Tenure and Placement in Our State’s Public School System SB 191 Overview Help define teacher & principal “effectiveness” Weaken the legal promise of tenure (aka “non-probationary status”) End practice of direct placement & “Dance of the Lemons” A landmark reform? Importance of Teacher Quality Teacher Quality Makes a Difference One year of great teacher vs. average teacher = 5 percentile points in test scores Three years in the classroom of great teacher vs. poor teacher = 50 percentile points Teacher Quality on Decline Fewer top-notch students attracted to teaching Steady decline since 1960s Not indicting individual efforts / achievements Training, Licensure, Compensation, Evaluation, Retention Background: The Problem Evaluations: The Widget Effect Non-probationary teachers evaluated once every three years Binary evaluation system does not tell enough about instructional quality 99+% of Denver, Pueblo teachers rated “satisfactory” Inadequate supports to improve teaching Background: The Problem Tenure-like job protections 1990: “Tenure” removed in name only Not enough ineffective teachers weeded out during probationary period Low bar of 3 years + satisfactory Jeffco provision (2005 IB) Dismissing non-probationary teachers: rare, costly, time-consuming Alfred Wilder ($125,000) Susan Romeo ($145,000) Background: The Problem Direct placement: Dancing Lemons Poorest, most disadvantaged students tend to have least effective teachers One principal “squeezes” them out, another principal must place them Lincoln HS principal: “It's about schools being able to chart their own destiny.” School environment may contribute to individual teacher effectiveness Race to the Top Administered by US Dept of Education Part of ARRA / stimulus package (2009) $4.35 billion given out in 2 Rounds 4 reform areas: Great Teachers and Leaders carried greatest weight Tennessee & Delaware Win Cash Both tie tenure/evaluations to student Colorado loses Round I (14th of 16) $175 million up for grabs in Round II Governor’s Council January: Gov Bill Ritter creates Council for Educator Effectiveness Recommend statewide definitions for principal & teacher effectiveness, guidelines to implement new system 15 members: CDE (1), CCHE (1), CEA (4), CASE (2), CASB (2), CLCS (1), CoPTA (1), 1 recent grad, 1 policy expert Collaboration and consensus What SB 191 Will & Won’t Do Evaluations & Effectiveness: Focus Council on clear, high standard Not driven by CSAP scores Weaken tenure-like job protections for consistently ineffective teachers No change to current “due process” Principal consent and teacher advice required for direct teacher placement Teacher & Principal Evaluations Focus Council on clear, high standard Evaluations performed every year At least 50% of teacher AND principal evaluations tied to academic growth Multiple fair and transparent measures – not just CSAP tests Mobility, special ed, at-risk status Three levels: Highly effective, effective, ineffective Effectiveness and “Tenure” Probationary teachers: 3 consecutive years of effective evaluations Gain tenure-like protections Non-prob teachers: 2 consecutive years of ineffective evaluations Lose tenure-like protections Direct Placement vs. Mutual Consent Teacher placement requires principal consent & advice of at least two teachers Effective non-probationary teachers who aren’t placed enter priority hiring pool Non-probationary teachers who lose their jobs due to RIF given lists of all available district jobs Non-probationary teachers who don’t find job within 12 months or two hiring cycles are placed on unpaid leave School districts and unions can apply for waiver of mutual consent provisions “Michael Johnston, Superstar” Lead sponsor of the bill: Yale grad, Teach for America alum, former HS principal, & former Obama adviser Senator Michael Johnston, SD 34 (D) Other sponsors: Sen Nancy Spence; Rep Christine Scanlan, Carole Murray Initial co-sponsors: 9 Democrats and 9 Republicans in total Coalition of Support Stand for Children http://GreatTeachersandLeaders.org Business Groups / Chambers Community Groups Metro Superintendents (Cindy Stevenson) DPS, CASE & CASB State Board of Education Ritter, Owens, Romer & Lamm (Guvs) American Federation of Teachers 800-Pound Opponent: CEA State’s largest teachers union provided sole opposition to SB 191 NEA president testified in Senate Ed Arguments: Unfunded mandate Implemented too fast [Amended] Don’t judge teachers by test scores Teachers losing “due process” Lobbying on Release Time Dozens of CEA member teachers at Capitol for committee hearings, to urge legislators to Vote NO on SB 191 Many used special union leave days In Jeffco, 275 days / yr + substitute cost In Denver, 150 days (+100 reimbursed) More accountability needed for use of tax dollars and students’ time Drama in the Senate Senate Ed Committee (Apr 21-23): Teachers testified on both sides Federico Pena vs. Dennis van Roekel Passed 7-1 with provisional Dem support The dental analogy & academic growth 7 Democrats joined all Republicans in passing SB 191 Drama in the House Passed House Ed Committee after midnight on May 6: 7-6 vote Lots of tears, high-strung emotions Rep Ferrandino, Rep Todd, et al. Rep Max Tyler: compared challenging kids to maggot-infested flour Amendment battle to avoid filibuster Binding arbitration provision for ineffective teachers – 2013 sunset added 8 Dems (5 from Denver) voted Yes What’s Next? (Part I) Mar 2011: Council recommends effectiveness definitions, procedures to implement new evaluation system Sep 2011: State Board adopts rules Nov 2011: CDE provides resource bank for local evaluation systems Feb 2012: Legislative opportunity to review and veto State Board rules What’s Next? (Part II) 2011-12: School districts develop new evaluation systems (CDE helps) 2012-13: Evaluation system tested 2013-14: Statewide rollout of new evaluation system Aug 2014: Districts urge effective teachers into high-need schools 2014-15: Full & final implementation SB 191 in the Final Analysis Rebalances focus of education employment from “paperwork and seniority” to “performance” (R Hess) Shawn Mitchell: “…Not as dramatic as it proponents hope nor as cataclysmic as its opponents fear.” CO far more likely to win Race to Top CEA-Democratic relations greatly strained… hope for future reforms? Education Policy Center Independence Institute (since 1985) In-house events Monthly e-newsletter: sign up iVoices podcasts Independent Thinking TV show Papers & op-eds Blogs … Education Policy Center www.i2i.org www.SchoolChoiceforKids.org www.EdIsWatching.org www.IndependentTeachers.org Education Policy Center Pam Benigno, Director (pam@i2i.org) Ben DeGrow, Policy Analyst (ben@i2i.org) Marya DeGrow, Research Associate Raaki Garcia-Ulam, Website Outreach Coordinator Office Phone: 303-279-6536