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Comments 18

1. Steve Chojnacki 11/16/2009

   RTTT is nothing more than a carrot  dangled before states who won't or can't find the political will to adequately fund schools.  The inequities from one school district to another make merit pay just as inequitable.  Where is the attention paid to class size or making sure our students have access to art, music, school libraries with certified staff, and physical education.
   It's a case of following a business model for rewarding (merit pay) those who sell the most widgets.  Well our students are not widgets. We are not in the position to transform student learning without help from parents to many of whom have difficulty making ends meet.  How about the president and his secretary of education giving merit pay for parents whose children graduate from high school or college.  Does the parent whose child goes to college get more than that of the high school grad?
   
   
   Are we in the conversation, or do we have to roll over, sit, and stay to receive $?  It's blackmail.
   
   
   Let's be at the table to demand what we know works.

2. Charlie 11/9/2009

   Look at the Research:
   Neither charter schools nor forms of merit pay have helped to improve school achievement.
   
   There are too many UNANSWERED questions here!
   
   Only by eliminating childhood poverty and teaching preschool kids thousands of more words before they enter school, will the inequity in education problem be solved!
   Let's look at research and attack the real problems!

3. not a teacher 11/8/2009

   I am not a teacher but;
   
   What I have observed since the Bush administration, is that we have been on the MENU of education reform and our opinions DID NOT matter.  There was public outcry. lobbying, media outcry, coalition partnerships formed and none of that stopped the unattainable measures set on public education by policy makers, including our friends.  I guess we could continue to stomp our feet and demand that we be heard, but if it did not work thus far, would it be responsible on the part of the Leadership of our Union to engage only in the same above mentioned tactics or would it be a better demonstration of true leadership to be at the table, than on the MENU, thus having a voice in the development of standards and giving a REAL voice to Educators????  Thank you, WEAC Leadership for your courage to step out of the safe box, and challenge the so-called "status-quo". 

4. John 11/7/2009

   Ahhh...Bill...you're saying we can't look at WEAC's own polls of teachers as being some indication of the feelings of teachers?
   Come on....

5. Bill 11/7/2009

   Online polls are fun and interesting but we all know they are not scientific and you can’t use them to accurately measure public opinion.

6. Classroom Teacher 11/7/2009

   Art teacher:
   May you explain in detail how you will be evaluated? Will you be able to access these funds? If you will be evaluated, how will you be evaluated?
   
   Classroom Teacher

7. Catherine 11/7/2009

   
   
   The real story about RTTT funds: The last time I checked WEAC's poll regarding how teachers see the RTTT funds will affect education:
   
   48.57% said the RTTT funds will negatively impact education
   
   2.86% said the laws would go a long way to improve education
   
   hmmm....how did WEAC agree to these measures without considering what appears to be overwhelming negative feeling about the funds as expressed by teachers?
   
   
   

8. Art Teacher 11/7/2009

   While I appreciate both President Bell's comments and work on behalf of all of us, I appreciate even more that solutions will be arrived at from the local level. The law and what OUR organization is supporting, is that possible compensation models will only be decided upon at the local collective bargaining tables - by the bargaining teams made up of front line people like you and me.
   
   
   I feel the comments extolling us to be proactive are right on - while I do appreciate the frustrations and anecdotes illustrating the huge pitfalls of some compensation models, the chance for me, and my collective bargaining team members, to chart a course that serves my local members better and smarter than what we've had before, cannot be passed up.
   
   
   As a specialist in a Milwaukee high school, I too, fear the possibility of test scores used as sole indicators, but - as was mentioned earlier - the legislation as it reads, puts the control of lenses used to evaluate and determine compensation squarely in the purview of the local collective bargaining process. 
   
   
   As a specialist, though, my bigger fears are that we won't see the school funding formula changed and that true healthcare reform won't pass. Those two things - as usual - will continue to force us to give up salaries to maintain our benefits, and to eliminate educators who are not just supplements to our school's programs, but an integral part of our students' success.
   
   

9. Anne Felton 11/7/2009

   Changes coming
   

   Obama highlighted these changes Wednesday.

   • Some states, including California, Indiana, and Wisconsin are taking steps to remove “firewall” laws that prohibit student achievement from being used to grade teacher performance.

   
   The above is an excerpt from the Christian Science Monitor:
   http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/11/04/schools-sprinting-to-win-obamas-race-to-the-top-billions/
   
   I wonder if this was a decision to consider the needs of the teachers represented, or if it was a decision made to receive recognition?
   Anne
   

10. Anne 11/7/2009

    When did I, as a teacher, ever have any type of say in this decision that you have made for all of us?
    Anne

11. Brad 11/7/2009

    All of your concerns are indeed valid and not overlooked by the leaders of the state association.  However, we all need to be very careful when reading into or taking the media swing on comments made by either President Obama or President Bell.  Race to the Top funds and their availability to the schools of Wisconsin are indeed tied to changes in legislation regarding using test scores to evaluate teachers.  However, we need to be aware that the change to the law about testing has actually strengthened our position in terms of test scores being used in evaluation.
    
    
    Rather than protecting only grades in which the WKCE is implemented, the change in the law requires that any use of test scores in evaluation must be collectively bargained at a local level.  WEAC has made sure that while we are indeed now meeting the "requirements" of RTTT, we are also strengthening our control of how any test scores will be used in the evaluation process.  You can now make sure that testing, if used, is used as one of multiple measures providing due process to all our members.
    
    
    Again, WEAC is pushing for a world where student data is used to help drive and enhance instruction through individualized and effective professional development that guides professional growth and enhances student achievement.  Our specialists will continue to be valued as WEAC sees a need for and works to build on structures that educate the entire child not just areas covered by standardized tests.  

12. Local President 11/7/2009

    I completely disagree with all the previous posts.  It is about time our Union start acting proactively instead of always playing defense.  It is important that we are part of this discussion.  We need to stop fighting and use our expertise to develop solutions that support our efforts in teaching and learning. 
    
    If we wish to be taken seriously we need to use our expertise to come up with solutions that work - we gain nothing by continuing to be perceived as fighting progress.
    
    The train is leaving the station.  We can get on and have a say in the direction it takes or we can stay at the station and through obstacles across the track and be accused of stopping progress for kids and schools.
    
    
    

13. Jennifer 11/7/2009

    I think it is great that the Union is being progressive and not being blamed as the blocker of this reform.  Change is needed and being part of the solution is always better than doing nothing.  I'm proud of WEAC.

14. Anne 11/7/2009

    This stinks! When were we teachers, who pay the dues, asked about this decision? I am a union person, and I believe in unions, but there were way too many unanswered questions when our union made this decision for us. This makes we wish to consider AFT membership!
    Obviously, union leaders, you've been out of the reality of the classroom for far too long!
    Anne

15. Anne 11/7/2009

    I wholeheartedly agree with the above statements. I am a "union" person, but when did the union leaders ask any of us on the front lines before they submitted to this decision? What will be the compensatory measures for schools with large numbers of disadvantaged students? Who, exactly, will be measured in this way? Doesn't this go against the philosophies of the past? I am HUGELY disappointed in this. Teachers had no say in this, as far as I am concerned. Obviously, our union leadership has been out of the classroom too long, and they are becoming "out of touch". What a shame! Maybe we should look at AFT membership! Why not tackling the real problem of underperforming students, which is usually childhood poverty?
    Anne

16. Karen 11/6/2009

    The two above comments just about say everything that sums up the mess that is going to be forged if we accept Obama's/Dole's policies blindly!!  If any school district thinks it has problems with teacher collaboration just wait until our pay is measured by the political back wash that is coming down the pipe.  I voted for Obama, and daily I question what path he is leading us down or where we are going to end up.  As his philosophies are unfolding, and capturing us in his web, I definitely am discouraged.  What surprises me even more is that WEAC would sell us out for the economic perks that MIGHT be within our grasp. Nothing in life is free--by accepting any monies there will be strings attached.  I am an EEN teacher, and have seen this happen for many years.  Remember, we will forever be paying for No Child Left Behind!!!  Do we really have to prove that we are worth our pay through our students who many times enter into the testing environment not caring what they score on the state tests?

17. Roger 11/6/2009

    How will we value our specialists, our arts, our physical educators, our counselors, our social workers, pt, ot and others? How will we value a class with autism, ELL EBD, and other maintstreamed students? Should the teacher with the most challenging students get a bigger bonus even if his students don't meet a  test score? What about the teachers who work hard on raising money for scholarships, or volunteers to raise tens of thousands of dollars through the PTO to fund our school? Do they have value? What about the teachers and other staff who support children who are going through difficult family changes., do they have value? Why would a teacher want to work in a school with high poverty, special ed and ELL students versus a school with lower rates of these students? How long will this Race to The Top money last? How much money will actually be distributed to rural districts? Will the most needy students get the money or will it depend on the politics of the Senate? Is this another unfudned mandate like so many other federal mandates that sound good, but never come with the promised funding? I voted for Obama, but I am wondering if all ideas that sound good are a sell out? Inquiring minds want to know before political pundits and other fools rush in a Race to The Top or perhaps a long slippery slope to decimating collaboration among teachers and specialists.

18. Brian 11/5/2009

    Okay, but are schools just free job training centers?   Don't we exist to educate the whole child?  Caring kids?  Active citizenship?  The arts?   Must every endeavor in the building be tied to the market?
    
    And why implement merit pay schemes when we have decades of failed efforts with the latest being the Texas model?
    
    And even more standardized testing?   Why not implement better, more popular measures such as performances and other examples of real student work for accountability purposes?   Why not make thinking visible instead of focusing 100 % of our attention on abstractions such as test scores?

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