SUPPORTING TEACHER QUALITY

Grassroots School Turn-Around here in Knoxville

2011-02-24T15:47:00.001-05:00

Just got back from an "Austin East High School Community Thank-You Lunch," and I kept thinking, "Now this is a school turn-around strategy that's somewhat grassroots and larger than just one school."

First - Invitees included people from K-Town Youth Empowerment Network, United Way of Greater Knoxville, local churches, Project GRAD, area schools, a school board member, and a few other community members.

Second - Members from schools offered information from area FEEDER schools (AEHS, Vine Middle, Green, Sarah Moore Greene)--realistic data and information. The good, bad and ugly. AEHS celebrated having movement with AYP numbers. Vine Middle said that they're "on the list." They then shared different events and efforts that are going on to address some of these challenges:

- AEHS talked about an event on March 24 @ 5 PM to showcase Career/Tech Education students work to parents and other members in the community. In April, there's another effort to showcase how students are learning through new teaching strategies. They're also thinking about how to restructure the school day to get more time to focus on student learning.

- Vine Middle talked about their After-School Academy (after-school activities that range from LEGO League to West African Dance) AND their Tuesday/Thursday reading and math tutoring programs from 3 - 5 PM (where transportation is provided). They also shared information about the TAP program that's coming to the school next year--and AVID, which is already there. The Assistant Principal also mentioned how they're working with teachers on how to build a respectful relationship between students and teachers--they both share responsibility in changing how they interact.

Then, they said, "How can your group get involved? We'll take commitments right now. This is a community effort. We can help our schools if we work together."

School turn-around strategies can really be grassroots. But you've got to have the community bought in to the process. It was a good feeling to be in the audience because I felt like I was a part of something bigger while I was playing my small part.

Schools need our support now more than ever

2011-02-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since my last post, and I've been to a lot of different places since last writing--from schools to administrative meetings...from Northeast Tennessee to Washington, DC...you get the idea. As most of you know, several pieces of legislation related to education are taking the spotlight, but it's hard to keep free of different agendas that are behind all of these bills. I've almost been scared to write because of the numerous different opinions out there.

Going out to different schools, I've been hearing a lot of ground-level perspectives (however, I've not done a scientific study to capture them all), but one thing is certain: SCHOOLS NEED US NOW MORE THAN EVER.

Some ground-level sentiment from teachers leads me to believe that morale is low because of a perception that the standardized testing mantra is only teaching our children to be robots who can't problem-solve. Some ground-level sentiment from administration leads me to believe that they seriously want to help all children learn and that we all could be doing more to help that along. There will always be a tug between schools and administration, and to an extent, that's OK.

One general question I always ask when I'm in a school / in meetings is, "What can I do better? How can I improve? Can you help me understand something better?" People reading this blog who have met me can probably think of a time or 2 that I've asked something like that. I ask out of a genuine concern for my effectiveness. Something I feel like that's missing is a willingness to be open, honest, and candid in our discussions. People refuse to share their real opinions in meetings. People refuse to show up when there's a contentious issue at hand. And when certain opinions are shared, it's almost perceived to be a "faux pas," something that shouldn't have been done. Realistically, it's all about compromise. Extremes can't be the norm of dialogue.
...do people really think teachers are just leaving at 2:30 PM when the bell rings and wait for a chance to be really lazy?
...do people really think administrators are looking for the next chance to fire a teacher they hate?
...do people really think that conversations about strategic compensation are really just a chance to give bonuses for test scores?
...do people really think a critique of standardized testing is born out of desire to do no testing and get away with no accountability?

All of these critiques have a level of truth behind them. No differing opinion is just dreamed up overnight. They're all born with a sense of authenticity. Yes, there are some teachers who squeak by. Yes, there are some administrators with a vendetta...see what I mean? But, by and large, teachers REALLY care. Administrators really WANT to have good schools. When we can stop speaking in the language of hate/accusation/defense (check out any "Comments" on the Knoxville News Sentinel articles about education, like THIS), we might actually get somewhere.

YOU can actually do something about it. Get involved in a school, be honest about your desire to help children succeed. Heck, if you can't find a way into a school, LET ME KNOW (luterg@unitedwayknox.org). I'll make sure you get in touch with someone. If we as a community stood up with a genuine sense of wanting to help (and not lament how bad the future looks unless we do this or that...), schools might be able to overcome these obstacles with our support. I'm speaking in ideals, which will no doubt upset some of you reading this post, but I can't help it. Have a great weekend!!!

IN THE NEWS:

Teacher working conditions study (VERY IMPORTANT FOR TEACHERS TO COMPLETE): http://telltennessee.org/
The details of Haslam’s new education plan
A TEA response to the supposed “anti-teacher” bills
Details about the new proposed teacher evaluation system
The politics of education reform
Data we have, but we don’t use
The “elected” vs “appointed” superintendent bill keeps coming up
A focus on a teacher who is trying something new and different to reach students
Celebrate Knox County Schools' Teachers of the Year!
Schools aren't failing; the world is changing (Editorial)
Niswonger Foundation's website for the "College and Career Ready Consortium" that will help NE TN Schools
UTK Helps area school with a new partnership
Group providing music education for disadvantaged youth in Knoxville
Dads supporting schools in Maryville!!!
Changing paradigms in education (Video for fun)
Teachers: Strive to be ordinary heroes (Video for fun)

New legislature...What should we expect with education?

2011-01-17T18:08:00.002-05:00

Just to warn you, this post is more about the legislative side of education.

With a new legislature in place, there will inevitably be shifts in multiple areas...education is no exception.

First and foremost, new committee assignments for the TN House and the Senate. Note that a new House Education Committee has been appointed by Speaker Harwell.
http://www.tnreport.com/2011/01/house-committee-assignments-for-the-107th-tennessee-general-assembly/
Rep. Montgomery from Sevierville is now the chair of the education committee in the House.
http://www.tnreport.com/2011/01/senate-committee-assignments/

In an e-mail update from Rep. Harry Brooks, he indicates that a new committee on education finance was appointed. Here's a part of his e-mail:

"A new joint committee between the Senate and House was appointed by the Speaker dealing with Educational Finance. I was also asked to chair this committee. This will be the most challenging task I have this session as it initially deals with three specific educational issues which are BEP funding for K-12, post secondary capital (building construction) expenditures, and maximizing the use of dual enrollment and dual credit in high school and the financial implications of such. I also will serve on the full Education and full Finance committees. Serving as chair of a standing committee automatically places me on the House Calendar and Rules Committee also. In addition to these House committees, I continue to serve on the Teacher Evaluation Advisory Council and SCORE (Sen. Frist’s educational reform initiative). It will be another busy session requiring much of my time to be spent in Nashville."

This e-mail isn't secret, by the way. You can e-mail rep.harry.brooks@capitol.tn.gov and request to get his updates.

On top of this, Metro Pulse did an article (by Frank Cagle) indicating that several things could be on the horizon...from charter school expansion to the publishing of teacher value-added scores online to opening the age-old elected vs appointed superintendent debate. See the article here: http://www.metropulse.com/news/2011/jan/12/real-state-education-reform/

TN's House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) anticipates that tenure reform will be on the table. See the article here: http://www.metropulse.com/news/2011/jan/12/real-state-education-reform/

Things continue to change at a lightening-fast pace. Now that lawmakers are back in Nashville, education will be at the top of their priorities, mainly because education and economic development are increasingly becoming linked.

Let's just keep in mind that all these conversations should be motivated by making things better for children.... Let's try to keep in mind that these conversations shouldn't be taken as a war against education and all teachers. From the United Way perspective, it's a great chance for us to sit at the same table, talk solutions, compromise here and there, and move forward to make education better for all the children in the state of TN.

As a humorous side-note, last night's Golden Globe awards for TV were dominated by the hit show "Glee." When it won for best TV show, one of the producers took the chance to say on national TV (and I quote):
"I just want to say thank you to public school teachers. You don't get paid like it, but you're doing the most important work in America."Amen to that!

Happy MLK Day to you all!

IN THE NEWS:
- Bristol's Director of Schools learns from Chinease education.
- Knoxville's new STEM school (a RTTT effort) earns support of the Knoxville News Sentinel.
- Article showing discussions in Lenoir City / Loudon County about the ability to deny out-of-county students.
- 4 districts in TN receive grants to support alternative pay schedules for teachers.
- Should Austin East High School be a community school?
- Maryville sings praises for education in their community.
- Cleveland Schools folks take a chance to learn more about Race to the Top.
- Since the new report card has been released, you can learn about what we're looking like in different communities across the state here.
- Charter schools in Knoxville and across the state are getting more attention.

Start the New Year "In The Loop"

2011-01-07T09:59:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone! Hopefully your winter breaks all served you well with a time to reflect on the successes of 2010 and opportunities for improvement for 2011.

One resolution I'm making is related to STAYING INFORMED ABOUT EDUCATION REFORM IN TN.
OK, this might have something to do with the fact that I'm a nerd, but it seems like a lot of citizens agree that education is important in our communities, but it's also really important to the vitality of our state.

How do I plan to do this?
- SCORE Daily Updates: You can do that HERE. They do a great daily news clipping service for FREE that captures statewide information, and major stories from around the nation.

- TN First to the Top Updates: The State Dept of Education does a weekly e-mail to update people about the progress of the "Race to the Top" money. Sign up HERE. The Dept's website for FTTT is HERE.

- Attending at least 1 school board meeting per month: Find out where your school board meets, and you can just sit in for the first hour on the way home.

- Subscribe to Google Alerts: If you have Gmail (and no, this is no endorsement of one company over another), it's fairly simple to set up Google Alerts. Once you log into Gmail, click "My Account" then look for the "Alerts" link. I like the [education Knoxville] and [education Tennessee] Alerts most, but you can think of others. Any suggestions for me? More information can be found HERE.

- Stepping foot in a school AT LEAST once per week: For me, I'm volunteering at Austin East HS and Pond Gap Elementary once per week. Hopefully other schools will invite me in to discuss what they need from communities to be supported and keep the discussion going. This way, I can help to support teachers as they try to become the most effective teachers as possible! WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH A LOCAL SCHOOL OF YOUR CHOICE?

- Talk to my legislator ONCE PER MONTH about education: Tell them what you want to see happen to improve education. From promoting effective teachers in schools to accountability of RTTT funds, just speak what's on your mind. Find out more HERE. If you have a new legislator, make sure they know how much you care about education!

Whew, that's quite a list. My work is cut out for me. But the children in school are counting on it. That's motivation enough for me. Good luck starting your New Year "In The Loop."

IN THE NEWS:
- United Way discusses what it has done to raise community support for effective teachers. We also have a part of our website dedicated to this work HERE.
- School report card data released TODAY.
KNOX COUNTY FOLKS: Here are the changes in the school Adequate Yearly Progress.
STATE OF TN HIGH PRIORITY SCHOOLS: Check them out here.
- Teach for America teachers seem to have higher value-added scores than teachers coming out of traditional teacher prep. programs.
- East TN lawmakers sit down to talk with the TEA teachers about education in the coming year.
- Teacher and principal residency program is expanded, and Hamilton County talks about how it'll be put to use.
- Anderson County Schools takes a look back and a look forward to the challenges ahead.
- Career / Technical Education tracks take off in Knox County. This is on the heels of a previous blog post I did about CTE.
- Local Oak Ridge businesses stepped up for the holidays.
- Bill Gates and National Teacher Union president sit down and talk about how to fix education. It's about supporting those effective teachers!
- Stay on top of those RTTT dollars here. Look for the "Scopes of Work" that outline how districts plan to spend $$$ to fix schools.
- Even in West TN, this group has education as topping its priorities.
- Parental engagement links from the TN Dept. of Education.
- Website helps puts $$$ in East TN schools.

The list could go on, but that's a snapshot...

Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward...Education / Teachers!

2010-12-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Seeing that it's the holiday season, I wanted to do somewhat of a light-hearted post to close out the year.

It's the end of the calendar year. Students are out of school. Educators are getting a break. Education is probably the best gift anyone can give. Teachers give that gift on a daily basis (the gift that keeps on giving). Please make sure you thank all those in education who dedicate their lives to ensuring that children receive the education they deserve.

It seems like a lot of people in education agree that they want the best for students, but certainly a lot of details get in the way. It's my New Year's hope that we, in the state of Tennessee, can continue to really work together--AS A COMMUNITY--to ensure that students get the services they need in order to secure their education. Anything that gets in the way of that goal should get out of the way. We have a New Year on the horizon...a chance to start fresh, without bias, and with passion for the children of the State of Tennessee.

There you go...that's my holiday "mushy" post.

Of course, I can't leave you hanging without a few NEWS LINKS:

- Great Schools Partnerships starts to step up in helping find a way to make the L&N Building a site for the regional STEM Academy.
- How will the new Congress impact education funding? Interesting thing mentioned in this article: a court in October ruled the "high quality teacher" designation was too broad because it left room for alternative-path teachers into the classroom. The bickering continues. Peace is all I ask for!
- Northeast Tennessee continues to get assistance from Niswonger Foundation. Great that this is getting coverage!
- CTE and STEM are linked! That is, "Career and Technical Education" and "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math." Some people don't speak education-wonk-alphabet...
- Education is tied to the economy, and Chattanooga understands that.
- Tennessee principals now have more notes than EVER on teachers. This is all part of getting a better picture of teachers in the classroom.
- TSU's new president tries to save the school from losing its accreditation.
- Should students have input into their teacher's evaluation? Some are building a case. It's worth considering.

The "Career" part of "College and Career Ready" Can't Be Forgotten

2010-12-16T13:23:00.004-05:00

This past snowy Monday morning when schools were canceled, I attended a meeting in a Knox County Schools facility that still had people in it: Lincoln Park Technology and Trade Center--the home of Career/Tech Education in Knox County Schools.

Those of you who have spoken with me lately know that I've been meeting with people in the "Career Technology Education" arena.

There's a lot of talk about "College and Career Readiness" lately. However, many I've spoken with (in an outside of the CTE world) feel like most of the emphasis has been on the COLLEGE readiness part. And while I believe that's great in one regard (being someone who used to work at UTK), I think that doesn't apply to everyone. It seems like there's a lot of tip-toeing around some key things. One thing being: Just because a traditional 4-year college doesn't fit for some students, it doesn't mean that these students aren't as bright as the 4-year college students. It only means they're smart in different ways!

One of United Way's 10 Year Goals that we're focusing on is, "Young adults making a successful transition from high school to work life and/or continued educational opportunities." This includes CTE...

In fact, when you break down CTE, you'll find a variety of topics you may not have realized where included in this umbrella.
- Business Technology (including accounting and finance)
- Early Childhood Education
- Health Science
- Marketing
- Technology education (including engineering)
- Trade and indistry (including CAD-design skills, plumbing, networking systems, and carpentry)

THESE GO HAND IN HAND WITH PRESTIGIOUS CAREERS, such as marketing professionals, bankers, doctors, teachers, and engineers!

Yesterday, I did a tour of the local IBEW group's training facilities. They require rigorous math requirements. Once completing the apprentice program, the American Council on Education recommends that students receive 50 credit hours to college (see HERE). How is that not "College and Career Ready?"

I also met with people in Knox County Schools who are working to engage businesses in offering hands-on experiences for students (CTE Partnerships). This is a way to ensure that education works with business to prepare students for entering the workforce.

How do you get this information in the hands of those who can use it?

IN THE NEWS:
- Tennessee's school report card information will be released in January. It's been delayed by 6 months...
- For those looking to stay informed about the STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION...
- Russian educators visit Oak Ridge to learn about special education instruction. This speaks to the great special education teachers in Oak Ridge!
- Knox County Schools offers information to parents about practical things they can do to reinforce class concepts at home.
- UTK professor is involved with Race to the Top. She's the "Biology in a Box" famous professor!
- Value-added: It's not perfect, but it might be worth considering...
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math professionals needed for Knox County and Oak Ridge Schools!
- Collaboration: An out-of-town perspective.
- Sullivan County schools offer more distance learning courses! Roane County is doing something similar...
- Bradley County talks to the public about "Race to the Top."
- The IB program in Knoxville requires students to APPLY!
- Students might be able to tell us something about effective teachers.

Who will drive TN's education system?

2010-12-09T15:37:00.000-05:00

As most reading this know, the state of Tennessee has recently elected a new governor, Bill Haslam. While I try to stay out of making formal political statements (and I'll keep to that here), I've been doing a lot of talking and thinking about what is ahead for Tennessee's education system. From the TEA, local Chambers, local philanthropists, college faculty members, and non-profit leaders in education, there seems to be a question on every one's mind:

Who will be the next Education Commissioner?

I'm not going to speculate on who will be selected, mainly because the person doesn't matter as much as what's in the person's mind. Here's what I'm hoping a new Education Commissioner:

- Vision: S/he knows where the education system should be in the future. A vision that in some way incorporates of raising the quality (high standards) of education in Tennessee for all children would be great!
- Leadership: Follow the vision. Empower others around you to do the work they need to do to help that vision to be realized. Be willing to know when you don't know the answer and surround yourself with competent practitioners who can help you get to a good, collaborative solution.
- Collaboration: Tennessee's education can't improve without the help of multiple parties, from education advocates to businesses to teachers to non-profits. Great leaders are great collaborators in that they are willing to work with others to accomplish their vision.
- Not entrenched with the "way things have worked in the past": The last thing we need is someone who wants to relive the past. Tennessee is moving in a new direction with education, and it'd be great to have someone who can come in with a fresh set of eyes. DISCLAIMER: For those who like to read into things, this isn't me saying that I don't think someone who has experience in education for 10+ years is disqualified. It would just be nice to have someone who is willing to think creatively and try something new.

I'm not as worried about a "big name." I'm not as worried about "credentials." Get someone in there who can do the job and will surround themselves with competent people who won't let the children of Tennessee down.

I'm not speculating on who will likely be chosen, or what names are floating around. You all can do that on your own :-)

IN THE NEWS:

- When teachers unions and school districts work together: What can TN learn from FL?
- Kingsport gets national recognition for career-technical education collaborative initiative.
- Blogger breaks down the recent "Teacher Prep Program Report Card."
- Knox County Schools continues to find a place for the STEM school.
- United Way of Tennessee tries to give teachers, parents, and students a voice in education reform.
- Nashville, TN is chosen as a model city for school-community-charter partnerships. A former United Way "Teacher Effectiveness Project" employee is working with this project. Props to Carol Swann!
- Niswonger Foundation in Northeast Tennessee gets recognized for trying to build a more "college and career ready" culture in their area.
- Sullivan County experiments with performance pay this year.
- Report on thinking of teachers as TALENT.
- The Junior League gives out annual teacher mini-grants. Community groups doing things like this really matters to teachers!
- Blount Education Initiative will close its doors. Thanks to Bonny for all her advocacy!
- Jobs lost in the recession in Tennessee were lower-skilled jobs. Education matters to the economy.
- Bredesen pushes to make college transfers easier.
- What teachers are first to be laid off when there are budget troubles?
- Why do some school systems keep getting better, regardless of some factors? Some of it is because of collaboration.

Graduation rates go up: Take a second to celebrate

2010-12-06T16:16:00.001-05:00

America's Promise released a report earlier this week that showcases that the national graduation rate INCREASED. In fact, we made the LARGEST GAIN IN THE NATION! GOOD FOR US!

Knoxville, Nashville, West Tennessee, Chattanooga, and Memphis all ran stories about this great statistic!

Why do I feel like no one took time to actually say, "Job well done?" If you got a better grade on a test, you would hope an effective teacher would take a second to say, "Good work!"

So, United Way wants to say, "Great job, Tennessee!"
Take time to say THANK YOU! to...
1. TEACHERS
2. PARENTS
3. STUDENTS
4. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
5. PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO VOLUNTEER WITH AND SUPPORT SCHOOLS
6. YOUR LEGISLATORS
See where I'm going?

It's really easy to get caught up in how far we have to go, what still needs to be fixed, etc. It's also easy to be slightly cynical and write off small gains like this. Is there a long way to go? Sure. Is the work done in Tennessee's education system? Heck no!

Remember that it'll take us all working together to actually get something done.
The "Grad Nation" report cites "...strong leadership, multi-sector collaboration, innovation, and support and technical assistance for research-based solutions are increasing graduation rates" (Executive Summary, p.5).

To me, this sounds like COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION WORKS. Hopefully you'll join in.

Congratulations, Tennessee!

UNITED WAY TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS EFFORT UPDATE:
The United Ways of Tennessee recently released their report about "Listening to the Community about Effective Teahcers." Learn more about what happened at the summit HERE and from the NASHVILLE NEWS REPORT.

2 schools of thought: Why should we have to choose?

2010-12-02T15:16:00.000-05:00

For all the education geeks out there, you may have picked up on some bantering back and forth (in articles and over the internet, of course--never face-to-face) between 2 major voices in education reform lately:
Bill Gates and Diane Ravitch.
If you check out the links above, you'll see some of the accusatory questions asked by Gates followed by scathing remarks by Ravitch.

It seems like there are 2 schools of thought coming out of their remarks. (Sorry if I'm repeating stuff you already know)
(1) Corporate-style, results-oriented reform (often affiliated are high-stakes testing, teacher accountability, metrics, etc.)
(2) Wrap-around, community-support-driven reform (often affilaited with this are parent/community engagement, shared responsibility for student learning, concerns about poverty and other non-curricular barriers to learning, etc.)
If you know a lot about education, these are generalizations that don't exactly capture everything, but you get the picture.

Depending on who you are, you may be more sympathetic to one side or the other. My point for writing this entry is this:
THEY ARE BOTH RIGHT and WE DON'T NEED TO CHOOSE SIDES.

Should teachers be accountable for their jobs? Yes.
Does poverty impact student learning? Yes.
Should school systems take a close look at how they're spending money to ensure that they eliminate waste? Yes.
Should parents be involved in a student's education? Of course!
Should value-added scores be used as one dimension of a teacher's evaluation? Yes.
Should the community be there to support schools? Yes.

Take the United Way's project here in East Tennessee to build community support for effective teachers in the classroom.

While subscribing to the idea that every child deserves and effective teacher in the classroom every year, we also understand that effective teachers don't exist in a silo.

We've been able to skate between these 2 schools of thought. Here are a few examples of work we've undertaken:

1. Spreading communications about the "Expect More, Achieve More" campaign: Working with people like the PTA, the Knoxville Chamber, Project GRAD, local school systems to talk about the importance of having higher standards in the classroom. We helped to prepare the community for lower test scores and encouraged a variety of community entities to be there to provide extra support services for children who will have a tougher time meeting expectations.

2. Business and Education Partnerships: Working through the Knoxville-area regional coalition, we've put together a business/education subcommittee that's building a document that can be used with area Chambers of Commerce to show examples of how businesses and schools have worked together to achieve mutually-beneficial results. We're presenting at the regional "Partners in Education" conference in February.

3. Giving teachers and the community a voice in the changes coming to schools: We have gone around and held "listening sessions" to hear teachers' and communities' concerns about the teacher effectiveness movement. We will present some of these "ground-level" insights to a group of Department of Education and statewide education reform partners on Friday in Nashville. Additionally, we work with the Knox County Education Association to process through and learn from these listening sessions.

4. Inviting community patners to hold a professional development session with teachers about the hardest-to-reach students and their families: Working with a broad group of community leaders (YWCA, Project GRAD, KCDC, Boys and Girls Club, PTA, Lenoir City Schools Family Resource Center, etc.) and the Knox County School system to have a dialogue about strategies to use IN and OUT of the classroom that helps to overcome some of the challenges associated with poverty and educational attainment.

5. Convening human service providers and school systems to ensure alignment with services provided and school system priorities in Knoxville: The school system is working with the United Way to create a consistent conversation ("critical friendship") with human service and after-school providers so that they can try to get them to align programs and services with strategic goals and objectives within Knox County Schools. At the same time, we're trying to work with the school system to break down bureaucratic barriers that prohibit children from getting the services they need.

6. Working with the media to showcase stories about effective teachers and their practices: Let's show the public that there are a lot of teachers out there that take their jobs VERY SERIOUSLY and work tirelessly to ensure student achievement and success. We've worked with WUOT, WATE, WBIR, and the Knoxville News Sentinel to run stories showcase efforts underway to give teachers the supports they need to be successful.

Some of the work United Way has done "on the ground" through this project has showcased the necessity of both of these paradigms: High Standards / Accountability and Community Support. We're trying not to get mired in the politics of the situation. We're trying to focus on workable community solutions. That's been the "United Way" for a long time.

Let's put politics aside and get some work done on behalf of our children.

Career and Technical Education: Lost in the mix?

2010-11-24T14:00:00.002-05:00

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Earlier this week, I attended a "Career / Technical Education Advisory Board" meeting in Knox County. Looking around the room, I saw quite a few businesses, local union representatives, and people from the Chamber represented. Learn more about the CTE efforts HERE. In fact, this area is fertile ground for BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS in education--something that the United Way / Public School Forum's regional coalition has focused on.

I heard an interesting statistic: Students who do a formal course of study (which basically translates into taking a series of courses in one focused area) in CTE graduate at a 97% rate.

It seems as though there's a resurgence of CTE in some circles, but it seems to be getting lost in the college-ready push. Something close to United Way's heart is ensuring that students can transition into lives of productive adulthood after graduating from high school. CTE offers a path.

Many people don't necessarily realize that there are lots of opportunities to "POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION" in the CTE arena. For instance, the Tennessee Technology Centers are part of the Tennessee Board of Regents. In fact, Bill and Melinda Gates recently visited Tennessee and were MOST impressed with the TN Technology Centers. Heck, some of the local union apprentice programs (Like the Local 760 IBEW) offer education and practical experience for zero dollars.

Am I alone in thinking that CTE feels a bit like the red-headed stepchild?
One of the efforts that recently happened in Knoxville was a simple meeting between CTE professionals and Knox County guidance counselors that encouraged them to get familiar with the Program of Study and encourage some students to go that direction. Someone mentioned at the meeting earlier in the week that guidance counselors sometimes get positive praise from administrators if they encourage a student to apply for college...not so much praise is given if they encourage a student to take the CTE route.

I just hope that CTE doesn't get lost in the push to get everyone graduated and onto traditional 4-year colleges.

IN THE NEWS:
Tennessee ends pre-college savings plans. Check this out, too. It's the related Cash 4 College program.
Transforming rural schools. Wow.
New teacher residency program at UTK gets $2.8 million grant!
Family engagement in the state of TN will now be on report cards.
Higher education partners with West Tennessee schools to help with education reform. What a concept!
Benwood has been hard at work in Chattanooga...and has been working...so they want to expand. Great!
Cleveland, TN schools launch new math initiative. Race to the Top seems to be spurring innovation.
Oak Ridge considers year-round schools.

Race to the Top Implementation, Chattanooga Showcase, a Note About Getting Stuff Done

2010-11-17T18:21:00.001-05:00

THEC tells us how "Race to the Top" is going from their perspective
For those interested in keeping track, this was recently released the Tennessee Higher Education Commission in Nashville.

Chattanooga showcase
Chattanooga's public radio station is highlighting a program done by the Benwood Foundation and the Public Education Foundation in Chattanooga that's aimed at exactly what Tennessee is trying to do: Improve teacher effectiveness. On NOVEMBER 21 from 12 - 2 PM on WUTC (88.1), they will examine how thier initaitive, which is really based around teacher and administrator collaboration, helps teachers get better at what they do. Talk about providing the tools to teachers so they're empowered! How can East Tennessee learn from this program that's received national attention?

Getting Stuff Done Through Shared Leadership
After yesterday's regional coalition meeting at the United Way, I looked around at Sen. Jamie Woodson from the TN Senate, Alene Arnold from SCORE, Jessica Holman from the KCEA, Pam Trainor from the School Board, Jennifer Evans from the Chamber, Karen Davis from the Public School Forum of East Tennessee, Dr. Susan Benner from University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and several school system representatives ALL TALKING about what's happening in the state of Tennessee around education...from AYP scores being released to the new teacher evaluation system.

I started to think: How great is it that these people are all at the same table? Instead of a variety of groups trying to do their own initiatives in isolation, it seemed refreshing that the group talked about SHARED LEADERSHIP. Shared leadership, as many in education will tell you, is essential to getting stuff done. The United Way helped to convene the discussion, but that doesn't mean the United Way has to own it.

Just my reflections from my meeting held yesterday. I was excited. And I posted this. Your thoughts/reactions are welcomed!

First to the Top Coalition, Uncertainty about value-added, Other news

2010-11-15T11:08:00.001-05:00

Many apologies for not updating this blog in quite a while. There are so many things happening in my world, so many things that are up in the air with the new standards, and so many things to give updates on.

First to the Top Coalition
Across the state of Tennessee, there is a "First to the Top" coalition made up of groups from the Hospital Alliance to the TN School Board Association to the United Ways to the Chambers of Commerce to the Broadcast Association that have come together to think of how to support the changes happening under Race to the Top (supporting the schools as test scores drop, making changes to TN's education system that are long-lasting, and making sure the public knows what's happening). After a meeting in Nashville, a few things have become clear...
- Helping the public understand that school-wide scores will likely be lower on the aggregate (and that's OK because we're all in the same boat)
- Parent and Teacher Engagement needs to remain at the forefront of our minds (ESPECIALLY as it relates to the release of school-wide scores AND concrete strategies that will help students do better as the standards went up)
- Accountability for Race to the Top spending and impact
If anyone reading this has an interest in getting your organization involved, let me know.

Uncertainty about value-added
I saw this article about value-added metrics last week.
You're seeing some serious uncertainty about what value-added scores mean and what they don't mean. If you read the comments, you'll get an even better sense of how passionate people get about this area.
This concern around value-added data seems, in large part, to go back to a fear of the limits of standardized testing. Recently, a book was written called Don't Shoot the Messenger: The War on Standardized Testing. By no means am I promoting that everyone go out and read this book, but the preface offers an insight into how heated the argument gets.
There are other sources who weigh in on this... Like THIS from Illinois, THIS from California, and THIS most recently from Boston.
After exchanging many e-mails with some close colleagues, it seems like there should be a serious conversation around the terms that surround value-added. The Department of Education, in conjunction with groups like TEA, SCORE, etc, should be leading this effort to make sure everyone's clear about value-added scores.

In other news...
- What will it look like for TCAPs to be counted as 15-25% of a student's final grade? Murfreesboro struggles to make this a reality.
- What are TN colleges doing to try and prepare teachers better? They're adjusting licensure requirements.
- What if teachers ran schools? Nashville weighs its options.
- In terms of AYP (a calculation of schools "on the list"), the state of Tennessee is struggling with how to keep the Feds happy without losing major resources.
- If you're a teacher and want input on the new teacher evaluation system, check this out.

Higher Education's Involvement in Supporting Teacher Quality

2010-09-27T17:33:00.000-04:00

As many people know, TN received $500 million to support education. As a part of our effort at the United Way, we've been trying to use this as an opportunity to ask people to think about how THEY can be a part of helping to directly supporting teachers in the classroom, as they're often the key to ensuring that children receive an excellent education.

This morning, I attended a meeting that was called by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission in order to help higher education think about how they can support the "Race to the Top" and "First to the Top" reforms happening in TN.

Think of it like this...
Students will be up against higher standards. Teachers are the ones teaching students the higher standards. Colleges and universities teach the teachers. They need to help teachers learn about the new standards.

About 50 higher education leaders today, from Roane State Community College to Lincoln Memorial University to the University of Tennessee, came together to think about how higher education can help through these transitions. There were several concrete things that were shared...(which goes back to the question, "How is this money being spent?")

- Integrating Common Core Standards into Pre-Service Teacher Training (Training college professors to teach the new standards): $1,350,000
- Integrating TVAAS (value added assessment system) into Pre-Service Teacher Training: $1,350,000
- School Leaders Supply and Demand Study (looking at what kind of demands will be on Tennessee's education and what kinds of teachers we need to meet those demands): $172,800
- UTeach Program Replication (getting college students studying math and science connected with teaching EARLY, like as freshmen or sophomores): $4,104,000 (find out more here http://www.state.tn.us/thec/Divisions/AcademicAffairs/uteach/uteach.html)
- College Access and Success Network (creating a college-going culture in Tennessee): $3,240,336 (there's a conference Nov. 4 and 5 in Chattanooga, if you're interested--linked above)
- Teacher Preparation Program Effectiveness Report Card (trying to design a helpful tool for colleges so they can know how well they're preparing teachers): $432,000
- STEM professional development (to help teachers get better at teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math areas): $6,480,000
- Tennessee Consortium on Research, Evaluation, and Development (to help guide education policy based on research-based practices): $3,240,000. Being run by Vanderbilt's National Center for Performance Incentives.

Find more details here: http://www.state.tn.us/thec/Index/rttt/THEC%20&%20RTTT.pdf
Some more information can be found here: http://www.tn.gov/firsttothetop/programs.html

I'm saying all this to prove that HIGHER EDUCATION has been asked to step up their involvement in helping support teachers and overall educational improvement.

Who will be the leaders who step up in higher education to make sure that these things get done? The community should encourage these important institutions to really take leadership on helping teachers be the best they can be and to be accessible to school systems.

Wanted to pass on a news clipping that talks about how a faith-based effort in Knoxville, the Emerald Youth Foundation, got involved in supporting schools and making a difference: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/sep/25/after-school-program-leading-to-results/

Keeping the conversation going...

PTAs, teachers, and the grassroots of "Expect More, Achieve More"

2010-09-18T18:20:00.000-04:00

Over the last several weeks, I've been working with a coalition of local groups (the Chamber, Urban League, the PTA, Tennessee Voices for Children) to go out and do presentations about the higher standards and its impact on parents, students, and teachers. I'm writing this because I wanted to share some thoughts after going out to these meetings. Just my 2 cents...not trying to take myself too seriously...

1. Parents, teachers, and school administrators are receptive to the higher standards movement in Tennessee--as long as it's for real this time. They are worried this is another "fad" in education. Will it be here today and gone tomorrow? Hopefully not.

2. PTA and PTO involvement is pretty low. Being a part of the board of Knox County's Council of PTAs, I assumed that many PTAs (and PTOs) had tremendous attendance. But I realized that, especially in middle and high schools, parental involvement is low. Now more than ever, administrators, teachers, and students NEED PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT. Having spoken off line with some of these parents, it seems like they question whether or not they actually are welcomed in schools. Even if they traditionally haven't been welcomed to the table, the stakes are now too high. I think a nagging parent may be the best thing to help TN achieve these new standards (Disclaimer: Parents can't just assume they know more than the teachers). It's all about WORKING TOGETHER.

3. People just want to know what they need to do to help their children. It's up to schools, PTAs, and other community groups to instruct parents HOW THEY CAN HELP. When asked at a meeting the other night at a West Knoxville elementary school what a parent should be doing, the principal responded with some tried-and-true strategies.
- Ask your child about school
- Check after homework
- Don't be negative about school
- Support what teachers are teaching in the classroom
- Read with your children
- ETC
I think parents wonder, "Is this really what you need me to do?" The answer may well be YES, but it seems like nothing new. To help these children achieve these higher standards, I think there might be an expectation that something MORE is required.

4. What about the outlying counties? It seems like Knoxville, Maryville, Oak Ridge, Lenoir City, Kingsport, Johnson City, Bristol, etc. are really working to get the word out about the higher standards. But what about the counties who don't have as many community groups who are interested in distributing information? Hopefully groups with regional reach (like United Ways, TN Voices for Children, etc.) should be working extra-hard to spread the word. Or else there may be some serious backlash from counties that are slipping off the radar.

5. Spill-over effects (drop-outs, mental health issues, etc.) of higher standards. What happens when my daughter, who has been told that she's above proficient, that she's no longer proficient in math or reading? She may get depressed. What happens when students who were already on the fringe get standards raised on them? Prepare for more drop-outs...or at least plan for how to deal with them. Some of these concerns are perfectly valid, but I'm not sure that we've gotten there yet. Groups like the K-Town Youth Empowerment Network are working to deal with children struggling with mental health issues. Credit recovery is there for students who are struggling. But I'm not sure these systems are built to deal with a serious flood of demand.

6. Teachers are doing their best to get on board and in line with all these new standards, but let's remember that their jobs (and the stakes surrounding their jobs) have been dramatically intensified. They're up against a lot, and the community needs to support them as they are also being expected to approach their jobs with a higher level of sophistication than ever before. As one district-level administrator said in a meeting the other day, "It's time to define clearly the roles that belong to the schools and which roles belong in the community."

Hopefully none of these things are offensive to any group.
It just seems like sometimes ground-level conversations get lost in translation...

Just keep swimming, and we'll be on our way to achieving more in Tennessee's education system.

Teaching to the Test...what it means...what TN is doing about it...

2010-09-08T16:46:00.000-04:00

It's been really busy in my project with the beginning of school, especially with all the "Expect More, Achieve More" campaign and the scores going down as a result. My apologies.
Recently, there was a lot of movement in Los Angeles around releasing INDIVIDUAL TEACHER value-added scores in the newspaper. See information on that HERE and how it drew support from Sec. of Education HERE. It may be a while before that happens in TN, if it ever happens, but it's been interesting to see all the different voices coming out of this conversation

In thinking about this, and as I go out and meet with a lot of people, there's usually someone who ends up asking, "Isn't this all about teaching to the test?" (especially with the new standards coming online in TN). Since news travels fast, I ended up trading a few e-mails with Dr. Stone from the Education Consumer Foundation, an organization that's very supportive of value-added data and testing as a way to hold educational leaders accountable.
I thought the exchange was interesting...I asked whether or not there was research that backed up value-added scores and how reliable they are, assuming you have some students who do not test well. If you're interested, read on...
-----------------------
There are some kids who are not good test takers. Moreover, on any given day, some students will have a bad day. This kind of problem exists with batting averages, passes completed, and all kinds of human phenomena that are measured, reported, and never questioned.
But teacher effect scores are averages of repeated measurements of all students taught by a teacher over a 3-year period. Teacher performance quality is judged by how teachers compare to other teachers. No teacher is likely to have all of the poor test takers and ones having bad days over a period of years.

And if all of these precautions were not enough, there are statistical corrections in the data to prevent spurious outcomes and the results are interpreted conservatively, i.e., only the extremely effective or extremely ineffective are identified as such.

The problem with the question is that it accepts the notion that there exists some [unspecified] indicator of "teacher effectiveness" that is stable and accurately measured, and to which TVAAS teacher effect data can be compared. In truth, there are lots of intuitively appealing ways to assess what teachers do--like extended classroom observations--or to look at how students respond to instruction--like individual interviews with students or very long and thorough performance assessments--but all are fallible and most are far more fallible than standardized tests!

What you need to know is that the tests that are used are fallible but they are given repeatedly such that the false negative scores are canceled out by false positive scores. In the real world, the best estimate of the true quantity of anything is the average of repeated fallible measurements.

Teaching to the test may or may not be a problem--depending on how the testing is done. The problem with "teaching to the test" comes about when a test is constructed to sample a broader domain of knowledge or skill and teachers teach only the specifics of the sample, not the broader domain. Student performance on the sample might look good but the scores are misleading. But when the test items are written fresh every year or they are randomly drawn from some huge pool of items (TCAP does both), the chances of a teacher succeeding through teaching to the test are lowered substantially.
Broadly speaking, we need to get used to the idea that if we are going to get serious about holding teachers and students accountable, we are going to have to get serious about how we do testing. Just like we externally audit things like banks and corporations, we need to audit how testing is being done. Students have been known to cheat. Teachers have been known to behave unethically--doing things like teaching to the test. When the outcome is important and there are potential conflicts of interest, sensible people pay attention.
----------------------
Interestingly, the state of TN was just awarded money from the federal government to work on developing new tests... SEE THAT HERE. So, if we're making better tests, then that might help with the "teaching to the test" critique.
----------------------
By the way, the new Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee has offered its initial recommendations for the new evaluation system HERE.

Principals Matter a Lot...Now What?

2010-08-09T13:52:00.002-04:00

PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT MATTERS to the effectiveness and quality of our teacher. That's becoming common sense, right?

So, given that we know that principal leadership matters, what do school districts do to make sure we have excellent leaders in place to support our teachers?

Announced a while ago, Knox County Schools and UT-Knoxville launched a Center for Educational Leadership. Think of it as "principals in training." This has gotten a lot of attention because of the training of these new folks, but what I think has been left out is what else is included in this principal leadership initiative.

- New principal cohorts run by a principal-in-residence: NOT JUST FOR KNOX COUNTY
THIS COULD BE A REGIONAL EFFORT.
If there would be 25 new administrators from school districts around the region, the contact person (Betty Sue Sparks, bsparks6@utk.edu).

- Based on research of what makes a good principal, Knox County is providing training and support for principals.

- If there is an issue that a principal s/he feels overwhelmed by, the Center for Educational Leadership and Knox County Schools has people ready to help.

- Leadership Resource Center: Building a bank of information and people able to help school administrative leaders.

- Are you a retired school administrator? They might be able to use your help! E-mail bsparks6@utk.edu for information.

There's an increasing amount of responsibilties placed on the backs of principals, but the most important thing is that they SERVE AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER for the school. However, as I understand it, there's an increasing amount of pressure for principals to prove the effectiveness of their work through test scores of their schools. This is a real issue, since some principals may only focus on getting only good scores.

As one of the focus groups of teachers told me earlier this week, THE PRINCIPAL NEEDS TO GET OUT, BE SEEN, and PROVIDE MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK on their classroom strategies. From what I heard in this focus group, rincipals can't just sit behind desks, answer e-mails, and hide behind paperwork.

AN EMERGING ISSUE, especially with a new evaluation system coming down the pike, there is a difference between a NEW EVALUATION TOOL and a NEW EVALUATION PROCESS. A tool is only a tool. A process is a way of doing things differently. Some school system principals may feel that they don't have the time to do a more targeted, constant, on-going evaluation process for EVERY TEACHER EVERY YEAR. However, there's a lot riding on Tennessee's ability to make this happen, which means that principals need more support than ever. Any ideas how to make this happen? I think everyone's listening to any new ideas out there...

In The News
Knoxville's School Board is busy, from surplusing Oakwood School to potentially letting go a teacher to the State's involvement in Austin East HS.

Kingsport City Schools get bigger.

Sullivan County Director of School Jubal wants the community to be involved.

The Niswonger Foundation gets high marks from the federal government in their plan to help more Northeast Tennessee students get ready for a career and college.

Can numbers tell a teacher's value?

New Cut Scores: Hang in there

2010-08-02T09:03:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to call everyone's attention to the fact that the State Board of Education met on Friday to discuss raising cut scores...

FIND OUT ABOUT IT HERE.

For those of you who enjoy reading things straight from the horse's mouth, see the document explaining cut scores and new standards HERE!

There's also a great discussion about "Cut Scores" and "Annual Measurable Outcomes (AMOs)" HERE.

Not much more today, but I wanted to be timely in getting this stuff out to you.

If you're interested in staying in the loop about State Board of Education updates and changes, they have an RSS feed HERE.

BLOUNT TODAY RAN A GREAT PIECE that ties all this stuff together--higher standards, Race to the Top, increased graduation standards, and leadership changes in schools.

It's time for us to show support like never before to schools as they go through these changes. THANKS, teachers, for all you do. THANKS, community, for all the support you give to teachers and schools.

Expect More, Achieve More

2010-07-27T16:54:00.003-04:00

Heads-up: (1) Soap box, (2) In the news, and (3) Listening about effective teachers

(1) Soap box
The bar has gone up.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know that we're expecting more from education in Tennessee. Students have higher expectations (higher graduation requirements, more rigorous tests). Teachers have higher expectations (new evaluation system, evaluated every year). All eyes are on Tennessee. Tennessee is at the cutting edge for education reform--pretty exciting.

We can already see that certain things are on the upswing.
Tennessee has moved up in its ranking about the well-being of our children. When some of these basic indicators improve, I would argue some of that would be attributed to the improving state of education in Tennessee.

Some of these conversations get caught-up in the debate about whether or not the "data-driven accountability movement" is a good thing. For instance, DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee fired over 200 teachers after the implementation of a new teacher evaluation system. The National Urban League and NAACP criticized Obama's administration for being too focused on high-stakes accountability. It's been pretty clear to me that, as this project has evolved, no one agrees on anything with education. That, everyone, is something we can all agree on :-)

I am biased, yes. I think all students deserve a great education. That means supporting teacher effectiveness. That ALSO means supporting parental involvement in education. That also means encouraging positive behavior in the classroom. That also means supporting after-school programs that reinforce learning.

But what we're finally seeing is a state standing up and saying, "We want more from education." We don't always want to be ranked between 45 - 50 in the nation in all the educational rankings. The "Expect More, Achieve More" campaign is not just about more rigorous tests, in my mind. It's about standing up and saying, "We're ready to do anything necessary to ensure that our students get a better education." It's the law. We have to get there. We owe it to our kids. It's not about placing blame, making excuses, and getting frustrated.

It's about working together to improve education.

(2) News
STUFF IN THE NEWS:

Differentiated pay for teachers in Kingsport, TN, in order to comply with Race to the Top.

Race to the Top money: What's it being spent on?
Another good Chattanooga-centric Race to the Top article. Talk about transparency.

United Way of Greater Knoxville and the League of Women Voters hosts school board candidate forum.

First United Way of Greater Knoxville Regional Coalition meeting held.

Teachers learn about abstract concepts thanks to Maryville College and Pellissippi State.

Pittsburgh really wants to invest in teachers.

Kingsport goes "Straight to the Top."

Innovation Valley works to give teachers in-services that help them communicate relevance to students about content areas.

(3)
LISTENING ABOUT EFFECTIVE TEACHERS:
[If you want to do a session with a group of about 5-10 people about what makes an effective teacher, let me know: luterg@unitedwayknox.org]

I've met with a group of teachers, first time parents, and police officers about what makes a teacher effective, and I picked up a few things that I thought I'd share. I didn't anticipate learning all this stuff, but that's what happens when the community voice is heard--that's one major dimension of my project!

1. Teachers need support. We know it's not all about the money. Simple "pats on the back" and encouragement go a long way. If teachers feel like all they hear is complaining from constituent groups and administrators, it doesn't motivate them to be great in the classroom.
2. Some teachers are encouraged to take PRAXIS tests so that they can teach outside of their specialty areas...so sometimes teachers don't always end up teaching subjects they're completely comfortable with.
3. Good teachers care about students and care about being in school. Common sense, maybe, but it seems like people really don't like it when teachers write off certain students because they don't understand something the first time or talk about how much they can't wait until they get a break from the students over a break / weekend (a student commented that when their teacher puts a "Countdown to Fall/Winter/Spring Break," it makes them think that the teacher can't wait to get out of school and get away from them).
4. Professional development and in-services, which provide on-going professional training to teachers, is best done within the school meeting specific needs of teachers. Things perceived to be "useless seminars" aren't helpful, but sometimes they're just used in order to fulfill requirements. Teachers know what they need, and it's up to their school leadership to provide it for them in the building.

Events, Teacher Evals, and Food for Thought

2010-07-14T15:24:00.004-04:00

A few things to share with you...

TUESDAY, JULY 20: Knoxville School Board Candidate Forum (co-sponsored by the United Way and the League of Women Voters)...
Why? These leaders will be making decisions about the future of education in this community. If we expect more from education, then we need to pay attention to who is in office!
7:00 PM
Fulton High School Auditorium in Knoxville
Park on the Broadway side of the building! Districts 7 and 9 will be featured.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21: Community Forum on the Future of Teacher Evaluations
Come get an overview of the new evaluation system and share your feedback about what you hope to see in this evaluation system.
3:30 PM
Holston Middle School Library

MONDAY, JULY 26 and TUESDAY, JULY 27: Straight to the Top Conference in Kingsport
Governor Bredesen, the City of Kingsport, Harvard University, Bill Sanders (the researcher behind TVAAS) and Commissioner of Education Tim Webb team up to talk about how education reform ties in with the economic development of our state.
There is a cost, $99, for one person to attend. $75 per person if you get a group of 4 or more to go.

For those of you interested in what's happening on the new TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM, check out THIS ARTICLE written by the Tennessee Report.
Don't forget that the Tennessee Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee has an active website.

Just food for thought:
IS RTTT MONEY A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD?
Clarksville struggles with this. And I think it's a good point.

If we see Race to the Top as money that is just there to start some flashy programs that aren't sustainable or plugging budget gaps, the money will be wasted.
If we see Race to the Top as a larger movement of raising expectations for teachers, students, parents, community organizations, businesses, and others related to education, it will be a success. This should be a larger community effort where everyone stands up and says, "How can I help?"

Stay cool in this heat!

Response...cont'd

2010-07-07T20:35:00.003-04:00

Here was the reader's 2nd post...

Yeah it'd be great to teach students to perform well on tests but generating questions and making them take more and more of the questions they miss doesn't teach. there has to be instruction (not more testing) in between. So we definitely always use a cycle of analyzing test results, teaching to weaknesses, testing again...that's called "data-driven instruction" by people who feel the need to call it anything besides DUH...but the part that makes a difference is the instruction (based on data) not the data and testing by themselves. The danger, in my experience, is that test, retest consumes all instructional time. That's one thing I saw happen in some classrooms where I worked when they brought in ThinkLink (formative assessment platform).

and YES investing students in the test as something that helps them chart progress instead of something they take for someone else's benefit is a huge part in investing them in the idea of achievement and evidence that they can learn, change, grow, set themselves on a different (stay on a great) track.

The fact that teachers are teaching without understanding the standards is a little upsetting...teaching to standards was always our job - therefore so was understanding them...if they weren't doing that before what in the world were they teaching? macrome? Their own personal version of what a 7th grader should know? So having teachers be sure they understand standards is a great idea that doesn't have to have anything to do with testing.

And, again, involving students in the assessment cycle can only be good for motivation and engagement - they can see evidence that they know more when they work hard, and be proud of it. That's why teachers originally posted student work or had kids visibly track progress. Like I had a chart of number of pages read for independent reading. class averages on weekly quizzes - tangible individual and group evidence of progress...also not necessarily linked to a standardized test, but as proof of growth on a variety of scales.

those are great community involvement ideas and we have tons of examples of them all around, so totally possible. what's pie in the sky is that they aren't more prevalent (how crazy is that!) I'm happy to read some meat and detail behind the sweeping phrase "community involvement"!

I'm putting these comments out there because I think they represent a thoughtful discussion about "teaching to the test." Not meant to be critical of the work being done in Hamblen, just a peek into how some people think about it.

Response to the last posting

2010-07-07T18:09:00.003-04:00

Hey, folks. I had a great exchange with someone who gets this blog and wanted to share it in the spirit of openness and the value of free-flowing ideas to make discussions stronger...

In no way is this meant to offend, but it's to highlight some of the on-the-ground conversations that people are having about the "teaching to the test" phenomenon. This is all up for debate...

READER'S ORIGINAL RESPONSE
Sounds like teachers engaging students in a test-retest cycle that is instruction free. Feedback and scores are different than instruction, and are only important if accompanied by specific targeted instruction- targeted test questions don't teach no matter how many online banks generate. I wonder how much time is spent taking tests, reviewing tests and retaking tests that could be spend engaged in authentic (real life) instructional activities that encourage a learning-orientation instead of a performance -orientation...something the motivation folks talk about when they study what students do well on tests and beyond (learning-orientation) instead of kids that stress about tests, but just learn material to perform well, not to internalize or apply or accumulate knowledge. I want to hear more about how these teachers used extra loads of testing and questions to make their teaching (rather than their testing) better.

Also, what do you see the community's role being in supporting teacher innovation? Can you be more specific about help and support?

MY RESPONSE (to the original response)

You’re right that they are looking at the test to help students master concepts. In some ways, some people may be thinking this is the epitome of “teaching to the test,” and they may be right. (At the risk of sounding like a testing guru) if we can devise tests to assess the concepts we want students to learn, and incorporate critical thinking, what’s wrong with teaching students to perform well on those tests? This model also seemed to make testing not seem as hard-nosed as the typical high-stakes testing you normally hear about. If you can get students to see a test as honestly a barometer of where they are, with the opportunity to go back and work on concepts that they’re not understanding, it might make testing a bit less intimidating.

I’ll be up front with you in telling you that their presentation was about how they assess student learning—not on their teaching strategies. So there very well may be more to the equation that I don’t know about…

These teachers started off in thinking about whether or not teachers understood the state standards in a way that would allow them to teach more in line with what the standards lay out. So, he gave me an example of where he was misreading some of the standards and was therefore teaching out of sync with what kids would see on the test. Again, this does smack of “teaching to the test.” But it’s important to think about whether or not teachers understand the very standards they’re trying to teach to the students. So, in their quest to do standards-based assessment, he uncovered this major issue. A good thing, I think.

Also, a cool point they brought up was when students get back a bad test grade, they usually throw it away and try to forget it. They’re trying to encourage students to go back, look at what you missed, and work hard to understand and master that concept so that they don’t’ fall behind…

I think there are a couple of ways the community can support teacher innovation and teacher effectiveness.

Parents: Be asking questions to your kids about what they’re learning. Be actively trying to follow what your child is learning in school. Ask teachers how they can best reinforce class concepts in the kids are learning at school. Plug into data that teachers provide to give them accurate pictures of where their students are re: learning.

Businesses: Help fund data systems. Provide teachers internships either during the year or during the summer that would allow them to see the relevance of course concepts. Make themselves available to guest teach some concepts. Provide real-world learning opportunities for students through class projects.

Non-profit agencies: Reinforce concepts in after-school programs. Make intentional attempts to touch base with school administrators to find out how they’re teaching concepts. Share their experiences in how they present concepts to students. Align program objectives with school curricular and extra-curricular objectives.

Are these pie in the sky? They’ve been on my mind a lot.

See the reader's 2nd response in my next post...
My post got too big and it won't let me post it all!

Teachers Changing the Test + Other Updates

2010-06-28T10:12:00.004-04:00

I've said this before, but: Teachers are up to some great things in the summer.

Last week, I got the honor attending the Niswonger Foundation's School Success Symposium. This massive group of about 150+ teachers from Northeast Tennessee gave up a day out of their summer "vacation" (term used loosely) to share best practices ON THE GROUND. After all, teachers are usually a good source of information of what works in a classroom setting.

At this gathering, I learned about 2 teachers at West View Middle School, Chris Greene and Daniel Lemelin, who used what their calling "STANDARDS BASED ASSESSMENT." What does that mean?
They describe it HERE!
Basically, structure your tests to actually test specific Tennessee state standards. If students miss questions specific to one standard, tell them what they're missing. Offer remediation on that specific standard. [They have VIDEO TAPED lessons and use them to offer extra help to students that they can use at their own pace...using HyperCam 2...now, that's technology in the classroom]

Chris Greene's website is impressive. Chris and Daniel admitted that this kind of work takes some extra work but is worth it in the end and ultimately (1) saves them time later and (2) helps their students learn better.

These teachers restructured the way they put together tests, how they ask questions on tests, and how they give SPECIFIC, DETAILED feedback to students about what skills they understand and which ones they need work on. They swear by EdInformatics.com, a resource available on the Internet that shares banks of test questions that are more targeted to specific concepts.

Why was this interesting?
It was a case of 2 teachers who stopped, reflected on the way they teach their students, how they test their students, and realized they needed to change what they were doing in order to meet their students' needs.
This is becoming the new norm for teachers. That's what these education reforms in Tennessee are all about--empowering teachers to do more of this kind of work; having leaders in the school that support teachers like this; raising the bar in education in Tennessee. For the most part, teachers are on BOARD with these things. We, as the community, need to make sure, though, that we're giving teachers the help and support they need to be able to meet these new, changing, evolving, rising standards.

Some interesting things I came across in the news:

Kingsport + Harvard: Coming together to share innovative educational improvement strategies
An unlikely team of people come together in late July to share how their community came together and got serious about education reform, which includes their work with NE State Tech Community College.

Sullivan County Teacher honored
Sullivan County has the Aerospace Teacher of the Year in their JROTC program. Another example of the great educators in our area.

Knox County's Teacher Advancement Program Expands
An innovative program in Knoxville that's all about providing incentives for teachers to collaborate, think about how to constantly improve teaching strategies, and raise the bar for student learning was expanded earlier this month. 75% of teachers in these schools voted to participate in this program.

TCAPs really matter
The legislature voted in a measure that would make TCAPs a substantial (between 15 - 25 %) part of a student's final grade. Some people may be interested to know this.

Lowest achieving schools
The federal money ($500 million) TN received to improve education (known as "Race to the Top") is meant to help turn around TN's lowest performing schools. Nashville's public radio did this story talking about what TN hopes to do with those funds.

First to the Top Implementation committee
The governor appointed a committee to make sure the $500 million gets spent wisely. Local folks are well-represented on this committee:
Jim McIntyre, Knox County Schools Superintendent
State Sen. Jamie Woodson, (R), Knox County
Linda Irwin, Niswonger Foundation
Gary Mabrey, Johnson City Chamber of Commerce

If anyone has anything else to share, please do so! Until next time...

The laudry list of teacher responsibilites + other "Did you know" questions!

2010-06-11T10:37:00.002-04:00

One thing I've heard a LOT in my conversations with teachers is that teachers cannot teach unless they are able to focus on TEACHING--not a bunch of other things (fighting obesity, serving as parents, serving as guidance counselors, etc.). I've written about this before. Teacher effectiveness has a lot more complex components to it aside from just professional development, and evaluation system, and student test scores.

So, let's try to do something about it.
In many cases, a LOT of human service agencies are involved within schools, but not everyone in a school knows all what happens within that school. An information management problem, right?

Dr. McIntyre, through his strategic plan, has tried to get the school system to address this. But we know that they need help and cooperation from human service agencies.

JUST YESTERDAY...
The United Way, along with MANY OTHER GROUPS in the Knoxville community, has been trying to pull together human service providers and put them in communication with the schools. In fact, just yesterday, several key groups came together at Tennessee Voices for Children:
- East Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (Run by a man by the name of Lindsey Cody, Lindsey.Cody@tn.gov). Brings together over 150 people from various agencies who identify as "Child Advocates."
- K-Town Youth Empowerment Network (Run by a man named Mark Wolf, MWolf@tnvoices.org). Working to build a "System of Care" for 14-21 year old young adults who have been diagnosed with severe emotional disturbance.
- Knoxville Youth Transition Council ( run by a man named Jim Griffin, JGriffin@tnvoices.org). Focuses on how children transition out of state custody and into adulthood.
- Dept. of Children Services Community Action Board (run by a woman named Carren Pirtle, carren.pirtle@tn.gov). Focuses on how to bring community resources to children and families in need (everyone from the Sheriff's office to the Compassion Coalition).
- Knox County Schools (and their staff member, Missy Massie, who is over student support services)
- United Way and its partner agencies (who has a lot of partner agencies whose child and adult clients, in some cases, touch many human service providers).
- Knoxville Juvenile Courts

We're all sitting around the table, learning about one another, and figuring out that Knoxville has a lot happening already...but it's hard to get everyone to connect.

It seems that this conversation is getting larger and more inclusive...which will hopefully result in children getting the services they need...which will hopefully help take some things off of the plates of teachers...

Does your school system do anything like this? Leave a comment or e-mail me!

SOME UNLIKELY THINGS / NEWS I CAME ACROSS THIS WEEK

- Did you know that the Boys and Girls Club in Knoxville has access to teacher in-services and professional development? Thanks to Rodney Russell, the person in charge of Professional Development for Knox County, he connected with the B&G Club to make sure they had access to information that teachers had.
WHY? Since their staff do a lot of enrichment of kids who attend schools, they should have access to information that will help them reinforce what happens in the classroom.
Strange connection at first, but it starts to make sense. That's "thinking outside the box."

- Did you know that UT's Ag Extension is working with teachers across TN to help with financial literacy curriculum? The Ag Extension model of UTK has transformed and might surprise you. Tennessee's new standards require financial management classes to be taught across the state. UTK is helping teachers to be able to deliver such courses.

- Did you know that Kingsport is looking at switching School Board meeting forums to the evening? A recent town hall meeting held in the evening drew 180 people. More public support and awareness for education? Maybe evening meetings would help.

- Did you know that teachers were working on SATURDAY, JUNE 5 (a Saturday in the summer!!??) to talk about how their evaluation system will change? This article showcases how teachers voices are being heard as their evaluation system will change dramatically.

- Did you know that an accomplished and now retired principal will be helping to teach new principals what it takes to be successful? Betty Sue Sparks is helping to share her experiences in Knoxville's new principal leadership academy. Different skills are required to be a principal, and she's helping train new principals to get those skills.

SORRY THERE'S SO MUCH. It's just an exciting time to be involved in this as Tennessee's education system continues to improve. Stay tuned...

Listening Sessions, Principal Award, and United Way on TV!

2010-06-02T13:56:00.002-04:00

Listening Sessions: You Can Help!
As a part of this project, the United Way is looking at listening to the community about what effective teachers do, how to define them, and how to best support teachers.

Do you want to help?
The United Way of Greater Knoxville could use your help in setting up 45-minute to 1-hour listening sessions with many groups in the community to ask them about how to define quality teachers, uncovering stories about effective teachers that you had, and how you can help support teachers as they strive to be the best educators for children.

E-mail me at luterg@unitedwayknox.org! If you know a group of people you think would be interested, please pass on my contact information.

Sevier County Principal Honored
Congratulations to Cookie Greer who was honored by the National Association of Elementary School Principals as Tennessee's Distinguished Principal. She is principal at John Sevier Middle School.
You can also see some educators who were honored for high value-added scores here. Awarded by the Education Consumers Foundation.

United Way on TV!
Last night, I did a spot for WBIR's Newsmakers segment. But there have been a few spots on community TV that explain the project I'm working on...
WBIR Newsmakers
Community TV: An overview

Few things in the news

2010-06-01T09:32:00.002-04:00

I've caught some things in the news recently that I thought some people might want to pick up on. They're somewhat related to the changing nature of the teaching profession and what we expect from our educators.

WATE: What We Expect From Teachers (same reporter who did the story on the Teacher Advancement Program)
We expect a lot from teachers these days, and this report looks at the issues surrounding these increasing expectations.

Making Local Education Data More Accessible
A group named the Education Consumers Foundation tries to help parents use data in order to help them work with their child's teacher. David Coffey, who generally supports the ECF, recently published THIS GUEST COLUMN in support of Oak Ridge Schools in the context of TN education reform efforts.

Stand for Children, a group based in Nashville, is holding a training TOMORROW, 6/2 at 11 AM CST for parents and child advocates on using the Tennessee data system (TVAAS). You have to join their organization to get access to the training, but it seems interesting.

Education officials met last week in Nashville to talk about the "legacy" of Race to the Top, the $500 million given to the state of TN. Commissioner of Education Tim Webb hopes that the legacy is increasing expectations for education in the state of TN.

Keep your eye on this group, the Education Delivery Institute. Sir Michael Barber, former education advisor to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, spoke at an event at Vanderbilt University (presumably the First Amendment Center) co-sponsored by SCORE's founder Sen. Bill Frist. This article alludes to Gov.Bredesen's interest in Michael Barber.

Also keep your eye on the TN Commission that's revamping the teacher evaluation system. They're meeting regularly.

I know there's a lot out there, but this information seems really relevant as reform really gets underway in TN.

Happy belated Memorial Day to everyone. Thanks to our servicemen and women who protect out way of life.

School is over, but...

2010-05-25T16:00:00.003-04:00

Learning Continues!
I was pleased to see this in the News Sentinel today. I was just in a meeting with people from the media, and they said that many viewers and listeners don't seem to be interested in education stories in the summer because they're out of place. But summer is not a time to stop learning...it's where the learning continues in different ways. The Knox County Library gets it...

Leads me to another point...

-TEACHERS don't stop learning.
Summer is often a time for teachers to catch up on what's called "professional development" (basically, a term for the process where teachers can learn about the best strategies for helping their students learn--they learn about best practices and techniques that are effective in helping students learn).

I've talked to quite a few teachers, and many of them plan on taking classes, doing internships, reading, and talking with other teachers about how to improve. For example....

One teacher at Pond Gap Elementary is organizing a book study with 5 other teachers over a 4-week period.
The Niswonger Foundation is hosting a day-long conference in June that features teachers who have proven to be effective in the classroom. They get a chance to teach other teachers about what they do.
Some teachers in the area will act as researchers through a program run by Siemens.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE TEACHERS ARE DOING OVER THE SUMMER? Please leave comments.

- STUDENTS don't stop learning.
Plenty of students will be doing various things (jobs, sports teams, summer school, reading groups, etc.) to keep learning. In fact, I just learned about one program today run by Knox County Schools called "Schooled for Success." A 2-day internship for students with businesses! Girl Scouts are doing more than you might think. The Baker Center has a 2-week high school internship. Lots of community organizations do things in the summer to keep kids learning, but as parents and community members, we should try and make them see the connections with what they've been learning all year in the classroom.

Stuff I've learned
Honestly, there's too much to list. But I will say that KUB's program in place to help students get practical experience are really impressive--TeenWork. It's at Austin East HS. Something for area businesses to consider as they think about getting involved with education.
TVA has a CadNet program at Gibbs High School that engages students in real-world problem-solving environments where they learn about CAD--Computer-Aided Drafting.
Thanks to Ahnna Estes at the Knoxville Chamber for pointing out these resources.

Happy summer, everyone.

Roane County Talks Education

2010-05-17T08:19:00.002-04:00

Roane County Proclaims that "Education Matters"
One thing was clear at the Roane County Education Summit held on Wednesday, May 12 at Roane State Community College:
EDUCATION MATTERS TO EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING. But in particular, it impacts:
- Quality of life (personal wealth, how long you live, standard of living)
- Economy (economic stability, the vitality of businesses, employment levels)
Roane County's summit talked about the various reasons why Roane County citizens should care about education (publications like Education Crossroads have tried to convince citizens about the importance of education in the past).

Knoxville's Great Schools Partnership Chair Buzz Thomas (offered the keynote) said that Roane County (and all counties in Tennessee) should do 3 things to raise the bar in education:

(1) Measure standards and scores against the US and the world (not just your neighbors like Knox, Blount, Jefferson county)
(2) Make sure every student in Roane County can seek some story of post-secondary education (fancy word for education AFTER high school)
(3) We've got to get entrepreneurial! Our government will NEVER fund education at the level that it should. Businesses, people, and other institutions must get involved because education matters to everyone.
He pointed to the KnoxAchieves (privately funded) program (that's being replicated in Blount County) that allows students to get a mentor and financial assistance to attend community college.

Race to the Top Updates
More school systems are rolling out their plans for how to spend their part of the $250 million that will be given out to school districts. A lot of it seems to be focused on teacher and school leadership plans, academic coaches, funding to start more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and specific projects to improve student performance in areas where schools aren't currently doing as well in.
Greene County's school board approved their plan.
Knox County's plan can be found here.
Just as a reminder, here's HOW MUCH MONEY EACH DISTRICT WILL RECEIVE.

Some interesting things I came across this week:
Vols4STEM: Joe Carson (from the Department of Energy) has been working through STEM professional societies to coordinate involvement in the schools. What's going on in the schools? FIND OUT HERE. If you know anyone who can help with this, POINT THEM HERE.

A Miracle Grassy Fork Elementary School?: Located in Cocke County, Grassy Fork Elementary School went through a transformation after getting a $350 per year per student investment from the Niswonger Foundation. It was a failing school. High poverty. It couldn't be saved. Sound familiar? The doom and gloom story ends with an on-going happy story. Now, it's one of the highest performing schools in the state. They were recently recognized for the 3rd highest value-added scores in K-8 institutions in East Tennessee by the Education Consumer's Foundation.

Knox County Recognized by TN PTA

2010-05-10T14:53:00.002-04:00

Knox County and Knoxville were recognized at the PTA's state meeting from April 30 - May 2 in Nashville. Among the award winners...

Dr. Jim McIntyre, Outstanding Superintendent of the Year
Sallee Reynolds, Outstanding Principal of the Year
Cedar Bluff PTSA, Outstanding Middle School PTA
Hardin Valley Academy, Outstanding High School PTA
Knox County Council of PTAs, Outstanding PTA Chapter

More information on how you can get involved in PTA (and NO you don't have to be a parent to join) can be found HERE!

Food For Thought...

2010-05-07T11:24:00.002-04:00

Getting into the education scene means a lot of reading through news stories, blogs, etc. I try to keep them fairly local so that people in East Tennessee care about the content I deliver.

But there are 2 things that have come across my e-mail from people in the community that might be worth considering.

High Scores Don't Always Mean High Achievement. This point was brought up at a collaboration meeting I was privy to earlier this week. Some teachers commented, "This student performed well on this test, but I know they're not my top-performing student. But the test shows it, so I can't get them extra help." Rock and a hard place...

Gifted Children Are Sometimes Left Behind in School Reform. I've heard from some people that they feel like education reform is about the lowest-performing students, but what about the high-achieving students? Programs exist to encourage honors students, but some say it doesn't go far enough. When some groups protest adding honors classes, you quickly see how political it gets. Is that to say that the NAACP hates honors classes? No. But they want to see more done to close the achievement gap, given their stance in that case.

Hopefully the United Way can be a platform for these sticky issues to get worked out on a regional level.

Race to the Top Money; Teacher Thoughts

2010-05-05T11:22:00.002-04:00

Race to the Top Updates
The TN Board of Education is really gearing up for a lot of changes, among them building a longitudinal database to give a "360-view" of a child, creating a "district" for chronically low-performing schools, figuring out how to get value-added data for Pre-K to 2nd grade, and so on.

One thing that some people are asking: How will school districts use the Race to the Top money that's coming to the states over 4 years?
Proposals are due to the state by next week, but some school districts are sharing this in an open way. Plus, they are spending it in 4 key areas:
- Standards and assessments
- Data systems
- Helping create and foster great teachers and leaders
- Turning around low-performing schools
A GREAT OVERVIEW of RTTT in TN IS AVAILABLE HERE. This presentation was given to directors of schools and superintendents...

Sullivan County's Board of Education just approved a plan for how the money will be spent. Do you know of any other school districts who are sharing their work? Please post comments about it...I don't know it all, trust me. I literally just heard this on the radio headed home yesterday from Tri-Cities.

Teacher Voices
Through this project, I want to make sure I meet with as many teachers and go to as many schools as possible. Teachers should be at the center of any conversation around education. My mom is a 30-year educator, so she makes sure I keep this in mind!

- TAP Program: A couple of weeks ago, I talked with a group of teachers in a Knox County elementary who work at a school where there is a program called "TAP" in place. It's basically a system that allows teachers to have constant feedback on their performance. There are also different levels of teachers who are constantly receiving high marks, by student performance and by performance as a professional. These teachers basically said that this teaching system allows them to have CONSTANT feedback on what they're doing well and what they need improvement on. It's an "environment of collaboration and communication." Knox County has plans through the Great Schools Partnership to expand this program in schools, along with other initiatives. It certainly seems like the teachers in that school had great things to say about it. Cheers to Great Schools and Knox County for this! Have you heard about this program? What have people been saying about it?

- Schools are an image of society: Talking to a group of middle school teachers yesterday in Kingsport, it came across loud and clear: A LOT IS CHANGING IN EDUCATION, but it's not only the laws that have changed. It's the students, too. Not surprisingly, students are more distracted by video games, cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, X-Box, etc. Hopefully I'm not dipping into controversial waters here, but it's clear that our teachers have a lot more to deal with than just teaching and learning. Teachers often serve in many roles: dietitians (to combat obesity), counselors (to combat mental health issues and attention-deprived students), clothing police / enforcement (because the school system tells them to), school supplies supplier (because students sometimes aren't prepared, for whatever reason), parent (because the parent may be absent), mentor (because they may need a positive adult role model), values-builder, cell phone police, etc. There's just a lot more to the picture these days. Society changes. What we expect from our teachers evolves, yet the education system kind of stays the same. Hence, the RTTT call for innovation in education.

This is an on-going conversation, of course, but it's certainly all part of the picture. Nothing is ever as simple as it appears.

P-16s: People in the community coming together

2010-04-30T18:09:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday night, I was really taken back by a meeting of interested community members in Loudon County. In a meeting room at a local church, about 15 - 20 people came together around making education a top priority in Loudon County.

Looking around, there are people from local banks, local businesses, retired teachers, people from Pellissippi State, the Loudon County Director of Schools, Health Education Alliance Loudon, current Loudon County School administrators, parents, the county property assessor, Leadership Loudon members, ETC. See where I'm going?

These people are coming together to try and formulate a P-16 Council. These councils are typically run out of community colleges (part of the Tennessee Board of Regents system of higher education) and offer a voice to the community in education. A very active regional group is the Mid-East P-16. They're also well-connected to the Hamblen County P-16...a group that literally painted the town with EDUCATION (legend has it that even grocery clerks were asking customers if they supported education!). They've helped to identify where the community can go with education as a connection point with many other things.

Everyone at the Loudon meeting had to decide on a vision for the group.
Within 5 minutes, it was clear: Making education a top priority in Loudon.
All coming from different perspectives, they all agree that education is necessary for an economically successful and healthy community that has a high quality of life. Their next meeting is in May...contact Debbie Henry from Health Education Alliance Loudon.

Conversations like these are happening all over the area. See groups like the Blount Education Initiative. With all these things popping up, the real challenge will be to ALIGN these conversations in hopes that we can help raise the bar for education in TN.

You, too, can help to lead some of these conversations in your community. Hopefully the United Way can be a part of unifying the community around the importance of education in TN.

For Knox County readers... McIntyre Meeting Tonight

2010-04-26T11:15:00.002-04:00

Superintendent McIntyre will be having a community forum TONIGHT at 6 PM. Here are the details:

Location: Karns High School, 2710 Byington-Solway Road
Date / Time: TONIGHT, 4/26, 6:00 PM
Description: To hear and discuss community, employee, parent, and student comments and insights about Knox County Schools.

Meetings like this give the community a voice in education! Hope you can make it!

Data-driven schools

2010-04-23T12:31:00.003-04:00

Using data to make decisions is certainly not a new thing in society, but it's certainly a newER thing in education.

The business community has become increasingly involved (going back to the '80s in the Bush-1 presidency) in education for a variety of reasons, but one of them is certainly workforce development (see the Knoxville Chamber, Johnson City Chamber, the Roane County Chamber, and Sullivan County). I'm no "business in education" expert, but you can see from businesses like State Farm, Eastman Chemical, and Nuclear Fuel Service (see GOAL card program) that businesses have an increasing stake in education. Knox County has a "Partners in Education" program that allows businesses to get involved with education.

Data is something that is on the minds of a lot of people interested in education in East Tennessee.

- TVAAS: The TN Value-Added Assessment System, designed by a professor at UT, aims to show how much value-added gains students make in a year. This data system will now be used to evaluate teachers. Details are still being developed as to how... This system, along with the group Education Consumers Foundation, is receiving a lot of attention now that TN was awarded $500 million dollars to improve education in TN.

- Education Management Information System: Certainly related to TVAAS, this system is designed to make over 20 databases of information talk to each other in Knox County Schools in an effort to translate DATA into KNOWLEDGE. Knox County is still getting reports about the project's progress. Administrators and teachers in Knox County can seek training through the online professional development tool.

- Professional Learning Communities, or targeted groups of teachers in schools that collaborate about how they teach concepts to make sure students are learning the content, use this kind of data to tweak teaching strategies. Knox County wants to make sure these are used.

Education is changing.

How can we, as the community, best support these changes? It's all about making sure teachers are supported so that their students can succeed academically.

Join the discussion.

In the end, schools should be FUN, right?

2010-04-16T10:31:00.004-04:00

Hey again, everyone. Lots happening.

For those of you interested in national stuff, Florida is a HOT place...not only for weather, but for teacher tenure. Guess what, though. Gov. Crist vetoed a bill that would have eliminated tenure (and done a bunch of other things that a lot of teachers seemed to not like).

Interested in Race to the Top implementation?
You can see an estimate of how much MONEY each district will get. Your school system would have to APPLY for how they plan to spend the money and an implementation committee will oversee that they money is being spent on those things that Race to the Top tries to target. According to the state, that means "provid[ing] a structure for struggling schools to have access to 'high quality' content and course delivery providers." The implementation team, from what I can see, hasn't been decided on yet.

Teachers, interested in how your evaluation tool will change?
The Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee has a website and is trying to make their process transparent. I'm trying to work with the KCEA to make sure local teachers can have input in this process. Still developing this...

The Coalition of Large Area School Systems (a group designed to make sure large districts talk to each other) will be holding a meeting this month in Knoxville to look at the Teacher Advancement Program and what it might teach TN about changing its evaluation system.

ALL THROUGH THIS, I've been meeting with a lot of people, from superintendents, teachers, business folks, etc. about so many things. Here are some things people have made clear:

- Teaching and learning should be FUN. But with teachers running 100 miles per hour every day, it's hard to just slap more requirements on teachers and expect them to be on board.

- Many people and groups try to SUPPORT teachers, but we don't stand together. Science and math teachers can look at Oak Ridge Associated Universities and Knoxville's Vols 4 STEM. Social studies, civics, and reading can look at innovative programs like the East TN Historical Society's programs. If you're a business and want to get involved, Chambers of Commerce and Partners in Education programs allow access. If you want after-school programs and other interventions, non-profits like the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club (excluding many here, I know, but it's long enough already) usually will help. BUT IT ALL SEEMS DISCONNECTED. How can we expect teachers to digest it all?

If you're interested in having a relaxed conversation about supporting teachers, I'll be at Barley's in the Old City in Knoxville on THURSDAY, April 22 @ 7 PM. Intimate discussions can help us all think through this stuff. Come one, come all.

If you're interested in holding a discussion about how we can work together to connect these dots, please contact me! luterg@unitedwayknox.org or call me directly at 865-521-5575.

This conversation can't only be driven by me. The community has to be leading it. Help me to get that going.

We need translation...

2010-04-02T13:28:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since the last post--my apologies.

As a starter, I'd like YOU to be involved in this conversation. Please COMMENT on things that you think about as you read!

Probably the biggest news in education: Tennessee wins Race to the Top, or $500 million to improve education in TN. If you want to know what made TN so impressive, check out the comments by the grant reviewers. Straight from the horse's mouth! The teacher's union was on board and all school systems are signed on to mobilize the troops for education reform.

Onto more local interest stuff...

Having spent a lot of time traveling around the region to listen and learn from teachers, business, education, and community leaders, it it becoming clear that people interested in education speak a couple different languages.

1. Business and Education
When educators say words like "accountability," "curriculum," and "standards," they may be thinking of very different things than the business community. So when we're not necessarily speaking the same language, it makes things more difficult.

2. Rural, urban, and metro
We may think we know what these terms mean, but some of them are actual classifications. Some of them are a combination of rural AND urban. Teachers from more rural areas seem to be extra-worried that they will be "lost in the shuffle" with all the changes coming down the road (TN Diploma Project, new teacher evaluation system, salary schedules, etc.). At the same time, urban teachers seem to be extra-worried about the exact same thing. There seems to be a divide between these classifications, but there may be more in common than common knowledge may let on.

I continue to learn about all kinds of great things happening around the region, from the Academic Village in Kingsport to the Hamblen County Excel P-16 project in Hamblen County to the TeachHere project in Chattanooga and Knoxville. There also seems to be some great work going on through the Public School Forum of East Tennessee, a group that is very supportive of education reform that yields high standards in TN. A lot of people care about education in this area.

Let's continue to think about how we can all stay on the same page so that no one, including students, are left out of the picture...

Share comments, I urge you : )

Teacher Quality: What are we talking about here?

2010-03-19T11:47:00.004-04:00

There is so much going on in education this week, especially in Tennessee. This isn't a complete list of happenings, but it's a sketch.

NATIONAL STUFF: First of all, the Obama Administration releases its Blueprint for fixing No Child Left Behind. People are worried about what this law would mean (see the comments on that article) for our schools.

STATE STUFF: Next, Knox County Superintendent Dr. James McIntyre testifies (this link is about the process--the interviews aren't yet available online) with others on behalf of the Tennessee's application for millions of dollars to reform education in our state. The TN Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee met yesterday (according to this SCORE Blog post)--not sure what they talked about, though. The elected vs. appointed school superintendent bill always spurs controversy.

This is all interesting if you're REALLY INTO EDUCATION.

But, as I continue to talk to people in East Tennessee, especially some non-traditional parties who have a stake in education, it's not really at the top of the list.

One thing that IS of interest to a lot of people is what exactly we expect from our teachers. Do we have a definition of teacher quality in our state? The TN Advisory Committee will be dealing with that, but there other factors at play that will have a say (like the Memphis Gates grant, the Chattanooga Public Education Foundation, etc.)...

The United Way of Metro Nashville has been working with their school system to have a definition of "teacher effectiveness" that everyone can agree on (seems nearly impossible, eh?). I wanted to share it here...

"Effective teaching produces authentic and purposeful learning through which students gain an average of at least one year of academic growth as measured on standardized tests, and successful teachers possess the following characteristics:
- A strong belief that all students can learn along with high expectations of all students
- Knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject matter and teaching
- Collaborates with other teachers, administrators, parents and education professionals to ensure student success; benchmarks against best practices already established in research.
- Utilizes effective communication strategies with students and parents
- Contributes to positive academic, attitudinal and social outcomes for students such as regular attendance, on-time promotion/graduation, self-efficacy, and cooperative behavior.
- Monitors student progress using both formative and summative measures and adapts instruction as needed.
- Employs multiple sources of evidence for use in grading and evaluating students.
- Uses diverse resources to plan and structure engaging learning opportunities."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Is this reflective of what we expect from teachers in East Tennessee?

Of course, there are a lot of school systems that are trying to think about how to measure various dimensions of "quality teaching" (see Cincinnati, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, etc.). We'll get to that later, but I'm wondering if there's an agreement on what we expect from teachers. Stay tuned for Chattanooga, too. More to come on that...

Big wheels keep on turning...

Learning a lot...

2010-03-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

I've now been in this position for about a month. One thing I've learned is: People in East Tennessee CARE about supporting quality teaching.

Just a short listing of all the organizations that care about supporting quality teaching (there are many more, but this is just a sampling):
- Public School Forum of East Tennessee
- Hamblen County P-16 Council (other P-16 Councils around the region exist)
- Blount Education Initiative
- Education Consumers Foundation
- Niswonger Foundation
- ALL THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS
- Leadership Knoxville (and organizations like it)
- Chambers of Commerce (the business community)
- Eastman Chemical Foundation
- Cornerstone Foundation
- PTA (local, regional, and state)
- The Literacy Imperative
- The Dollywood Foundation
- Tennessee Education Association (and local affiliates)
- Youth Action Council in Knoxville
- Public Education Foundations (Great Schools Partnership in Knoxville, Oak Ridge Education Foundation, Maryville City Schools Foundation, etc.)
- THE LIST COULD GO ON.
I'm hoping to compile all these groups with websites and contact information and link off of the United Way of Greater Knoxville website. Stay tuned to that.

Do YOU know of anyone that should be included? E-mail me! luterg@unitedwayknox.org

As I think about moving forward with this community-driven project to support teachers, I'm thinking of having people consider 3 things:

1. What are some successes in supporting teachers that you want to share?

2. What is it that we (as a community) want from teachers?

3. What is it that we (as a community) can give back to a school to make it successful?

If you want to get involved, comment! Contact me! We hope many people get involved in this discussion.

Let's hope this gray sky goes away. I'm ready for spring!

Welcome!

2010-03-09T13:53:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the United Way of East Tennessee's blog about teacher quality.

The United Way of Tennessee is engaged in a project through the United Way Worldwide to support teacher quality. We are building regional coalitions of people interested in supporting teachers in their path to becoming the most effective and highest quality teachers possible.

This blog is designed to be a way to share information related to building the coalition, discover teaching strategies that are working, and encourage community discussion about teacher quality.

Please feel free to comment and recommend discussion pieces. You can e-mail me, the Education Project Coordinator for the East Tennessee region, Gavin Luter, at luterg@unitedwayknox.org.

Stay tuned. Thanks for your interest.