Educational Neanderthals

Liz Garrigan's opinion piece in today's City Paper takes on Metro Nashville Education Association President Erick Huth. Having observed this man for many years now I found her piece spot on. I especially liked her comments on his comment that charters cherry pick students. The truth is charters are gleaning the ground for the students that have fallen off the MNPS educational tree. Further they are finding that these children are not too bruised to still be successful. Educational Neanderthals just let these children fall to the ground to rot and yet still demand that no one else pick them up and salvage them. MNEA should be encouraging charters as part of the team effort of educating all the children because professional educators are all about ensuring the children get what they need.

Garrigan does the piece interview style. Here's one of several questions:

Can you share with us where your passion for counterrevolution began?

(Pauses to answer his early-model Nokia cell phone.) I remember being very young and hearing about this thing called Xerox. It was coming in to replace the Ditto machine, whose smell of wet ink made me simply intoxicated as a little boy. There was just nothing like paper with blue smudged type. I led the protest movement in our kindergarten to keep out the new technology, something the administrators claimed would make things more efficient.

Read the rest. It's funny, true and frustrating.

2009-05-27 Education round up

Teacher pay: Suddenly the Tennessean is for it in today's Op Ed. Superintendent of Schools Mayor Karl Dean is also for it. Not surprisingly the head of the teacher's union is against in an article titled "No proof to back performance pay". Little wonder when the unions fight tooth and nail any attempt to provide proof that it does work. If they won't participate...we can't gather data and so their only legitimate argument against it stands. That's convenient.

Their other arguments against get no sympathy from anyone who works for a living. Whining about how it used to be in 1940 smacks of the abortionist fear mongering about hangers. It's not 1940. We've got laws against discrimination and abuse of power and a population that embraces litigation. Whining about how unfair the boss can be won't cut it either. Who hasn't had an unfair boss? Life isn't fair. Whining about how some teachers will 'feeeeel' bad because they don't merit more money sounds just like it came from one of the ineffective self-esteem lessons that pass for education now days. How about we consider how hard working teachers feeeel about the dead weight in the next classroom who is getting paid exactly the same? If the union was half as diligent about policing their own and actually acting like a professional organization taxpayers and voters might be more willing to listen to their concerns.

This is what I'm talkin' 'bout: The MNPS School Board is seeing the light and backing Director Jesse Register's plan to overhaul "adult high school learning"

Students in the proposed program could take classes in the morning, afternoon or evening, or through their computers or independent study. Classes could be taken in shorter, more intensive periods — two courses every eight weeks to move toward earning four credits each semester — and students could schedule class combinations that fit their academic needs. City Paper

Now let's expand this to more students quickly. All this will save student's time and will save MNPS money in the (not too) long run. I've no doubt that this is an option that will meet the legitimate needs and wants of students across the district. It's 2009...surely we can agree that mastering a skill and not warming a seat is the goal.

"Keeping your worst teachers is a crime against children," said [Tim] Daly, president of the Brooklyn-based nonprofit [The New Teacher Project] dedicated to putting highly qualified teachers in hard-to-staff schools. Tennessean

Continuing to pay them as if they were qualified is a crime against the taxpayers.

Support for German homeschoolers? The Tennessee legislature is all for supporting homeschooling in Germany but try and let a homeschooler get a job as a police officer or auctioneer and we get a two hour fillibuster by some of these very same Democrats. Come on guys...which is it? It is a legitimate option or not?

Month-to-Month Director: The folks at Cheatham County School Board Watchdog are still doing the grunt work of examining their director's contract and counter offers. One suggestion: dropping the 90 day notice for canceling the contract to just 30 days.

And how much did this special treatment cost? The MNPS budget is getting trimmed and the system has serious needs regarding facility maintenance (and texts and copy paper and ...) but somehow the system finds the money to pay for a second graduation ceremony for Hispanic students? Why should any people group get a second ceremony? I'm all for it if you want to do this with private funds but on the taxpayer's dime? I don't think so. Seems like yet another enabling of cultural separation despite public education being created specifically to encourage assimilation.

UPDATE: This from MNPS Spokeswoman Olivia Brown this morning: "That celebration event is arranged and hosted by COPLA, the Hispanic parents organization. It is not an MNPS event, however, it is one we support and participate in. I don’t know the cost, but COPLA raises funds and solicits donations for it."

Glad to read this clarification from MNPS. So, 'Nevermind'.

And speaking of wasting money: the ACLU has decided to sue MNPS because some websites have been blocked preventing MNPS students from viewing them on school time and with school equipment paid for by taxpayers. I'd like to see a cost benefit analysis of their efforts. How much money is wasted by these folks to benefit so few.

Shuffling kids shuffles teachers, or so it did in Charlotte, WV.

“An important implication of these findings is that policymakers should be cautious when advocating policies such as vouchers, school choice, district consolidation, or school busing that require the reshuffling of students across schools,” the study concludes, because the resulting shifts in student population might also lead to shifts in the quality of teachers. Education Week

One more time

Erick Huth, president of the Metro Nashville Education Association, which advocates for local teachers, said charter schools are not the answer to the district's woes and could end up hurting more than helping because they will take tax dollars away from already struggling schools. Per-student funding follows students to the charter schools they attend.

"There's not much a charter school can do that public schools couldn't do," he said. "But some people rally around charter schools because of a belief that public education is evil or awful."

Let's go through this lesson one more time.

First off, money does not equal a good education as MNPS has so clearly demonstrated and every charter school demonstrates.

Secondly, charter schools ARE public schools. Obviously, charter school parents don't believe that public education is evil or awful. It's working well for their students.

"They're making better grades, their scores are up. I see a big difference in my kids." [East Nashville father Scott Gray]

Thirdly, there is, apparently, something those charter schools can do that some public schools can't:

"Publicly funded but independently operated, all three of Nashville's charter schools met state standards and had waiting lists at the beginning of this school year for the first time." Tennessean

The only people standing in the way of more charter schools (and so the education of children) are those who are already running or enabling the ailing public education system--like the MNEA. Let go of the children and let them succeed in the school that suits them best.

Dave Pelton, Council-At Large

Dave Pelton already had my vote for Council-at-Large. Perhaps this paragraph from AC Kleinheider will intrigue you enough to seriously consider voting for Dave also.

He is a strong proponent of charter schools and choice in education, not vouchers or anything, but still choice. I asked him how that could be considering he was endorsed by the MNEA, the teacher’s union. I mean, after all, he is Republican who thinks outside the box on education. He explained that the teacher’s union has lost substantial power recently due to their numbers. They are dangerous close to the 49% teacher membership that would cost them their collective bargaining agreement so they are a little more open to out of the box thinking.

You may want to start by reading all of AC's post, and then heading on over to Dave's web site.


And don't over look that mention of the MNEA membership number. I've heard from other sources that the MNEA is very close to the point where they could lose their right to represent teachers. Being this close to the line may be one of the reasons they absolutely refuse to provide numbers for their last few elections. The truth would out and then they would be also.

How many teachers?

Again, the MNEA voted on incentive pay. The Tennessean reports:

Members of the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association voted 70 percent to 30 percent to participate in the $10 million scientific study, in conjunction with Vanderbilt University's new National Center on Performance Incentives.

My question is how many is 70% and 30%? How many of the 4,983+- teachers employed by Metro and how many of the MNEA membership got to decide whether these 300 teachers would be allowed to participate in this study? Was the voting process improved after they rejected the NAPE project? Or was that unnecessary since the MNEA had already made it clear they were for this version?

Thursday 12/14/06

Life is keeping me pretty busy. I'll make some quick comments on the following.

MNPS Chief Instructional Officer Sandra Johnson is, frankly, not well liked by many of our public education consumers. News in this morning's City Paper that she's up for a job anywhere else will be welcome.

Currently, Johnson oversees nearly all departments for the school district, answering only to Garcia.

And that's part of the problem for many parents. She wasn't accountable to the board and an obvious favorite of Garcia. If Glendale, Arizona wants her--God bless 'em.

“I think she’s done an admirable job and I certainly think it would be a loss to the district,” Thompson said. “And it may well be she has trained others enough to carry on.”

"Admirable?"--so there's one man's opinion. George is up for reelection in 2008. Let's see what tune he sings then.

LEAD Academy gets approval from the BOE. I'm very glad to see us get another charter school. This is an important option for some very needy students. MNPS isn't meeting their needs with what they have available--there is no good reason to keep there where they're not learning.

“A large part of the Pearl-Cohn district is in the district I serve,” [BOE member George] Thompson said. “My concern is how will we deal with maintaining Pearl-Cohn in the public school system if we’re going to help to populate a competing charter for that same population.”

Ask Sandra Johnson, George, she's been doing an 'admirable' job.

Actually, Mr. Thompson, the needs of the students should take precedence over saving any system. These students are not getting the education their parents were promised. We've got to try a different system. Regardless the board will protect the system despite the cost to students:

The board agreed to add language into LEAD’s contract to clarify the issue and guarantee the school would not drain the Pearl-Cohn cluster.

Pearl-Cohn cluster parents should contact the BOE members now and let them know how they feel about being excluded from a charter school that may very well be the answer to their child's education needs.

Traditional v. Balanced: Thank goodness the BOE members (well 7 at least) understood that a change was merely window dressing. That change for changes sake (a hallmark of public education) isn't beneficial for the children. Lacking any reliable evidence that the change will benefit the children and families the system serves it was given a thumbs down by the BOE.

“I hope tonight… that we don’t adopt policy simply to make a change and that we finally and permanently dump the balanced calendar matter into the dustbin of school board history,” Fox said. City Paper

Thank you, Mr. Fox. And for some illuminating information you may want to cruise over to the comments section of the Tennessean's article where "Magoo" posted the scores of local systems by calendar and it clearly shows that traditional scores higher. In our impatience and love for flash, glamour and NEW! we too easily abandon the boring and traditional forgetting that one of the reasons most traditions hang around is because they work. Sorry guys but it may be boring--but I'll take boring and effective over flashy and iffy every day when it comes to the essential education of our children.

Now maybe we can move that calendar all the way back to traditional and start after Labor Day and save some AC costs.

Cell phones for students--just not board members. This article in the City Paper Monday made me snort-laugh. After all the fuss the BOE went through over their cell phone use, the return of the phones, the vote over what equipment we could and couldn't have provided we now have MNPS handing out free phones to students.

The students have been allotted 500 minutes a month and all incoming calls are free of charge. Students are also encouraged to give out their cell phone numbers to fellow students to get feedback regarding district issues.

And what do we know about teens and allotted minutes? Let's see if teens are better than BOE members at limiting their minutes.

Irony aside, if this 'narc-phone network' works I'll be happy to pay the bill.

The Robert Bowers dismissal hearing continues according to yesterday's City Paper. It's these sorts of hearing that are exceptionally draining on BOE members. And it's these hearings that prove to me that the MNEA (Metro Nashville Education Association) is a union and not a professional organization. Yes, everyone deserves their day in court, but if MNEA were a true professional organization they'd be equally appalled that the unprofessionalism of some of their members and do some housekeeping of their own. Instead, if my summer dismissal experience and this current one are reliable indicators, they make excuses for the employee and point accusatory fingers at others in a desperate attempts to keep the employee employed--at the expense of children.

Bowers’ attorney Vince Wyatt implied during questioning of Mansfield that most of the errors were the fault of previous guidance counselors, not Bowers.

Then why wasn't Bower's complaining from the get go about the mess he'd inherited and why wasn't he begging for additional help?

It's time to work on the budget and so it's time to lead and stand. It doesn't look like Steve Glover understands that.

“I’m nervous about stepping out saying we’re going to cut this position or we’re going to cut these positions,” Glover said. “We’re really just so early in the game.” City Paper

Someone's got to start the process. I dearly hope there is a leader on that Board that will. Looks like Mr. Fox has taken over former BOE member Kathy Nevill's number crunching job for the BOE. Bless him and his calculator.

That's it for now, life calls.

Blair, here's a suggestion...

Well, the incentive pay plan for Alex Green & Inglewood Elementary schools is dead--thanks to the MNEA's insistence on running the effort.

The City Paper quotes Blair Wilson, the public face of the donors, as saying:

“Exactly what we’re going to be doing, I can’t tell you,” Wilson said. “Are we still interested in pay for performance? Yes. Are we still interested in all other types of plans that could be for public education? Yes.”

My suggestion is that you consider a partnership with the Education Consumers Clearinghouse and/or Save Our Students.

ECC already has a Value Added Achievement Award. Amqui Elementary School Principal Brenda Steele was last year's local recipient. I've known it's head, ETSU Professor of Human Development and Learning John Stone for over a decade and have appreciated his group's information and insight.

Metro Councilman Eric Crafton represents the Save Our Students group. As promised earlier this year they'll be reviewing and collating the latest DOE information about our school systems as it's released in the next few weeks in order to compare it with last year's information. So far this volunteer effort has provided very valuable information about our schools system and they could certainly use some money to continue their effort.

We can't reward excellence in education if we don't know where it is. Both of these groups can help us determine who is doing excellent work and the Anne Potter Wilson Foundation can provide the financial rewards.

MNEA voting practices

MNEA voting: I really didn't expect the MNEA vote to turn around. The best news out of last evening's meeting may be this:

The ordeal has raised questions about MNEA voting methods which have no procedure in place for record keeping.

Shannon Strahan, MNEA representative from Two Rivers Middle School, introduced a proposal that would record who votes.

“Our faculty didn’t really have a stance one way or another on the diversified pay, but we were concerned that we needed proper procedures in voting,” Strahan said.

Her proposal was referred to MNEA’s nominations and elections committee.
City Paper

I sincerely hope that improvements are made. It's the right of the citizens of Nashville to know that these votes, which impact our children, are as clean, solid and verifiable as possible. I would think union leadership would also want to ensure the integrity of the voting procedure. Further they've got to find a way to let the rest of us know just how many people are actually making the decisions that impact so many lives that have no vote at all.

Incentive: Who is Blair Wilson?

Apparently, a fellow with money who knows people with money.

Googling reveals very little:
PENCIL donor
NAPE donor
Donor to new school board member David Fox to the tune of $500.00 at that point.

Thankfully, the City Paper reveals a bit more in this morning's article about the return to negotiating this incentive plan.

“In the absence of getting feedback from the representative assembly, the only specifics that we would want to change is that we would want to revert to the bonus amount that the board agreed to but then Mr. (Blair) Wilson refused to accept,” [MNEA negotiator Eric] Huth said.

Wilson, one of the four private donors from the Anne Potter Wilson Foundation, said the current plan was organized on purpose to reflect the potential to go district wide and secure private funding.

“We envision this plan as a first step, not as an end in itself,” Wilson said. “If the pilot is successful, hopefully we could do a plan that would encompass all 70 of the Metro elementary schools funded with private dollars.”

“I just don’t think it’s a program that we should try to institute in one or two schools if we don’t think we can replicate it,” Wilson said. “That’s the way we came about these numbers to get something that we thought could be replicated and privately funded.”

Mr. Wilson isn't the bad guy in this picture--no matter how Huth spins it.

Unfortunately, the teacher's union has a track record of making sure that everyone gets a slice of bread even if they didn't plant the wheat, grind the wheat, or knead the dough. And until that changes--we won't see any real changes in our schools either.

Incentive briefing notes from Inglewood meeting

On Tuesday, August 22, 2006, hours before my term as a BOE member expired I attended the briefing on the Nashville Alliance Award Initiative given at Inglewood Elementary School. I've found my notes and I thought I'd share with you what those teachers and staff members in attendance were told. I do this to add first hand information to the discussion about what was known and what teacher concerns were.

References to committee mean the joint BOE and MNEA committee created to hash out the exact incentive terms.

I'll start by saying we met in the gymnasium of Inglewood Elementary and it was fairly full. The chatter I overhead between staff members indicated a great deal of positive interest in the proposal.

Other than Principal Brown and her staff those in attendance included:
Pedro Garcia, Nashville Superintendent of Schools
Jamye Merritt, MNEA President
Eric Huth VP MNEA and their chief negotiator
Kay Simmons, Executive Director Nashville Alliance for Public Education
Vince Cummings, SEIU rep (who was upset that he [and by that he meant the union] hadn't been invited.)
Diane Long of the MNPS Information Office (formerly of the Tennessean newspaper).
Mr. Blair Wilson

Jamye Merritt spoke saying that the first meeting regarding this incentive plan was scheduled for the next morning at 8:00 a.m. There was a starting document and they hoped to end with something better. "We want to do what's best for teachers." And she said that Dr. Garcia indicated the incentive would be 'for doing what you already do."

Mr. Blair Wilson was introduced as the money person. (I sat right next to him. While I wanted to thank him and speak more about the effort I only had time to give him my card as he was asked to speak to someone else before they needed to leave.)

Kay Simmons made some comments about the purpose of the NAPE being to align private support for public schools. This incentive pay would be called the Nashville Alliance Awards Initiative.

Pedro Garcia spoke for a bit about the history of the Alliance, the money that had been raised and the renovation of Randall for staff development. He then got back to the business at hand saying that originally the incentive plan was only going to include one school. However Mr. Wilson agreed to fund two schools. Garcia went on to say that the committee makes decisions but it all must be approved by Garcia and Mr. Wilson. They hoped to have a final agreement by October 15. Garcia said there was "nothing different you have to do." It's based on student achievement [with] a maximum of $6,000 per person by grade level.

Merritt: MNEA isn't abandoning incentive pay across the board for all teachers.

Question: How will growth be measured?
Answer: Merritt: Not yet determined. Committee will determine. You are the people it's going to effect.

Q: How was Inglewood Elementary chosen?
A: Garcia: We looked at schools on the target list and close to good standing category.
A: Wilson: And with a strong leadership team

Q: If we don't improve?
A: Garcia: No implications other than NCLB.
A: Merritt: This is a three year commitment. Is your question "Is there a stigma if progress not made?"
A: Simmons: Details not worked out. Not intention to have stigma. No public announcement with results. "Your neighbor won't know."
A: Merritt: Payroll information is public.

Q: How will support people be considered?
A: Merritt: MNEA will consider only certificated person.
A: Garcia: Everyone in school will share in success.

Q: If it goes really well will it go to all Metro schools?
A: Garcia: Just not that much money available. We need more community participation.
A: Wilson: "Personal goal" of his to do it. Unless it's successful it won't be expanded.

Q: How often will committee update us?
A: Garcia: Deadline is October 15.
A: Merritt: Be happy to come back and explain and at a community forum also.

Q: Are these committee meeting open? Sunshine Law?
A: Merritt: Meetings during the day but it's open. [I understood her to be saying that teachers may not be able to attend as the meetings will be during their regular work hours.]

Q: Will there be pre-assessment and post?
A: Garcia: You have to have some. We do that anyway. Idea is to not do anything extra.
A: Wilson: Baseline will be the previous year. "Kids are tested enough." Not seen as a program to help teachers but to help kids.

Q: What if we work hard and the scores don't go up? The community will know, it'll be in the paper.
A: Garcia: "My belief is that it will happen."
A: Wilson: We're not seeking publicity until the scores go up.

Q: Were Arkansas teachers [where a similar program was studied by MNPS, MNEA and the BOE] able to tell you what they did differently and what we can do?
A: Merritt: They worked as a team.
A: Wilson: Great idea. Principal Brown can call Arkansas and see what worked.
A: Merritt: School was already showing gains. If it doesn't happen it won't be because you didn't work hard.

Q: Did they use reward programs for children?
A: Garcia: We haven't seen anything at the elementary level.

Ending comment from Garcia: I'm really sorry that you were disappointed by not having met [AYP]. It doesn't mean you're a bad faculty. It doesn't mean anything to me. You're working hard and doing everything you need to do.

Not your grandfather's union anymore

Gail Kerr provides some important information about the teacher union's status in her column this morning.

The MNEA has been the official bargaining agent of teachers since the 1960s. By state law, the salaries and benefits of all teachers are determined through a bargaining process with the union.

A 1978 state law said that teachers unions can be decertified by the school board if their membership falls below 50%. But the MNEA is exempt from that law — it was grandfathered in.

But that doesn't mean the MNEA is invincible. It can be challenged by a majority of its members, which is highly unlikely. Or the school board can decline the next contract.

That's right. All the school board has to do, after negotiating in good faith, is decline the contract if the union won't budge on issues like the bonus incentives. That would trigger the 1978 state law, and other unions or bargaining groups would compete for the power to lead the teachers (granted, that could also trigger the teachers to take action).

Taking this tack the BOE will, at the very least, give teachers the opportunity to affirm that MNEA is the representation they want instead of the one they have to live with because it worked for their grandfathers. It's past time for a vote of confidence for this union. If the vote for MNEA--great, they've got what they want and we'll work with them. But once every 40 years is not too often for this union to be held accountable to its membership for its actions.

I've cruised through the code and it looks like Gail is referring to TCA 49-5-604

49-5-604. Rights preserved.
(a) Those rights and responsibilities of boards of education, directors of schools and professional employees as contained in this title are not statutorily modified or repealed by this part.

(b) This part shall not operate so as to annul, modify or preclude the renewal or continuation of any recognition heretofore entered into between a board of education and a professional employees' organization. Upon the termination of an existing agreement, subsequent professional employee organization recognition shall be governed under the provisions of this part; provided, that the time schedule established in § 49-5-605 shall not be applicable and recognition with all accompanying rights shall become available immediately upon the completion of the other required recognition procedures.

[Acts 1978, ch. 570, §§ 8, 17; T.C.A., §§ 49-5507, 49-5516.]

Merritt to BOE 10/9/06

The MNEA has posted to their web site President Jamye Merrit's comments to the BOE Tuesday, October 9, 2006. I'm replicating them here:

MNEA President’s Statement to Metropolitan Board of Education
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Dr. Jamye Merritt, President
Metropolitan Nashville Education Association


Ladies and Gentlemen,


I am here tonight in light of Mrs. Warden’s inquiry to us insinuating that somehow MNEA mismanaged the vote on the teacher bonus pay and the inaccurate media coverage it generated.


I want all of us to be clear that the vote was conducted in the same way all official votes of the MNEA membership are conducted. It was a fair and secret ballot vote.


And with today’s technology, more information was sent and available to our members than ever before. I don’t believe the real is here was lack of information.


I regret that not every member exercised his or her right to vote, but that’s a decision MNEA has no control over.


Nor was the problem reluctance to participate in an experimental bonus plan. You, and we, are currently working with Peabody College on a similar idea involving a 10 million dollar federal grant.


So what was it? Two things stand out in my conversations with teachers.


One, teachers don’t trust this administration to do what it says it will do. There’s a great deal of skepticism out there about the motives and direction of this administration at every step. Couple that with the secrecy about where this money is coming from, who’s involved, and what they’re after, and you have a “no” vote.


My refusal to release the actual vote count and the schools voting is based on our constitution and bylaws which require a secret ballot vote. I believe that making that information public would compromise our integrity. I also have no doubt that it would result in reprisals against individuals and schools by the administration.


The second, and perhaps more serious concern is, why is our elected school board being ordered around by someone who showed up with a sack full of money? Shouldn’t the board and teachers be the ones developing plans to increase student learning and THEN seeking funding for them? Is the school board running the schools, or is the Nashville Alliance now in charge?


With respect, I suggest this board establish a policy on how it will accept and handle private or secret donations.


MNEA hopes that this is not the end of our negotiations around the matter of legitimate diversified pay plans. As we negotiate in the future, MNEA will bring proposals on diversified pay that built on our members’ input and our research. Our goal will always be to give every Metro student a great public school.


To that end, I’d like to propose an idea for the use of the $400,000 donation. Since the donor’s interest was supposedly in raising student test scores, and since it’s the students who must do the learning and test taking, and since the teachers at Alex Green and Inglewood can hardly work any harder than they already are:


MNEA suggests that you and the Alliance develop a Student Awards plan and give the money to them.


Thank you for your attention, and on behalf of Metro’s teachers, thank you for the service you give to our community.

My suggestion to the MNEA members that don't trust the administration is to follow the advice of Ronald Reagan that worked so well in taking down communism: "Trust but verify". Do all of this out in the open so that everyone knows what's going and and everyone is accountable.

Regarding the vote: we're not asking for names or a breakdown by schools or any other identifiers, we're asking for totals. How many of those members voted which way? The parents, taxpayers and voters of Nashville are paying for this system. I believe they're less concerned about a donor with a sack full of money running the schools than a union and administration that isn't completely open with them about how things are run.

Further the board and the teachers have been running this sytems for quite some time now--and look where we are. Perhaps someone with some ideas and a sack full of money ought to at least be given a fair hearing.

Incentive revote?

The City Paper has late breaking news that the teacher's union and the BOE are going back to the negotiating table to discuss the incentive plan for Alex Green and Inglewood Elementary that was voted down a week ago by an unknown number of union employees.

In a letter mailed Thursday, Merritt agreed to sit back down with the school board as soon as MNEA chief negotiator, vice president Erick Huth, could schedule a meeting.

I suggest they both find some time this coming week so they have some legitimate answers for their membership for their Thursday, October 19 meeting. That'll probably mean Mr. Huth is out of class again. I hate that for the children. (He really needs to commit to one team or the other.)

Gary Hughes, a Two Rivers Middle School teacher and MNEA member, is challenging the union’s vote and has told Merritt to expect discussion on the issue at the body’s upcoming Oct. 19 meeting.

“She knows it’s coming because I told her that I was going to force this issue at the meeting next Thursday,” Hughes said.

Hughes wants the MNEA to take another vote after properly informing all members of the organization about the grant proposal.

“I’ve suggested that we have another vote after all the MNEA members have been educated on this issue,” Hughes said. “The problem was there was no education on this issue.”

Thank you, Mr. Hughes. I appreciate your leadership in this.

I would hope that part of the education process would include actually hearing a presentation from the Nashville Alliance for Public Education and the BOE so that these teachers are getting more than the MNEA viewpoint. I would also hope that they'd consider the wishes of the non-MNEA personnel that will also be impacted by the MNEA vote.

Hat tip: Ben C.

Sour apples

I liked the headline on this Nashville Eye column in today's Tennessean: Teachers must reach past union and take this apple. It seems a very accurate and reasonable suggestion. Bo Roberts, identified as a Nashville marketing consultant, writes:

There have been abuses during the unions' storied history, and I would undoubtedly place this action [voting against the incentive pay a week ago] squarely in that category.
(snip)
C'mon teachers, show us where there are true devils in these details. You may quibble about small points, but what you have really done is throw the "philanthropic baby" out wit the incentive-laden bathwater."

And regarding MNEA negotiator Eric Huth's cold comments to Marsha Warden, BOE Chair, Mr. Roberts wrote:

"I believe the ice may be thinnest of all for his position. It's far better to do what is best for the kids than it is to stand on procedural stuff squabbling over a power issue."

Of course, the Tennessean must attempt to be 'fair and balanced' and so the three star Letter to the Editor was from what has to be a union spokesman who repeats the same 'trust' talking points that seem to be getting in the way of caring for the children:

Dr. Garcia undermined that trust by going to Alex Green and Inglewood back in the spring and making promises to those faculties that had not been negotiated.

and

The MNEA carried out this vote according to long-established voting procedures. Metro's teachers have spoken.

No, dear, Metro's teachers have not spoken. An undisclosed number of the 60% of Metro's teachers who belong to the union spoke. And the staff members who would also have benefited got no vote at all.

Still unfathomable

Liz Garrigan of the Nashville Scene puts a bite on the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association's unbelievable vote this week against receiving incentive pay. She begins by revealing a conversation between God and the MNEA president where He takes her to task and then Liz takes over.

Rich family steps up, wants to do something good, negotiates a merit pay pilot program with the local union, even cedes to a few of the union’s unreasonable demands for the sake of getting the program in place and hopefully propagating it all over the city. The union leadership—angry, obstructionist, useless as ever—grudgingly sends the idea through to its membership for a vote. But because it represents so few Nashville teachers, and because the leadership clearly didn’t explain what was at stake, the vote sends the proposal circling the drain. This, despite the fact that the teachers at the two schools in question—Alex Green Elementary and Inglewood Elementary—overwhelmingly supported the plan. Bottom line: about $2 million of free money is rejected, and teachers and other employees who would have received between $2,000 and $10,000 annually for student improvement will instead get bupkis.

and

Among Merritt’s explanations in the media, which she says have offered “inaccurate coverage,” about why her membership rejected the proposal: 1) It wasn’t enough money. She must be unfamiliar with the mathematical truth that $2 million > 0. And 2) The donor is anonymous, and the union questions the motive for the generosity.

[Warning: the Scene piece does contain some harsh language and I never know if the ads will be appropriate for general audiences so you're forewarned.]

Apparently, it's not possible, in the world these educrats live in, for fellow citizens to sincerely care about the children in their city and be willing to offer assistance. They invented all sorts of motivations for my being willing to serve and now this donor must have some nefarious purpose. What is in their heads and hearts that they have such a hard time believing people just want to help?

Nathan Moore has also written a couple of good posts regarding this nonsense from his point of view.

According to [MNEA President Jamye] Merritt, the people of Nashville, who fund the schools, are to be kept in the dark by “union rules” when a proposal that gives them (and their children) more for their tax dollar bites the dust because of an undisclosed number of union hacks in an election process that not even Jimmy Carter would certify. I mean, we can’t even get turnout? More union shenanigans...

and

Well, of course they’re [MNEA] not going to tell us about the vote. And they’re not going to tell us how much the initiative was advertised and marketed in some schools and not in others, because, well, any advance in meritocracy makes a union more superfluous. Teacher's union rejects free merit pay

I wasn't able to view the BOE meeting last evening. Is anyone out there able to upload Ms Merritt's remarks to the school board to YouTube? I think a lot of us would be interested in see that 3 minutes.

UPDATE: AC weighs in also:

While the idea of unionism, protecting the interests of labor, is a good one, in practice unions often end up hurting their workers more than they help. The point could not be better illustrated.

More on incentive pay

Well the papers are filling up with comments from both sides.

From the City Paper:

Aex Green Elementary School principal Sheila Woodruff said she and her teachers felt robbed when they learned the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association voted down a $400,000 dollar grant over the weekend.

No doubt. I'm feeling a bit robbed myself. And regarding the ballots:

Woodruff said many faculty members at Alex Green were under the assumption that they would be allowed to vote on the program themselves, not the members of MNEA.

Erick Huth, MNEA vice president, said they distributed ballots to association representatives who then took them to each school in the system. Only teachers who were MNEA members were allowed to vote.

So we had union reps handing out the ballots and maybe gathering them up? Or did the union reps leave the ballot with the teacher, without any editorial commentary, and the teacher returned sealed ballots to the union office? If the union rep waited for the ballot what words may have been exchanged between the delivery person and the voter?

And a school board member may have a backbone:

School Board member Steve Glover said the MNEA is simply flexing its muscles.

“This proves to me what I had suspected for some time, that without a doubt, the leadership of MNEA is about the leadership of MNEA,” Glover said. “They’re not about our kids. They’re not about helping those kids that need the most amount of help.”

And Kay Simmons of the Nashville Alliance for Public Education reveals just how much money some teachers threw away:

Simmons is disappointed because the program was designed to be a pilot program, with the potential to funnel more than $1 million into these schools.

From the Tennessean:

Jamye Merritt, the Metro Nashville Education Association president, said that voter turnout was low but that union rules prevented disclosure of how many of the more than 3,300 members voted.

"It's not germane to this issue," Merritt said of the turnout number.

It is when your membership feels disenfranchised. The integrity of the voting process is under question here.

Other teachers at the schools selected for the pilot program said it was unfair that teachers from other schools were able to decide whether or not to accept the bonuses.

"It's unfortunate that the vote went out to all MNEA members," said Karen Elliott, a third-grade teacher at Alex Green Elementary, who voted for the measure. "I don't see where it was a decision that the whole body was to make."

It is unfair. That's something only the union membership can really do anything about.

In an interview Monday, Merritt said the decision not to accept the bonus plan was partly a result of mistrust among teachers toward the school board.

"I think you have to look at it as trust," she said. "The teachers don't feel appreciated or that there is a commitment to them" by the school board.

This was the same whine I heard at the negotiations table that I had so little patience with. At that time union reps opined that Pedro Garcia's handling of Maplewood High School teacher reassignments demonstrated his distrust of the union. Now the union is preventing fellow teachers from receiving extra money (surely a sign of appreciation and commitment) based on their feelings being hurt. Are we adults or not?

The ballots went out to every union member in the district on Sept. 26, with a notation guiding members to the union's Web site, where they could read the proposal, said Eric Huth, union vice president.

Teachers had until Oct. 6 to decide how they would vote and return the ballots to the union office, Huth said.

Let's see that union page. No other meetings? No other documentation? No opportunity to meet with the Nashville Alliance for Public Education in order to get a clearer understanding of the situation and build that 'trust'?

Do we know if all the ballots made it to the office and were included in the count?

The Tennessean has an online poll. As of 7:44 a.m. it shows

Is a performance-based incentive program the right way to reward teachers for improved performance? 70.0% Yes 30.0% No Total Votes: 403

BOE Chair Marsha Warden wrote MNEA negotiator Eric Huth the day after the vote (Saturday).

Marsha Warden asks:

I am disappointed and curious. How is it that the MNEA voted this measure down? How could it be perceived as being harmful to the interests of teachers in Metro Schools?

And Huth responds on Sunday:

MNEA has fulfilled the duties proscribed under the EPNA, and I shall not question the results. (snip)One might consider that in any election (including, but not limited to the national election of 2000) that the democratic process is not always smooth, but it is what it is. One's hopes, dreams, wishes, aspirations, and desires do not trump the democratic process. (snip)You may also wish to consider the extent to which your questions interfere with MNEA's representational rights. The ice is thin.

And what may be the most interesting number of all:

Under collective bargaining rules, the proposal had to be approved by a majority of members of the Metro Nashville Education Association, the union that represents roughly 60 percent of the district's 5,600 teachers.

That mean 40% of the teachers in Metro aren't union members and didn't even get a chance to vote on this proposal. I think that's a substantial number of our employees without a voice in an important matter and that concerns me. I suspect that a good number of those 3,300 union members are going to be rethinking the value of that membership. Again, I suggest they consider Professional Educators of Tennessee if they even need any sort of bargaining agent at all.

Disenfranchised MNEA voters?

More on the union vote to turn down incentive pay. It's beginning to look like MNEA may have some questions to answer about how the vote was conducted.

From WSMV:

To [Alex Green Elementary Principal Sheila] Woodruff’s knowledge, no teacher at her school voted against the proposal. In fact, one teacher claimed many there didn’t even know about the vote.

From WKRN:

Teacher Nancy Hollingsworth said, “I think some were a little aggravated because of the lack of communication between the teachers at our school and MNEA (Metro Nashville Education Association). We felt like we were let down." Teachers at Alex Green did not get to vote.

Well, it would certainly help quash the effort if the votes of teachers who wanted to participate weren't included.

MNEA believes a majority of the teachers who voted were skeptical of the diversified pay plan, and didn't think the bonuses were large enough. MNEA President Jayme Merritt said, "It topped out at $6,000 for teachers and for principal at $10,000, now who's really doing the work?" Teachers at Alex Green didn't mind the difference. WKRN

Such typical union talk pitting management against line employees. Shouldn't what the teachers and principals think be the determining factor? If the teachers and the principal are fine with the plan who are we to say no?

It's time to demand accountability in this vote.

Thankfully--

The Nashville Alliance calls the "no" vote a roadblock that is not insurmountable. Kay Simmons of the Nashville Alliance said, "The donor is still interested and supportive of public education and wants us to still look for ways that we can reward hard work and student achievement in Metro schools." It plans to find another way to reward the teachers at the two pilot schools Alex Green and Inglewood Elementary. WKRN

Yes, certainly, we've got to find a way around the union in our efforts to reward excellence. For the sake of the children and for the sake of the quality teachers we've got who earn better pay and deserve better union representation.

MNPS side of the incentive rejection by MNEA

Here's a snip from the MNPS press release regarding the vote on incentive pay for teachers and staff that do their jobs better.

Erick Huth, chief negotiator for the MNEA, notified School Board Chairwoman Marsha Warden Friday of the MNEA membership vote, which Huth said was 51.3% against the plan. Huth did not respond to a request from Warden to provide the actual number of teachers who voted on the plan and other specific information.

Chairwoman Warden expressed disappointment at the MNEA vote, which is especially puzzling because the Tennessee Education Association and other local teacher associations across the state have approved the concept and practice of alternative pay plans.

“We were excited by the possibilities,” Warden said. “It was not going to cost the city of Nashville a penny. It had an excellent chance of succeeding and helping children who needed help. The unexpected negative vote by the MNEA certainly places a significant roadblock to our efforts; efforts endorsed by the Board, other elected officials, the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the faculty, staff, and students at these schools.”

And we're still waiting for a reasonable explanation from the teacher's union as to why they are not behind this Nashville Alliance Award Initiative.

And from the press release here is the summary of the program.

Summary

NASHVILLE ALLIANCE AWARD INITIATIVE For a Diversified Pay Plan Pilot Project at Alex Green and Inglewood elementary schools

General Agreement Principles

• This alternative compensation plan for teachers/staff seeks to enhance and improve student learning with additional pay supplements based on the average percentage of students reaching preset benchmarks for academic achievement.

• MNEA will first ratify the plan by Oct. 6, and the Metropolitan Board of Education will approve the plan at its Oct. 10 meeting. The final decision to implement the diversified pay plan at each of two schools will be made by a secret-ballot vote by teachers at each school. A 70% approval is required for the school’s participation.

• The diversified pay plan will be evaluated annually and at the end of the three-year pilot period.

Measures of Success

The evaluation occurs at the grade-level for K-4 teachers, and at the school-level for the principal, reading specialist, other certified staff (including Pre-K teachers), and non-certified support staff.

The goal is to increase the average percentage of students reaching the indicated benchmark on the following assessments:
Kindergarten	Grades 1 and 2	Grades 3 and 4
􀂃 % of Students Meeting All Benchmarks on District Reading Assessment* 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Advanced on District Math Computation Assessment	􀂃 % of Students Meeting All Benchmarks on District Reading Assessment* 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Advanced on District Math Computation Assessment 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Proficient on District Writing Assessment	􀂃 on District Writing Assessment 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Proficient on TCAP Reading Test 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Advanced on District Math Problem Solving Assessment 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Proficient on TCAP Mathematics Test 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Proficient on TCAP Science Test 􀂃 % of Students Scoring Proficient on TCAP Social Studies Test

* The District Reading Assessment is a compilation of multiple Benchmarks. For example, in order to be considered Proficient on the Kindergarten Reading Assessment, students must meet the Proficiency level in Concepts of Print, Lower Case Letters, Upper Case Letters, Sounds, Phonemic Awareness, Sight Words, and Running Record.

Awards

For Average Gains of…
5% - 9%	10% - 14%		15% - 19%		20% +
* Teachers	$2,000	$3,500		$5,000	$6,000
4% - 7%	8% - 11%		12% - 15%		16% +
Principal	$2,500	$5,000		$7,500	$10,000
Reading Specialist	$2,000	$3,500		$5,000	$6,000
Other Certified Staff	$1,500	$2,500		$3,500	$4,500
* Non-Certified Staff	$500	$750		$1,000	$1,250

* Not a subject for teacher ratification.

* K-4 teachers have higher targets because school-wide growth is more difficult to achieve than grade-level growth.

Shameful

Add this to the information released late on Friday in order to have it cold by the time folks are paying attention Monday morning.

Metro schools' teachers union rejected a $400,000 donation that would have bolstered teachers' pay based on the performance of their students.

This is all about protecting their membership numbers and their power and certainly NOT about rewarding excellent teachers for excellent work. This is about preventing 'dissension' in the ranks according to the union reps at the negotiating table back in August.

School board officials said questions to union representatives about the number of members and how information about the program was disseminated to union members went unanswered Friday.

And I'm willing to bet that they'll remain unanswered. This union is NOT about to stand in the light of day and be accountable for their actions. This was a close vote of 51.3% to 48.7%. Can we demand a recount?

Calls to union representatives Eric Huth and Jamye Merritt were not returned before press time.

No suprise there. Mr. Huth is often awol.

So let's review. The union complains that teachers aren't paid enough. A private donor comes forward and offers to pay them more--based on performance. This is clearly a pilot program that is laying the groundwork that may eventually allow everyone to participate. The general union membership rejects the offer because, based on previous statements, they don't want the rest of the members to be left out. Making union members happy is the mission--not ensuring that excellent teachers get excellent wages.

This all certainly flys in the face of the teacher union's published mission statement:

Our mission is to promote excellence in the Metro School system, seek community support for public education, secure economic and professional security for educators, maintain a strong united teaching organization, advance human and civil rights in education, and empower teachers!

• How does this rejection of incentive pay promote excellence in our schools?
• How does rejecting $400,000 of 'community support' encourage additional community support?
  
• How does rejecting this pay increase secure economic security for these staff members?
• How does it advance human and civil rights for these staff members?

I'm betting they've shot themselves in the foot and it will certainly not even help maintain a 'strong united teaching organization'. Maybe they feel empowered--but I think they paid too high a price for what will quickly become a bad investment.

Here's part of the MENA official statement.

Dr. Jamye Merritt, president of MNEA, said, “There were several things in the Memorandum that I and other leaders were not thrilled with; however, we felt it was solid enough to be put to our members for their decision. And they have spoken.”

MNEA Vice President and Negotiations Chair Erick Huth, a teacher at Middle College High School at Nashville State Community College, commented, “Even though the MOU included several of the criteria that TEA (Tennessee Education Association) recommends for alternative pay plans, teachers were apparently skeptical about this particular plan.”

Delores Jones, a teacher at Tusculum Elementary School said, “I voted no for three reasons: 1) the bonuses themselves were too small, especially the ones for the teachers; 2) I’m against paying teachers based just on test scores, and 3) I’m concerned about how this plan would handle the impact of English Language Learners on the test scores.”

Both MNEA and the school board’s team agreed that the bonuses finally included were too small. The board attempted to convince the donor of the $400,000 available for this plan to increase the amount; however, he declined.

Merritt added, “I’m sure that we’ll continue to talk about diversified pay plans. But this particular plan was not acceptable to our members.”

Bonuses were "too small" isn't something better than nothing? It's a pilot program folks. Did anyone expect that we'd get it 100% the first time out? I didn't. I expected that based on this trial we would know for sure what needed to be tweaked. I'm sure we'll continue to talk about diversified plans--but remember talk doesn't spend at Kroger or pay the mortgage.

And note the arrogance of asking the donor to kick in more money. How does abusing our donors in this way encourage others to step up?

It's going to take an exodus of members (and not that many more I'm told) to decertify this union before we will actually get a professional organization that is more concerned about ensuring quality members over quanity. I encourage teachers to check out a legitimate alternative Professional Educators of Tennessee.