Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Race to the Top

The 4 states out of the running are California, Wisconsin, Nevada and New York because they have laws that prohibit tying teacher pay to student performance. The Race to the Top money requires states to adopt national standards that:
-link teacher pay to student performance
- fire teachers regardless of tenure

So far, the unions are not dismissing the plan out of hand but they are saying that you can't tie a teacher's pay or status to one test. They would appear to be willing to work with this on some level but it has not been thought through very well yet as far as I can tell. Interestingly, I have a meeting with the union leadership on Thursday, I'll ask about it then.

Already Illinois and 6 other states have lifted restrictions on charter schools to be able to compete for the money. Here is one fear I have. Like many other things with this recent wave of government spending there is a knee jerk reaction in order to get legislation passed or to qualify for certain programs. There is a rush to get something done with little thought about the long term impact of the changes or the cost. Are the legislatures of the various states really thinking through the long term ramifications of the quick changes they are making without any guarantee that they will get any of the money from Obama's race? The money if they get it is a one time hit. Is it really worth the changes that they are putting in place for Illinois that will be permanent and long lasting? They are changing state policy because the federal government said so not because the people of Illinois said they want that change or because there is a group of Illinois citizens that are demanding change. Don't get me wrong, I have not fully examined the issues of charter schools and I don't claim to have a deep knowledge of their value or detriment for the educational system.

If we are going to make changes it the education system in Illinois (and I do agree that changes need to be made) they need to come from the citizens of the state through meaningful dialogue. The changes need to be what is best for the children of Illinois. What they need is not necessarily the same thing that students in Alabama or New Mexico need. Education is somewhat individualized and to think that we can have a blanket fix for 50 states is unrealistic. Top down decisions in education rarely work. You need to involve the people that work with kids on a daily basis to make effective change.

1 comment:

  1. Mrs. Ryan, I too am involved with my teachers' union. I was a school rep for several years and have attended regional, state and national conferences. I wish more people knew about the Illinois Education Association's (IEA) Invest in Excellence. http://www.ieanea.org/iieAbout.aspx Think about the diversity in school funding, just among the schools and districts represented in our curriculum class! JLopez even talked about schools in Chicago that are just blocks away from one another, but are vastly different! We shouldn't accept this. Invest in Excellence (IIE) proposes proper funding for ALL Illinois public schools, regardless of property values or PTO fundraising.
    Unfortunatley, I don't know that IIE will help with disparity within a district. Also, I think Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are an entity unto themselves. But, we need to start somewhere. I think raising income tax, providing property tax relief, and severing the connection between property values and school funding is the fair way to go.

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