 plus benefits. Yes, it is a huge conflict of interest between her job at TFA and the fact that she is on the Metro Nashville Board of Education, but who cares when there is money to be made?  
• John Eason, identified in the Tennesseean article as a “philanthropist,” is really an investor in for-profit management of charter schools (reformers really, really want for-profit charters to be legal in TN and need Huffman to make it happen).  Eason co-founded Beacon Education Management which merged with another firmand now operates under another name in other states.
• The Tennesseean also writes: "Among names on the petition are several founders of publicly financed, privately operated charter schools in Nashville, including Ravi Gupta of RePublic Schools and Todd Dickson of Valor Collegiate Academy. It also includes charter philanthropists such as Townes Duncan and John Eason as well as leaders of the Tennessee Charter School Center."  Quick internet searches show that Valor Collegiate Academy is opening in Nashville, with hopes to open a whole cluster of schools in Nashville.  Cha-ching.  
• Townes Duncan, who fought to remove power from local elected school boards and give control to an un-elected state board allowing charters even more freedom to open in communities where they are not wanted.
• Representative Mark White, devoted water boy for Governor Haslam, signed it and left a touching comment, too.  There's no question of his loyalty and intentions.  We hope the rumor isn't true that Mark White is on the list as a replacement for Huffman's job.  White's contempt for public education and unwillingness to listen to parents & teachers would make him a horrible leader over Tennessee's public schools.

Click HERE to read the real "miracle" of
why TN's NAEP scores jumped so drastically in 2013
and why it won't happen again on the next NAEP.

A quote from a public school Dad:

"It kills me that Charter proponents have so little respect for the public's intelligence that they think they can create something like this and not have it be recognized as a charade starring the normal cast of characters. I also think its worth noting that there are current and aspiring school board members who have signed this petition. Voters need to ask themselves if people who are willing to support the divisive policies of Commissioner Huffman are really the best people to represent them."

Click HERE to read his article

Click HERE to see the petition to remove Huffman

Click HERE to see the Facebook page

Do not be fooled. Follow the money.
See who is really benefiting from Huffman's reforms.
 

The above law was violated by a person appointed to a position of authority over our public schools, Commissioner Kevin Huffman.  The law is clear: he did not have the power to grant TCAP waivers to over 100 school districts.

Teachers are being unfairly held accountable for test scores on tests they are not allowed to see and whose cut scores are admittedly manipulated....  Students are being held accountable for grades on tests that their parents are not allowed to ever see.... but....

Who is holding Kevin Huffman accountable? Certainly not Governor Haslam who appointed him.

Legislators:  All of the laws you pass are worthless if they can be blatantly ignored without any penalty by those at the top.  Not a single legislator voted against this law in the House or Senate.  Beth Harwell, Ron Ramsey, & Bill Haslam all signed it.  Is it okay for the Commissioner of Education to break the laws you pass?

Superintendents & School Board members:  This is a case of "Do as I say, not as I do" by Commissioner Huffman.  Speak up for your districts and demand an end to all of this excessive testing and top-down control.  Talk to your legislators.  Your voices are important.  Do what you know is best for your students.

Media:  Publish facts, not what they want you to believe and print. 

 

I've been in public education a long time. Enough to watch the pendulum swing many times. This time, however, the pendulum has come loose and we are in uncharted territory.

Public education is being set up for failure and it is INTENTIONAL. There is money to be made by for profit charter schools, textbook companies, and testing companies... most of which are part of the Pearson Corporation.

Without a fight.....public schools will be a thing of the past. All of this is being done behind the backs of the average parent. This will cause the demise of education as we know it and put big bucks in the pockets of a few. Our children are not money makers. They are learners that deserve the BEST!
 - a teacher in Metro Nashville School District 

That teacher isn't the only to have an "aha" lightbulb moment and realize what is really going on.  She sees clearly that the Emperor has no clothes on.  Every day, parents and teachers across the state are realizing that these reforms are not helping our children, but they ARE making some people very, very rich with our tax dollars.

There is a widening disconnect between public school parents and the people who are at the top making big decisions.  Indeed, the pendulum has swung too far.  In fact, in this digital age, clocks no longer even have pendulums.  We are in frighteningly fast (and incredibly profitable for some) territory.  Money is being spent on things that aren't helping.  Teachers and support staff are being cut from our schools to pay for mandates from the top.  Data is being manipulated to show progress that doesn't exist (have you seen the TCAP scores yet?).  Teachers are bullied into silence and compliance.  Parents are being excluded from the process.  This is all so wrong and it must stop. 

from a smart Nashville Dad's blog on 5/23/14:                                                                                         

"I’ve always believed these test scores were finessed to tell the 
political story that was desired at the time."

 “We’re doing great. We need to continue with the same policies.”
or
“We are doing terrible. Its time for change”.

It was an unspoken truth that “cut scores” changed annually. Problem was, test were so lacking of transparency that you could never cite evidence to 100% prove that they were manipulated and the message was so controlled that it was hard to dispute."

"The integrity of the (TCAP) test and its results have been placed on such a pedestal that it has now become the focus to a large portion of the population for several months a year. The ramifications of test scores have grown exponentially.  Commissioner Huffman was willing to stake teachers careers on test results. Parents hire tutors and make decisions on extra curricular activities based on the test. Remember, Little Leagues don’t play games during test week. Teachers and administrators lay awake at night fretting about how to wring more points out of their children. After all, if they lose their jobs due to test scores, the mortgage gets hard to pay. They try to use that to justify attention diverted from their own families. Yes, Mr Huffman, teachers have families, but that’s another story for another day. Today’s story is how you took all this focus and made it for naught."

A plain ol' TN Mom connected the dots... and discovered something HUGE!!! She wrote us this:
 
I was reading this blog by Mercedes Schneider, and she wrote that Florida's NAEP gains were partly due to the fact that Florida stopped socially promoting 3rd graders, but it backfired on them because it was mostly their minorities that were being held back. Anyway, the blog said that "Jeb Bush tried to erase social promotion in the third grade by holding back number of third graders. Having these students repeat third grade offered the illusion of testing gains for fourth graders taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In short, if more lower-performing students are kept out of fourth grade, then the resulting fourth-grade NAEP score improvement is misleading."

So that got me curious about TN. Do we socially promote 3rd graders? I searched online and lookie what I found!!!  

• http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jun/13/new-state-law-ends-social-promotion-third-graders/
• http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/may/18/tennessee-senate-passes-bill-forcing-schools-end-s/
• http://www.wsmv.com/story/16203480/lawmakers-want-to-eliminate-social-promotion-in-schools
• New LAW: http://www.tn.gov/sos/acts/107/pub/pc0351.pdf
• LAW Ammended to include 8th graders: http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/billinfo/BillSummaryArchive.aspx?BillNumber=HB3269&ga=107

Tennessee passed a law in 2011 that required Tennessee's 3rd graders to be held back if they aren't proficient.  So, beginning in the 2011-12 school year in Tennessee, no more social promotions to 4th grade! 

Why is this such a BIG DEAL?

The NAEP test is ONLY given to 4th and 8th graders!

And the NAEP test is only given every 2 years! (2011 & 2013)

BINGO!

So, those huge jumps for 4th grade Reading (5 points) and 4th grade Math (7 points) are, in large part, because there were no socially promoted students to take the test!  They were all still in 3rd grade!!!

So, as Governor Haslam and Commissioner Huffman have traveled across the state bragging about being the "fastest improving state in the nation" they don't tell you the whole truth. 

POP!  (That was the sound of their bubble bursting)
 
TN was "fastest improving" because we left our failing students behind a grade before the last NAEP test.
 

I am the Vice President of TREE.  https://www.facebook.com/TNExcellence?ref=hl 

Yesterday morning I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend an invitation-only speaker series that brings together CEOs of companies across Tennessee to hear from a wide range of individuals. Many of these CEOs are actively partnering with community schools and charter schools to help them with their needs.

The speaker on this occasion was Tennessee’s Education Commissioner, Kevin Huffman, so this event had great potential to get more CEOs and their companies involved in our schools. Mr. Huffman essentially talked about his history as our Education Commissioner and how it felt to be “a change agent.” He also talked about all the pushback he has received over his reforms. During the Q & A, a gentleman responded to the pushback commentary by asking Mr. Huffman if he felt like it was time for a listening tour. The Commissioner rattled off the various things he has done such as visiting districts and speaking to teachers and superintendents, but then stated that “there was no good way to get parent feedback."

As with many of the "problems" he pointed to during his talk, he didn’t offer up any suggestions on how to rectify the lack of parental input in his reform process, nor did he ask for ideas from the audience. He went on to give a very convoluted reason for not reaching out to parents which made my jaw drop in disbelief: He told the CEOs that “there are several faux parent groups that claim to represent parents but they don’t and they have ulterior motives and agenda.” 

Um. WOW! My hand shot up in an attempt to get the opportunity to ask what “faux parent groups” he was referring to exactly. One could argue that StudentsFirst could be labeled in such a way, but somehow I don’t think he was disparaging his ex-wife’s astroturf education group which has lobbyists on the Hill advocating for Huffman's reforms. I got the distinct impression he was talking about TREE and all the other parent groups that have popped up across Tennessee because parents have had enough of his "do-what-I-say-or-else" reforms.

I was never able to ask him my question because I was not called on and had to dash out the door to, ironically, meet and speak with five parent groups from across the state about our disapproval of the Voucher and For-Profit Charter Companies bills. We also talked about our frustration over having our education bills buried by the Administration. The powers that be are trying to sweep parents under the rug and are clearly willing to say whatever it takes in an attempt to discredit us. We will not stand by and allow Kevin Huffman or anyone else to malign us or any of our fellow parent groups that are focused on education issues in Tennessee.

Feel free to join us in our #fauxparent campaign. Tweet and or post on Facebook a picture of yourself holding a sign that reads “I am NOT a #fauxparent!” and then add any hashtag that applies to your fight for public education. (We suggest using these these hashtags: #fauxparent, #tnedu, #tnleg. You should also include Kevin Huffman's twitter handle in the tweet: @TNeduCommish. Here is an example tweet: "I am not a #fauxparent. #tnedu #tnleg @TNeduCommish")

We want the Governor, his appointed “change agent”, the legislature, and everyone else in Tennessee to know that we are, in fact, very real, incredibly determined Tennesseans with valid concerns about the reforms that are being pushed in our state and we will not be silenced. We are the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and guardians of the almost 1,000,000 public education students in Tennessee and we have had enough.

Please join me in the effort make parents across TN aware that they are being marginalized by sharing this post on your personal Facebook pages and on Twitter. We must spread the word.

A locally elected school board member, who was also at that meeting, had this to say:

Yesterday, I attended an event where Commissioner Huffman spoke. I was amazed by the tone of his speech and by his version of what has transpired over the last few years. Many of the CEOs at the event chuckled along with him, apparently believing what he said. 

He insisted that most teachers in the state are happy. He told the crowd that they could listen to anecdotal stories about teacher complaints or they could consider the "evidence," meaning the TELL survey (and a Vanderbilt survey with which I'm not familiar). When I raised questions about this and pointed out that the vast majority of the teachers in the state are being rated on classes they don't teach, he maintained that our new teacher evaluation model is the "best thing that has ever happened in TN." 

He dismissed those who have questioned his decisions, saying there are many in TN who want to roll back our progress and higher NAEP scores. 

And my personal favorite: When asked what parents think, he said it's difficult to know what parents believe because there are so many "faux parent groups" in the state.

Takeaway: If you don't agree with Commissioner Huffman, (1) you're part of a fake organization, (2) you hope that our schools will get progressively lower scores over time, or (3) you're a whiny teacher who is in the minority of teacher ranks.

Why is this guy still in power? Because he is completely insulated. This event was sponsored by a CEO group and attended by a friendly Chamber of Commerce crowd who apparently have no idea what's actually happening in public education.

The problem with many of the elites, who have been trying to run the show, is that they've never spent any real time in a public school, so they buy this nonsense.

 
Why would TN Commissioner Kevin Huffman say that about parent groups?  Could it be:

• Because he thinks parents couldn't possibly be smart enough to research, understand, and see the gaping holes in manipulated data?  

NO, that's not it.  We're highly-educated, successful parents.

• Because he thinks we aren't smart enough to organize with other parents to form organizations to support our children's schools?  

Nooooo, that's not it, either.  We're great at organizing.  In fact, it has been easy to do as more and more parents learn of these awful tests, the Common Core mandates forced on our children, and the abuses their teachers are facing.

• Because he thinks people have time to create fake groups just because they don't like him? 

Nope, we are busy parents with jobs, schools to volunteer at, and kids to raise.  Believe us, we'd much rather spend the time that we devote to these parent organizations to supporting other needs in our schools, churches, and homes, but this is where we feel our voices need to be heard.

• Because he thinks people without children are really being paid to contact our legislators, school board members, Superintendents, and the media?  

HAHAHA!  Noooooooo, that sounds like a conspiracy theory, doesn't it?  We certainly aren't paid and we won't accept any money for our efforts.  

• Is he scared of the power we hold???

That could be it.  Because:
We aren't backing down.  
The more we learn, the more determined we get.
The more parents we talk to, the stronger our group becomes.
No amount of money motivates us.

Our "ulterior motives" & "agenda" = our CHILDREN

Parents who never thought they had a political bone in their body have become involved because their children are being harmed by excessive testing, Common Core, charter schools, and other reforms.  Now more than ever, parents are motivated to research and learn, to watch committee meetings online, to attend their local school board meetings, to contact elected officials, to ask in-depth questions.  Some are even running for elected office to make things better.

No, we won't reveal our names.  That would jeopardize the voices we've promised to keep anonymous through our TN Parent blogs and emails.  You can see the many groups we collaborate with and represent at our website:  www.tnparents.org 

GOVERNOR GREETED WITH PROTESTS OVER EDUCATION STANDARDS IN SMITHVILLE, TENNESSEE 
February 27, 2014
by: Dwayne Page

A group of local educators, students, and others opposed to Tennessee Common Core standards greeted Governor Bill Haslam with protest signs and chants as he arrived in Smithville Thursday evening to speak at the local Republican Party's Reagan Day Dinner. The event was held at the county complex auditorium.

The Governor did not acknowledge the protestors as he emerged from his automobile and entered the building where friends and supporters were waiting to welcome him.

Many educators say they are fed up with the pressures put upon them in the classroom and they want the Governor, a supporter of Common Core, to hear their voices. "We're sick and tired of being sick and tired with the way teachers and kids are being treated in education," said Bill Conger, President of the DeKalb County Education Association. "We're over testing and putting too much on the kids. The Common Core and the standards they're trying to set for us are too high, too fast and they're putting pressure on teachers making it difficult for them to do their job every day," said Conger.

"It's difficult for the teachers to live up to all the mandates," said Bryan Jones, an eighth grade science teacher. "We just can't teach school because of all the paperwork. We have so many things going on we have to do to comply with the state. It's also very difficult for the kids. Common Core is something we need to reject as a county and state," added Jones.

Lisa Mabe, a third grade teacher at Northside Elementary, said the evaluations and merit pay system are most unfair to teachers. "We teach our hearts out every day. We want our students to do well but we are judged on an evaluation system that isn't fair. We're scored one through five and we're rarely given five's because we're not perfect. Yet we do everything that is expected of us. We love our kids and we want them to learn. We only ask that they treat us fairly. The merit pay isn't fair. They want to give us raises based on our job performance and our test scores but our classes aren't divided equally. If you want us to have merit pay, you've got to base all our classrooms equally and give all teachers a chance to achieve those standards but it's not set up that way. It never has been. I've been teaching for nineteen years and I've had more evaluations this year than I had my first year of teaching. You are welcome in our classroom anytime. I want to be accountable. I am accountable, but do it fairly," said Mabe.