 |
 |
 |
|
|
NWPE News Notes
The Online Communiqué of Northwest Professional Educators
July 29, 2003
SCHOOL CHIEFS LACK BROAD AUTHORITY FOR REFORMS, UW SURVEY FINDS
NO SUMMER VACATION FOR TEACHERS' UNION
NONUNION TEACHER SETS COLUMBIAN READER STRAIGHT
MIDDLE SCHOOL READING SCORES POINT TO HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES
ANTI-SCHOOL CHOICE LACKS STANDING
WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER?
SCHOOL CHIEFS LACK BROAD AUTHORITY FOR REFORMS, UW SURVEY FINDS
"A University of Washington study being released Monday suggests the goals of No Child Left Behind -- a sweeping educational reform that holds schools and districts accountable for student achievement -- will be difficult to meet unless school superintendents are given greater authority. . . An advance copy of the report, obtained by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, said superintendents' efforts at educational reform are frequently stymied by micromanaging school boards and inflexible teachers' unions. . .What they found, he said, was a widespread perception of an educational system driven by adults' demands, not children's educational needs."
"With the 2003-04 school year expected to bring more public scrutiny of test scores, 97 percent of superintendents surveyed said they feel they have little authority to hire, fire and move teachers, or to reconfigure poorly performing schools and adjust curriculum." Proposals to close the achievement gap for disadvantaged children include "reading-focused preschools for poor children, eliminating grades in primary school, back-to-basics charter schools and longer school years for disadvantaged children."
____________________________
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/132668_superintendents28.html
NO SUMMER VACATION FOR TEACHERS' UNION
"Teachers may be on summer vacation, but there apparently is no such break for their union as it continues to try to punish state lawmakers for being fiscally responsible.
"Charles Hasse, president of the Washington Education Association, is in the news this week saying teachers are fed up that the state -- faced with a budget shortfall near $3 billion -- didn't allocate money for cost-of-living raises.
"So what does Hasse say they might do about it? Stick it to schoolchildren, who really have a lot to do with state finances, by striking.
"There's more. Unbelievably, Hasse also told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the union likely will sue to overturn a provision in the state budget that gave raises to beginning teachers -- long the poster child for low teaching salaries."
________________________
http://www.tricityherald.com/tch/opinions/story/3509617p-3540873c.html
NONUNION TEACHER SETS COLUMBIAN READER STRAIGHT
Dear Editor:
I'm a non-union teacher and the letter from Mike Phillips in the July 23rd Columbian really caught my eye. Mike said that the Columbian editorial "Teachers Trumped" on July 17th was in error and that teachers who are not union members still receive full union "benefits" including legal protections and collective bargaining rights. I went to the Washington Education Association website to see if there had been a sudden change in policy. At www.wa.nea.org/who/benefits.htm, I discovered that there has been no change. WEA will continue to extract money from non-union teachers' salaries and make it as difficult as they can for those teachers to get any part of their money back. Non-members are specifically denied coverage under WEA's mythical professional liability insurance policy. Further, non-members have no voice in workplace negotiations and are not allowed to vote in union elections.
The solution to all of this would be for the Legislature to repeal those provisions of the Revised Code of Washington that permit unions to require teachers to pay dues to a union whether they want to or not. Unions would then have to convince teacher that the union actually does something for them and would be more accountable than they are now.
Ed Dawson, Vancouver
NWPE President
MIDDLE SCHOOL READING SCORES POINT TO HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES
"Nationwide, less than 70 percent of secondary school students graduate from high school on time. Approximately 25 percent of high school students read well below grade level, making these six million adolescents the most likely to drop out of school unprepared for life. Every school day in America approximately 3,000 middle and high school students drop out of school. The Houston Independent School District only graduates 52 percent of its eighth graders from high school within five years and currently lists 6 high schools as 'failing.'
"The Alliance for Excellent Education addressed the needs of those students most likely to drop out of school in its report, Every Child a Graduate. The Alliance recommended four initiatives that address the main problems of student failure - low literacy skills, poorly prepared teachers, absence of academic and social supports, and large, impersonal schools."
_______________________________
http://www.educationnews.org/middle_school_reading_scores_poi.htm
ANTI-SCHOOL CHOICE LACKS STANDING
"Some members of Congress are raising concerns that the proposed legislation to allow children in the District of Columbia to choose private schools using their share of public funds raises constitutional concerns. If there's one certainty in the debate over D.C. school choice, it's that the proposal easily satisfies constitutional dictates.
"Only one year ago, the Supreme Court removed any doubt about the constitutionality of allowing parents using public funds to choose their children's school, even if the school is religious. What's more, the court provided a clear road map for school choice legislation, which members of Congress followed meticulously in drafting the D.C. school choice bill."
______________________________
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20030723-093906-7704r.htm
WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER?
"A new report on charter schools, "Apples to Apples: An Evaluation of Charter Schools Serving General Student Populations," casts deep doubt on the importance of teacher certification."
________________________
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/mg20030722.shtml
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
