Some more news about Jason's appointment in Iowa

I'm quoted in this article!

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/12/29/jason-glass-is-choice-for-education-chief/

Congratulations, Jason Glass!

Iowa is very lucky to have Jason!

http://www.radioiowa.com/2010/12/29/branstad-announces-his-choice-for-education-chief/

New State Rep for HD56

I am very excited to see an Educator named as our new State Representative. She was a professor for one of my classes in grad school. Great person, and I look forward to working with her in the Spring as her legislative liaison.

Hamner named Eagle County's state rep | VailDaily.com

Ugly 3 go down

60, 61, and 101 go down in flames

Congratulations to you all and thank you so much for your hard work in this election. As you probably know by now the “Ugly Three” were defeated soundly. Also congratulations to Hayden, South Routt, Aspen, and Summit County members for helping to pass their Mill Levy overrides. Unfortunately we lost in West Grand and East Grand, although East Grand’s bond issue would have only gone into effect if 61 had passed.

As I’m sure you may know our membership has fallen quite significantly from last year to this year. It’s especially disheartening give the fact that last year we hit an all time high of 1,206 members. This may be a good opportunity for you to inform you members, and your potential members of how hard our local associations and CEA worked on the ballot issues and your local mill levies, win or lose. It’s important for them to also know that each of your locals received money from the FUND to help in the efforts.

I understand there are viable reasons why our membership has fallen. Most of our school employees took a pay freeze, some of them for the second straight year. Some of us saw our colleges lose their jobs, including many of our members. The negative press about CEA’s opposition to SB 191 and the failure of Colorado to receive Race to the Top money, coupled with the hype about the movie “Waiting for Superman” have given regular public education and public school unions a black eye.

But we must keep the faith. Public education is vital to economic recovery. Our voice in the political process and our relevance as an association are vital to having a voice in what happens in our local school districts. Maybe someday the legislators and voters in Colorado will figure out that it’s not ok to be at the very bottom in per pupil funding compared to other states.

Dennis Carlson

Ski Country UniServ

An Upset Educator’s Letter to Oprah — ‘Ask teachers.’

An Upset Educator’s Letter to Oprah — ‘Ask teachers.’

Oppose 60, 61, and 101

Colorado Education Association is opposed to Amendments 60 and 61 as well as Proposition 101. Watch this video to see why. Then pass it on to all your Facebook friends in Colorado.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqpXsb2Lbhw

The Waiting For Superman Paradox

It seems like the only one set of opinions is being broadcast about the debate about public education here.

The Waiting For Superman Paradox

New Study: Merit Pay Does Not Boost Student Achievement

New Study: Merit Pay Does Not Boost Student Achievement

Obama Back to School Speech

President Obama's 2010 Back to School Speech
As students begin their school year, President Barack Obama will deliver his second annual Back to School speech on Tuesday, September 14 at Julia R Masterman Middle-High School in Philadelphia, PA at 1:00 PM ET. The President’s Back to School Speech is an opportunity to speak directly to students across the country. Last year, President Obama encouraged students to study hard, stay in school, and take responsibility for their education.

“Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide,” President Obama said to students last year.

How to Watch the Speech
President Obama’s Back to School will be streamed live on this page and on WhiteHouse.gov/live on September 14, 2010.

Article on Teacher Jobs Bill

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/business/economy/18teachers.html

Disappointment-reaction to our Superintendent's decision

Given Colorado’s miserable outlook on education funding now and in the near future, and the difficult financial time in Eagle County when people are losing benefits, are under-employed, and losing their jobs, we are dismayed and deeply disappointed that our Superintendent has chosen to accept a hefty bonus and a corresponding pay increase.

Our negotiating team, comprised of teachers and administration, including Superintendent Sandra Smyser, was charged with cutting $4,000,000 dollars from our school district’s budget for next year. Through a collaborative process we accomplished that goal with the idea that everyone would make sacrifices and everyone would feel some pain in order to cause as little disruption and negative impact as possible to our students. Below are some of the many sacrifices being made.

• Staffing will be reduced district-wide by approximately 50 full-time equivalent positions for the upcoming 2010-11 school year.

• Major cuts in career longevity and PERA 110/140 retired employees will be realized.

• Salaries for new hires to the District will be reduced approximately 2%.

• Supplemental pay for coaching and additional sponsorship duties will be reduced by approximately 2%.

• Master and Mentor stipends will be reduced by 10% for the 2010-11 school year.

Among the painful pieces of our negotiated agreement was a reduction of employee bonus pay. Teachers now have a maximum bonus earning potential of 4% (although 2% is more likely), down from the previous year’s maximum of 8%, along with a pay freeze. Dr. Smyser, however, accepted a large 7.25% bonus including 20% of that bonus as a salary increase. Eagle County School District employees have an opportunity for a 4% bonus, Dr. Smyser receives a 7.25% guaranteed bonus. Employees have a pay freeze, Dr. Smyser has a salary increase. Surprisingly, the leader of our school system is not “taking one with the team.”

The current turn of events is particularly disheartening. We, the Eagle County Education Association, have spent a huge amount of time and energy developing what we considered to be an excellent working relationship with the District Administration. Five years of relationship building is in jeopardy. Leaders in other districts such as Cherry Creek, JeffCo, Boulder, and Summit counties all have demonstrated loyalty to their district employees and are leading by example because they have forgone their bonuses and/or pay increases.

Our Superintendent’s actions show a lack of solidarity with her employees, which frankly, is insulting. These actions do not send a positive message to the employees of Eagle County Schools.

Tanya Caruso
President, Eagle County Education Association

Superintendent Bonus

In light of the staff reductions, stipend cuts, pay cuts for retirees, temporary (indefinitely) elimination of longevity, and district-wide pay freeze our teachers and support staff be enduring next year, it is ECEA's stand that no one in the Eagle County Schools, including the Superintendent, should be eligible for a bonus beyond the maximum 4% that all staff/teachers are eligible this year, and should not be eligible for ANY pay increase whatsoever. These sentiments were presented to the Superintendent at the beginning of the last negotiations meeting on Tuesday late afternoon. Acceptance of a bonus and pay increase would be unfair. The Board of Education will present their offer for the 10/11 school year to the Superintendent on June 9th, and she intends to wait until then to make any decision or comment.


See the article and recent news reports below.

Eagle County school board mulls superintendent's bonus | VailDaily.com


Colo Superintendents Weigh What To Do With Bonuses

Written by Brian Maass
[ mailto:bmaass@cbs.com ]E-mail

DENVER (CBS4) ―

Visit the [ http://cbs4denver.com/investigates ]CBS4 Investigates section.

Some are still taking them, some are saying "no thanks," and at least one Colorado [ http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/superintendents.bonuses.raises.2.1715185.html ]school superintendent isn't revealing what he plans to do about a $50,000 performance bonus he's owed by his school district.

A CBS4 Investigation found school superintendents across the state are taking vastly different approaches to bonuses and raises they are owed, that are spelled out in their employment contracts, contracts that were put together well before the financial downturn that is affecting K-12 [ http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/superintendents.bonuses.raises.2.1715185.html ]education.

"My philosophy is to model the behavior you'd like to see in others," said Mary Chesley, superintendent of Cherry Creek [ http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/superintendents.bonuses.raises.2.1715185.html ]schools.

Chesley said she hadn't talked about the bonus issue until CBS4 filed an Open Records Act request for her contract. But Chesley authored a May 28, 2009 memo to her school board, notifying her Board of Education she did not want a performance bonus of $20,000 for the 2008-09 school year, would not accept a raise for the 2009-10 school year and was rejecting a $16,000 district contribution to her savings plan for the 2008-09 school year.

Chesley says it was clear a year ago that her district would be hit with millions of dollars in cuts and she needed to lead by example.

Dr. Cindy Stevenson, superintendent of the Jefferson County School District, is taking much the same tact, telling her school board she will not accept $40,000 in performance bonuses she is due over the next two years and expects her salary to be frozen for the two-year period.

"It's not a lot of money but it's a gesture for anyone in leadership to look at," Stevenson told CBS4. "I think it's a small sacrifice I can make for our organization."

Stevenson's top administrators -- her cabinet members -- have also agreed to a pay freeze.

But last July, with budget cuts looming for education, the Eagle County School district gave its superintendent, Dr. Sandra Smyser, a $15,750 performance bonus in addition to her $175, 000 annual salary. According to her contract provisions, that bonus then triggered a raise, increasing her salary to $181,300. Smyser is due another bonus in July of about $18,000 which will trigger another salary increase. Smyser refused to talk on camera or by phone with CBS4 about the compensation issue. A spokesperson said Smyser's schedule was "jam packed" and "extremely packed" and had a "very busy schedule," but that a human resources specialist could discuss the compensation issue. Ultimately, the district spokesperson said Smyser would only communicate with CBS4 about the bonus issue via e-mail.

In contrast, Aspen's school superintendent, Dr. Diana Sirko, immediately agreed to speak on camera about her most recent bonus. The Aspen school board awarded Sirko a 10 percent performance bonus last fall, amounting to $15, 844 for her work in the 2008-09 school year.

"It's always a sensitive issue and a tough one," Sirko told CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass.

But she said part of the reason she accepted the bonus was due to the economic crisis.

"Did you consider giving it back?" Maass asked.

"I didn't because we felt it would be the last one for awhile," Sirko said.

"The reason the board felt comfortable awarding it and I felt it was okay to accept it was that it was part of the evaluation and negotiations of the previous year and was budgeted accordingly," Sirko wrote in a follow up e-mail. "It was based on our academic achievements last year, the passing of the $4.5 million mill levy for transportation and technology and the $12 million housing bond. We had also successfully finished the $35 million new middle school."

Sirko said all employees received a 2 percent increase when she received her bonus.

The leader of the Denver Public Schools system, Tom Boasberg, was not willing to say what he planned to do about $70,000 worth of additional compensation he is due. Boasberg is owed a $50,000 bonus from last year and a $20,000 raise. But he deferred both and says he will meet with his school board in July and decide what to do about the $70,000 lump sum he's owed.

"I'm very aware of the financial challenges and my need to lead by example," Boasberg said.

"So have you not made a decision?" Maass asked Boasberg.

"No decision has been made, no," Boasberg responded.

"So it's your decision?" Maass asked.

"It is mine, but I'd like to have a discussion with the board. I think the decision needs to be what's best for DPS," Boasberg said.

End of year

As the end of the year FAST approaches, I feel inclined to share my some of my feelings. As Eagle County Education Association President, this year has had its share of challenges but I wake up everyday feeling so fortunate to serve the members of ECEA. It is an incredible experience, be it a jovial chat at the post office that reinforces why teachers teach and that we can always find the good out of potentially negative situations, to celebrating new positions, jubilación (the Spanish and superior word for retirement), good health, school wide plans for next year, and student growth.
Despite the distraction of SB191, I feel we will do fine with it. We are a progressive district at heart and many of our teachers are happy to do what it takes to help students improve. I still think other districts will be overwhelmed with the amount of work this will add to principals and the money it will take to implement a proper plan. I don't like the thought of perpetual "at will" employment that may happen if teachers continually get denied non-probationary status. I know there are flaws currently with non-probationary protections, but there are many flaws in the at-will system also. Let's just hope the Governor's Council comes up with some clear and reasonable guidelines that can help define effectiveness that are fair and logical. CEA has three teacher members on the Council and we all are so lucky to have our Superintendent, Sandra Smyser, on that Council. I meet monthly with her, and I know she carries many of ECEA's sentiments with her.
Another difficult issue this year was the budget (or lack there of). Tough, tough year for negotiations. I do feel fortunate that the negotiation team, comprised of admin and ECEA leaders, work well together and we are able to communicate freely. ECEA member voices were loudly heard throughout our negotiations via the survey sent out earlier and other scenarios. Comments and data from that survey were used throughout as evidence and the basis for many decisions. Thank you all for participating-you really helped us drive much of our work. We will also use that information for our final negotiations coming up regarding our health insurance premiums. Our team (all of us) really appreciated having data and comments to back us up. I know our final decisions did not satisfy everyone in every way, but we tried our hardest.
Part of the fallout from negotiations are non-renewals due to FTE reductions. Non-renewals happen every year, but this year seemed to be a lot more common than previous years. Most of it was due to the budget, but part may be due to the plethora of very qualified applicants out there. Principals are probably feeling like kids in a candy store. Either way, some teachers will be able to find positions at other schools in the district by the end of the summer, some may find them elsewhere. Either way, ECEA hopes the best for everyone in this situation. Just know it is widespread. I have visited with teacher union leaders in many districts throughout Colorado and they are facing much of the same situation. If not layoffs, then pay cuts (no bonuses) and program cuts-sports, mentoring, increased class sizes. We will get through this and those of you who are leaving ECS, much luck. Thank you ECEA members!
Tanya

Here we go

Tomorrow I will venture back to the Capitol in Denver to not as an observer, but to testify in front of the House Education Committee.
I will be bringing in a copy of our Professional Practices Handbook so they can see firsthand how complex a good evaluation tool is. My emphasis will be that not funding this bill is shortsided because it does not take into account the training needed for Principals, and the embedded and personalized professional development that must occur-even with the best and exemplary teachers, as we define them. Without that piece, the intensive evaluation tool is not useful for the teacher. I experienced it. I was in a school who waited the longest to implement TAP, but we started using the evaluation rubric right away. There was no way for my principal to give me the all the help I needed to understand how to improve. If I didn't have a GREAT mentor teacher (Kate)-the old type of mentor who did everything for basically free-I would have drowned. Luckily now we have a paid mentors and masters who can help. I am not saying that our system is perfect-IT IS NOT-but, if we are to have evaluation systems in place that are as rigorous as we have in ECS, such as seems to be the wave right now, I would HATE to know people would have to suffer through it without a fair support system. And I believe with the right people/leadership in place our support system works well for new teachers and teachers who want to sharpen their classroom strategies. The exact people who would be needing to prove themselves effective to their principals. This is only half the battle, but the other would be connecting teachers to assessments. Right now the biggest issue I have is that there are few good tests out there for the core subjects-RRR. And there are no tests that exist for 60% of the rest of the teachers out there. What are we going to do? Have schools make them up would be the cheapest way, not the wisest. Pay for test experts to do it-expensive and not the wisest. Ahhh, pay for a panel of educators who teach the subject to create the tests. Not free, but wiser. As you can see, none of this is free. Colorado must be able to fund this bill. Please don't allow this to be an unfunded mandate. Let the Governor's Council on Teacher Effectiveness do it's job. Then lets talk.

Action Needed!

Delegate Assembly in Denver was energizing to say the least. Senate Bill 191 was the main focus outside of regular Assembly business. Cassie Harrelson and I went on Thursday to attend the testimony presented to the Senate Education Committee for and against SB191. Then we met with as many Senators and Representatives we could, including Senator Dan Gibbs, Senator Al White, Senator Nancy Spence (co-sponsor of the bill), Representative Merriwether, and Representative Todd. We wanted to get across the point that this bill is not funded and evaluation systems such as proposed are not cheap. We know this from experience. Eagle County's mentor/master/professional development and evaluation system costs our district $950,000/year. The time principals spend on evaluations add up to at least 6 hours per teacher and that ends up being about 1/3 of their job. Many districts don't even evaluate their teachers every year (unless probationary). And if 1/2 of an evaluation is based on student performance and growth, there are some issues. 1) 60% of all teachers are not linked directly to a test like CSAP. 2) This would turn teachers away from wanting to work with low performing students-special ed, at-risk, ELLs for fear that they would be labeled as ineffective if they were not scoring on the paper/pencil test adequately. This bill would require even Eagle County to change our system of evaluating to include pieces that will be imposed on us-currently we are working collaboratively on our evaluation system-, plus 1/2 of our score would be based on student performance on tests. Not sure how it would work with the 60% of teachers who are not directly connected to those tests, unless we add tests-which are not free to create. Those points were the first to come to mind while we were lobbying our legislators.

Thanks to Association members' hard work, the committee amended the bill by:

• changing the requirement that 50 percent of an evaluation be based on CSAP scores to a requirement that 50 percent be based on multiple measures of student growth;
• strengthening the Governor's Council on Educator Effectiveness by ensuring that no future governor could modify or eliminate it without legislative action;
• extending the timelines to allow the council to do its work;
• extending the timelines for implementation of a new evaluation system to ensure that it is done right; and
• adding checks-and-balances to ensure that any rules set by the State Board of Education go to the Legislature before they are enacted.

CEA members will hopefully continue to email and call Senators and Representatives with our Association's positions on the bill:

• Teachers want a fair, credible evaluation system and believe the current evaluation system must be improved. Teachers do not fear accountability.
• SB 191 is an irresponsible and unfunded mandate.

It is irresponsible of lawmakers to base critical changes in state law on "gifts, grants, and donations" -- the Legislature's trick for funding things for which it has no money. Legislators expect school districts to pick up the tab for new evaluation systems, but the Legislature just slashed district budgets by $260M, forcing higher class sizes, salary freezes, lay-offs, and furloughs. The bill has a cost of less than $250,000 a year to pay for three CDE staff who will support the State Board of Education in adopting rules and check to see if districts' evaluation systems meet or exceed state guidelines.

Not only will districts have to create new evaluation systems to meet state rules, the bill requires all teachers and principals to be evaluated annually, even if that's not a research-based education practice or consistent with private sector business practices where managers, unlike school principals, supervise fewer than 10 employees. Principals will have to restructure their time and workload to accommodate this level of evaluation. Districts will have to ensure that evaluations are linked to student academic growth through data systems capable of linking this information to teachers and principals. The expenses for changing the evaluation system will have to come from existing school and district budgets. SB 191 entirely ignores the ongoing resources and support districts must provide to teachers, including mentoring new teachers to help them become effective and providing professional development for all teachers and principals.

• SB 191 disciplines teachers who are evaluated as "ineffective," instead of supporting and helping them become more effective.

K-12 teachers do not have tenure. They have due process which protects them from arbitrary dismissal. Under the bill, a teacher with two consecutive years of "demonstrated ineffectiveness (based partially on student test scores and other measures of academic growth) is penalized and forced back to probationary status without access to due process. No matter when this happens in one's career, the teacher is punished and required to earn back nonprobationary status -- or could just be nonrenewed as a probationary teacher.

Teaching is a high-risk profession that requires professionals to be able to work in a supportive environment without fear. Fair evaluation and employment procedures are one important aspect of ensuring quality teachers, and fairness requires due process.

• The bill imposes state solutions to individual school district problems.

SB 191 mandates that a teacher cannot be hired or transferred to a school unless the principal consents. Lawmakers want to solve a perceived problem in Denver where schools have been closed or programs changed, forcing teachers to be involuntarily transferred. The bill requires that a teacher who is treated this way and does not get a new assignment after two years be placed on unpaid leave.

The bill requires that reductions-in-force (RIF) that occur because a district has a justifiable decrease in teaching positions must be based on teachers' "effectiveness." This interferes with collective bargaining agreements and school board policy.

CEA urges all Association members to call and email all legislators: State Senators and Representatives. Remember to include in your calls and emails your name, where you work, and that you are a constituent.

On Monday, April 26, the bill will go the Senate Appropriations Committee with 10 members: Sens. Abel Tapia (D-Pueblo), Chairperson; Chris Romer (D-Denver), Vice-chairperson; Bob Bacon (DFt. Collins); Rollie Heath (D-Boulder); Mary Hodge (D-Brighton); Moe Keller (D-Wheat Ridge); Ted Harvey (R-Highlands Ranch); Keith King (R-Colorado Springs); Mike Kopp (R-Littleton); and Al White (R-Hayden). These would be key Senators to contact NOW!

Legislator's emails and Capitol phone numbers are found in the Legislative News section of "At the Capitol."

See the latest information on the CEA Capitol Connection
http://ceacapconn.wordpress.com/

Opinion Poll

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