Blog Posts

Invitation to the Testing Insanity

4/28/2015

TN Parents invite all lawmakers, those involved in making public school policy, and all supporters of public education to participate in the TCAP testing season by volunteering as testing proctors at their local schools.

You should participate in the education laws and policies put in place for the public school students in the state of Tennessee. TN Parents feel being in a classroom during testing can help you better understand how testing takes place and how children participate in the process. Come see your laws in action.

Right now your local schools are looking for TCAP proctors. Many parent and community volunteers are needed for our schools during TCAP assessments which will take place this week. During this time proctors are needed to help teachers monitor student test taking during the day. As a TCAP volunteer you will be asked to watch the children while they are being tested. A classroom teacher will also be in the room.

Volunteers will be asked to be available for monitoring over a 2 1/2 hour period which will include a required power point online training prior to the testing. Monitors are asked to be there when the schools open. The opening time for each school varies. Please feel free to volunteer for one day or several days. Your commitment and support is greatly appreciated! This week is what is known as crunch time for teachers and students. After at least a month of test prep, and an entire school year of practice tests, it is time for students to take the real test.

We would appreciate your participation.

Words from a Metro Nashville School Mom who volunteers in her children's schools:

I just proctored an English-Language Arts TCAP test for some special education, middle school students. A teacher read the test to the children. The test was almost 3 1/2 hours long--with a short 10 minute break. I saw children who were panicked, confused, detached, exhausted, and disheartened. I can guarantee that these children were not able to demonstrate their knowledge on this test. Those who support the use of TCAP to assess student learning and teacher effectiveness are either unaware or lacking in human emotion. There is nothing I can do to change those who lack empathy. But I can work on changing the opinions of those who are naive. I am Facebook friends with several elected officials. I want to ask each of you to go to one of your neighborhood schools tomorrow or Thursday and proctor the TCAP for special education or EL students. Please take a bit of your time to witness what our state is inflicting on our most vulnerable children.

Actual image from TCAP proctor training:

One teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect her job, wrote this on a state survey and posted it to a closed website of teachers. With her permission, we are sharing it with our readers because this message needs to be heard:

Standardized testing prep has monopolized the majority of my classroom instructional time.This has not just been in the past couple of months. This is since August. Whether it be Discovery Assessments or state end of the year testing, we are constantly looking at some sort of test data, preparing for the next test, or actually taking the test. The students are over tested and by the time the "real" state test comes they are simply too tired, they don't care anymore, or they're too terrified to perform.

We as educators are cramming information into our students' little heads because test scores are our livelihood and now will be our PAYCHECK. Teachers are beginning not to care whether or not the children retain the information, as long as they know it for the test. This is not what school is. This is not what learning is supposed to be. We have lost our way in education and we are not performing with the rest of the world. However, if you look at the rest of the world in comparison with what we are doing; they are POLAR OPPOSITE. The over-testing has got to stop.

Come to a school and ask students the last time they had recess, painted a picture, made a sculpture, created a diorama, did a silly dance, or giggled with their friends while socializing in the cafeteria. Our children are growing up to become violent criminals who don't care about society or its consequences. Perhaps if we transform school back to what it used to be (a caring, loving environment that encourages students to dream and think and love school), these kids will think before they act. They will have learned something from their teachers other than how to bubble in an answer choice and use process of elimination. Please, help! It's not too late to fix this. Thank you.

Why TN Parents think it is important that you Proctor:

Desperate for higher scores, some schools are offering bribes for students to do well on the TCAP... The top scoring students can win bicycles, DVD players, ipods, ice cream, and fast food lunches. At least one school in TN is giving away $200 cash to the top score in the school. A charter school in the state even shames students by making them wear different colored shirts based on their test scores.

This is sad. This is wrong. Please, stop this testing insanity!

UPDATE: Creating a law for only a few hundred students

4/22/2015

Unfortunately, the limited IEP voucher bill (HB 138) passed in the House today, squeaking by with 52 votes (50 were needed to pass).

During deliberation on the House floor, Representative Deborah Moody (who was carrying this bill for Senator Gresham) insisted several times that this bill is NOT a voucher bill. She said it is simply a way to give money for education to parents to provide an alternate education for their children. Call us crazy parents, but if it looks like a voucher, smells like a voucher, and quacks like a voucher... people are going call it a voucher.

Two different times, Representative Moody was questioned about where eligible parents could spend this voucher spending account. She could not provide answers until the bill had passed, which caused one Representative to remark that it reminded him of someone in Washington DC that said a similar statement about passing a bill to find out what is inside. One Representative even wondered if the money could be spent on lottery tickets, Slim Jims, and beer? There was laughter, but still no clear answer.

Representative Matthew Hill made some insightful calculations that this would provide about $550 per month for a disabled child's education, which is not nearly enough to educate a child with special needs. In addition, these voucher spending accounts open the door to predatory companies and organizations that may prey upon parents. Other Representatives brought up valid points about the importance of SPED students being included in the mainstream with peers in public schools, and the fact that these dollars have no accountability attached to them.

Representative Hulsey applauded the teachers and schools in his district, and said that teachers were offended by this bill. It said that teachers have jumped through state-mandated hoops for years, but this bill says that people can leave to escape to a system without mandates. He brought up an excellent point that, "if the private school sector can offer that which the public school sector can not, perhaps we should take our foot off the public sector and allow them to do the same!"

Representative Forgety had some excellent points, too. He had obviously done his homework! (Maybe he even read our previous email?) He brought up, in a very southern genteel manner, the fact that under this similar program in Florida, the McKay Scholarship Program, that nearly "50% of youngsters had no data" and there was virtually no "a-count-a-bill-ity."

Furthermore, to accept this voucher money, parents must agree to waive their rights to FAPE, a Free Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities. This was designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funds.

Is it even legal to require parents to waive their child's legal rights for FAPE in exchange for money?

It is interesting to note that Speaker Beth Harwell voted for this voucher bill.

There is talk of petitioning Governor Haslam to veto it, but it is doubtful he will listen to real parents or real educators. He is most eager to privatize our public schools, even if it is a little voucher duck squeaking by in order to open the door for the elephant vouchers to barge through next year.

Don't be fooled, this is a bill to say that Tennessee has vouchers. This BRAND NEW Government Department of the TN Department of Education and coordinating with the Department of Health will require your tax dollars to operate and oversee. The public will simply use blind trust that it will operate without fraud or legislative oversight. Congratulations, Tennessee, unfortunately, you now have vouchers!

Creating a law for only a few hundred students?

4/22/2015

After a brutally long meeting yesterday for the House Finance Committee, a limited voucher bill was wearily passed on to the TN House in time to be voted on today. If it passes, after years of vouchers being voted down time and time again, it will open the door to vouchers in TN.

To get this bill through, legislators had whittled it down to only include students with certain specific disabilities. There are only 18,000 children in TN that would be eligible. The state estimates that only 1-2% of eligible students will even use these vouchers.

This is passing a law to create a program for only 180-360 children.

This program will require an expensive, dedicated NEW department and staff at the Tennessee Department of Education to manage it.

Nobody can name a single decent private school that will accept these students for the voucher amount.

The only SPED services in rural areas typically reside within the public school system. Rural students taking advantage of vouchers may have to drive long distances to replace what their district provides.

SPED law allows the state to pay for outside services if the child's needs are not being met at the school level. So why do we need vouchers when parents can already pursue added services outside the public school system if needed?

If the state is truly worried about the oversight of public school spending, then why try to oversee individual voucher spending? What happens if voucher money is misused? Those children are still entitled to a free education in their district's public school, even if their voucher funds are gone.

It is important to know that this is how vouchers got their foot in the door in other states, too. "Similar programs in both Florida and Arizona started small and expanded - Florida's now costs more than $150 million annually. And the Florida program has been plagued with fraud and abuse," wrote Andy Spears, an expert on education issues in TN.

Don't be fooled, this is a bill to say that Tennessee has vouchers.

Desperate attempt for vouchers

4/22/2015

"I resent that these men are tearing down their community’s public schools. They claim they want to “save poor kids from failing schools,” but the schools aren’t failing: the politicians are failing the schools. Poor kids can’t learn when they don’t have access to decent medical care, when they don’t have enough to eat, when they are deprived of necessities that advantaged families take for granted. Poor kids will learn better if they have smaller class sizes, experienced teachers, and a full curriculum instead of incessant testing. By cutting funding and sending it to religious schools, the Texas legislators will guarantee larger classes and a stripped-down curriculum.Furthermore, while they won’t pay for what kids need, they have set aside millions for the inexperienced temps called Teach for America, most of whom will disappear after two years."

"I am proud to be a native Texan, but I am not proud of the men who are destroying the public schools that educated me and my family and made it possible for me to go to a good college."

"If I were in Austin, I would say to State Senator Larry Taylor and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick that vouchers and tax credits (backdoor vouchers) hurt the great majority of children who attend public schools. I would say to them that they should take a trip to Milwaukee, which has had vouchers for 25 years, and is one of the lowest scoring cities on the NAEP federal tests. I would tell them that poor black children in Milwaukee are doing worse in voucher schools than they were in public schools. I would tell them they are cheating the children of Texas, to placate their ideology and their pals in the corporate world."
- the wise words of Dr. Diane Ravitch [emphasis added]

Last week, an important study by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability was released regarding vouchers. After researching the data from the voucher systems in Indiana, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Washington D.C., the researchers concluded that there was NO statistical evidence that students who use vouchers perform better than their public school peers.

The report concludes, "All three core components of the Indiana Choice Legislation are designed to funnel taxpayer money to private schools, with little evidence that demonstrates improved academic achievement for students who are most at-risk. The metric in question should be and must be student achievement... It follows then that Indianashould invest its scarce public education dollars in those schools where taxpayers can expect to receive the best educational bang for their buck—that is schools that have been proven, when compared to other types of schools, to educate the most children to the highest levels. Those schools are, unequivocally, K-12 public schools."

Tennessee should learn from other states' mistakes.

How much to they earn?

4/7/2015

Did you know???

...Chris Barbic makes a larger salary than Candice McQueen?

...Chris Barbic makes a higher salary than Governor Haslam?

...Candice McQueen makes less salary than former Commissioner of Education, Kevin Huffman made?

SALARIES:

Chris Barbic (Superintendent TN ASD) = $215,000
Candice McQueen (current TN Commissioner of Education) = $200,004
Kevin Huffman (former TN Commissioner of Education) = $208,280
Bill Haslam (Governor of TN) = $184,632 + money through his family's business
Jamie Woodson (CEO of SCORE) = $329,156
Average salary of a teacher in TN = $45,891
Salaries of government employees can be found HERE. Nonprofit organizations' 990 tax records are public and can be found through many online sites including Guidestar.org.

As you consider merit pay for "effective" employees and the very lucrative privatization of public education, we'll just let the above salary numbers sink in...

Experimenting on poor kids

4/1/2015

A "Petri Dish." That is what Chris Barbic, Superintendent of the TN Achievement School District, compared the Achievement School District to during an interview with Nashville Public Radio where he pleaded for more time. He said,

"There's [sic] 22 bills that have been filed right now to either try to kill this thing or pull it apart, and this thing hasn't even gotten out of the Petri dish."

Just last week, the YES Prep Charter Chain abandoned the TN ASDbecause things weren't looking as profitable as they'd planned. YES Prep (which is a charter chain conceived and birthed by Chris Barbic himself in Texas), at the last minute, pulled out of the Memphis ASD, leaving the local school district scrambling to accommodate students.

YES Prep was quoted as saying to the Commercial Appeal,

“We are not going to experiment at the risk of Memphis students. That is not fair to them,” said Bill Durbin, superintendent of Yes Prep Memphis. After hiring staff for the coming year and spending the better part of two years laying groundwork in Memphis, Yes Prep is leaving. It has no intention of returning."

Even more interesting was Chris Barbic's response to YES Prep abandoning the ASD,

"ASD Supt. Chris Barbic minced few words in reaction to the charter firm’s decision, saying Yes Prep apparently was not serious about the difficulty of the work in Memphis and that it was a significant hardship to deal with a pullout this late in the game. "This is the big leagues. If you want to play in the big leagues, the work is difficult, in the public and there is lots of scrutiny and pressure. Some organizations will hear that and say, ‘We want to step up to that challenge and make it happen.’ If you want to play single- and double-league ball, maybe Memphis is not for you,” he said.

So this is a GAME???

The University of Memphis has plans to "experiment" and profit from poor kids, too. Rich white philanthropists like Pitt Hyde gave a whole lot of money to start the RELAY program at the University of Memphis. This will create a supply of fast-tracked, temporary teachers for the ASD and charter schools in the poorest areas of Memphis. They claim it is to fill the teacher shortage, but the truth is there is no teacher shortage. In fact, hundreds of excellent teachers last year were "excessed" in that district. (Excessed means "not rehired.")

The leaders and philanthropists naively think that these young, fast-tracked RELAY teachers will increase test scores of students. In truth, these temps will lower costs of labor and replace experienced, lifelong educators like Meghan Vaziri, who was a level 5 teacher in a school that the ASD took over. (Level 5 is the top score you can get as a teacher in Tennessee). According to the former Memphis City Schools, level 5 is considered an "irreplaceable" teacher, yet Vaziri has been replaced by a temporary Teach For America teacher who only had 5 weeks of training over the summer. Meghan Vaziri is now self-employed as a freelance artist and web developer, but she would love to teach in public schools again. Since witnessing firsthand the ASD's failure with the students and the school she once worked in, she has been an advocate fighting against the ASD's future takeover of public schools. She attends every public meeting she can, and she bravely speaks up. She knows that the ASD is not working, that the average test scores of the ASD after 2 years are still not as high as they were when the schools were public schools. About losing her job, she says she is okay, that "really the only people who were truly hurt were the children who already have too much chaos in their lives to have lost their long time teachers."

When asked for proof that this new RELAY program would work, President Rudd of the University of Memphis could give no proof and honestly admitted in a public meeting this RELAY program is "an experiment." The faculty at University of Memphis is outraged that this Relay program arrangement was brought to their public University in secret, and is proceeding despite their arguments and logic, despite the fact that the University of Memphis already has an outstanding teacher training college that this RELAY program will undoubtedly harm, and despite the fact that President Rudd keeps cancelling public meetings and rescheduling them at inconvenient times for people to attend. President Rudd has now formed a "task force," to "study" the issue, but we've heard his wife has been appointed to serve on it. Everyone knows what the "task force" is intended to do. They are not dumb.

Why don't these leaders and philanthropists "experiment" on their own children in private schools? African American leaders and parents should be outraged, especially the pastors in their communities who one would think would be fighting for justice and equality for the children in their neighborhoods... but, oddly, many are not. Why is this? African American pastors are targeted by reformers and hailed as "visionaries" to promote vouchers for the children in their communities. Don't be surprised when branches of private schools suddenly find building space in those African American pastor's churches and provide a lucrative rent income to their struggling congregations with your public tax dollars. Money speaks. Like charter schools, the private schools are not equipped to handle students with special needs, disabilities, or handicaps. They are not prepared to handle the needs of high-poverty students. Schools will be segregated even more with vouchers. This has happened in other states, and Tennessee will be no exception.

Tennessee Parents have an important message that needs to be heard:

Poor children are NOT an experiment.
Poor children are NOT a game.
Poor children are NOT a petri dish.
They deserve quality public schools in their communities.
Stop screwing around with their education!
Stop listening to overpriced consultants!
Stop listening to overpaid lobbyists!
Stop giving away our public education dollars to private entities to profit from!

Lest you think, "well, those schools deserve to be taken over by the state because they were in the bottom 5%," think about this: There will ALWAYS be a bottom 5%. Even if every student in the state bubbles every single question on the TCAPs correctly this spring, there will still be a bottom 5% of schools. Cut scores on high-stakes tests are intentionally set to have a failing percentage of students. Middle and upper class students have a clear advantage when it comes to testing. Tennessee Education Report rightly calls TCAP the "Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment of Poverty," for that is the data that TCAP truly shows. This system is rigged!

Can public schools do better? Absolutely, with support they need, they certainly can! Have they been starved of funding and resources? Yes!!! The BEP has not been fully funded by the State in our children's lifetimes, so local school boards have struggled for yearswith inadequate funding to pay for never-ending mandates from the state such as expensive testing, computer requirements, and RTI2. Across the state, and especially in poorer areas, class sizes have increased, extra-curricular programs have been slashed, and corners have been cut to make dollars stretch.

Schools in the bottom 5% especially need additional support that they aren't getting. They take children where they are, and they do their best to make them better. Give them smaller class sizes and guidance counselors and watch the children flourish! Make sure that every student's face and name is known and cherished by a staff member in their school building. Don't let those children slip through the cracks! Yes, this takes an investment of money. But we can either pay for it now when the children are young and it will make a positive difference in their lives, or we will be forced to pay doubly for it in the future if those children enter the school to prison pipeline and taxpayers are forced to fund the high cost of incarceration.

Rich people and politicians often say that we "shouldn't keep throwing money at schools" and that "local districts need to better manage their money." Ironically, their own children are in private schools with millions of dollars in endowments where they pay $30,000+ per year tuition without blinking. Our districts in TN are educating children with a third of that or less, while PTAs and PTOs diligently try to fill in the difference through bake sales and car washes. Before those rich people and politicians cast a stone and dismiss public education as wasteful, they should take a look at the boulder in their own eye. What is good for their own precious upper class children is no less than what middle-class and poor children also need... small class sizes, enrichment through the Arts and sports, safe school facilities, no common core, and no excessive standardized testing.

Show us a failing school in a middle or upper class neighborhood. You can't. They don't exist. They are all in the poorest neighborhoods in the state. Poverty is the common factor in failing schools. Fix it, and the precious test scores will rise in Tennessee. Treat children with respect, and not as a commodities. Children need stability and real teachers, not charter vultures, not more testing, not common core, not temporary untrained teachers, and certainly not vouchers to mediocre private schools.

Tennessee, we can do this!!!

Open Your Eyes

3/31/2015

The article below was originally posted at DianeRavitch.net. Even though it is another state, you will see there are striking similarities to people, organizations, departments, and politicians in Tennessee. These ideas in Tennessee are not original, and they are not working in other states. (Emphasis below added by TNParents)

MUST READ: Revelations of a Disillusioned Reformer
By Diane Ravitch - March 28, 2015

WOW.

This is a remarkable and candid story of Jorge Cabrera, who joined the reform movement as a believer. He wanted to help the children of Bridgeport, where he grew up. He wanted better schools. He was a community organizer for Excel Schools.

And then he learned the truth. It’s an incredible story that confirms your darkest suspicions:

A Repentant Reformer's Reflections

For nearly three years, I had been involved in what has often been referred to by some as the “education reform movement” in Bridgeport. In 2012, I was presented with a unique opportunity to work for a new local organization that would work “with the community” to reform the public schools. The mission was to work towards helping Bridgeport students increase their academic performance and by extension, I thought, lower the dropout rate, increase the rate of college attendance and teach parents how to effectively advocate for the resources and supports their children needed to succeed in school. As a Bridgeport public school graduate and the first person in my family to attend and graduate from an institution of higher learning, I knew, first hand, how the trajectory of one’s life could be dramatically changed with the attainment of that often coveted credential…a college degree. Further, as a native Bridgeporter I was sold on the prospect of working with the community I grew up in and loved to help improve educational outcomes for thousands of Bridgeport students. However, what I did not fully appreciate at the time, but soon found out, was that I was smack in the middle of a simmering firestorm that would divide the community I cared for so dearly and force me to question my own assumptions about “education reform” and the people in front and behind this “movement.”

Though I did not fully know it at the time, a series of manipulative and deceitful political moves were made before I began my work in the “movement” that would be revealed to me in over 200 conversations with many Bridgeport leaders and friends. These “moves” would severely taint the work I would embark on and proved to be a major stumbling block to organizing the community.

Despite these challenges, I began my work full of hope and excited to put my skills and experience toward the noble goal of improving the Bridgeport school system. Unfortunately, what I learned in the coming years was the incredible lengths some people with access to great wealth and political power would go to in order to privatize an already overburdened and underfunded school district and the ideology that undergirded it.

This is my story.

The Best and the Brightest

As I began my work in the “education reform movement” in Bridgeport, I noticed a plethora of ivy league educated “consultants” and “transformation leaders” that littered the often loose coalition of funders, new organizations and executive directors. From the beginning, it was clear that many of these new “leaders” that were emerging were well credentialed. They had graduated from prestigious universities and, it was presumed (though not by me), that alone qualified them to lead. Many were very young (recent graduates), energetic, unmarried with no children and little life experience. They often exhibited a cultish commitment to “the movement.” Their zeal for “education reform” and “saving the children” often resulted in a bizarre abdication of critical thinking that made a mockery of their high priced “education.”

For instance, in many meetings I attended, many of these acolytes extolled the virtues of charter schools as the only solution to closing the achievement gap in Bridgeport but never once did anyone bother to discuss the ample research (i.e. “Teaching with Poverty in Mind”) available regarding the negative impact of poverty on academic achievement or that Bridgeport had several public magnet schools that outperformed (as measured by standardized test scores) many charter schools. These magnet schools had long track records (20 plus years) of success and I assumed we should advocate for what we know, firmly, works. Despite this evidence, there was never any serious discussion regarding expanding magnet school options or advocating for high quality, universal preschool programs (research shows the achievement gap begins at this level).

The entire approach to “education reform” lacked any serious understanding of the many variables (i.e., social-emotional issues, poverty, funding, English language learners) that clearly effect a child’s ability to learn. Anytime a more dynamic and multifaceted approach to closing the achievement gap was raised it was quickly dismissed as “making excuses.” The atmosphere vacillated between a callous indifference to the real challenges Bridgeport children faced and arrogant dismissiveness. Permeated throughout these various organizations that formed a loose network of power was a culture that prized blind dedication to the “mission” and socially affirmed and promoted those who obeyed and exhibited “urgency” in “reforming” the “failing schools.”

The people in “the movement” made it clear that it was up to the “best and brightest” of minds to “transform” the “system” as “outside influencers.” By “best and brightest” they almost exclusively meant people who would do their bidding without question and certainly not anyone that would exhibit any degree of independent or critical thought. On more than one occasion, when the argument was made that the solutions to the multilayered challenge of public education needed to come from the people and required an authentic, engaging process with the Bridgeport community the response was often glib at best. I recall in one strategic planning meeting when I advocated for authentic engagement and patience to allow parents the time to become informed on the various issues and was told to, “just use language to convince” the parents and impress upon them a sense of “urgency.” Another person told me, “It’s all about how you say it…..”

“I began to sense that someone or something I was not fully aware of was calling the shots behind the scenes and many of these young ivy leaguers were the mercenaries on the front lines tasked with implementing the agenda. This whole enterprise was quickly becoming astroturfing and I was in the middle of it. Worse, I was starting to feel like I was hired to put lipstick on a pig and it was beginning to burn me on the inside. Nevertheless, through it all, I never gave up hope and tried to create spaces for honest, authentic and fact based discussions inside “the movement” with limited success.”

The Night in Shining Armor

My first meeting with Paul Vallas was like a whirlwind. He barely came up for air! He spoke in a rapid fire cadence and despite my best efforts I could not engage him in any substantive conversations. He rode into the city as the new superintendent of schools like a knight in shining armor. Immediately and repeatedly, I was told by many in the “reform community” that Vallas was a “godsend,” a “transformational leader” with an international reputation of turning school systems around, increasing academic outcomes and changing the lives of, literally, thousands of students. The praise heaped on him was ubiquitous. He often spoke in soundbites and we were told that we were to be a “critical friend” to the new superintendent. We would support him when he was right and criticize him when he was wrong. Our main constituents, I was told, were the families and students. Good enough, I thought at the time. In reality, we were dispatched to drum up support in the community for virtually every policy change or initiative proposed by Vallas. Any thoughtful questioning of the efficacy of his proposals was met with stone silence or the injection of the “urgency” argument which was intended to and had the effect of silencing any meaningful discussion. If one pushed too hard to open up an authentic discussion regarding Vallas’s proposals “the movement” would send strong signals that the questioner was being disloyal and that such questioning was deemed heresy. It was as if a “bunker mentality” had descended on many in “the movement.” You were either with them or against them. Despite this hostile environment, on one occasion, I was able to engage Vallas in a rare moment of reflection and candor. We were discussing different school models and supports for students and I casually asked Vallas if he thought traditional neighborhood public schools could succeed if they were given adequate funding and supports for students, teachers and families. His response was very revealing. He stated, “Yes! Of course they can, but my charter (school) friends don’t like it when I say that.” It was a rare, candid moment that spoke volumes and provided a rare glimpse into the mindset of the “reformers.” The veil was starting to be lifted. As I continued to have extensive conversations with many community leaders I began to appreciate the deceitful and manipulative manner in which Vallas was hired to lead the Bridgeport school system. It was all unfolding before me and the truth was emerging.

Power to the People?

The crown jewel of the “education reform movement” in Bridgeport was the 2012 charter revision ballot question that would of given the Mayor the authority to appoint the entire board of education, among other powers. The “movement” was in a frenzy to win this election. We were told that “the people woud decide” and “they (the people) have the power.” All of the work we were engaged in to build relationships, trust and educate parents regarding the school system and education policy was abruptly halted to focus on winning this ballot question election. It was a pressure cooker! When I tried to actually read the proposed language changes to the city’s charter and have discussions with parents so that both I and they were fully informed on what we were asking people to vote on, I was quickly pushed aside in favor of a group of highly compensated New York City media consultants who came in and began directing instead of facilitating the “discussions.” Immediately, the focus was on marketing and sloganeering. Worse, we were trying to build the plane while it was in the air! The whole thing was rushed and disorganized. We were told to make sure we communicated to the public that voting in favor of the city charter change was good for parents, students and would lead to better academic outcomes. The insinuation was that anyone who was against the charter revision changes was anti-child or anti-education. When parents or community leaders asked questions that required more substantive, fact based responses we were coached to respond to everything in soundbites and with shallow arguments that lacked any grounding in reality. It was the worse kind of insult to the community’s intelligence and pandered to the worse aspects of human natureand—it almost worked.

Revelation and the Shock Doctrine

My nearly three years in the “movement” in Bridgeport revealed to me the incredible lengths that private, often unseen and unaccountable power will go to in order to create and capitalize on a crisis. In Bridgeport, that crisis in our public education system was created by powerful forces at the local and state level who systematically starved the school system by withholding necessary school funding (Shock #1) which then created a crisis that set the stage for a takeover (Shock #2) of the Bridgeport board of education on the eve of the fourth of July in 2011. Essentially, these forces were engaged in a form of social engineering under the guise of “urgency” and “reform.”

To be clear, in this “movement” there are people who have good intentions and sincerely want to improve the conditions of Bridgeport’s public schools but they do not sit at the tables of power when strategic decisions are made and their voices are often silenced. Their talents, skills and knowledge are often used to serve a larger, opaque agenda that is dictated by a radical ideology of deregulation and privatization. Shot throughout most, if not all, of the education reform “movement” you will find the radical ideology of economist Milton Friedman. Looking back, there were moments when this mindset (disaster capitalism) was revealed to me in meetings. On one occasion, a very influential operator in the “education reform” community was discussing the “amazing opportunity” that revealed itself after hurricane Katrina in New Orleans decimated the population and led to the “charterization” of the public school system. He expounded that sometimes you have to, “…burn the village to save it…” and that what we (the “reform community”) are essentially involved in is, “creative destruction.” Worse, he argued that we needed a “clean slate” in order for real “change” to happen in the school system in Bridgeport. But this was my home. This was the city I grew up in and where most of my family lived and worked. You want to burn down their city!? You want to destroy it so you can be creative!? For whom? It was all surreal. I was done.

In Naomi Klein’s book and, “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,” she outlines how powerful economic and political forces harness terrible shocks to implement radical policies to privatize and profit from public resources. In Bridgeport, this ideology played itself out on our public school system and, for a season at least, seemed to be the dominant ideology on the verge of assuming complete power over the public school system. We almost succeeded. Thanks to the people of the City of Bridgeport—we did not and that’s a good thing.

Jorge Cabrera was employed by the “education reform” organization Excel Bridgeport from 2012-2015–the organization on the front lines of the “movement” in Bridgeport.

If this reminds you of someone, you might consider forwarding this blog to them. Or leave a copy on their desk. Or mail it to them.

Your eyes have been opened to the private money and corruption that shapes the politics of education in Tennessee and across the nation. You agree that education should be about educating children, not about money and power. Public education must be strengthened and sustained for future generations. Don't believe the lies of the reformers. Be smart. When in doubt, follow the money and you'll inevitably find their true motive.

Charters, Vouchers, Common Core, standardized testing = money for those at the top

Voucher pollution

3/23/2015

Tennessee parents are overwhelmed by the information we are hearing on the new voucher proposals coming up in committee tomorrow, but we want you to be aware of what parents think about this legislation and the many questions that are being discussed by parents in coffee shops, on Facebook, in emails, and even at school board meetings.

From TREEtn.org/blog:
"This bill specifically states that there will be NO regulations or standards applied to a participating educational provider. Private schools accepting this voucher are not required to be accredited or have any operating history. A provider need not actually provide the services called for in the child’s IEP. The bill calls for NO testing or reporting of educational results. ZERO accountability. And this lack of accountability runs counter to all of the laws that have been passed in recent years requiring testing and accountability for our public schools. Why would our legislators allow our tax money to be spent without any accountability, after spending years trying to establish accountability in our schools?"

From TNEDReport:
"Though the bill requires the Department of Education to set up procedures for policing the program, it seems it would be difficult to keep track of the 6000-8000 accounts the plan is estimated to create in the early years. Additionally, of course, the Department would have to track providers of education services and curriculum. How long will it take to discover fraud? And what happens to the students with legitimate needs who are poorly or never served?"

A Resolution from the Bartlett City School District:
March 19, 2015 - Bartlett City School Board UNANIMOUSLY approved a resolution OPPOSING any voucher bill that would divert public funds from already under-funded public schools to private institutions.

WHEREAS, each year the Tennessee General Assembly convenes the state’s legislative session to adopt and amend laws affecting a wide range of legislative issues; and
WHEREAS, this year, Tennessee lawmakers convened the 109th General Assembly on Tuesday, January 13, 2015; and
WHEREAS, pending before this legislative body are bills that would create a voucher program allowing students to use public education funds to pay for private school tuition; and
WHEREAS, the Bartlett City Board of Education is responsible for providing a system of free and appropriate public education for all school-aged children in Bartlett, Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Tennessee requires that the Tennessee General Assembly “provide for the maintenance, support, and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools”, with no mention of the maintenance or support of private schools; and
WHEREAS, the State of Tennessee, through work of the Tennessee General Assembly, the Tennessee Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and local school boards, has established nationally recognized standards and measures for accountability in public education; and
WHEREAS, standards and measures for accountability are intended to improve student achievement, close achievement gaps between high performing and low performing students,
and provide meaningful opportunities to engage in the educational experience; and
WHEREAS, vouchers eliminate this public accountability by channeling public education funds into private schools that do not face state-approved academic standards, do not make budgets public, do not adhere to open meetings and records laws, do not publicly report on student achievement, and do not face the public accountability requirements contained in major federal laws, including special education; and
WHEREAS, vouchers have not been effective at improving student achievement or closing the achievement gap, with the most credible research finding little or no difference in voucher and public school students’ performance; and
WHEREAS, vouchers give choice to private schools but do not provide meaningful choice to students and parents, because private schools decide if they want to accept vouchers, how many and which students should be admitted, and the potentially arbitrary reasons for which they might later dismiss a student; and
WHEREAS, many voucher proponents argue these programs increase school choice, but currently numerous public school options exist within Shelby County. Seven public school districts and a litany of charter schools currently support open enrollment policies that allow opportunity for public school choice. Through federal, state, and local laws and policies, students have the option to attend traditional, charter, and magnet schools within the County; and
WHEREAS, voucher programs divert critical dollars and commitment from public schools to pay private school tuition for a few students; and
WHEREAS, Tennessee’s public education funding formula, the Basic Education Program (“BEP”), has experienced significant changes “designed to restore fairness, sustainability, and accountability to the funding process” resulting in BEP 2.0; and
WHEREAS, BEP 2.0 has never been fully funded since its inception in 2007; and
WHEREAS, vouchers compel taxpayers to support two school systems, one public and one private, while public education remains partially unfunded, and while the private system offers no accountability to the taxpayers supporting it.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BARTLETT CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION, that the Board opposes and hereby urges the General Assembly to oppose any legislation or other similar effort to create a voucher program in Tennessee that would divert money intended for public education to private schools, especially in light of the lack of funding for BEP 2.0.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be transmitted forthwith to the Shelby County delegation to the General Assembly, which is hereby requested to oppose all legislation or other similar effort in the next legislative session that would divert money intended for public education to private schools.

Seen side-by-side, both voucher bills (HB1049 and HB138) appear to be excuses for our state to remove the students that take up the most resources to educate, the poor and those who need special education services (which, ironically, private schools do not typically provide).

TN General Assembly, we demand you provide a quality public education for every child in TN as the constitution you swore an oath to uphold requires. This means:

A public education for every child who needs it.
Public schools that are locally controlled.
Appropriate standards developed and approved by Tennessee experts.
Stop teaching to tests.
Provide a well-rounded academic experience that includes: arts, music, foreign language, recess and a higher emphasis on science and social studies.
And we want instruction time. One-on-one time with small group teaching and relationships that only time with a teacher can bring. Our most at-risk students need even more time with the teacher, not tests.

Time with a teacher is expensive. There are no corners to cut with vouchers. We must invest and commit time with a quality teacher for every child.

Vouchers are just another device to give up on Tennessee Public Education.

Vote No.

TDOE says only 100 students are "perfect"

3/18/2015

Have you heard of a student in your district that was one of the 100 students who scored a perfect score on the 2013-14 TCAP Writing Assessment? Local papers have covered the feel-good stories of these perfect-scoring children. Click HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE to see some of the publicity.

Not to discredit the 100 students, but why are there only 100?

Why not 99? or 101? or 297? or 5,999?

Out of the thousands and thousands of students across the state that took this test, only 100 were rated "perfect."

Only 100. That number is just too "perfect" to be an accident.

There is a rubric for scoring these tests (which are scored by people found on Craigslist, which is a whole different problem that needs to be addressed). Nowhere in this document does it say there will only be 100 perfect scores.

By thinking critically, one might think the TDOE intentionally manipulated the scores on the TCAP Writing Test so that a nice, round 100 would receive the top rating. Could it be?

At any rate, the TDOE is using these 100 "perfect" students as their living advertisements to convince the public that these tests are worthwhile. Each "perfect" student receives a special certificate signed by Governor Haslam and Commissioner Candice McQueen (who was not Commissioner when these children actually took the test in February 2014).

It is brilliant marketing... Creating an elite 100 encourages local newspapers and school districts to proudly show their "perfect" student they produced. It gives power to this test, too.

Not only that, those 100 students are now using their perfect writing skills to write essays for TDOE to be used on the TDOE Classroom Chronicles blog (Click HERE and HERE to read some of those perfect students' blogs.)

This manipulation is wrong on many levels.

First, if there are only to be 100 perfect scores, then it really doesn't matter if every student in the state writes an essay worthy of a Nobel Laureate award because only 100 will get the top score.

Second, is it acceptable for the state to use children to promote a test created by a private company?

The TDOE website says, "The rubrics used to score the 2015 test will remain the same as the 2014 TCAP Writing Assessment." Does that mean there will be 100 perfect scores next year, too?

How can we possibly be "fastest improving state in the nation" if only 100 can make it to the top?

Teachers and parents are realizing this TCAP writing test has major problems, including:

technology glitches, slow internet, lost essays, etc.
a confusing MIST platform students must use to write an essay in a tiny little text box the size of a cell phone screen while tabbing between two different articles they must read
a significant amount of time must be spent training students on how to use this cumbersome MIST format that they will never use for any other purpose. It is not like Microsoft Word for PCs, Pages for Apple, or Open Office word processing.
the amount of money wasted on this test that could be spent on other needed things for schools.
Last year, this test was called the "PARCC Writing Assessment". This year it is called the "TCAP Writing Assessment". Very little has changed except for the name. Wait, didn't the TN Legislature vote to get out of PARCC last year? Then why are our children still taking this test?
This test was administered over the entire month of February. This tied up computer labs that should be used for technology classes, as well as disrupted class schedules for students.
Children are required to type to complete the test. There is little, if any, formal typing instruction in elementary or middle school. How are test results not going to be skewed based on typing skills? How is it really a measure of academic ability?
Kids in homes without internet access or computers do not get the exposure to technology to be able to practice typing. How does this writing (typing) test not add to the performance gap due to lack of access to technology for those students in poverty?

TN Parents question the validity of this test and all state tests. We wonder if the scores are intentionally manipulated like this for the other tests, too? Since last year's TCAP results were delayed because the TDOE manipulated the cut scores and aligned test questions, we have reason to believe that the scores set up a predetermined number of students to be advanced, proficient, and failures.

We may not have millions of dollars like the Chamber of Commerce to issue a fancy report from a biased think tank, but TN Parents give the TDOE a big fat F for "Truth in Advertising."

Public view on vouchers in TN

3/14/2015

On March 1st, the article below appeared in the Tennessean. It was written by Lyn Hoyt, President of Tennesseans Reclaiming Educational Excellence (TREE).

Within 24 hours of this article appearing online, it had been viewed over 1,200 times, had received over 700 Facebook "likes," and had over 50 public comments on the Tennessean's own website. These statistics are significant.

Strangely, the next day, the statistics and comments on this article all vanished. The Tennessean has not yet responded as to why the 700 likes and 50+ comments disappeared. Many speculate it was done intentionally. We may never know.

The overwhelming interest and support of this article show that the public is very much aware and concerned on this issue of vouchers. People do not want their tax dollars funding private schools.

Lyn Hoyt does a terrific job of explaining why lawmakers should not approve vouchers:

Tennessee lawmakers should not approve school vouchers
by Lyn Hoyt, President of TREE
March 2, 2015 in the Tennessean

Yet again, Tennessee lawmakers are pushing school vouchers, a failed idea that’s been proven to take money out of already cash-strapped public schools and unproven to boost student achievement.

After several years of infighting within the Republican Party over competing plans, the Senate Education Committee recently voted to approve the most extreme version yet.

Its future remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: a voucher plan such as the one passed could have grave consequences for our students, our schools and our taxpayers.

I am a mother of three Nashville public school students and I serve as president of Tennesseans Reclaiming Educational Excellence (TREE), a grassroots volunteer group of parents and educators who support quality investment and transparency in public education.

We oppose vouchers because they have no track record of improving student achievement. They are also a distraction from the real investments that would bring lasting educational improvements to all public schools.

Milwaukee, Wis., has had a voucher program since 1990. According to a 2012 study by the Public Policy Forum, only 57 percent of voucher school students scored proficient or higher in reading, compared with 60 percent of Milwaukee public school students. In math, only 41 percent of voucher students reached proficiency, compared with 50 percent in public schools.

And vouchers don’t just affect the academic outcomes of the students who accept them. They have a negative impact on entire schools and communities, discounting a child’s need for social-emotional stability, trusted teachers and administrators, low teacher turnover, decreased student mobility rates and community investment.

Vouchers would be paid for by reducing the funding to a community’s public schools. Meanwhile, those public schools become no less costly to run, with the same facility costs, same need for teachers and other costs unaffected by the departure of a few students. Essentially, public schools will be asked to do the same job with fewer funds.

Voters have entrusted every member of the General Assembly with the responsibility to fund public education. The General Assembly’s nonpartisan fiscal review department scores legislation to determine its financial impact. The fiscal note on this legislation is staggering. If passed, we would see $16.6 million leave our public schools. By 2018, that would climb to nearly $70 million zapped from public education.

That is why it was so disappointing to see five members of the General Assembly, including my senator, Nashville’s Sen. Steve Dickerson, vote to support vouchers. I hope that these members will take a closer look at the facts regarding vouchers and reconsider.

Our schools haven’t received the state funding that’s required by law since 2007, and we’ve avoided proven strategies — such as manageable class sizes, student support services, pre-K, and opportunities in the arts, physical education and music — that are essential to a quality education.

Instead, we’ve seen lawmakers abdicate their responsibility to our students, willing to farm it out to private schools, with no academic guarantees for the students left in the public system or for the voucher participants. A December 2012 Tennessean article reported that desired private schools won’t take vouchers.

Voucher schools can choose not to provide transportation or serve academically struggling students, English-language learners and the disabled. Meanwhile, in Louisiana’s failed reform experiment they cannot even fill their voucher spots. Tennessee does not need this fiasco.

We must ask: Who or what is behind such a strong push for an unproven policy? There is no evidence of demand by voters for this dangerous legislation.

It’s time to put this distraction to bed once and forever and focus on policy that will benefit all children.

Lyn Hoyt serves as president of Tennesseans Reclaiming Educational Excellence.

Speaker Beth Harwell recently did an informal survey mailed to her constituents and spread online. Over 5,000 people responded. The results show overwhelmingly that the majority of people:

do not want vouchers.
do not support Common Core.
do not want for-profit Charter Schools.

Click HERE to read the article and survey. (Although the article is about healthcare, the survey results are at the bottom.)

God does not need vouchers.

The voucher bill sponsored by Senator Brian Kelsey of Germantown, TN, has affectionately been nicknamed the "Jubilee Catholic School Bailout Bill" because the Jubilee schools desperately need this voucher funding to operate. Other religious and more affluent Catholic private schools have already said they will not accept vouchers.

Kyle Henderson, Senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Athens, TX, wrote words of wisdom when he said, "God does not need vouchers." He wrote an enlightening article about why religious schools should not accept vouchers, saying:

"In the beginning, temptation appeared as a fruit. Today, it appears in the shape of a voucher. As tempting as it may be for private, religious schools to pluck the low-hanging fruit of “free” public money, the cost is too great. I say this as a pastor. I say this as a Christian school leader. I say this with certainty."

"These government payouts seek to fill in for faith. They whisper from the shadows that they are the answer to the problems of funding a Christian school. God does not need vouchers."

“Vouchers and all its versions including “school choice options” rightly come with responsibilities and obligations to the government, but Jesus told us we cannot serve two masters. These vouchers are either a grab to control faith-based schools or an irresponsible, unaccountable disbursement of public funds. Either the government will start exerting control over faith-based schools, or they will send money to schools that do not have to meet any standards. The only viable choice for a faith-based school is to reject the funds."

"In North Carolina’s voucher program, 8 percent of the public money is diverted to a single school, the Greensboro Islamic Academy. Louisiana’s voucher system only passed the state legislature when an Islamic school’s request for funds was withdrawn. Where public funds are diverted to faith-based schools, all faiths will have access to the funds."

"I prefer the system where those who love faith bear the cost of that faith. We don’t need vouchers to solve the problems of education in the state of Texas. We need legislators who are courageous enough to help public schools to thrive, to return full funding to Texas schools and even increase it. I am part of Pastors for Texas Children, because we are mobilizing all over the state to fight for children, fight for freedom of religion and against a private view of education that draws money away from already struggling schools."

Make no mistake, this voucher bill in Tennessee is no saving grace for students. It is a worm, designed to wiggle into our state using the poorest students, lay its eggs, and multiply like a parasite feeding off the public school system. That isn't a pretty picture, but the stark reality that cannot be ignored is that vouchers will bleed starving public school districts dry and hurt the children left in them.

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Invitation to the Testing Insanity

UPDATE: Creating a law for only a few hundred students

Creating a law for only a few hundred students?

Desperate attempt for vouchers

How much to they earn?

Experimenting on poor kids

Open Your Eyes

Voucher pollution

TDOE says only 100 students are "perfect"

Public view on vouchers in TN

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real parents & real teachers
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