Missourians Supporting Teaching Excellence

Charter VS Public School

2009-04-30T14:44:00.001-07:00

St. Louis Hosts the 2009 CHESS U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP

2009-04-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

The 2009 U.S. Chess Championship will be held right here in St. Louis! The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis will host the tournament from May 7 -17 with more than $200,000 in prize money on the table for the top players throughout the country!

The CWE venue distinguishes itself by providing schools the resources to develop scholastic chess endeavors. The center was founded by retired investment fund manager Rex Sinquefield, a philanthropist advocate for education reform.

To find more information about the Championship, including FREE tickets and competitor’s bios click here.

DEED RESTRICTION ENDS!

2009-04-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

DEED RESTRICTION IS OVER! The Special Administrative Board voted yesterday to remove the clause. Sadly the policy does not go into effect until June 30, which will hurt those charter schools hoping to open for next school year. But this is definitely a victory for the people!

“This is a win for families in St. Louis who are seeking better education options for their children and for all of the taxpayers in the city who paid for these buildings," said Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri State Coordinator Earl Simms. "These buildings can now be sold to organizations seeking to open public charter schools. That not only gives more education options to parents, but the sale of these buildings will also provide more dollars to educate the district’s students.”

CEAM has been a strong advocate for this issue.

Speak Out Until They Listen: Deed Restriction Battle Continues

2009-04-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch draws attention to the fact that many community organizations are refusing to give-up on the deed restriction issue until the St. Louis Public School board allows charter schools to buy their abandon buildings.

Here is another video from the Children’s Education Council of Missouri.

More on OPEN ENROLLMENT

2009-04-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

Michael Podgursky in the NY Times

2009-04-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Missouri economist Michael Podgursky, who focuses his studies on teachers, was cited in the New York Time article.

Check it out

Sinquefield Sues to End Deed Restriction

2009-04-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Education advocate Rex Sinquefield sued the St. Louis Public school district to end the ridiculous deed restriction policy. It is inspiring for our community and our children to see passionate leaders actively giving a voice and standing up to the absurd policies the SLPS wanted to keep hidden. Preventing charter schools to start and flourish is putting a monopoly on education in this city.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Coverage

Education Issues go Beyond Party Lines

2009-03-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

An standing-ovation goes to those bravely crossing party lines to fight bi-partisanly for our children and their education. Democratic Senator Jeff Smith had been fighting (despite point-blank threats from his own party and the teacher unions) for merit pay and open enrollment in St. Louis schools. (Open enrollment means allowing students to move from one public school district to another.)

There are "some wonderful teachers trying to effect change," Smith said. "Unfortunately, I also met people who were just punching the clock toward retirement. The quality was uneven. The systems didn't work. It made me want to do something different."

For years, legislative efforts to reform public school districts in Missouri have stalled, despite the unfortunate trends in school statistics--specifically in urban areas. It is going to take more bold leaders, like Senator Smith, to make real progress.

"I don't think we can afford to be consumed by ideology," he says. "I think we need to find out what works and do it."

For more on the story, check out this article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Open Enrollment Bill

2009-03-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Obama on Education: Charter Schools & Merit Pay

2009-03-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Story

President Obama urged for sweeping changes in his first education speech on Tuesday.

"I call on states to reform their charter rules, and lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools, wherever such caps are in place."

Missouri law currently limits their locations to only St. Louis and Kansas City. Furthermore, he said recently in his budget message that he hoped to double financing for charter schools eventually, and that the Department of Education would help create "new, high-quality charter schools" while supporting the closing of those guilty of "chronic underperformance."

He also called for merit pay.

"Good teachers will be rewarded with more money for improved student achievement, and asked to accept more responsibilities for lifting up their schools...treating teachers like the professionals they are, while also holding them more accountable."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Story

Senate Bill Proposed Ending Deed Restriction

2009-03-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

A bill was proposed in the Missouri Senate concerning the deed restriction issue that is outraging the St. Louis community.

This act prohibits a board of education or the special administrative board of a school district from placing a restrictive covenant in a deed that prohibits the use of real property as a school providing instruction for grades kindergarten through twelve. In addition, any restrictive covenant on real property previously operated as a public school in any deed that has been filed in the office of the recorder of deeds will be void and unenforceable.

"School buildings belong to the community."

2009-03-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated in an interview with the Washington Post:

"School buildings don't belong to us. They don't belong to the unions. School buildings belong to the community."

The statement is extremely relevant to the St. Louis Public School deed restriction issue. The public school board and unions need to listen to the outcries of the community.

The current deed restriction is ethically, economically and logically absurd! And those living in the areas with closed/closing schools and even the U.S. Education Secretary publicly agree.

Bill Proposed Ending Deed Restriction

2009-03-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

A bill was proposed in Jefferson City addressing the ridiculous St. Louis Public School deed restriction policy that has the community outraged. It would allow these buildings, that were publicly funded and built for education, to be sold to charter and private schools.

But the bigger question this newscast begs: is the teacher's union really fighting for more vacant buildings in St. Louis? It is absolutely mind-blowing that local 420 and other activists are so selfishly opposed to providing proper education close to home. Maybe if they spent the same time and energy educating our children, as they do actively supporting absurd policies that hurt our community, then maybe they wouldn't feel so threatened by parent's actually being allowed to choose the best school for their children. Abandon buildings only lead to trouble, everyone knows that. Oh, and Charter Schools ARE public schools.

KSDK: Video & story

Obama Recognizes Charter Schools as a Key to the Foundation of Future Prosperity

2009-03-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith issued the following statement yesterday:

"Although the exact numbers will not be known until April, we're pleased to see President Obama follow through on campaign promises by including an expansion of federal support for public charter schools in the FY2010 budget released today. Here and in his address to Congress Tuesday night, the President has emphasized that despite tough fiscal times, high-quality charter schools deserve increased support - indeed, that they are one of the keys to laying a firm foundation for future prosperity. We will work with the Administration and Congress to ensure that the new funding is paired with conscientious and evenhanded accountability for performance.

There is much else to applaud. The budget brief calls for increased transparency around results for teacher and principal preparation programs - a position that mirrors our call for charter leadership programs whose performance is measured by student results.

Increased support for 'school systems and nonprofit organizations with
demonstrated track records of success in raising student achievement' will allow high-performing, gap-closing charters to serve more of the 350,000 students now on waiting lists around the country.

Finally, the budget statement includes an important commitment to research 'promising educational innovations that focus on improving student learning and achievement.' While there have been several outstanding studies released recently, overall there has been a notable fall-off in research on charter schooling in the past few years. We trust that this new support will foster a new round of rigorous, high-quality studies, especially in states that have large charter populations but little current research of value.

Public charter schools have earned widespread bi-partisan support as a result of their success, and consequently we hope that Congress will join with President Obama in supporting this enhanced level of funding."

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. The Alliance works to increase the number of high performing charter schools available to all families, particularly low-income and minority families who currently do not have access to quality public schools. The Alliance provides assistance to state charter school associations and resource centers, develops and advocates for improved public policies, and serves as the united voice for this large and diverse movement. Currently, more than 1.4 million students attend 4,600 public charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Over 1,000 schools have opened in the past three years.

5 Stars—where it counts

2009-02-25T20:46:00.000-08:00

What do parents have to say about St. Louis Charter Schools? Here’s some five-star reviews:

"My children transferred here from STL Public Schools. This is the best school! The teachers and administrators are all very positive and caring to the kids and also to the parents. My children LOVE this school and their teachers! It's SO much better than where they were. My kids are thriving here and I am so grateful that I heard about it."

“My daughter has attended this school since 2003 and it is a wonderful school!”

What about the currently unaccredited St. Louis Public School District schools? Here is a one star-review from a Mann Elementary School parent:

“I was warned about city public schools and so far Mann has lived up to almost everywhere predicted nightmare. My kids are constantly harassed, beat up, chased home; the school bus comes some days and some days it does not; the days it comes, it comes late. Despite meetings with the principal and parent liaison, these issues have not been resolved. My special needs daughter has been left outside unsupervised, glasses broken, coat lost or stolen at school. I'm at my wits' end as to know what to do next. I'm so disgusted with the way they've been mishandled that when winter break is over, I hope to have them transferred to a new school because it does not seem as if this solution can be resolved. I feel like I'm being blown off to a certain extent because I'm up to the school so much. What to do?”

Though the statics tell the same story, it is important to remember what is really at stake with school choice reform.

Check out how your school rates:
GreatSchools.net
AND
SchoolMatters.com

Missouri School Board Censors Spending from the Public

2009-02-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported an attempt of the Missouri School Board to keep spending answers from the public.

It is a right entitled by every taxpayer to know how education money is being used. Any questions from anyone should be able to be addressed at any time (especially at the Missouri School Boards' Association's annual forum!).

The command for vague answers and avoidance only makes it seem that they have something to hide when it comes to spending.

As a public institution, it is even in their job description to keep the public informed. Especially when it comes to the sensitive issue of money, and especially in these poor economic times. More importantly, many schools across the state continually fail to meet acceptable standards, despite any funding increase. So if it is not helping to educate our children, then where is the money going?

This is a very serious and disturbing issue of transparency and openness, which can only lead to increasing distrust. Schools need accountability in all aspects, especially in spending.

St. Louis will NOT stand for current SLPS deed restriction

2009-02-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

The outrage at the ridiculous St. Louis Public School deed restriction policy continues to grow.

Coverage from the River Front Times

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Story

Jefferson City and school board members are going to HAVE to face this absurd policy. The St. Louis community is refusing to accept the teacher union's selfish lack of concern for our children. Charter schools offer the proper education our children need and the abandon old school buildings offer the ideal space.

SLPS Deed Restriction Video

2009-02-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

The outrageous deed restrictions policy enacted by the St. Louis Public Schools is unacceptable! It prohibits buyers of closed school buildings to reopen them as schools. This is an obvious attempt to kill competition from charter schools. The policy also defeats the intended use of these taxpayer funded buildings, for educating the City’s children. Not to mention, it leaves buildings abandon. The community will NOT stand for this ridiculous and selfish move by the SLPS!

Video Produced by: Children's Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM)

YouTube Link

Children's Education Alliance of Missouri 2009 Conference

2009-02-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

The Children's Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM) held their annual conference yesterday. During the unification of the many important groups and individuals, three specific points became extremely obvious.

1. Serious improvements in Missouri's schools is absolutely necessary. Research statistics citing statewide school failures, along with heartbreaking personal experiences, proved the fight for our children and our communities is more then worth it!

2. There is no quick fix. Numerous proven reforms were discussed, including merit pay and school choice. For example, the expansion of charter schools--through ending ridiculous deed restrictions, allowing charter schools throughout the entire state and supporting more charter schools in St. Louis and Kansas City.

3. It will not be an easy fight. There are many misconceptions when it comes to the details of and connotations associated with these reforms. The public needs to learn what these reforms really mean and the research that supports them. Furthermore, though it is unjustifiable, there are still some that cling to the status quo (and who probably have a lot to do with the widespread public misunderstanding). These groups and individuals have proven powerful, and will do almost anything to hold on to this undeserved power (with no mind of our children). Public misunderstandings coupled with powerful self-interested groups will definitely prove a tough opponent!

Committed to Education

2009-01-31T16:24:00.000-08:00

Sean Nichols is principal of the Fresh Start Academy, an alternative St. Louis high school that welcomes back students 17-21 who have dropped out. It is extremely inspiring to see the focus shifted back to the children and the passionate commitment to education.

The one-year program geared exclusively toward preparing for the GED examination provides new hope for the shockingly increasing number of drop outs in the St. Louis area.

"These kids have been surrounded by poverty and violence and people who may love them but lack resources to help them," he said. "Most left school because they felt defeated and could not take another blow."

"They crave access to people who care about them and can help them," he said.

Mr. Nichols sees good teachers as the key to helping these children. He recruits teachers who understand that these are kids who need special help, sometimes in the evening or on a weekend, teachers willing to work "beyond the job description."

Though it is important to also support education reforms to decrease the number of drop outs in the first place, keep up the good work and commitment to education!

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Story

Education Expert on MERIT PAY for KC

2009-01-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

Proven extremely unsuccessful compared to the performance of other school districts across the country (and the world), the Kansas City school district is in need of serious reform.

Last Thursday Eric Hanushek, an expert on education policy, began a "What Works in Urban Education" series at the KC public library.

The conclusion: MERIT PAY is the answer!

Though Missouri ranked in the 51st percentile nationally for standardized testing, urban schools were performing significantly worse than the state as a whole. As anyone at these schools can testify, many problems (included high dropout rates, performance problems and ineffective, over-budgeted spending) plague the urban districts.

Many try to point to funding, however Hanushek points out: "It is no longer that the suburban districts are spending way more than urban schools." Out of 500 urban U.S. school districts, Kansas City ranked 54th highest for spending. So the real issue is spending this money wisely.

"We must recognize the importance of good teachers, and reward them," Hanushek said. "Everyone from the principals to the parents to the children knows who the good teachers are and who the bad teachers are. We need to get rid of the bad ones."

An increase in funding for teachers across the country has meant an increase for every teacher, not just the good ones. And, by definition, merit pay will correct this!

Improve the structure and they will stay

CHARTER SCHOOL VIDEO

2009-01-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Children's Education Alliance of Missouri

Charter school video start of school-choice movement this year
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch Coverage)

Activists Send Obama Messages on Education

2009-01-18T22:23:00.000-08:00

A letter published in the Wall Street Journal, asked Obama to support charter schools and performance pay structures as a way to close the education achievement gap between minority and white students.

"In the afterglow of your election, Americans today run the risk of forgetting that the nation still faces one last great civil-rights battle: closing the insidious achievement gap between minority and white students. Public education is supposed to be the great equalizer in America. Yet today the average 12th-grade black or Hispanic student has the reading, writing and math skills of an eighth-grade white student."

"What can you and your administration do to close the achievement gap? Beyond expanding federal support for charter schools, as you have proposed, we would urge you to press forward with other policy reforms. The federal government should take most of the more than $30 billion it now spends on K-12 education and reposition the funding to support the recruitment and retention of the best teachers in underserved urban schools. High-poverty urban schools have many teachers who make heroic efforts to educate their students. But there is no reward for excellence in inner-city schools when an outstanding science teacher earns the same salary as a mediocre phys-ed instructor."

WSJ Full Letter from the Black Alliance for Educational Options

School Choice --> Effective Educators --> Less Drop Outs

2009-01-13T10:05:00.001-08:00

Last year, more than one in every five kids enrolled in St. Louis Public Schools high schools dropped out!

Some educators are simply failing to inspire children to invest in education. It is no surprise that kids at risk of dropping out are more likely to complete school if their teacher cares for them, spends with them and encourages them to work toward a future. Missouri needs an education reform that supports these teachers.

By using competition through paternal choice (whether through charter schools or tax credits for scholarship donations), schools will no longer be able to settle for sub-par educators. Every teacher and administrator will be held accountable for their performance.

Good educators should undoubtedly support these reforms, as it will ensure they are rewarded for their hard work. Poor educators, however, should be worried. They will not be able to continue to fail our children and our community without consequence.

Effective educators are the key to improving the unfortunate dropout statistics. And effective educators come from school choice.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Blog: Soft Bigotry Fuels High School Drop Outs

Classroom Visits Stir Action in SLPS

2008-12-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Classroom Visits Stir Action By New Schools Chief

After visiting classrooms in the 25 schools, new St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent, Kelvin Adams, admits that that teachers in the district are simply not teaching. And he aims to direct more focus the failing assessments that have been saying the same thing for years.

He has many reforms in mind to fix these disturbing findings, with some even implemented this January. The fact that he is not turning his back on our children like so many others by just ignoring the problem is commendable. However, it is also important that he rallies others in support St. Louis schools and that his reform plans are effective, meaning based on research.

The bottom line is our community can not afford to continue to fail our children, SLPS need reform.

Education is a Lagging Market in the US

2008-12-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

The bottom line: When compared to other countries and other industries the education in America is radically lacking in progress! The solution? Getting patents and educators actively invested in our children though school choice!

More from the CATO Institute on School Choice

Democrats for Education Reform names Hubbard Midwest Regional Director

2008-12-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

December 8th, 2008, New York, New York -- Democrats for Education Reform, a national political action committee, announced today that it has named Missouri State Representative Rodney R. Hubbard (D-58th District, MO) as the organization's first Midwest Regional Director.

"We are going to support Democratic leaders and leaders-in-the-making who want to modernize our public schools, give every school and library broadband internet access, expand charter schools, grant charter authorization to big city mayors, institute longitudinal studies that will help us analyze teacher and student performance over time, provide merit pay for quality teachers and increase funding for teacher training," said Hubbard. "Candidates and current office holders who have the courage and the conviction to create 21st century schools for all students are the kind of bold leaders who can help us fix our broken public school systems."

Hubbard, who wraps up his second legislative term this month, was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in November 2002. A lifelong Democrat, his political legacy has been in two key areas: revitalization of the City of St. Louis and education reform. He is well known for working with Democrats and Republicans to improve public education and provide parents with high quality education opportunities. His new role will allow him to focus all of his time and energy on this issue.

During his tenure in State government, Hubbard received the 2006 Distinguished St. Louis Business Journal Legislative Award; 2005 Associated Industries Cooperative Award; 2005 Lewis & Clark Statesman Award presented by St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association; Loretta Hall Award from the Carr Square TMC; Yes I Can Award; the 2004 Lewis & Clark Statesman Award presented by St. Louis RCGA and the 2004 Certificate of Appreciation presented by the Missouri Assisted Living Association. He is also a member of the Taheed Youth Group, an anti-drug/violence taskforce as well as his membership with the One Hundred Black Men. Hubbard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Lincoln University. Rep. Hubbard resides in St. Louis City with his wife, Shameem S. Hubbard. He is the proud father of Ayana Amani, Rodney R. Jr., Jabari Ali, and Attallah Azizah.

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is a New York City-based political action committee whose mission is to encourage a more productive dialogue within the Democratic Party on the need to fundamentally reform American public education.
DFER operates on all levels of government to educate elected officials and support reform-minded candidates for public office.

The Children's Education Alliance of Missouri has the press release.

US News & World Report Prove: Charter Schools are Working

2008-12-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

Though Charter High Schools only make up 5% of High Schools nationwide, they constituted 18 of the Top 100 Schools!! This study by the U.S. News and World Report was released yesterday.

CONGRATULATIONS to these schools and their success! Though both the freedom to innovate and accountability for results are underlying (and successful) principles that are engraved in concept of any charter school, the extra-representation on this list is the result of passionate individuals, fighting on behalf of our children for real improvements in education!

The results are in: SCHOOL CHOICE WORKS!

The Wall Street Journal has more information (including study methodology and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools).

History of St. Louis School Choice

2008-12-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

The political battle over school choice has been long and brutal in St. Louis.

On one side there is an alliance of teachers union leaders, central board administrators and various public-school interest groups that has an established routine for managing the schools and are skeptical of any proposal for change. Unfortunately, this cartel acts as a veto player in school policymaking.

Until educational improvement through school choice gains its proper support, the war in Jefferson City will rage on. And regrettably it is the children that suffer the causalities.

The Hoover Institution details the painstaking history of school choice in Missouri politics.

Dear Politicians, Missouri NEEDS School Choice

2008-11-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

Former Sen. Franc Flotron, who now serves as a lobbyist for the Missouri Charter School Association, weighs in on the issue of school choice in politics:

"Having watched the Missouri General Assembly for 25 years now, day in and day out, I can say the public school establishment is one of the most powerful political influences in the state...the traditional educational system does not seem comfortable with the idea of parents deciding where their kids are going to go to school. Do I think that’s rational? No."

Why would public schools not support this effective reform? Sen. Flotron shows the importance of putting KIDS first (ahead of political or monetary agendas) and knowing the facts (that school choice is best for everyone. In fact, the only schools/educators hurt by school choice are those preforming poorly. High-quality educators and existing schools will actually benefit from this healthy competition. But most importantly, more children are able to obtain a proper education!)

Ultimately, school choice need the passionate support of Missouri politicians and educators so kids can be properly educated and parents can be deservingly empowered!

Four New Charter Schools for MO

2008-11-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

Announced last week, the US Department of Education approved four new charter schools—three in St. Louis and one in Kansas City—to open next fall. This is certainly a promising step in the right direction.

Though many talk of school reforms, it is extremely encouraging to see individuals taking an active interest in improving our children’s education. The charter schools will offer families a much-needed alternative to inadequate public and expensive private schools. Therefore, an enormous amount of appreciation goes out to those crusading for the necessary changes in the education system of our state—specifically by way of school choice provided by charter schools.

These four schools will undoubtedly bring hope to these communities of a brighter future for more children.

The Story from STLtoday.

Much More Than a Money Problem

2008-11-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

The passing of Proposition A in Missouri sparks the age-old funding debate. But the fact is, that simply pouring more money into a defective system is not enough to produce the improvements the educational establishment desperately needs—both on a state and national level.

Interestingly, the United States spends more money educating our children than we do on defending the country in which they live!

Despite an enormous increase in federal funding - 131% in just the last eight years - student assessments repeatedly indicate that many of our schools are not effectively serving young people or taxpayers.

Particularly in the hard sciences, the students in other counties are consistently outperforming our own. We must train our students properly, particularly in core curriculum areas, in order to retain our ability to compete in the world market.
Though global implications can seem drastic, it is important to remember just how vital a proper education really is.

Unfortunately, this is not simply a quick-fix money issue. The complex problems faced by Missouri schools must be solved by involved reforms based on research and maintained by passionate individuals.

Education in Politics

2008-11-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

Presidential elections bring an increasing interest in politics and issues. While this active participation is a good thing, it is important to maintain (or even increase) this political attention even though the votes are in. Education policy is an incredibly important subject that is deeply affecting the United States--specifically Missouri (and not just during presidential campaign times). Our children need dedicated individuals to remain actively crusading on their behalf. Creating a passionate momentum is the only means for school improvement.

The United States will undoubtedly experience many changes over the next few years, and it is imperative that education remains in the political discussion. For some insight, Washington Post Education Columnist Jay Mattews offers his predictions on the general direction Obama will take our schools based on debates and campaigning.

Video: St. Louis Schools Recognized for Student Achievement

2008-11-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

It is such a refreshing reminder in the depressing face of continually low-achieving schools that there are area schools performing at a high level. Along with all the discussion of education reform, it is important to also take the time to recognize the efforts of those that are truly making a difference right now.

Only 3.9% of eligible schools nationwide receive the 2008 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon School award. Among those were: McKinley Classic Leadership Academy, Metro Academic, Classical High School, St. Peter Catholic School and St. John Lutheran School (seen in the video).

The families that have their children enrolled at these impressive schools are certainly lucky. But ultimately, every single child deserves this kind of top-quality education.

Click here for the KSDK story

The Economy, Children & Teachers

2008-10-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

The economy we are facing right now is bad for everyone, including our children and teachers. Education will likely face both immediate and delayed cuts in funding. However, it is not the time to panic. Instead we must think clearly, strategically scrutinize the serious problems that face our schools and implement reliable improvement plans.

Basically, the argument comes down to merit pay. By not wasting money on promotions to teachers that are ineffective, school performance will also see significant increases. With less governmental funding available, the completion for this money will rise. Many psychological and business studies have proven the efficiency of rewarding the highest performers and a means to overall improvement. There is also a moral aspect in merit pay reform. Good teachers deserve to be reward! They work hard to ensure that our kids are getting an acceptable education which is good for everyone!

For tons of helpful education information related to teacher pay and retirement check out the interview of John Musso (executive director of the Association of School Business Officials International--former teach and district CFO).

Principal Deserves a Pat on the Back

2008-09-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

The principal of Beaumont High School, Travis Brown, deserves a pat on the back. He was so adamant on making sure students showed up to school on the first day that he went to the neighborhoods to inform students and their families that attendance was expected. He knocked on doors of high-absentee students and rode the streets on a fire truck making the announcement over the loudspeaker.

His dedication to education is very inspiring—especially in the face of the failing St. Louis Public Schools! If more individuals had this genuine and passionate concern for the students—making the children the top priority—then these schools can finally begin to turn around. Because improvements in the cities education system are desperately needed now!

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/story/C556072BAE6E4E44862574A7000C647E?OpenDocument

Alternative Teacher Certification

2008-09-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

A few days ago the St. Louis Post Dispatch highlighted a new law that took effect on August 28 allowing for business professionals to gain teacher certification in Missouri by completing the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence program. Programs like these are sorely needed to attract more teachers to Missouri who already have real world experience and want to share it with our children.

It was very disheartening to see Otto Fajen of the MNEA call the program a "quick and dirty way"to address teacher shortages. His concern of how long these teachers will last is nullified two paragraphs earlier. According to program administrators, 85% of the program's teachers are in the classroom three years after being certified and 95% of the principals it surveyed found ABCTE-certified teachers to be as effective or more effective than its traditionally certified peers.

Hopefully, Missouri will recognize more programs like the ABCTE program. A broad spectrum of experienced individuals teaching in our classrooms can only better our children's education. These experienced professionals know what it takes in the real world to succeed and that is knowledge our children need to advance in life.

Parents make choices for their children? Perish the thought!

2008-08-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Education...a Deciding Factor in Elections.

2008-07-30T12:45:00.001-07:00

Opinion Piece by Clint Bolick

Many people have favorable views of school choice, although they may not publicly voice it. Clint Bolick, a director of the Goldwater Institute Center for Constitutional Litigation and a research fellow with Stanford University's Hoover Institution, writes an opinion piece on certain groups and their thoughts on educational choices. His basis...a survey with surprising results.

McCain's School Choice Opportunity

By CLINT BOLICK
July 15, 2008; Page A17

Education is slipping in priority among many voters but not among Hispanics, many of whom see school choice as a deciding factor in whom to vote for this fall. This has implications for the presidential election.

A new poll shows that 82% of Hispanics consider education as one of three most important issues facing this country. The survey also shows that, even while Hispanics trust Democrats over Republicans on education by more than a two-to-one margin, that ratio could change if Republicans heavily promote school choice while Democrats oppose it.

The poll was conducted last year among more than 800 registered Hispanic voters for the Alliance for School Choice and the Hispanic Coalition for Reform and Educational Options, but never publicly released. It was conducted by two polling firms, The Polling Company (which works primarily for Republicans) and the Ampersand Agency, (which polls mostly for Democrats).

This survey found that although Hispanic voters generally consider public schools to be effective, they also favor, by a wide margin, school choice (defined as allowing parents a choice in whether to spend their children's education dollars in public or private schools).

Fifty-two percent of Hispanic voters have a favorable view of school choice, according to the poll, while only 7% had an unfavorable view. When asked about vouchers specifically, 32% expressed a favorable opinion compared to 13% unfavorable.

But where the poll really gets interesting is on school choice as an electoral issue: 65% of those surveyed reported that they would be more likely to support a candidate for office who supports school choice, including 35% who said they would be "much more likely." Only 19% said they would be less likely to vote for a pro-school choice candidate.

...Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly young and have exhibited a propensity toward political independence -- and no issue is more tangible for them than educational opportunity. If Hispanics align their voting with the educational interests of their children, it could alter the electoral landscape -- not merely for this election, but permanently.

To read the rest of the piece, click here.

Survey indicates parents want school choice

2008-07-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Posted: June 25, 2008 04:47 PM CDT
Updated: June 25, 2008 05:37 PM CDT
A survey of Oklahomans suggests there's a significant disconnect between where our kids go to school and where parents would like them to go.
A survey found that 92% of Oklahoma students attend regular public schools. But, if parents had the choice, only 17% would choose to send their kids to public schools.
Some lawmakers are pushing to give parents more choice. The move is getting support from both sides of the aisle.

"In this state, there's a lot of potential for the school choice issue to be a bridge builder for policy-makers. There are no partisan lines drawn among likely voters, and many different demographics show high levels of support for school choice," said Paul DiPerna with the Friedman Foundation.
A bill that would have created a privately supported scholarship fund for students from lower income families passed the Oklahoma Senate last session, but was defeated in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Missouri has faced similar challenges...have have had bills going through the legislature many times...only to be defeated. Of course, the teacher unions have always stepped in...their lobbying powers are extreme. Teachers are great, but the unions seem to suck the goodness out and replace it with something that only serves to further hurt the children and their education.
I will hold onto the fact I know the movement will grow stronger day by day, and we may finally have a school system that I can say I am proud of.

Power vs. Parental Choices

2008-07-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Parents need to make the choices for their children...or at least have the option to do so. I have a child who is my entire life. Not making the decisions for him would not work for me and I could not imagine other parents wanting decisions made for their child either. Arizona is struggling to keep parents in control of their child's future, with some strong opponents. As this commentary mentions, there always seems to be a power struggle...to keep the power with the school monopoly. Funny how monopolies on other areas are illegal, yet in our most important tool in life, they seem to be the norm.

A commentary from Phoenix's East Valley Tribune :

Vouchers benefit families, not schools
Karla Dial , Commentary

When an Arizona appellate court scrapped the state’s school-voucher programs for disabled and foster children, it pulled Arizona from a path of settled case law, threatening both groups’ educational prospects.
In scrapping the voucher programs May 15, the court cited one of the Arizona constitution’s two Blaine Amendments — 19th Century laws which prohibit “appropriation of public money made in aid of any church, or private or sectarian school.” Though 37 states have Blaine Amendments prohibiting state funds from being used to “support” private schools, Arizona is one of only four with a second amendment prohibiting state “aid” to them.
The Arizona Supreme Court, where the voucher case is now headed, has clearly stated school choice programs such as the two in question do not “aid” private schools. They aid parents and children by enabling them to purchase an education.
The court has held that in deciding Blaine issues, judges must determine who the “true beneficiary” of a state program is, and in the case of school choice, the court said, the beneficiaries are families, not private schools.
The groups who sued to halt the voucher programs — the ACLU Foundation of Arizona, People for the American Way, and the Arizona Education Association — don’t want the public to know who the true beneficiaries are.
What these opponents have accomplished is to rob a small number of disabled students (117 were enrolled this year) and foster children (140 students) and their parents of their civil rights in order to make a political point, and push a false interpretation of the state’s constitution.
Nor have they been intellectually honest enough to acknowledge that the state of Arizona has for years run a school choice program for disabled children very much like the voucher program in question, under the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. The only difference is that the state assigns special-needs children to the IDEA programs that bureaucrats feel will best serve them. Under the voucher program, parents choose.
That suggests what lies at the heart of this issue: a struggle for power and control. Those who run the government school monopoly want to keep their power instead of sharing it with taxpayers and parents who might not choose their services. The idea of competition can be a scary thing, especially for groups that already enjoy captive audiences. Arizona, which operates four distinct school choice programs, has shown choice really works — and that’s why these groups are targeting it.
The decision is headed to the Arizona Supreme Court on appeal. Since the lower court contradicted itself regarding the state constitution’s Blaine Amendments — saying the programs “aid” religious schools but do not “support” them — it’s reasonable to expect the high court to abide by its own precedents and recognize this case for what it is: a grab for additional power by a fat and callous educational establishment.
Karla Dial (dial@heartland.org ) is managing editor of School Reform News.

St. Louis City Kids are Given a Choice

2008-05-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Its not everyday a child from a poverty stricken family has the option to attend private schools. Usually, these children will be forced to attend the public school in their district, whether it be failing or not. Although there are laws saying a child should be able transfer out of failing schools, there are no laws saying those children must be accepted anywhere. While not all schools in inner cities are failing, the ones in St. Louis city are. The Today and Tomorrow Foundation gives "hundreds of tuition assistance scholarships for city residents desiring a private school education for their kindergarten through 4th grade child(ren) (and are) available for the 2008-09 school year. The maximum scholarship award amount is $2,000."

The St. Louis Post Dispatch published an editorial on this:

ST. LOUIS — A Catholic education foundation is looking to give 600 city school students up to $2,000 each year to move into private and parochial education this fall.

The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation has gathered $12 million — six times last year's offering — to cover nine years of scholarships that aim to steer poor students away from the troubled St. Louis public district and into city private schools.

The foundation, part of the archdiocese, has raised money for parochial school scholarships for nearly two decades, Henry said.

But this is the first time a local agency has raised this much for scholarships to so many different private schools, he said.

The foundation piloted the program last year, said board member and campaign chair Kevin M. Short. It offered a similar scholarship to 75 kindergartners, but only for Catholic schools.

Just four donors — the Lay Family Foundation, the Sinquefield Family Foundation, Eugene and Evie Williams, and local technology company Emerson — gave all $12 million.

Some leaders say the program has already made a difference.

What an incredible opportunity for children in the city! This could very well be the thing that changes the rest of their lives. Currently, school choice is not an option, so Foundations such as these involved must act on their own to help these children. Maybe someday, every child will have this type of choice.

Video: Today and Tomorrow Foundation scholarships offered in St. Louis

2008-05-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

2008-04-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

Tax Credit Ethics

We recently read an article about Obama’s efforts to incorporate a tax credit for college students. The tax credit would be about $4000 for each student volunteer who had at least 100 hours community service for that year. I think this is a great way to increase the amount of volunteers for non-profit organizations. It also helps out students who need assistance with tuition. I don’t see it as a payment in any way. If it were payment, these volunteers could use the money for whatever they choose. Since it’s a tax credit, going strictly to tuition, it’s merely an incentive to increase the number of volunteers.

This blog is by students studying the ethics of fundraising and philanthropy at Kansas State University. I think this student’s assessment of tax credits is quite accurate. Missouri’s current legislation about scholarship tax credits for special needs students uses the same principle. Just like community service volunteers, philanthropists would give to a cause they believe is worthy, in Missouri’s case tuition assistance for special needs students who require private services in their education but cannot afford them. It's ethical, it promotes compassion and rewards people who go out of their way to do good.

Just another area where more transparency will help

2008-04-03T14:55:00.001-07:00

Springfield School’s superintendent Norm Ridder raised some eyebrows for his statement that some of the lawsuits that cost the district over $340,000 over the last 3 years.

"It really gets into what I would call frivolous in some cases ... people have a right to file a suit but in some cases, it is basically taking advantage of the system," said Ridder, according to the Springfield News-Leader.

The News-Leader felt this statement implied that the lawsuits were not consequential, and that the school system had been “duped” into paying for unreasonable claims.

Without a clear idea of the lawsuit claims, it’s hard to validate or invalidate that, but apropos that vagueness, the News-Leader has offered some ideas for clearing up that quagmire. They believe that more transparency about the claims would help on many fronts. Knowing that a problem has been repaired is important to the community that shoulders that cost. In turn, that accountability from the community may quell some of the less than admirable claims.

Rep. Scharnhorst discusses Bryce's Law

2008-03-31T11:43:00.001-07:00

Missouri Education: In need of reform

2008-03-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

The need for special needs education reform in Missouri (part 2)

2008-03-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

The need for special needs education reform in Missouri

2008-03-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

A better solution for Columbia's tax credit woes

2008-03-27T09:46:00.001-07:00

The Columbia Daily Tribune today has a letter from Frank Martin offering just the kind of smart, creative solutions we like to see. Columbia Public Schools made a blunder with the budget reserves, and instead of using that reserve to make a one-time purchase, such as Chemistry textbooks that some parents claim their kids don’t have, they used it to create new positions that are a repeating cost—and they’re asking Columbia residents to replace that money each year through a levy. Their argument is that students won’t be educated well if they don’t get this levy.

It’s a bit of a hostage situation. CPS misappropriates the reserve fund, and says: If you don’t pay for our mistake, your kids won’t learn.

That’s quite a stranglehold—despite whether taxpayers believe CPS should get the 54 cent tax levy, they are obligated to do it at the cost of their child’s education. And when you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to want some milk. Frank Martin’s solution cuts the ties of that stranglehold:

Editor, the Tribune: As voters consider whether to raise their property taxes 54 cents per hundred dollars of assessed property value, I urge them to consider a different approach.

Instead of taxpayers being forced to pay their school taxes to one school system - the public school system - they should have the option of choosing which educational opportunity they want their school tax to support: public school, private school or home school. Just as Pell Grants at the college level are not tied to just public universities and colleges, neither should educational tax dollars at the K-12 level.

Under current law, the K-12 public schools do not have to compete for public tax dollars; they operate a monopoly. They receive 100 percent of all school property tax dollars every year regardless of the product they produce. Even if the dropout rates are high, or some who graduate are ill-equipped to move forward in their adult lives, the public school still gets 100 percent of the tax dollars taken from you for the purpose of preparing young people for success in life.

I urge voters to reject this 54-cent tax levy that only increases the power of this outdated public school monopoly. Parents should be provided the option of choosing the education structure they believe will best prepare their child to meet the challenge of adult life.

Yes, this would create real competition for the current public school monopoly. This competition would do what competition instead of monopoly always does: create a better product at a lower cost.

Charlie Shields and Bombardiers

2008-03-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

Senator Charlie Shields, a St. Joseph Republican, is looking out for the Kansas City and Missouri state economy. As a State Senator that is his job, to protect and improve our state’s vital assets, to shield us from danger, to lead the way. He is a leader who, according to the Kansas City Star, is the cosponsor of a bill that would give tax credits to Bombardier, an airline manufacturer, if they build a plant in Kansas City. Since, according to the Star, “the estimated overall economic impact over 22 years was calculated at $5.9 billion,” then, “legislation is on such a fast track that a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.”

In the second of two articles, published March 24^th and 25^th, the Star said:

Missouri lawmakers pushing a state financial aid package to help attract the proposed Bombardier plant predict it will be quickly approved.

“I think you’ll find a high degree of enthusiasm around this project,” said state Sen. Charlie Shields, majority floor leader.

“People hear about Southern states getting car plants and wonder why we’re not in the running. Here’s one that has the same impact, and here’s a chance to get it done. I don’t think it will be a problem.”

I haven’t heard the same enthusiasm from Charlie Shields for Senate Bill 993, which would also give tax credits to individuals, or companies, that donate to a fund to help special needs children receive a good education. I can only hope the good Senator is looking out for the children in this state, realizing that, though an economic impact might not yet have been calculated, it has been proven numerous times, that improving education is a good investment.

But it really isn’t about the money, is it? What it is about is doing the right thing, making a good moral decision, and protecting the good kids of our state; shielding them, like your namesake.

Please step up and speak out, Senator Shields, for Senate Bill 993, and it’s sibling in the House, HB 1886, or Bryce’s law. These two bills are important for our future, for our children, for today.

Partnering with the community to improve education

2008-03-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

The South Side Journal wrote a very interesting article about how religious groups are helping public schools. The strict-constructionist views of our establishment clause and Missouri’s Blaine amendments have sought, over the years, to create an impermeable wall between religion and state, and I find a great deal of the effect of that to be harmful. In looking up some of the case law about Missouri’s Blaine amendment, so many of them revolved around a church or religious group that was trying to help their community—not in an effort to proselytize but simply because they felt it was the right thing to do. The spirit that Shawn Clubb writes about in this article is something that should be encouraged, not stuffed behind a wall. I believe our Framers never meant that wall to prohibit the good effects a church can have on its community, but rather to allow anyone to practice their religion freely without being thwarted by the state. Needless to say, this article shows some enlightenment on that front:

Jason Julian regularly visits five city high schools with other staff from K-Life Ministries looking to make a difference in children's lives.

K-Life and 80 other faith-based groups have started going into the public schools in the city. Ministers, deacons, rabbis, imams and lay people from churches, synagogues and temples have teamed with schools throughout the city.

They come to teach, not to preach. They serve as tutors, mentors and role models for students who otherwise might not get the level of attention they need to succeed."We're not even trying to proselytize to kids," Julian said.

Instead, K-Life volunteers mentor students, read to them, tutor them and conduct a Play it Smart character-building program for high school athletes at Vashon, Beaumont, Roosevelt, Sumner and Clyde C. Miller Career Academy.

The Rev. Douglas Parham, pastor of Community of God Church in Blackjack and president of the St. Louis Clergy Coalition, said many children in the schools also attend area churches with their families.

"We have a vested interest in the quality of education in our schools," he said.

The coalition has had a dialogue with the public schools since Cleveland Hammonds was superintendent, Parham said. Apart from that relationship many congregations had started tutoring and education support programs in their churches.

Superintendent Diana Bourisaw said she set a goal for the district to bolster schools with corporate, community and faith-based partnerships.

"There's a church on every corner and we had some churches already doing things in our schools. We decided to help them," she said.

Some churches were uncertain about whether they could have a relationship with public schools, Bourisaw said. They were aware of the barrier between church and state.

"That means they can't proselytize. It doesn't mean they can't care," she said. "If a family needs help and the school doesn't know where to turn, they can turn to the church partner."

The partnership quickly went from a handful to more than 80 faith-base groups wanting to help out. Many clergy kicked off their congregation's involvement during a recent Clergy Reading Day in which 29 clergy members read to students in city elementary schools.

Sally Bloom, principal of Wyman Elementary School, 1547 S. Theresa Ave., looks forward to her school being paired with St. Luke's Memorial Baptist Church, 3623 Finney Ave. The Rev. Jimmy Brown from the church took part in the reading day and plans to have further involvement with the school.

"It's helpful to have partnership throughout the community - not just with the churches - but the churches are a strong part of St. Louis," Bloom said. "We're looking for mentoring assistance with the children. I think in some cases we have a number of them that just need somebody to be there for them on a regular basis.

"We're not treating it as a church necessarily, but a group that wants to give support."

Carey Cunningham, principal of Simmons Elementary School, 4318 St. Louis Ave., has been working for a month with Prince of Peace Missionary Church, 2741 Dayton St., and its pastor Rev. William Kilpatrick.

Before anyone else from the church can come in to mentor they must go through the district's screening process, Cunningham said. After they have been screened, they will be able to play an active role in the after-school literacy program.

"Our students can fall into many negative traps growing up. They can be here as a support to help students stay on the right track," he said. "At Prince of Peace, they understand some children lag behind academically. They have a goal to create in the church their own educational center for further academic and social assistance."

Cunningham said he's encouraged that the district has tried to unite school and church, which students tend to see as being separate.

"The school and church can work together in harmonious ways," he said. "The religious sector and education sector can work hand in hand."

Jason Browne: More than platte-itudes?

2008-03-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Rep. Jason Brown from Platte City hasn’t come out with his support for HB 1886, and for me this is a must-have vote, and I’d like to hear what all of our Missouri Legislators have to say about this boon for families with special needs children.

His website has this inspiring quote:

“The legislative process never ceases to amaze me. From the overwhelming number of ideas introduced each session, through numerous committee hearings, by debate on the House and Senate floors, and from the thoughtful communications of private citizens like you, there emerges public policy designed to respond to the changing needs of most of Missouri’s citizens but still sensitive to their concerns. As this regular session of the 93rd General Assembly ends, I am reminded that in a democracy when ideas are shared, the result is much greater than the sum of individual contributions.”

It seems to me that HB 1886 is the confluence of these values. It is a scholarship tax credit, and that’s something Missouri has not tried when responding to the changing needs of education across Missouri and within families. Parents have communicated stories about having to move to district after district, uprooting their families and lives, in an attempt to meet the needs of their disabled child. Some families feel torn between different abilities of two children, and other families have had to spend beyond their means for private instruction. Parents have testified to the importance of having flexibility. Legislators have shaped a bill that reflects those family voices, concerns from school districts about losing too many students (I’m not too concerned about that, given history in other states, but an amendment placing 10% cap on all IEP students was added to assuage that concern).

Given all of this, I hope to see that Rep. Jason Brown is nodding yes. If you’re in Platte City and want to make sure your voice is heard on this issue, call Brown at (573) 751-6593.

Supporting all children, all the time

2008-03-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

Paul supports legislation that would require the state to award offices to non-profit organizations set up by school districts or bid the offices out to individuals or organizations. Then, most of the profit made from these fees can go back to the state and be directed into local public schools.

Paul LeVota, that is, Missouri Representative in Jackson Co., including Lee’s Summit, North Kansas City and Independence. I hope, in light of his stance here, he'll also support HB 1886. This bill would create a scholarship tax credit program. A non-profit organization that grants scholarships to special needs children would accept donation eligible for an 80% tax credit. While revenue is not collected the state will surely save money as scholarships given out through other similar tuition tax credit programs are less than the state pays for IEP students to attend public schools. That saved revenue could easily be directed into public schools.

Unconcerned in St. Louis

2008-03-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

From Missourinet:

St. Louis Teachers Union President Mary Armstrong objects to considering voucher and scholarship bills when the state hasn't fully funded the school Foundation Formula. Armstrong told Senators she's very concerned about the bills taking money away from the school district.

"We will be assisting a small number of students," Armstrong testified, "But we will leave a majority of students behind."

Yet, parents of autistic children say their children are being left behind in public schools.

Shari Kaminsky of Kirkwood says her profoundly autistic child couldn't learn in public schools, but did in a private one.

"My 12-year-old now is learning to read," Kaminsky told the committee.

Both bills would provide funding to transfer a developmentally disabled child to either another public school or a private one. One, SB770, would allow state funding to follow the child to the school of his parent's choice. The other, SB993, would establish tax credits to create a scholarship program. The scholarships would pay for private schooling.

Perhaps the words of Mary Armstrong have been instrumental in both Representatives Margaret Donnelly and Joan Bray of St. Louis pushing this bill quietly into the “no” bin.

Union president Armstrong admits that this bill will help children, and that’s the crux of the issue. Then, she admits that we are leaving a majority of children behind. I’m sure the St. Louis teachers union could drum up the support to expand the bill to include all children, if Armstrong is so concerned.

As to her point that this bill will take money from the public schools, the answer is a resounding NO. In fact, if you look at the 5 other states with choice for special needs students, we find that they save money, because tuition at private schools is by and large less expensive than state per-pupil costs. You can find more stats on that phenomenon here.

Now, with Mary Armstrong’s fears mitigated, we can focus on the real issue: Shari Kaminsky and her child. If she is unhappy with the education her child is receiving, why would legislators refuse to let her seek out a school that can help her child learn to read? Why would Reps Donnelly and Bray seek to protect the teachers unions instead of the children Missouri is obligated to educate and care for?

If you’d like to call and ask yourself, you can reach Rep. Joan Bray at (573) 751-2514 and Margaret Donnelly at (573) 751-0100.

Zweifel: treasure our children!

2008-02-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Representative Cliff Zweifel has thrown his hat in the ring for Missouri Treasurer. His statements thus far have honed in on education. The Columbia Daily Tribune has this quote from his announcement:

“I have spent my legislative career understanding how our state spends your tax dollars,” Zweifel said in a statement. “And working across party divisions to get things done. But, that’s not enough. We need a treasurer who will stand up for Missouri taxpayers. Where was Missouri’s treasurer when the Governor was raiding our higher education student loan authority (MOHELA)? She should have issued an independent actuarial analysis to tell us how students would be affected. Now, MOHELA faces its first loss in 27 years and its basic mission to help students afford college is at risk.”

Zweifel is a Democrat from Florissant, one of many Democrats running for treasurer. It seems that he aims to distinguish himself by his record on education issues.

Let explain a bit about how the state spend tax dollars in regards to special needs education: only on public school services, even though many parents of special needs children can only go to private schools because of their particularly extreme needs. Yet those parents still pay tax for a public school that is not appropriate for their child.

HB 1886 that gives a tax break on donations made to a special needs scholarship fund that would relieve parents of some of the fiscal burden garnered through educating their special needs child. Zwiefel has sponsored another bill for preschool tuition assistance, and defended it as a fiscal responsibility. The ethics of HB 1886 are quite the same: we have children in need of extra educational opportunities, and they should not be denied that if their families cannot pay for it.

Zwiefel has said he is willing to reach across party lines to get things done. I sincerely hope he will come out in support of HB 1886 and do just that.

Paid for time...

2008-02-25T18:25:00.001-08:00

This AP story shows how Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is going to investigate education....It will be a big surprise when she tells us how great and rosy our future is...and how NCLB is on track...

"Spellings has been traveling across the country to meet with the state education boards to talk about the No Child Left Behind law. Enacted in 2001, it requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014."

Hmmm... So she is talking with education boards to get the real skinny on how to improve education?! Brilliant!! (Is she meeting with parents and teachers, too? Silly question...I see no mention of that here...)

"Missouri Education Commissioner Kent King noted that in Missouri last year, just one person graduating from college had majored in teaching physics. He said that's not uncommon. "

OUCH! (I never even considered being a teacher~I wanted to make MONEY!)

"Currently, Missouri elementary and middle school teacher requirements include a minimum 2.5 grade point average, the completion of certain classes and a minimum time spent student teaching."

Isn't a 2.5 not even a 'B' average? So our teachers just barely need to hit a C average and they need to spend time in class doing this, then they need to spend more time student teaching then they can get paid for passing more time (as opposed to actually TEACHING...We're paying barely average people to do a barely average job and we are upset that STL Public schools lost their accreditation? We need quaility teachers to begin with....this is about passing time...)

"Spellings said in a news conference afterward that low salaries also make it hard to attract people to teaching. Average teacher salaries in Missouri are among the lowest in the nation."

Okay~finally something we can all agree to. But is she going to suggest we reward teachers for advancing students? Or just meeting minimum requirements and passing time...?!

Good Long-Term Investment

2008-02-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

In considering teachers' and administrators' pay, there is evidence that alot of money is being targeted at paying our educators. I do question who is being paid, how much they are getting paid and the criteria for which they are getting paid.

No one would argue the value of a good teacher and the impact that a quality teacher has on student performance. However the way our public education system is structured right now (thank you unions), people are being awarded for the time they've spent occupying space~teaching position~within the system. Was it the teachers' unions that established that? This system keeps the unions strong and it keeps warm bodies in place where we should have measurable incentive based merit that pays for performance. No other functioning system in our country rewards people simply for sticking around. The system now provides incentive to occupy space, not accelerate children. Only through recognizing worthy contributing individuals will we keep them around.

It takes a good two years to develop a teacher's general abilities. Studies show that after that, performance is pretty well where it is going to be. By that time, the good teachers have begun to become disenchanted with the current status quo, teach-to-the-middle, 'don't rock the boat' mentality that pervades the academic arena. So often, the good ones go out and thrive in the competing economy and the ones who can't hack it there get to remain and feed off the public dole. That is not to say that all of the teachers who stay past their 2nd year are without value~That's not it at all.

We just need to be aware of the excessive cost to train these quality teachers and then lose them. We are looking at a serious crisis in not having enough teachers in our not-so-distant future. Band-aids on the gushing wound in the form of a bonus here and there~uniformly distributed~won't solve this crisis. Investing in quality teachers to keep them in the system would go a long way in stabilizing the educational crisis in Missouri.

Beuller? or why we should reward great teachers

2008-02-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

Ben Stein, in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, plays the character of the archetypical bad teacher. He lectures his class in a dull monotone, its effect rivaling that of any tranquillizer on the market. Rambling on about Voodoo Economics, it is as though he has cast a spell on his students. Students appear comatose. They fend off sleep. One guy has actually passed out. He drools on his desk until startled awake by the screech of Stein’s chalk scratching the board.

Though this hilarious film is over 20 years old, it still resonates with many adults and children alike. The reason is because it is comedy that conveys a reality. And the reality it conveys still very much exists today. What is funny in the film is not so funny in our schools, but the fact is that many of our schools are in large degree still populated by bad teachers like that played by Stein. Of course there are many wonderful teachers, but often they don’t stick around. Why is this so?

On Tuesday evening, at Saint Louis University, Erik A. Hanushek, a senior fellow from Stanford University, gave a lecture. Though he is an economist, with a PhD from MIT, he did not give his lecture on Voodoo Economics. Nor did he lull his audience to sleep. He did, however, as a leading expert on educational policy, speak very clearly about the quality of teachers in our schools.

“Good teachers are the one thing that can change the level of student learning and knowledge and achievement,” said Hanusheck with the caveat, “Bad teachers can also change the level of student knowledge, learning, and achievement.”

“We have a system today that does not reward good teachers. We have a system today that gives equal reward to bad teachers. Is it surprising that we might have a shortage of high quality teachers, of highly effective teachers, in the classroom?”

The fact now is that teachers are paid based on years of experience or the degree they hold.

He offered this advice: Teachers must have “pay that’s differentiated by performance and effectiveness in the classroom.”

A comedy made in the 80s should not represent the reality of our schools today. Isn’t it time we reward our good teachers, so that our children are not rendered comatose?

Keeping it real

2008-02-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

Today, as I pulled out of the driveway, I was aware of the work the city workers must do. They clean our streets, they take our trash and recycling away, they clear the snow away so we can safely drive on the roads, and that only covers a small percentage of city workers. I can not even get into all the work the police and fire men and women do. I am really not sure of how they are paid, but I can only assume there is some sort of base pay that increases over time. These people make so many things possible for us, things we may take for granted. I remember just a few weeks ago, I was irritated my roads had not been plowed yet. But then, I have to remember there are many roads for them to clean. I hope those people get paid enough for what they do. But who is to say what is enough? So, as I was thinking this, I looked in my back seat at my two children who I was driving to school. I started wondering about their teachers and how valuable they are to them, to me, and the thousands of other children across the state. My children spend a large portion of their time with their teachers so I would hope they are doing the best job of teaching my children skills, life lessons, morals, and of course, the basics. I realize my job, as a mother, is to do the same thing as well. However, they spend almost 7 hours a day with my children. Over the years, I have had my run-ins with some teachers that may not be suited to teach. I have also had the great pleasure of getting to know some of the best teachers. From my experience, their age, years worked, or even education were not hard and fast indications of who would be a great teacher. That is why I believe the great teachers should get paid for their excellence. Perhaps, it would even help the "others" politely remove themselves from the teaching field. Maybe, it would even attract others to come if they knew they could be paid for greatness. Everyone has to make money some how, so I can understand why some would chose other jobs that pay more even if their heart is with teaching. They way I see it, paying teachers based on merit is the right way to go about this.

Attracting and Retaining Great Teachers: What a Concept!

2008-02-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

It would be wonderful if we knew more about teachers such as these and how to multiply their number. How do they come by their craft? What qualities and capacities do they possess? Can these abilities be measured? Can they be taught? Perhaps above all: How should excellent teaching be rewarded so that the best teachers—the most competent, caring and compelling—remain in a profession known for low pay, low status and soul-crushing bureaucracy?

All of these are questions I wish I had all the answers for. I am here to promote what this article is getting at. Teachers should be paid for how well they teach, end of story.

Such questions have become critical to the future of public education in the U.S. Even as politicians push to hold schools and their faculty members accountable as never before for student learning, the nation faces a shortage of teaching talent. About 3.2 million people teach in U.S. public schools, but, according to projections by economist William Hussar at the National Center for Education Statistics, the nation will need to recruit an additional 2.8 million over the next eight years owing to baby-boomer retirement, growing student enrollment and staff turnover—which is especially rapid among new teachers. Finding and keeping high-quality teachers are key to America's competitiveness as a nation. Recent test results show that U.S. 10th-graders ranked just 17th in science among peers from 30 nations, while in math they placed in the bottom five. Research suggests that a good teacher is the single most important factor in boosting achievement, more important than class size, the dollars spent per student or the quality of textbooks and materials.

The rest of this article in Time discusses in depth this idea of merit or performance pay. Let's face it, the schools are not that hot these days and we need to try some different things now. Let's urge support for this idea and see how great we can be.

What makes a great teacher?

2008-02-15T10:10:00.001-08:00

From Time Magazine's cover feature: You can read the whole article here: How to Make Great Teachers

How do [great teachers] come by their craft? What qualities and capacities do they possess? Can these abilities be measured? Can they be taught? Perhaps above all: How should excellent teaching be rewarded so that the best teachers—the most competent, caring and compelling—remain in a profession known for low pay, low status and soul-crushing bureaucracy?

About 3.2 million people teach in U.S. public schools, but, according to projections by economist William Hussar at the National Center for Education Statistics, the nation will need to recruit an additional 2.8 million over the next eight years owing to baby-boomer retirement, growing student enrollment and staff turnover—which is especially rapid among new teachers.

Finding and keeping high-quality teachers are key to America's competitiveness as a nation.

Recent test results show that U.S. 10th-graders ranked just 17th in science among peers from 30 nations, while in math they placed in the bottom five. Research suggests that a good teacher is the single most important factor in boosting achievement, more important than class size, the dollars spent per student or the quality of textbooks and materials.

What holds...promise is broader efforts to transform the profession by combining merit pay with more opportunities for professional training and support, thoughtful assessments of how teachers do their jobs and new career paths for top teachers.

Other essential skills require on-the-job practice. It takes at least two years to master the basics of classroom management and six to seven years to become a fully proficient teacher. Unfortunately, a large percentage of public-school teachers give up before they get there. Between a quarter and a third of new teachers quit within their first three years on the job, and as many as 50% leave poor, urban schools within five years. Hiring new teachers is "like filling a bucket with a huge hole in the bottom," says Thomas Carroll, president of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, a Washington-based nonprofit.

Why do teachers bail? One of the biggest reasons is pay. U.S. public-school teachers earn an average annual salary of less than $48,000, and they start off at an average of about $32,000. That's what Karie Gladis, 29, earned as a new teacher in Miami. She scrimped for 31⁄2 years and then left for a job in educational publishing. "It was stressful living from paycheck to paycheck," she says. "If my car broke down or if I needed dental work, there was just no wiggle room."

And there's evidence that the best and brightest are the first to leave.

In poor districts, attrition rates are so high, says Carroll, that "we wind up taking anybody just to have an adult in the classroom."

There's little research on what makes for a successful merit-pay system, but several factors seem critical, says Matthew Springer, director of the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University. Denver's program includes many of them: a careful effort to earn teacher buy-in to the plan, clarity about how it works, multiple ways of measuring merit, rewards for teamwork and schoolwide success, and reliable financing. In fact, Denver's voters agreed to pay an extra $25 million a year in taxes for nine years to support the program.

It's too soon to say if ProComp will raise achievement in Denver, but a pilot study found that students of teachers who enrolled on a trial basis performed better on standardized tests than other students. The program is already successful by another measure: raising the number of teachers applying to work in Denver's most troubled schools. Jake Firman, 22, who joined Teach for America right out of college in 2007, says he chose Denver from a list of 26 cities largely because of ProComp. "I thought it was a very cool idea," says Firman, who stands to earn extra pay for filling a hard-to-staff spot (middle-school math) at a high-needs school.

It's a good goal for an entire nation in need of better-quality teaching. As U.S. school districts embark on hundreds of separate experiments involving merit pay, some lessons seem clear. If the country wants to pay teachers like professionals—according to their performance, rather than like factory workers logging time on the job—it has to provide them with other professional opportunities, like the chance to grow in the job, learn from the best of their peers, show leadership and have a voice in decision-making, including how their work is judged.

Give your child a chance

2008-02-11T14:34:00.001-08:00

What would it feel like if every morning you watched your child go to school knowing that the teachers were the best around? What would it feel like if you knew the teachers who were just not cutting it had decided to move on? How great would it be if you knew your child's most influential teacher was rewarded for her performance?

All of this could be attained if we allowed some sort of merit pay or performance pay for teachers. Would you want a teacher who repeatedly fails your child and other children to be paid the same as other teachers who are excelling at their job? I would surely not. This would only encourage them to teach inadequately. Many great teachers may realize with their skills, they could earn more elsewhere and decide to leave the teaching field. Furthermore, teachers who are secured with tenure will have no incentive to try hard or even care of their lack of performance.

If merit pay began, teachers who consistently teach the children well will recognize their efforts paying off when they start to receive larger pay checks, which will only encourage them to work even harder. Those who do not do well, will either move onto another career, or decide to get their act together and teach better.

If we are going to do anything to help our schools improve, we can start with this one small step. In my mind, it is worth a shot!

Listen to the teachers!

2008-02-11T14:26:00.001-08:00

Successful businesses respond to feedback from employees~So let's hear what teachers have to say about education. In a report by the Show-Me Institute, we find that Missouri teachers support school choice.

"Last fall, the Show-Me Institute published the results of a poll that asked more than 600 Missouri voters about their views on K-12 education. The collected data showed overwhelming support (especially among minority and low-income parents) for granting parents the opportunity to use their children's public educational funding at schools of their own choosing.

"Missouri teachers, like Missouri parents in general, recognize that increased parental choice will improve education in this state, recognizing that increases in educational spending have proven to be utterly ineffective. This survey suggests widespread teacher support for the idea of school choice, along with a consensus that increased spending has failed to fix our faltering public schools. Missouri's parents and teachers are demanding more educational opportunity for their children. Isn't it time that the legislature listened?"

Doesn't add up...

2008-02-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

KOMU has a story about Columbia Public Schools’ deficit of science and math teachers, and a senate bill that would provide a stipend for math and science teachers, hopefully becoming an incentive for choose teaching over some more lucrative fields for graduates in math and science.

Senate Bill 827 allows a metropolitan school district to offer an increased starting salary for teachers of math, science, special education, and English as a second language in order to attract and retain qualified teachers. The amount of the salary increase shall be between $3,000 and $5,000, as determined by the school district. This act creates the Metropolitan School District Improvement Fund in the state treasury.

Finding and retaining new teachers is getting harder all the time, especially because teaching salaries cannot often keep up with similar fields. Math curriculums have gotten a lot of attention in Columbia lately as the district studies new practices to improve math education. It seems that innovations in math and science will benefit from a healthy influx of new teachers. So why would the MNEA oppose more money for teachers? According to the article, they oppose the stipend because it would keep pay static even between subjects.

Now, I can’t imagine many math and science teachers who, upon beginning a teaching career, suddenly decide they want to be English teachers, and fewer yet who are qualified. I also can’t imagine that a teacher who wants to continue teaching should be denied a stipend that helps supplement low salaries that young teachers often receive, simply because they change subjects. I wonder what exactly the MNEA has against in-demand teachers making more money…

2008-02-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

A lot of pressure is on the top paid administrators and Superintendents around the state. South County Truth Spot has this from Mehlville:

According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) the average administrator's salary in the Mehlville School District is $96,484 which is in the top 1% of all Missouri Schools.

The average teacher’s salary is $49,810 a year. Teachers in 2007 worked a total of 1099.6 hours. That translates to $45.30 per hour. The length of a teacher's working day is 6.40 hours.

We are aware that starting salaries are much less and teachers with over 15 years of service earn over $64,000 a year.

The current Board of Education seems to believe that teachers are underpaid. We disagree.

If Mehlville School Board members and their Central Office minions are serious about spending more per student, perhaps they could reduce the number of administrators and teachers then divert those resources into books, computers and advanced curriculum.

The South County Truth Spot does not expect that to happen.

The Mehlville Board of Education has advocated hiring more teachers to service a declining enrollment. The current Board dances to the tune of the Mehlville National Education Association (MNEA - the teachers union) who advocate "smaller class size" so it can sign up more members and collect more union dues. Taxpayers can only expect more spending and less academic achievement from students as a result of these disastrous policies.

And Janese Heavin’s blog at the Columbia Daily Tribune rounds it out with some figures from Columbia:

Sure, a CPS teacher can earn $66,478. They just have to work three decades and earn a doctorate degree or the equivalent.

The district has 125 employees earning more than that.

With budget cuts looming, the Tribune requested the CPS payroll. Here's a summary of what it shows.

Superintendent Phyllis Chase makes $200,340, which is $77,000 more than she made when she began her tenure in Columbia in 2003.

Seventeen other public school employees make more than $100,000 a year, including six assistant superintendents, nine principals, the business director and the director of special services.

Columbia Public Schools employs 67 salaried administrative support staff employees, including 29 who earn more than $50,000 a year.

The district also has 24 administrative staff members who are not salaried and earn between $11.60 and $19.92 an hour; 15 salaried secretaries who make between $22,141 and $56,444; and 231 hourly secretaries who make between $11 and $18.52 an hour.

It looks like this will be a topic as school board elections loom and a hurdle as school districts ask for levies and increased funding. Residents from Columbia and Mehlville may balk at the prospect of having to pay more to make sure their teachers (especially new teachers who are hard to retain) are well-compensated when they consider that the most significant raises are going to administration, and they don’t get to vote on those salary increases. It’s a tough decision—do residents refuse to pay to force the hand of administrators, on the off chance that they will readjust their pay schedules to benefit teachers? Folks from Mehlville and Columbia can certainly vote to oust the board and Superintendents, but what if they believe the administration is doing a good job but aren’t ready to approve their salaries at the expense of good teachers? And then, as the inverse triangle of spending trickles down to per-pupil spending, residents may be even more torn in Mehlville. Should voters approve tax increases so that everyone in the system gets more, or try to get a redistribution of current funds—a process that could take a while?

One thing is certain, though: some Missouri Superintendents are already in favor of merit pay!

Awarding Missouri Teachers

2008-02-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

ST. LOUIS SCHOOLS: Soldan educator is on short list for award

02/04/2008

Alice Manus from Soldan International Studies High School has been named one of three national finalists for the National Association of Secondary School Principals assistant principal of the year award.

Manus was recently named the state's assistant principal of the year. She now joins educators from Alabama and Florida in competing for the national honor.

The state and national winners will be honored at a black-tie event in Washington this spring. The national winner will be awarded $5,000, which can be used in the winner's school or for personal professional development.

Congratulations, Alice Manus! It’s wonderful to boast that Missouri has one of the best assistant principles in the nation—that’s no small honor. And as we’re talking about securing quality teachers in the state, it seems to reason that having great principles makes possible an environment that helps teachers succeed and is a draw for educators across the state. Businesses are beginning to take that “climate” seriously as a factor in their success; happy workers are more productive and more loyal, so many companies are starting to build in to their business services just for employees. It makes sense—everyone wants to work for someone who supports and cares about them, and in return they jump as high as they are asked. This takes more than inspirational posters and a pat on the back, however. Ms. Cornelius over at the Shrewdness of Apes blog has posted this list of principal principles:

1. They sincerely care for their people
Try to know WHO your staff members are as people. I will never forget how, when my grandmother died and I had to prepare to drive eleven hours across the country, my principal came to me and checked how I was. He put aside everything else and was there for me, and it only took five minutes. I also remember one day, when I hadn't slept for more than 3 hours at a stretch because I had a baby who couldn't sleep, my assistant principal intercepted me, saw the dark circles under my eyes, and drove me home. She then taught my classes herself until the sub arrived. When the principals model this, the teachers will do this for each other, too. And that's the way it should be.

2. Cooperate/involve everybody
A principal needs to trust his or her staff to be professionals (If someone is not a professional, deal with them rather than crafting punitive measures to be applied to everybody, please!). The principal job is incredibly demanding, and there are lots of balls to juggle. Learn to delegate, and be grateful for the help you receive. One of my greatest peeves is the way that many principals withhold important information from teachers (and, by the way, that is a violation of federal law), and how they huddle in groups in an attempt to ward off anyone approaching them. Principals who play favorites or ignore the input of the staff are shooting themselves in the foot. A principal must be willing to be a problem-solver and facilitator.

3. Name and appreciate the contributions of everybody
This flows from my comments on numbers 1 and 2. If you hide in your office all the time, you will be unable to appreciate what is done in the school. I once worked for an administration who came up with this adorable slogan: "It's not about the teaching, it's about the learning." After the English teacher in me got over the comma splice, I was incredibly insulted by this slogan. If it's not about the teaching, then why are teachers blamed for everything that happens? Then I got started making up sarcastic riffs on this stupid idea. But morale was the lowest I had experienced at this school after this little gem was published.

4. Create a climate of fun and create a space for enjoyment at work
If nothing but criticism-- and worse, disdain for teachers-- leaves your mouth or pervades your body language, everything will suffer. Try to knit the staff together as a team. Encourage teachers to form a softball team-- and show up for the games if you won't play yourself. Buy snacks for periodic happy hours. Have a hot dog roast after school. And for God's sake, on teacher appreciation day, don't throw trinkets at our heads, no matter what. I've had principals push the "Have Fun!" mantra, like from that FISH! book, but remain completely aloof from the staff.

5. Demonstrate authentic trust
I see this as two things: building trust and demonstrating trust.
A great administrator doesn't expect his or her staff to do anything he or she isn't willing to do. I once had a principal who expected every teacher to volunteer for two after-school duties each semester (for free) but he was never there. I have donated my musical talents for fundraisers for various student activities (requiring untold hours of practice after school besides the actual event)-- and seen the principal skip the event, not even making a token appearance. That sends a bad message. You're not expected to show up for everything, but rotate the events you do show up for each year, so that the people doing them can feel valued, at the very least. I also resent emails reminding us to enforce a certain policy and then watch principals not say a word as students walk by them or even hold conversations with them while violating the policy.
Likewise, to demonstrate that you do trust your staff, you have to give them substantive tasks to accomplish. Let go of the reins a bit! You'll make yourself happier and more healthy in the long run, believe me. Above all, don't be afraid to ask for help. We are all in this together, and we have to do the job of educating students together.

6. Never avoid an opportunity to listen
Examples of this would be: make eye contact when talking to people; don't read email during a conversation; endeavor to know what each of your employees has done/is doing; talk to your employees at times OTHER than when there is a problem, and be relaxed and comfortable in leaving your office and moving around the school. Don't use your secretary as a guard dog. Respond to emails properly, and promptly. Try walking up to a different person every day and asking how things are going, and if they have any needs you can meet. Then actually listen to the answer. Support your staff in the community-- and that includes in front of students and parents, even parents that are on the school board.

If you didn't love teaching, please don't become an administrator. If you taught for less than five years, please realize that there are teachers who are more experienced in instruction than you are, and utilize that and celebrate it. If you really want to create a great school, manage your staff with the intent to motivate them to excellence, and create a situation in which that is possible. Anything that interferes with that mission should be curtailed. Have a realistic, positive attitude, and that attitude will spread.

The National Association of Secondary School Principles seems to think it’s a good idea to reward excellent job performance. I personally can’t pick out just one teacher who taught elementary, middle, high school where I attended. I couldn’t pick one principal. I can think of 30 or 40 teachers that I really learned from and only a handful that I didn’t. I’d like to see rewarding excellence become something that is a part of a school district’s climate, something that happens on a local level and happens often rather than something that happens once a year for one teacher or principal in the entire nation.

Grading Missouri schools

2008-01-21T10:02:00.000-08:00

Governor Blunt delivered his 2008 State of the State Address on January 15, 2008. In his address, he spoke at length about the importance of education in our state. "Education is the most important investment we can make in our own and in our children's futures. It promotes our freedoms. It promotes our happiness, and, by creating opportunity, nurtures a society of rising prosperity...Education funding is my highest budget priority," Blunt said.

We need strong leadership in our state to improve the quality of our schools. The Governor is right - our kids deserve a world class education. That's why a recent report from the Education Research Center is so revealing. The Education Week's Quality Counts report gives Missouri schools a grade of C-. That just isn't good enough to make Missouri students leaders in our country and in the world. There are some real issues that need to be addressed in our state if Governor Blunt's visions are to become realities.

The Quality Counts report gave Missouri grades in the following six areas:

Chance for success = C+

K-12 achievement = D

Standards, assessments, and accountability = C

Transitions and alignment = D+

The teaching profession = C

School finance = C

The great thing about this report is that it compares Missouri to other states. We can look for best practices to model in other states. Innovation. Creativity. These are all great ways to improve our current education system. Let's take a more in-depth look at Missouri's report card.

K-12 Achievement

Missouri's lowest rankings in this category are for achievement gains in 4th Grade Reading and 8th Grade Reading based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. We rank 48th and 47th respectively. Literacy is a critical skill and Missouri needs to do more to improve in this area. The Governor mentioned the importance of math and science in his address and spoke about gains in assessments in those subject areas. While there certainly is a movement towards math and technology, we cannot neglect the reading abilities of our kids.

Transitions and Alignment

In Early-Childhood Education, Missouri lacks a formal definition of school-readiness (13 other states do have a formal definition) and Missouri lacks a process for assessing the readiness of entering students (17 other states do have a process).

In Post-Secondary Education, Missouri lacks a formal definition of college readiness, unlike 15 other states, and does not require college preparation to earn a high school diploma, which only 3 other states require. Missouri also does not align high school graduation credits or assessments with post-secondary systems which is done in 6 and 10 other states respectively. Finally, Missouri does not use high school assessments for post-secondary decisions, something that 9 other states are doing.

The Teaching Profession

Requirements for initial licensure: Missouri teachers lag behind 27 other states which require a substantial amount of coursework in the subject area(s) taught by teachers. This means we do not require our teachers to have a strong background in the subject they are teaching in order to receive their initial licensure. Furthermore, while Missouri does require a test of subject-specific knowledge, we do not require a test of subject-specific pedagogy. Missouri also doesn't do a lot to discourage out-of-field teaching either by notifying parents or by banning or capping the number of out-of-field teachers at a school. When it comes to evaluating teacher performance, student achievement rates are not used and the teacher evaluations are not required on an annual basis nor are they done by well-trained evaluators. Finally, Missouri does not use a pay-for-performance program to reward teachers for raising student achievement, something that only 7 other states are doing.

Governor Blunt's plans center around curriculum improvements in math and science, additional Advanced Placement opportunities, techno-savvy classrooms, and after school programs. While these are all worthy causes, I hope that Missouri leaders take a look at some of the deficiencies identified in this report. There is absolutely no reason why Missouri schools can't provide our kids a world class education.

Florida Can Give Credit to J. Bush

2008-01-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

Florida has gone through radical educational changes over the years. Jeb Bush did a lot to further education in Florida. While not everything passed, he did get several great things past. Now that he is out of office, he is starting a foundation that focuses on education. According to the Herald Tribune in Southwest Florida:

Jeb Bush forms foundation to back his education goals

BY BILL KACZOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TALLAHASSEE -- Former Gov. Jeb Bush announced the formation Tuesday of a second organization to advance his education policy goals, including school accountability, teacher merit pay and vouchers that allow children to attend private schools at public expense.

The new Foundation for Excellence in Education will focus on carrying out programs to demonstrate such policies including cash awards of at least $2,500 for up to 100 of Florida's top teachers and their classrooms. Selection will be based on how much their students have improved on standardized reading and math tests.

Unlike Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future, which advocates education policy, the new organization will qualify for tax-free contributions, said Tiffany Koenigkramer, a spokeswoman for both groups.

"Reform is never finished and success is never final," Bush said in a news release. "A perpetual cycle of reform will lead to sustained improvement for the long-term."

Bush's most successful policy as governor was his A-Plus accountability program that grades, rewards and punishes schools based on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and other standardized exam scores. Even critics acknowledged Bush put a focus on education in Florida like never before, although they say it focuses too much on testing.

Over and over again, I see Florida in the headlines for education. Missouri should try to model some of our educational programs off what they have done. We cannot afford to do any thing less than change.

Paying for the best

2008-01-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

Merit Pay

The state of Florida can provide us insight into many great education ideas. First of all, they have wonderful educational options for special education students. Secondly, they have several school districts that are participating in merit pay for teachers. Unfortunately, not all districts are taking advantage of this option. According to Tampa Bay’s 10 News, “Officials say the latest incarnation of merit pay for teachers continues to lag with only 26 of Florida's 67 county school districts having applied to participate.”

Merit pay can work on several levels. It can attract better teachers to the field knowing what they could be paid if they excel. Many people would not want to teach because they could find better paying jobs elsewhere. Furthermore, it may give teachers incentives to teach better once they are teaching. When teachers are all paid the same, there is only inner motivation to excel, and not everyone has this. Many teachers may leave the field due to the countless frustrations they must deal with. They encounter red tape around every corner; they should have some bonuses. Merit pay may also help drive the inadequate teachers out of the field.

All in all, merit pay for teachers has many ways it can improve the quality of people in the field. Education is a stepping stone for children, why shouldn’t they have the best?

Education is big enough for the both of us

2008-01-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

http://freedomisthesolution.blogspot.com/2007/11/let-my-people-go.html

“As always, shrill voices rise to defend the status quo. They call this risky and they call it a threat to public schools. They ignore the fact that 7 different studies have shown that students that switch to private schools under voucher programs show improved test scores AND the test scores of the students who stay behind at the public schools also improve. Nobody is left behind. Competition forces everyone out of old habits to make needed changes ignored for years. History has shown that dumping billions upon billions of dollars into failed school systems hasn’t improved test scores at all. A mountain of evidence supporting school choice rises before them, but these patrons of the past defend the status quo.

They also ignore the fact that Milwaukee has had school vouchers for 17 years. They ignore that Cleveland and Washington D.C. have school vouchers, and when it came time to rebuild the tattered schools of New Orleans’, the choice was clear: Vouchers and School Choice. They ignore the fact that Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland all have nationwide voucher and school choice programs. None have gone back to our old system. All of these countries not only outperform our students, they are getting further ahead every year. The only risk is to expect our children to compete in the future marketplace with a school system based in the past.”

My Thoughts: I believe that a conversation between parties and ideologies is necessary to come up with a solution for the ills of public education. Instead of pointing out potential problems with a reform measure that is sorely needed, the Educrats and teachers’ unions would be better served helping to perfect a new definition of public education. Having said that, I also think that widening choices for students will benefit ALL, and not at the expense of SOME. Milwaukee has shown us that public schools do not face decreased funding when choice is in play. Many people cite enormous class sizes as a hindrance to urban public education, and small class sizes as a plus for private schools. Private schools are not obligated to educate ALL students, and can focus their resources. The same stands true for public schools: when they are no longer burdened by educating ALL students, the more they can focus their resources. It logically follows that barring corruption and waste, public schools would be able to provide a caliber of education to compete with private schools. Private schools already compete with public schools, and win. Schools choice can be looked at as a way for private schools to take more students from the public schools system, or it can be looked at as an opportunity for public schools to get back in the running, with the underpinning that because it is the child’s education, that money should follow that individual child to wherever he or she is best educated.

Dumbing down is, well, dumb

2008-01-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

Dumb down class, asks principal memo

By ETHAN ROUEN and ERIN EINHORN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Thursday, December 13th 2007, 4:00 AM

The principal of an East Harlem high school last month stunned his staffers by suggesting they dumb down their classes.

"If you are not passing more than 65% of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities," Principal Bennett Lieberman wrote in a Nov. 28 memo to teachers at Central Park East High School. "You are setting your students up for failure, which in turn, limits your success as a professional."

The memo, obtained by the Daily News, urges teachers to review their homework and grading policies, and reminds them that "most of our students ... have difficult home lives, and struggle with life in general. They DO NOT have a similar upbringing nor a similar school experience to our experiences growing up."

One teacher who received the memo said she and her colleagues were "outraged," especially because the school is one of 200 where teachers will receive $3,000 bonuses if their schools improve.

"It's like bribery," she said. "It's not the achievement. It's just the grades."

"Why are they going to let some pass who don't deserve it? It's not fair to those who want to work," said Estevan Cruz, 16, an 11th-grader.

Senior Richard Palacios, 17, said 65% of his classmates don't even show up for school. "It's already too much of an easy ride," He said. He estimated that only three or four of the 15 kids in his math class routinely appear.

From: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2007/12/13/2007-12-13_dumb_down_class_asks_principal_memo.html

This is an alarming trend in many inner-city schools, and I’ve heard parents and teachers mention that same attitude in St. Louis. We need to make sure that when our kids walk through the door on the first day of kindergarten, our teachers and administrators are saying “This is where you can go,” instead of “This is where you came from,” and proceed accordingly.

Last night I watched The Astronaut Farmer, a delightful movie about Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) whose dream was to go into space. His life seemed to take a sharp turn away from that dream; he has a ranch and a family, and very little money, but instead of seeing that as a burden, he involved his family in his dream, built a rocket and orbited the earth. Now there were some cheesy moments about America being about dreams, and how your dreams are your most important possession, but it was a nice sketch of making hard decisions, taking risks and dreaming bigger than your upbringing.

This should be the statement that is planted into a child’s head in school especially when there is a gang of outside influences telling a child that they can’t succeed, that there are a set of “accepted” professions for their neighborhood, and they have to lower their expectations. What happens so often is that those expectations follow a child everywhere, and their role models set the bar lower even though there never was an inherent reason that child couldn’t be a concert pianist or a doctor or an entrepreneur.

From an education administration standpoint, environment should not define a child’s potential—it should define what we have to do to help that child reach his or her potential. That ‘we’ includes teachers, parents, principles and the community, but it’s worth it. It’s never worth it to push human beings under the rug for the appearance of success.

Great Idea of the Week

2008-01-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Highlandville students receive computers from unlikely source

By: Emily Hoffman, staff writer emilyh@cpimo.com

12/12/2007

When Stefanie Reubell's Highlandville Elementary Discovery class needed new computers for class work, help came from an unlikely source-the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield.

"My first year here, I started writing letters and e-mails and making phone calls to various places requesting their used computers for my gifted classroom," Reubell said. "I wrote to the Federal Medical Prison in Springfield sometime at the beginning of last year. Then a couple of months ago, they called to ask if I still needed computers for my classroom."

Reubell said the idea to write to the prison came from her need to be more "creative" in obtaining the things she needed in her classroom.

"I have a wonderful, generous school district that really takes care of our kiddos, but there are some things on my 'teacher's wish list' that I have to be more creative about getting," she said. "Most teachers, especially in rural school districts, have to know how to write grants and where to find good but inexpensive supplies and tools. In this case, I wrote to a prison."

Reubell's creative efforts paid off when the elementary received more than 14 computers from the prison.

"They sent 14 or 15 computers as well as two massive servers, a ton of software and network cards and probably 30 or 40 brand-new monitors," Reubell said. "It was so nice that we had a lot of overflow. I just kept six useable ones for my classroom, and I kept a few extras in my room that are ones we're still working on getting installed and booted. I thought the kids could learn some things about the inner workings of a computer and try to solve the problems."

"When most people find out the federal prison donated the computers, they do a double-take," she said. "I realize a prison plus a school is an unusual 'pairing.' I suppose some would say that in investing in a school, the prison was taking extra steps to make sure fewer people end up there by staying here."

Reubell said the students also use the computers for blogging, learning other languages, researching projects, improving keyboarding, creating spreadsheets, developing Web sites and even programming.

Reubell says she and the school will never forget the generosity the prison showed.

"We were so appreciative of their big heartedness," she said. "I have future plans to involve the students in digital creation as well as communications with other online classrooms as a kind of 21st century pen-pal program. And this is just the first year we've had computers, imagine how much more we will think of and do as the years go on."

Reduce, Recycle and Reuse

2008-01-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

What a neat and unusual story, I thought. It brings up an adage about spending a little for education saves a lot of social and economic cost down the road from imprisonment and social services and crime, and I think that’s true. Finishing high school drastically increases your chances of having something better (more rewarding, less risky and more profitable) to do than turn to crime.

This from Focus Adolescent Services Website:

The gap between dropouts and more educated people is widening as opportunities increase for higher skilled workers all but disappear for the less skilled. · In the last 20 years the earnings level of dropouts doubled, while it nearly tripled for college graduates. · Recent dropouts will earn $200,000 less than high school graduates, and over $800,000 less than college graduates, in their lives. · Dropouts make up nearly half the heads of households on welfare. · Dropouts make up nearly half the prison population.

There are many different ways to get that statistic—to make it greater or smaller—but the bottom line is that Prison is not an asset to anyone’s resume and the burden falls back to taxpayers to an increasing extent. Yet, we’re paying more for schools than ever before—so where is the problem?

The problem is in schools that aren’t doing what Ms. Reubell is with her “teacher’s wish list”. Instead of buying new computers, or spending a fortune in a lawsuit asking taxpayers for more money, Missouri could save so much by writing a few letters asking for donations. Instead of spending thousands of dollars, Ms. Reubell was able to re-use something already paid for by taxpayers.

It’s so refreshing to see initiative and a respect for the fact that taxpayers and towns themselves aggressively support education, and the more bang we get for our buck, the better our students will be educated, the more resources will be available to them, and the more taxpayers will be able to support those endeavors that DO require a lot of additional funding.

GO GEORGIA! GO MISSOURI!

2007-12-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

Like many states, indeed like our own Missouri, Georgia has had to dig deep to pull themselves up by their bootstraps after finding themselves virtually at the bottom of America's educational heap. Their answer to continuous failure of public schools was not found in pumping more money into an obviously flawed public school system. They are finding their answer in education reform.

Missouri can learn from Georgia and from so many other states who are experimenting with educational reform. We must learn if we are to succeed and deliver to our deserving children the hope of a bright future.

While Georgia has added many charter schools, they are finding that charter schools are not the only solution, but rather one in a series of changes necessary to help our children in very real ways. Here's a wish list presented by education commentator Jan Jones of the Atlanta Journal Constitution who says that 'Genuine reform can't be comfy' and it sounds like a good wish list for us here in Missouri:

• Recognize that teachers count most in increasing student achievement. Award generous merit pay to teachers for classroom performance. Respect the many superior teachers by ending Soviet-style equal pay increases.

• End future teacher stipends for out-of-field masters and doctoral degrees, some generated by Internet diploma mills. Instead, spend precious tax dollars on salary boosts to address desperate teaching needs.

• Give principals greater latitude in decision-making and budgeting so they can adapt schools to their students and communities. Tie increased flexibility to higher student achievement goals.

• Offer parents options in how and where their children are educated by increasing the number of high-quality public schools of choice — charter schools. The one-size-fits-hardly-anyone approach has outlived its relevancy.

Some states, school systems and other industrialized countries have embraced these and other initiatives with encouraging results. Uncomfortable to the entrenched status quo, yes. Untried and unproven, no.

What is most appealing about her suggestions is that she includes who should be most important in our education system: parents, teachers and principals. These are the people most left out of decision making in today's educracy here in Missouri. GO GEORGIA! GO MISSOURI!

Give the Schools a Chance

2007-12-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, our schools are facing hard times right now. And this is not something entirely new, but it is new to me. 10 years ago, my children were not in school. Now, I pay more attention to the problems the schools are facing. I cannot afford private schools so I have no other option. My community has wonderful teachers that genuinely seem to care about the children. Most of the teachers grew up here and they know the children's families. They all have a sense of connection and would like to see all these children succeed. I am grateful for the teachers my children have.

I have experienced other areas, some small towns and some bigger cities. It seemed to me, and many other parents agree, the teachers seem more interested in the politics than in performance. I am guessing they were not always like this, I am hoping they once were teachers who loved to inspire and teach. The bureaucracy has swallowed them and taken that certain spark out of them. Our schools need something to get things going again, something to make the teachers full of life and the children grow and learn.

The ideas of school choice and merit pay give this opportunity back to the schools. They open the schools up to competition. We live in a market driven place, like it or not. Accept that it works and apply it to where we send our most treasured people everyday.

The Worries of a Parent

2007-12-12T15:06:00.000-08:00

The day your child is born, you are filled with so many feelings of excitement, happiness, fear, worry, you name it. The amount of love that your feel for your child is overpowering, there are no words to describe it. For some parents, staying home is an option, while for others; the child must be left with someone else. Babysitters, daycares, friends and relatives are the ones you trust your most treasured person with, ones that you know will watch out for them, teach them, and love them. It is one of the hardest decisions a parent can make. Leaving your child can be exhilarating at times and heartbreaking at others, but hopefully, you will not have to worry about your child in the childcare you have chosen. Once the child is a little older, you worry less about diaper rash, SIDS, sleeping enough, not taking a bottle, choking hazards, if they are given enough 'tummy time' and other infant concerns.

You move on to other worries. One of which will inevitably be your child's education. You worry about grades, achievement, growing quest for knowledge, and fitting in with other classmates. Your child spends about 7 hours a day at school and you would like to know that time there is well spent. A teacher can open windows to knowledge, further a child's motivation to learn, and most of all teach them lessons that will last a lifetime. Teachers need to be appreciated for all they do. Some teachers fair well and make an impact on students while others may not have the skills, charisma, or motivation to do so.

Teachers should be rewarded when their students achieve great things. Doing so may help get the best teachers there teaching our children. And then, the parent can relax knowing their child is in the best hands.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

2007-12-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

http://shrewdnessofapes.blogspot.com/2007/12/at-least-watching-paint-dry-would-be.html

I love the Shrewdness of Apes. Ms. Cornelius is a teacher who gets it AND still has a sense of humor about it. In response to a poorly planned consulting session, she has this to say: But we got to listen to a gentleman who had been flown hundreds of miles in to be our consultant talk on and on and on and on. It took him seven and a half hours to talk about something that we completely grasped in 20 minutes.

For. The. Love. Of. Mike.

Really.

This was a 90% waste of money, and a 95% waste of time.

Here are some ideas that could be useful:
Violence prevention. Morale and team building-- we sorely need it after a rough six months in which the staff pulled together after tragedies and valiantly gave freely of their own time to re-establish our community's sense of equilibrium. Or perhaps strategies to improve student fluency and especially vocabulary in the content areas. More training for teachers with co-teachers-- PLEASE! More training on our idiotic gradebook program.

And that's just for starters.

If you don't feed the teachers, they'll eat the students. Well not really, but they certainly will get surly or exhausted. I bet if you ask teachers what they deal with on a day-to-day basis, ask them what problems aren’t going away and what they need to make the situation better, at least a few will have concise, analytic topics to offer.

Well Structured Businesses Do well, Why Not Run Schools the Same?

2007-12-10T11:06:00.001-08:00

Businesses must follow certain rules to monitor, evaluate, and reward the best employees. The ‘lazier’ employees will go elsewhere or decide to step up to the plate. This blog wrote a great comparison of a traditional business and a school.

To sum up my idea, if you are a good teacher, you would reap the benefits of a higher salary, and compensations would not be such a burden on your paycheck. You would be wealthier if you are an "above and beyond" teacher. On the flip side, you would hate merit pay if you are a "do nothing" teacher who feels you are entitled. If you teach economics, think about the "free market system" and how competition breeds greatness. If you know you can make more money by working smarter, you're going to put more effort into your job. On the flip side, you also know that if you do nothing, you are not going to get the compensation you desire and may lose your job. This is fair. In the work place you must perform you duties or lose your job. The better you perform, the higher your compensation at time of review.

Not only would the best teachers benefit from this, students will reap the more benefits. They will finally be getting access to the best teachers there are. Schools are failing all over the country, and that does not exclude Missouri. My town, with a population less than 10,000, has a dire need for excellent teachers. Our students need the option of a great education. Many of them would like to move onto college after high school, but they need good teachers to not only make them prepared, but to get them there. The rest of their lives will be affected by a poor education. Let’s give the students and the teachers a chance.

Teaching Special Ed Teachers Needs to Happen

2007-12-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

What I am particularly interested in is changing the requirements of DESE for our graduating teachers in MO colleges. Currently, DESE requires students majoring in "regular education" to take only one special needs class called "Exceptional Child". This is the only special needs class that our teachers have under their belt when they enter the the public school classroom, which, no doubt, has several children who are not regularly developing.

It has occurred to me that there really is no regular education in public schools, and that it is a travesty to lie to our upcoming teachers, telling them that they may consider themselves regular education teachers. For thirty years we have had a law in place saying that students with special needs should be allowed in regular classrooms, yet our achingly slow-moving higher education system has not seen fit to train its teachers how to fulfill this law. It's no wonder to me that we as parents meet with such resistence from teachers and similarly- trained administrators.

It seems with training while in college, our bright-eyed young teachers will be willing to embrace inclusion and learn how to work through issues creatively. Presently, the "regular ed" majors don't know anything about how to incorporate all their students into their teaching approach. Similarly, the special ed teachers haven't seemed to learn how to include kids with special needs into a regular ed classroom either. And these specially trained teachers, at least in our school district, are the ones that are supposed to be the support for the regular ed teachers, but they haven't been trained how to support inclusion, only how to teach in seclusion.

Merit Pay: A Change the Schools Need

2007-12-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

Merit pay for teachers is definitely an issue these days. Many people are having quite heated debates on the topic. One critic of merit based pay is that it would be expensive to launch and evaluate the teachers year after year While this may have some validity, this site, Bipolar Nation, had this to say:

So, if education isn’t a worthy investment - at least not worthy of more taxpayer money - why does it get public funding in the first place. Do away with the Department of Education and all publicly-funded schools, and the free market will introduce its own version of “merit-based” pay. If teachers provide so much value to this world, they have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Merit based pay would allure the best teachers, reward them, and create an incentive for them to stick around. Many incredibly talented and intelligent people chose not to enter the teaching profession because of the low pay. Many others will grow frustrated with the hard work they put in without the chance of reward. I recognize most people do not enter the profession for the pay, but this does not mean those people do not deserve more.

Using the market to guide the education system is not a new idea either. Many people feel the entire education system would benefit from the ideals of a free market. The schools would compete to be the best, In terms of merit pay, the teachers would challenge themselves to be better. The market seems to be beneficial in other areas of our country, why not try them in education? For some time now, we have let schools get worse and worse. Transformation of the system is one thing we have not tried. Let's give it a shot.

Touching Story in Springfield

2007-12-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

This story in Springfield's New Leader , portrays Weller school in a poor Springfield neighborhood, making things work. The principles, the teachers, and the students are all aware they are in a poorer school, with 86 percent of students get free and reduced lunches- one way of measuring if the children are living in poverty. However, the school is making progress and the students are benefiting. While having great academic progress every year has its challenges in Title I schools because of the issues children may deal with at home, the teachers take what they are given and have created a great learning and emotionally gratifying environment for these children.

It seems "Weller is an example of a school where teachers and students take pride in their educational community. It's also a place where poverty has a definite impact on the lives of the students."

But for all the challenges, Monroe said, Weller teachers and staff are committed to seeing students achieve. And that commitment and belief in the kids pays off.
"Kids, for the most part, will rise to your expectations," she said.
And that's one thing that's not at all hard to see.

It goes to show that teachers can make all the difference in the lives of the children. These teachers really care about the children, and the evidence is there.

Merit Pay Would Help Schools, Not Hurt Them

2007-12-05T07:06:00.001-08:00

Some teacher’s unions are against merit pay, performance pay, or whatever people like to call it. Norm’s Notes says “it sacrifices a fundamental union principle—equal pay for equal work.” In education, should we be more concerned about the union principles or the students? Yes, the teachers are obviously important; there is no doubt about that. But first and foremost, we need to be looking out for the students.

Merit pay would give intelligent people the motivation to enter the teaching field. Some may love the idea of teaching but are not willing to sacrifice it for lower pay. Teaching offers many rewards beyond money. Many great teachers enter the field because they want to make a difference in a child’s life, or they just love to teach. Unfortunately, some of these teachers become a by-product of the bureaucratic system they work for. The teachers unions swallow them up. In the end, some may forget why they wanted to teach to begin with and they lose the passion and drive they once had. Other teachers may enter the field with good intentions, but they are just not cut out to be ones that inspire young ones to learn. In either scenario, merit pay would force these problems to be addressed. Either the teacher remains or becomes a great teacher, or their pay will not grow. They will notice other teachers making more money, and recognize why. They will then either leave the field or decide it is time for them to make a change. It should not be about collective bargaining, it should be about the children’s education.

Seeking GREAT Missouri Teachers

2007-11-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

At the same time we desperately need to bring up the grades in Math and Science, in our state and in our country, we continue to overlook the need to provide incentive to quality teachers who can find better wages in the free market and fail to lure quality individuals to the teaching profession to inspire young minds to become the scientific leaders our country truly needs heading into the new millenium.

In the most recent Science Teachers of Missouri's newsletter, a report by the National Research Council, the main operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, said,

"At no time in history has improving science education been more important than it is today. Major policy debates about such topics as cloning, the potential of alternative fuels, and the use of biometric information to fi ght terrorism require a scientifi cally informed citizenry as never before in the nation’s history. Yet after 15 years of focused standards-based reform, improvements in U.S. science education are modest at best, and comparisons show that U.S. students fare poorly in comparison with students in other countries. In

addition, gaps in achievement persist between majority group students and both economically disadvantaged and non-Asian minority students. In part, these achievement gaps mirror, inequities in science education and take on greater signifi cance with the looming mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act that states assess science beginning in the 2006-2007 school year. Thus, science education in the United States has become a subject of grave and pressing concern."

According to The Washington Post "Schools in Houston, Denver, Minnesota and elsewhere have...tried to link teacher pay to performance, but those efforts have been either less focused on test scores or narrower in scope. The Minnesota plan, enacted last July, is voluntary, and thus far more than a third of the state's 339 school districts have expressed interest in the system, state officials said. Districts that join the effort must base 60 percent of teacher raises on a handful of factors, including student test scores. Florida recently implemented a plan to link improved performance with teacher pay.

"We don't have all the answers today," Education Commissioner John Winn said, "But we will work with teachers to develop a system. I know it adds pressures, but what profession doesn't add pressure for performance?" Winn asked. Though no perfect system currently exists, it is inspiring that some states are giving it a serious 'go', involving teachers, administrators and educators to come up with something that works.

Performance Pay Is the Right Step

2007-11-27T15:06:00.000-08:00

Performance pay is a main subject up for debate these days, especially in the political arena. It is getting the attention it deserves, while some is not positive and some is not. The presidential candidates are voicing their strong opinions about performance pay loud and clear. As it turns out, it is not a republic or a democrat issue; they seem to be split on the idea. They all seem to realize performance pay is an important issue, which not only affects the teachers’ lives but also severely affects the education level the students receive.

It looks like Texas is going down the right path; almost half of the school districts there are joining the merit pay plan. The plan recommends a $3,000 bonus for each teacher that shows student improving test scores and any other signs of student progress. I am hoping Missouri will enact something similar.

My city, a small one at that, could really benefit from some version of performance pay for our teachers. Our teachers are phenomenal. Unfortunately, I have seen many of them leave the career for better offers. Not only are our teachers leaving our town, they are leaving the field. The greatest teachers are hard to find and we need to reward them accordingly and keep them around. It is our children they are teaching, why would we not want to?

Teach Great

2007-11-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

Being a good teacher requires many attributes, some innate, some learned, or some earned. Teachers are the people who are shaping and instructing our children, shouldn’t they be paid a reasonable amount? If we used incentive based pay for teachers, we may increase the quality teachers entering the field, retain the best teachers while eliminating the worst, and encourage teachers to use innovative and creative teaching methods.

According to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), teachers should be rewarded for excellent teaching. If all teachers are paid based on the number of years teaching, there is little incentive to become a better teacher. Without merit pay, there is the potential loss of great teachers who find higher paying jobs elsewhere and the retention of low performing teachers who may get tenure and realize there is no chance of getting fired. The Cato Institute also realizes the importance of merit pay. Two teachers may get paid the same amount while one strives to teach well and the other may be doing the minimum to get by. It is unfortunate the students will suffer because of this.

Our small community has trouble retaining the best teachers, as it is easy for them to find higher paying jobs in bigger surrounding cities. There are few other incentives to recruit quality teachers to our area. With merit based pay, we could attract people to the field that could excel in the teaching profession. Teachers usually do not enter the field for the money, but many leave it because of the lack of money or lack of motivation to stick around. Without this, we may lose more and more great teachers, while only retaining the mediocre ones.

School Choice in a Rural Setting

2007-11-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

As a smaller community, we need to reward the great teachers we have. However, there are some teachers that could use some improvement. There have also been many teachers I have seen start their careers in teaching, only to leave shortly after because of the low pay and little room for their own creative teaching ideas. There needs to be some overhaul of the way teachers are paid.

Overall, our community does a good job of educating our young. A community close by does not have the same advantages. Their schools are suffering and all the great teachers there seem to have moved on. It is unfortunate those children do not have the same advantages that ours have. Many of them would like other options besides their mediocre schools. School choices for those children would be a great solution to the problem.

The children are the future and we need to educate them wisely and teachers need to have incentive to do so. Children need more options if their current school is not working out. Many schools are truly suffering. This in turn gives every child fewer chances of an adequate education therefore a smaller possibility in being successful later in life. There needs to be an overhaul of the education system in Missouri and starting with choices and ensuring excellent teachers is the way to begin.

Teachers

2007-11-05T11:33:00.001-08:00

Many people are aware there is a problem with our public education system. However, not everyone can clearly describe the best ways to fix the schools. Private schools and charter schools have an advantage—they are not bound by all the red tape forced on public schools. The teachers have the opportunity to be creative in their teaching methods, leading to a happier and more productive teacher, which in turn educates the children better. One option to help the public school teachers would be to offer them incentives. They joined the teaching career hopefully to make an impact of the lives of their students.

No Teacher Left Behind?

2007-10-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

As Missouri public schools wrestle with what bargaining rights apply to teachers, a good legislative brawl is emerging on pay for performance on the national level. Today's cato institute dispatch summarizes the challenges of No Child Left Behind from both sides of the political aisle.

Riverview Gardens Not A Teacher’s Paradise:

2007-10-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Nina:

After reading about the disgusting array of challenges in teaching in Riverview Gardens in St. Louis County, it seems to me that there ought to be more alternatives to this community besides just waiting out your term for retirement. You know that teachers must be against the wall if a number of those families were trying to get into the City to explore other options.

Rockwood

2007-10-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Submitted by: JaneS

I have read that our school district, Rockwood, has spent over $66,000 to sue the state in order to get more money for education. The districts across the state have wasted about $4.6 million. Does anyone else have a problem with this? I cannot fathom why the district would think it would be okay to use our money for something we did not intend it for!

On top of the deceit I feel has happened, I also find it strange they think more money will help the schools. It is totally obvious to me there needs to be more done than just pour more money into the system. First off, lets use the money we have efficiently, and then lets try something different to fix these schools.

Hopefully, enough people will be upset about this as well and do something about it. Please…if you do, call your superintendent now.

You can contact Craig Larson at larsoncraig@rockwood.k12.mo.us or call 636-938-2200.

Business Support for METS Encouraging

2007-10-15T07:54:00.001-07:00

Today's announcement about the formation of a formal c3 to promote math, engineering, technology, and science is a positive step. Our state desperately needs more participation from private sector businesses like what is displayed here.

Crying Out for KIPP in St. Louis

2007-10-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Bob Herbert hit the mark recently by claiming that new forms of identifying good teachers and weeding out poor ones have to be created for new schools to flourish. Unfortunately, last week’s press update from the transitional school district of St. Louis Public Schools passed without a single event to suggest that’s where we are headed. St. Louis desperately needs strong leadership models, and help may soon be on the way – the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). KIPP shows you what fresh blood borne from such programs like Teach for America can do with new ideas are allowed to be taught.

Building Math Scores, One Chess Move at a Time

2007-10-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Submitted by: Diana

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While improving math scores to meet the demands of MAP test remain vital, TeacherTube shows us a great example for how to make analytical skill-building a fun experience….using chess in urban districts.