Members-only Unions: Can They Help Revitalize Workplace Democracy? : Blog of the Century

Members-only Unions: Can They Help Revitalize Workplace Democracy? : Blog of the Century:

Members-only Unions: Can They Help Revitalize Workplace Democracy?

On July 10, 2014, when the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 42 was officially announced, many Americans were introduced for the first time to an old labor practice: members-only unions.¹

Local 42 was formed at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after the UAW was defeated in “one of the most closely watched unionization votes in decades,”² which many on both sides staked out as a symbol of labor’s prospects in the South. Typically, after facing such an election loss, most union organizers either regroup for another election, or simply walk away. In the case of Local 42, the UAW chose a largely forgotten third option: forming a nonexclusive, members-only union.

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Members-only unions, like the name implies, are unions that comprise only a portion of the employees in a workplace, rather than including all workers in the bargaining unit. Workers who do not wish to be members do not have to join, and in turn, the union does not have to provide non-member employees with any services. In fact, by law, a members-only union can only represent those who have joined, as opposed to representing all employees as in a traditional bargaining unit. They are not as powerful as a bargaining unit that results from an election, but in some circumstances they are the easier—and sometimes the only—option.

While the concept is new to many, the practice of members-only unionism preceded passage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935.³ In his seminal book on the history of members-only unionism, Charles Morris shows that, before the NLRA and its judicial interpretations institutionalized a preference for union elections, a significant percentage of workers bargained through members-only unions.⁴ For instance, in a November 1933 statistical study of 3,314 companies employing 2,585,740 wage earners, approximately 31.1 percent of companies engaged in bargaining with either a company union or independent union. Morris shows that over 18 percent of this group bargained with unions on a nonexclusive, members-only basis.⁵ However, following the passage of the NLRA—and the attendant right of union elections and exclusive representation based on majority support—the practice of members-only unionism quickly diminished.

While under the law workers can still form members-only unions, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether the NLRA provides them the right to bargain with their employers on a members-only basis. Morris argues persuasively that the text and history of the NLRA, as well as congressional intent, point strongly to such a bargaining right. However, in 2006, the United Steelworkers tested Morris’s theory in the Dick’s Sporting Goods case, and the General Counsel's Division of Advice issued a memorandum concluding that the Board should not issue a complaint because nonexclusive unions did not have a right to bargain. Therefore, the National Labor Relations Board never had an opportunity to consider the case, and has still not yet fully considered this question.⁶

The legal issue of employees’ bargaining rights in a members-only setting has stood in limbo since then, with a variety of scholarly articles addressing what legal rights workers in members-only unions may or may not have, and the possible future successes of such unions.⁷ This question is certain to become more important in the upcoming years. In 2014, Wisconsin became the nation’s twenty-fifth right-to-work state—which means that, in any of these states, if a union is the exclusive representative of all workers in the bargaining unit, any worker can choose not to pay any union dues. And in the upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which considers whether union security clauses in public sector contracts violate the First Amendment. If the Supreme Court rules the way that many expect, all public-sector workers will be under right-to-work, which could serve to defund public-sector unions. Such developments make organizing and maintaining a union more difficult, and so if voluntary payment of dues becomes the norm, then some unions may choose the voluntary nature of members-only unions.

What is often lost in many of the discussions on workers’ rights is that members-only unions are not a theoretical construct or historical remnant. In fact, beyond UAW Local 42, a variety of public and private-sector locals have operated on a members-only basis for many years, with varying degrees of success. For example, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has approximately 120,000 members in members-only unions spread across Texas, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Virginia.

Most of the existing members-only unions are located in southern states, because legal conditions in those states such as right-to-work laws make it difficult to organize a majority union. Similarly, most members-only unions are public-sector unions, because many states that are inhospitable to labor can easily pass laws that limit collective bargaining rights in the public sector. However, there are members-only unions in the private sector and in other geographic locations as well.

Based on numerous interviews with those involved with members-only unions, this report presents several case studies—one southern private-sector union, one northern private-sector union, and one southern public-sector union—in order to demonstrate the various benefits and hurdles of members-only unionism. It reveals that the problems exclusive-representative unions face are felt far more acutely in the members-only context. Because almost all members-only unions work outside of the confines of a contract, successful unions must be in constant communication with the membership to find out about issues at work and must address them in creative fashions. And because employers will not usually meet with a members-only union, let alone bargain a contract, success in this context is defined differently—comprised mainly of retaining a significant membership and winning discrete battles in the workplace.

Case Studies

Texas Workers Alliance

The Texas Workers Alliance (TWA) is a members-only union in the San Antonio, Texas area, whose membership consists of non-teaching staff, such as custodians, bus drivers, secretaries, and clerks at area public schools.

There are a number of factors in Texas that are conducive to the formation of members-Members-only Unions: Can They Help Revitalize Workplace Democracy? : Blog of the Century:

Louisiana Educator: White's Team Trying to Muddy up the Narrative Again

Louisiana Educator: White's Team Trying to Muddy up the Narrative Again:

White's Team Trying to Muddy up the Narrative Again

Beaking News!

I just got an email from one of the state newspapers questioning why our citizen group was asking for information that was pre-mature. The reporter questioned why we were asking for PARCC data when BESE had not yet approved the PARCC cut scores? Wouldn't it be better to wait until BESE sets the cut scores on October 13.

Here is my response that I sent by email:

"The group is making three basic requests. None of them are impacted in any way by the setting of cut scores.

The first request is for an item analysis of each test question to tell the public and the Standards Review Committee exactly what percentage of our students got each Common Core standard correct. This helps the Review Committee determine which of the Common Core Standards need to be looked at more closely and either be removed or modified.

The second item asks for a conversion table to convert raw scores to scale scores. For example, we want to know that if a student got 70% of the questions right on the PARCC test, what scale score does that equate to? (Remember that the scale scores run from 650 to 850 on all PARCC tests) Louisiana Educator: White's Team Trying to Muddy up the Narrative Again:

New York was Common Core’s stronghold. What happens if the state backs down? - The Hechinger Report

New York was Common Core’s stronghold. What happens if the state backs down? - The Hechinger Report:

New York was Common Core’s stronghold. What happens if the state backs down?

en Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York, announced that the Common Core wasn’t working and that he would commission a committee to overhaul the state’s “Common Core system,” the governor became the first Democrat to venture down a path well-worn by Republican governors in red states like Oklahoma, Indiana and Louisiana.

Whether this is a sign of a coming bipartisan dismantling of the Common Core or just a sign that Cuomo is willing to sacrifice the Common Core to keep his other educational priorities – particularly test-based teacher evaluations – afloat is up for debate. Less debatable is the uniqueness of how New York went about implementing the Common Core, a set of math and reading standards in place in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

Related: Will test-based teacher evaluations derail the Common Core?

No state has so strongly embraced the Common Core. In 2011, a year after the standards were released, the state education department started the long (and expensive) process of procuring thousands of Common Core-aligned curriculum materials, which were used to build the EngageNY website for teachers. New York schools were told to start implementing the new standards during the 2011-12 school year, and students started taking Common Core tests in the spring of 2013 – a full two years before students in most states. Under those new tests, the percentage of students passing the state’s reading and New York was Common Core’s stronghold. What happens if the state backs down? - The Hechinger Report:

Six months and counting. No Common Core Standards SBAC test results yet | Seattle Education

Six months and counting. No Common Core Standards SBAC test results yet | Seattle Education:

Six months and counting. No Common Core Standards SBAC test results yet

Remember the Common Core SBAC test that was given to students in Seattle during the month of April and May, the test that was sooo important for students to take, the test that certain school administrators threatened, coerced and embarrassed students into taking, that SBAC test? Well, parents and students have yet to see the results of the test.

So then the question is, why haven’t the results been published? Does OSPI or our superintendent hope we’ll forget about the test? That it will be just a vague and very bad memory when precious class time was lost and millions of dollars spent on a test that is of no value to teachers or their students? Even if and when we see the results, will it matter? Teachers, students and parents cannot see the questions or the answers.

Is it because the results were so bad that a narrative is being created by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction OSPI/Bill Gates (Bill Gates has provided OSPI with $14M in grants since 2009)? We know that the Common Core Standards test results in other states were so low that parents began to question the Six months and counting. No Common Core Standards SBAC test results yet | Seattle Education:

Text of Arne Duncan’s note to his staff about resigning as education secretary - The Washington Post

Text of Arne Duncan’s note to his staff about resigning as education secretary - The Washington Post:

Text of Arne Duncan’s note to his staff about resigning as education secretary

The following is a text of an internal e-mail Duncan sent to his staff on Friday, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post:

Subject line: An inspiring new leader for our extraordinary team

Dear colleagues,

I’m writing to tell you two things. First, what is for me some bittersweet news: after several months of commuting between my family in Chicago and my job here in DC, I have made the decision to step down in December.

Second, and very happily, President Obama has asked our delegated Deputy Secretary John King Jr. to step into my role when I leave. An announcement to that effect went out from the White House a few minutes ago.

Serving the President in the work of expanding opportunity for students throughout this country has been the greatest honor of my life. Doing so alongside people of the brilliance, ability and moral conviction of the team here at ED has been nothing short of thrilling. We have been lucky to have an a amazing team here from Day One, but I honestly believe our team today is the strongest it’s ever been. So it’s with real sadness that have come to recognize that being apart from my family has become too much of a strain, and it is time for me to step aside and give a new leader a chance. I haven’t talked with anyone about what I’ll do next, and probably won’t for a little while – I’m simply returning to Chicago to live with my family. I imagine my next steps will continue to involve the work of expanding opportunity for children, but I have no idea what that will look like yet.

What gives me peace with this decision, and I hope comes as a reassurance to everyone here, is the extraordinary talent of John and our leadership team. John comes to this role with a record of exceptional accomplishment as a lifelong educator – a teacher, a school leader, and a leader of school systems, most recently as Commissioner of Education in New York State before he joined our team. Over the years that I have known him, and especially in the months we have worked together here, I’ve come to recognize John as one of the most passionate, courageous, clear-headed leaders in our field. His talent is such that he will become one of the youngest Cabinet members in American history. (I encourage you to read his remarkable personal story, which he laid out in a Huffington Post article[huffingtonpost.com] a few years ago.)

The team here is extraordinary. Each of our offices is headed by a genuine national leader from whom I’ve learned enormously, and at the center of that team is a senior leadership I’ve depended upon daily – in addition to John, our Under Secretary Ted Mitchell, a visionary whose ideas and moral force are helping to change the landscape of opportunity in higher education; and my Chief of Staff, Emma Vadehra, who understands how to accomplish change in education as well as anyone else in this country. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to announce a replacement for John to carry out the duties of Deputy Secretary soon, and I owe this team enormous thanks for their dedication and sacrifice.

I owe a similarly profound thanks to each of you. The work of this Department is exceptionally ambitious – to ensure that every student in this country enjoys genuine opportunity to learn, to grow, to excel. As a comparatively small team, often under challenging conditions and timelines, our staff has continued to offer example after example of dedication beyond the call of duty. I’m honored to have led you, and delighted by what good hands this Department will be in. I ask each of you that you offer John and his team the same commitment I’ve witnessed from you.

As I think about our shared work here, and about what it has meant to spend seven years serving the President and the country, I think about two students I’ve met in recent years. The first is Brandon, a young man I met at a round table discussion in Denver as part of My Brother’s Keeper. Brandon told a story I will never forget, about how his life had slipped off the tracks in elementary school. He had scrawled graffiti in a bathroom stall when he was 11 years old. His school, which had zero tolerance discipline policies, called the police, and he ended up being sentenced to pick up trash along the highway alongside adult criminals. He also ended up with a criminal record, and years later, when he tried to become a police officer, the department turned him away because of that record. For me, Brandon will always be a reminder of the distance we have to go as adults, to do right by our young people.

The second person is Russhaun Johnson. Russhaun had the deck stacked against him growing up in Des Moines, Iowa. His dad wasn’t around; he lived with his mom, who was a drug addict, until she was incarcerated for more than four years while he was in middle and high school. No one in his family was there for him, and many nights, he slept on park benches. He described himself as “two steps behind” from the start in school. What got Russhaun on a track to success, he says, was his teachers and counselors, who helped him see himself as the brilliant young man he is. He’s now an accomplished poet, and the president of his senior class. A few weeks ago, the whole country had the opportunity to witness his brilliance, as he introduced President Obama to a cheering crowd on the first day of our bus tour. Russhaun told the audience he is planning to go to college to become a teacher, because he wants to offer a next generation of young people the possibility that the caring educators
around him helped him see in himself. He is an example, to me, of what can go right for our children when our schools understand who they can become – and act on that knowledge.

When I think about the life paths of these two young people, I know that no one will fight harder for students like them than John King and the team he will lead here. I thank you for being part of that team, and promise you that you are in good hands.

–Arne

Valerie Strauss covers education and runs The Answer Sheet blog.Text of Arne Duncan’s note to his staff about resigning as education secretary - The Washington Post:

If you thought Arne Duncan was controversial, meet his successor - The Washington Post

If you thought Arne Duncan was controversial, meet his successor - The Washington Post:

If you thought Arne Duncan was controversial, meet his successor

Now that Education Secretary Arne Duncan has decided to step down in December, the U.S. Department of Education will be headed by John King. And if you thought Duncan was controversial, meet his successor.

King was the New York State education commissioner, taking over in 2011 and announcing in December 2014 that he was leaving to become Duncan’s No. 2, a job officially titled “Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education,” according to the Education Department’s biography. King can run the department without being officially nominated as education secretary.

Duncan himself is leaving amid strong discontent from all sides of the political spectrum with his tenure, during which he became the most powerful education secretary in U.S. history. He backed school reforms, including the Common Core State Standards and standardized test-based accountability for teachers, which became increasingly unpopular in states across the country. Last year, the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association, called on him to resign. And Congress is now considering legislation to rewrite No Child Left Behind that would sharply reduce the federal power Duncan wielded, a direct result of Duncan’s tenure.

King was just as embattled, if not more, in New York as education commission for some of the same reasons as Duncan — and there were numerous calls for his resignation as well. By the time he resigned, he had lost the confidence of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) (although King was appointed by the New York State Regents).

King led a series of school reforms that included a new teacher evaluation system using student standardized test scores that critics say is nonsensical  (for example, art teachers are evaluated by student math test scores) and the implementation of the Common Core standards, and aligned Pearson-designed standardized tests. King’s oversight of all of this was considered If you thought Arne Duncan was controversial, meet his successor - The Washington Post:

John B. King Jr in for Arne Duncan Relegated Duties of Acting Secretary of Education -- Biography

John B. King, Jr., Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education -- Biography:
John B. King, Jr., Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education — Biography 

Versión en español

John B. King, Jr. is the Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education, a position he assumed in January 2015. In appointing him, Secretary Arne Duncan called Dr. King "an extraordinary leader who has dedicated his life to improving the opportunities of our young people, as a teacher, a school leader and a leader of school systems."

Dr. King oversees all preschool-through-12th-grade education policies, programs and strategic initiatives, as well as the operations of the Department, which has more than 4,000 employees and a budget of more than $60 billion. This work involves a focus on increasing equity, improving educational outcomes for all students, and closing achievement gaps through implementation of key Administration priorities in areas including early learning, elementary and secondary education, special education, English language acquisition, and innovation.

Dr. King also oversees the Department's work leading cross-agency collaboration for President Obama's My Brother's Keeper task force, which seeks to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people are able to reach their full potential.

Prior to his arrival at the Department, Dr. King had served since 2011 as the commissioner of education for the state of New York. In that role, he served as chief executive officer of the State Education Department and as president of the University of the State of New York, overseeing the State's elementary and secondary schools (serving 3.1 million students), public, independent and proprietary colleges and universities, libraries, museums, and numerous other educational institutions. Dr. King was one of the nation's youngest state education leaders at the time of his appointment and the first African-American and Puerto Rican to serve as New York State education commissioner.

As commissioner of education, Dr. King worked with the Board of Regents to pursue an ambitious education improvement agenda. During his tenure, New York State was a national leader in many facets of education: investing in high-quality early learning; raising standards for teaching and learning; supporting teachers and school leaders through strong professional development, access to rich instructional resources, and innovative educator career ladder models; expanding career and technical education in high-demand fields; and increasing educational opportunity for students in the highest-need communities. Under Dr. King's leadership, New York deepened collaboration between the state's preschool-through-12th-grade (P-12) schools and its institutions of higher education, including strengthening teacher and principal preparation, and raising the bar for teacher and principal certification.

Dr. King brings to his role extensive experience leading urban public schools that are closing the achievement gap and preparing students to enter, succeed in, and graduate from college. Prior to his appointment as senior deputy commissioner at the New York State Education Department in 2009, King served as a managing director with Uncommon Schools, a non-profit charter management organization that operates some of the highest-performing urban public schools in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Earlier in his career, Dr. King was a co-founder and co-director for curriculum and instruction of Roxbury Preparatory Charter School. Under his leadership, Roxbury Prep became one of the highest performing urban middle schools in the State, closed the racial achievement gap, and outperformed not only the Boston district schools but also schools in the city's affluent suburbs. Dr. King began his career in education teaching high school social studies in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. King earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University, a Master of Arts in the teaching of social studies from Columbia University's Teachers College, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a Doctor of Education degree in educational administrative practice from Columbia University's Teachers College. Dr. King was a 1995 Truman Scholar and received the James Madison Memorial Fellowship for secondary-level teaching of American history, American government, and social studies. Prior to joining the Department, in February 2011, Dr. King was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to serve on the U.S. Department of Education's Equity and Excellence Commission. In addition, Dr. King served on the board of New Leaders for New Schools from 2005 to 2009, and is a 2008 Aspen Institute-NewSchools Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Fellow.

Dr. King's life story is an extraordinary testament to the power of education. Both of Dr. King's parents were career New York City public school educators, whose example serves as an enduring inspiration. Dr. King's parents both died from illness by the time he was 12, and he struggled to cope with their loss as he moved between family members and schools. He credits New York City public school teachers — particularly his teachers at P.S. 276 in Canarsie and Mark Twain J.H.S. in Coney Island — for saving his life by providing transformative educational experiences and giving him hope about the future. His belief in the centrality of educational opportunity to the American Dream and the vital necessity of second chances for our young people has its foundations in his own experience of overcoming so many challenges and going on to graduate from Harvard, Yale and Columbia and become a teacher and education leader.

Dr. King lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife and two children, who attend local public schools.John B. King, Jr., Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education -- Biography:

The Trouble with “Disruption” and its Effect on Children

The Trouble with “Disruption” and its Effect on Children:

The Trouble with “Disruption” and its Effect on Children

Disruption has become a popular buzzword in regard to schooling. Education reformers like to say disruption is a good thing—like shaking up a kaleidoscope to get a pretty picture. Never mind that those beautiful little pebbles in the kaleidoscope are real children. Nor is it with certainty that once you shake things up the picture will be pretty. For all we know the kaleidoscope might break, especially if you shake it too hard.

No. For most of us, disruption is more like putting a child on a Tilt-a-Whirl after a big meal.

But politicians and policymakers love the word disruption. Just the other day Jeb! Bush said on CNN I’m a proven leader. I disrupted the old order in Tallahassee. I relied on people like Marco Rubio and many others to follow my leadership and we moved the needle.

Ask Floridians how they like those education disruptions since Mr. Bush was in office.Here is a website if you would like to show how you dislike the education disruptions The Trouble with “Disruption” and its Effect on Children:

AP sources: Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down

AP sources: Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down:

AP sources: Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Arne Duncan, one of the longest-serving members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet, will step down in December, officials said Friday.

In an email to his staff, Duncan said he's returning to Chicago to live with his family. He said he isn't sure what he will do next, but that he hopes his future will "continue to involve the work of expanding opportunity for children."

Sidestepping a nomination fight in Congress, Obama has tapped John King Jr., a senior official at the Education Department, to run the department in an acting capacity for the remainder of his administration. Obama doesn't intend to nominate King or another candidate for education secretary before his presidency ends in early 2017, said a White House official, who wasn't authorized to comment by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The unconventional approach will spare Obama a fight over a nominee in the Senate but is likely to draw resistance from Republicans in the Senate, which holds the power to confirm or reject nominees for Cabinet-level posts.

"John comes to this role with a record of exceptional accomplishment as a lifelong educator — a teacher, a school leader, and a leader of school systems," Duncan said in an email to department officials obtained by The Associated Press.

Duncan is one of just a few remaining members of Obama's original cabinet. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Office of Management and Budget director Shaun Donovan have also served in the Cabinet since the first term. Donovan, however, first served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Duncan came to Washington from Chicago, where he ran the city's public school system. As part of the Chicago cohort that followed Obama to Washington, Duncan is one of few Cabinet members who has a personal relationship with the president. A basketball player at Harvard University who played professionally in Australia, Duncan was once a regular in Obama's weekend basketball games.

As secretary, Duncan prioritized K-12 education and made his first signature initiative the Race to the Top program, in which states competed for federal grants. The program became a flashpoint in the fight over federal involvement in education. Critics argued it encouraged states to adopt the Common Core, a controversial set of curriculum guidelines that become symbolic of federal overreach.

Duncan showed little patience for criticism of the program and the standards. In 2014, he cast critics as "white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were, and that's pretty scary." Duncan later said he regretted the "clumsy phrasing."

In his senior Education Department role with the peculiar title of delegated deputy secretary, King oversees preschool through high school education and manages the department's operations. He was previously state education commissioner in New York, running the state's public schools and universities.

___

Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this report.

___

Reach Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAPAP sources: Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down:

More on the Big Changes with the SAT and why juniors should take the old SAT at least once before March 2016 - Wait What?

More on the Big Changes with the SAT and why juniors should take the old SAT at least once before March 2016 - Wait What?:

More on the Big Changes with the SAT and why juniors should take the old SAT at least once before March 2016

As reported in yesterday’s Wait, What? Post,

“Current 11th graders are strongly encouraged to take the CURRENT SAT before the NEW SAT comes out in March.  Colleges will continue to accept SAT scores earned prior to the NEW SAT rollout.  In this way, students may also take the NEW SAT and compare scores, submitting the set of scores that is more favorable.  This option (using the current SAT scores) will not be available to younger students.  In other words, students in the Class of 2017 will be the last to have the option of using scores earned on the current SAT.”  (Recommendation from the Guidance Department of E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, CT.)

Starting in March 2016 the College Board, which owns the lucrative PSAT and SAT testing systems, will be rolling out a NEW SAT which it claims is aligned to the “Common Core Standards”

The “primary author” of those Common Core Standards – a system that is causing so much controversy – took over as President of the College Board and immediately announced that he would do for the SAT what he did for the nation’s education standards.

And many of the same problems and issues that have arisen with the Common Core SBAC and Common Core PARCC tests are likely to appear with the new SAT.

Remember that the Common Core testing scheme was designed to fail the vast majority of More on the Big Changes with the SAT and why juniors should take the old SAT at least once before March 2016 - Wait What?:

New Mexico’s Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit: Day Three | VAMboozled!

New Mexico’s Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit: Day Three | VAMboozled!:

New Mexico’s Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit: Day Three

As per my last post about the second day in court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I was purposefully ambiguous about one of the two articles written in The Santa Fe New Mexican regarding my testimony. The first article titled, “Experts differ on test-based evaluations at NM hearing,” I felt fairly captured the events of the second day in court, but the second article titled, “Professor’s testimony: Teacher eval system ‘not ready for prime time,” did not. But that is about all that I said, being purposefully ambiguous for two reasons that I can now (more or less) share.

The first reason was that the author of this article (in my opinion) unfairly captured my four hours of testimony, by primarily positioning me as an “expert witness” who did not know really anything about the New Mexico teacher evaluation model. Just to be clear, during my testimony I explained that I had not analyzed the actual data from New Mexico. I also argued (but this was unfortunately not highlighted in this particular article), that I could not find anything about the New Mexico model’s output (e.g., indicators of reliability or consistency in terms of teachers’ rankings over time, indicators of validity as per, for example, whether the state’s value-added output correlated, or not, with the other “multiple measures” used in New Mexico’s teacher evaluation system), pretty much anywhere given my efforts.

I testified that this, in and of itself, was problematic, given much of what should have beenNew Mexico’s Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit: Day Three | VAMboozled!:

Schools Matter: Nashville Charters' Mind-Boggling Appeal for Expansion

Schools Matter: Nashville Charters' Mind-Boggling Appeal for Expansion:

Nashville Charters' Mind-Boggling Appeal for Expansion

In August the Nashville Metro School Board voted down further "no excuses" charter expansion.

School board members based their votes on 1) the dehumanizing and brutal regimen of the total compliance charters that is ostensibly aimed to improve student "character," 2) the siphoning of money by charters that will not be available to fund instructional programs and facility improvements for children in existing public schools, and 3) the fact that Nashville Metro does not have a plan that analyzes the need for charters or the long-term repercussions of sending hundreds of millions of school funds each year to corporate reform school operators.

Even without further expansion, this year, alone, Nashville Metro will spend $78 million on charter schools, even though thewait lists of parents trying to get their children into public schools are much longer than the wait lists for the charters like KIPP that are appealing the school board's decision to halt expansion. (Only one of KIPP's four Nashville schools even has a wait list).

At the appeals hearing with the State Board of Education two days ago, KIPP's lawyer, Drew Goddard, used his best pretzel logic to argue for KIPP expansion.  According to Goddard, KIPP expansion could actually save Metro money by drawing off students Schools Matter: Nashville Charters' Mind-Boggling Appeal for Expansion:

EduColor Advocates for Children of Color in Public Schools - Scenarios USAScenarios USA

EduColor Advocates for Children of Color in Public Schools - Scenarios USAScenarios USA:

EduColor Advocates for Children of Color in Public Schools

via http://www.theblackhomeschool.com/

This year marks the 10th anniversary of when I started writing online. As a teacher, there were a lot of reasons that I wanted to expand my classroom to be inclusive of a broader world: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could use the Internet,” I thought, “to connect my students to their classrooms or places we can’t physically go because it’s too far?” Except, I found that I was just as in need of community and connection as my students were.

Of the many online friends I’ve made in that time, José Luis Vilson is one of the voices that made me feel I wasn’t alone as a teacher of color in a predominantly white school district. It can be hard to find someone who believes in the same educational pedagogy intersected that with equality and justice. For instance, a part of my belief system is that “all children can learn” — but this gets push-back in the larger public sphere when we look at how marginalized kids of color are in our system. José’s book, This is Not a Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education, made me nod so much in agreement that it felt as though I was reading words that I could have written.

José and a group of other like-minded activists created EduColor – a space for public school advocates and educators who have a perspective and voice on educational equity and justice. The mission is to elevate those voices that are so often marginalized within our own working systems. How could I, an educator in Illinois, reach out to someone in New York City who understands the individual work I’m doing on a national level?

That’s what educators do: we move around in various spaces until we find one that fits the purpose of continuing to teach.

I was already connected to many of the EduColor originators, including Sabrina Stevens, Melinda Anderson, Liz Dwyer, via online platforms — somehow, we had found one another through common concerns about education. The articles and stories we posted were so familiar it felt like I had found a tribe. We were all connected on Twitter and moved those relationships to other social media platforms. That’s what educators do: we move around in various spaces until we find one that fits the purpose of continuing EduColor Advocates for Children of Color in Public Schools - Scenarios USAScenarios USA:

"Golden" Granada Hills Charter High School: Scofflaws When It Comes to California Ed Code?

"Golden" Granada Hills Charter High School: Scofflaws When It Comes to California Ed Code?:

“Golden” Granada Hills Charter High School: Scofflaws When It Comes to California Ed Code?

By Carl Petersen. “I am a former candidate for the District 3 seat on the LAUSD School Board, founder of Change The LAUSDand member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. Opinions are my own.”

“Per GHCHS Board Policy, all students must participate fully in California CAASPP and Granada Testing in their 9th, 10th and 11th grade year to be eligible to participate in optional activities such as senior activities, school extracurricular activities and school athletics (GHCHS Parent-Student Handbook).”

-Granada Hills Charter High School

If you had your car stolen and then saw it being driven on the streets, your first call would probably be to the local police department. It would not be unreasonable for you to expect that these trained professionals would take care of the situation by confronting the driver and taking appropriate action. But what would you think if they instead told you that it was your responsibility to find out why the person was driving your car? This is essentially what the LAUSD’s Charter Schools Division (CSD) does in handling complaints.

Once the LAUSD becomes the authorizing entity for a charter school, it “is responsible for ensuring the charter school operates in compliance with all applicable laws and terms of its charter.” However, in three separate cases, I have contacted the CSD to report that Granada Hills Charter High School may be operating outside the boundaries of California Ed Code and in all three cases the division failed to take meaningful action. In May, I reported that the school was charging up to $60.00 for graduation caps and gowns despite a California Department of Education policy that states that “a district may not require students to purchase a cap and gown as a condition of participating in the graduation ceremony.” The CSD’s Alex Gomez did not force them to issue refunds and then took a place on the graduation dais as the school’s honored guest. At the beginning of September, I expressed concern about the school’s plans to release student data to a lobbying organization, but have not received a response beyond “we’re looking into it.” The most current situation involves the school’s stated policy of retaliating against students whose parents have opted them out of standardized testing.

Parents can opt their children out of state mandated standardized tests “by writing a note to the school administrators citing California Ed Code 60615: ‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a parent’s or guardian’s written request to school officials to excuse his or her child from any or all parts of the assessments administered pursuant to this chapter shall be granted.” While schools cannot retaliate "Golden" Granada Hills Charter High School: Scofflaws When It Comes to California Ed Code?:

CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, NEA

CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, NEA:

Dammit, NEA

The national leadership of the NEA today is one step closer to ramming the endorsement of Hillary Clinton down its members throats.

Steven Singer zeroed in on the maximum-irony quote from NEA president Lily Eskelsen-Garcia:

“We are what Democracy looks like.”

With those words, Lily Eskelsen Garcia took the reigns of the National Education Association (NEA) as President in 2014.

Well, no. This is not what democracy looks like. Not even if you squint real hard and tilt your head.

This is not what a recruitment drive looks like, as NEA continues to wish that it could take a stronger hold among younger members. In my corner of the world, the state called some local union leaders together to talk about the secret of getting more contributions for the political action committee. This does not look like how you do that, either.

You do not build a union by going to young professionals and saying, "Hey, we'd like you to give us some dues. In return, we'll tell you what we want you to think about national issues without ever checking with you to get your opinion." You do not build a union by telling your members, "Hey, we know what's best for you. Shut up and sit down."

Democracy is under attack in this country. In Alabama, where the system is now rigged to deny CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, NEA:

Ohio’s Failure to Oversee Charters and Youngstown Takeover Are Connected, Funded by Arne Duncan | janresseger

Ohio’s Failure to Oversee Charters and Youngstown Takeover Are Connected, Funded by Arne Duncan | janresseger:

Ohio’s Failure to Oversee Charters and Youngstown Takeover Are Connected, Funded by Arne Duncan

Two important things relating to education happened in Columbus in June, right before the Ohio legislature went on summer break.  The legislature did fast-track a bill to take over the public schools in Youngstown.  The legislature didn’t follow through on a promise to regulate Ohio’s notorious charter schools and their sponsors. Now we learn that all this was how Governor John Kasich and  his appointed state superintendent, Richard Ross, intended things to work out.  And U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will pay for it.

First, at the end of June, on the Wednesday before the legislature adjourned for the summer, without prior warning in the middle of a a committee hearing on a bill to expand full-service, wraparound Community Schools in Ohio,  Senator Peggy Lehner introduced a 66 page amendment to establish state takeover of the Youngstown schools by an emergency manager—and a takeover in the future of any school district with three years’ of “F” ratings—rendering the locally elected school board meaningless.  Within hours the bill had passed the Senate, moved to the House for concurrence, and been sent to the Governor for signature.  There was never a full public hearing on the amended bill.

Second, the legislature took a pass on approving a well-debated bill to improve state oversight of the charter school sector in Ohio.  The Senate had passed the bill, and the House had been asked to concur, but instead the bill was not brought to the floor.  Everybody speculated this was a move to ensure that the bill would eventually be sent to a conference committee where Ohio’s charter school czars who have invested millions in campaign contributions to Ohio Republicans would have more power to soften the regulations intended to make Ohio’s charter schools more accountable, both academically and fiscally.  The Ohio legislature did return this last week of September and sent the bill, as predicted, to a conference committee for further work.  We wait to see whether Ohio will get any improvement in the regulation of its charter schools.

It now turns out this is all connected to a huge, $71 million grant awarded earlier this week to Ohio by the U.S. Department of  Education to expand charter schools, specifically in Ohio’s Failure to Oversee Charters and Youngstown Takeover Are Connected, Funded by Arne Duncan | janresseger:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan's grand charter give-away. Feeding the beast.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan's grand charter give-away. Feeding the beast.:

Duncan's grand charter give-away. Feeding the beast.

Arne Duncan has turned the D.O.E. into little more than a feeding trough for even the most corrupt and unaccountable charter school operators. His latest gift of $157M to charter privateers comes virtually accountability-free. The most stunning part is that Duncan knows and admits it, making him complicit.

"We still see too many reports of unscrupulous behavior of charter schools and their authorizers," Duncan tells reporters.

Ohio, where unscrupulous/corrupt is the name of the game and where charter operators like K12 Inc. and White Hat Management stuff millions into their own pockets, has just received another Duncan grant of more than $32M with another $40 million on the way. It's the largest single award of any state, leaving Ohio's Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan shaking his head in disbelief.

From the Washington Post:

“The charter school system in Ohio is broken and dysfunctional,” said Ryan, who sent a letter Thursday to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, asking him to “place stringent restrictions” on the federal dollars he is sending to Ohio. 

“There are people making a lot of money off schools,” he said. “Why Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan's grand charter give-away. Feeding the beast.:

Root Of The Education Crisis: Teachers Were Never The Problem | PopularResistance.Org

Root Of The Education Crisis: Teachers Were Never The Problem | PopularResistance.Org:

Root Of The Education Crisis: Teachers Were Never The Problem

Google the phrase “education crisis” and you’ll be hit with a glut of articles, blog posts and think tank reports claiming the entire American school system is facing an emergency. Much of this agitprop additionally asserts that teachers unions are the primary cause of the alleged problem. Not surprisingly, the fabulists pushing these narratives are often backed by anti-public school conservatives and anti-union plutocrats. But a little-noticed study released last week provides yet more confirmation that neither the “education crisis” meme or the “evil teachers’ union” narrative is accurate.

Before looking at that study, consider some of the ways we already know that the dominant storyline about education is, indeed, baseless propaganda.

As I’ve reported before, we know that American public school students from wealthy districts generate some of the best test scores in the world. This proves that the education system’s problems are not universal–the crisis is isolated primarily in the parts of the system that operate in high poverty areas. It also proves that while the structure of the traditional public school system is hardly perfect, it is not the big problem in America’s K-12 education system. If it was the problem, then traditional public schools in rich neighborhoods would not perform as well as they do.

Similarly, we know that many of the high-performing public schools in America’s wealthy locales are unionized. We also know that one of the best school systems in the world—Finland’s—is fully unionized. These facts prove that teachers’ unions are not the root cause of the education problem, either. After all, if unions were the problem, then unionized public schools in wealthy areas and Finland would be failing.

So what is the problem? That brings us to the new study from the Southern Education Foundation. Cross-referencing and education data, researchers found that that a majority of all public school students in one third of America’s states now come from low-income families.

How much does this have to do with educational outcomes? A lot. Social science research Root Of The Education Crisis: Teachers Were Never The Problem | PopularResistance.Org: