Maryland's Taoiseach Proposes Reform

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and state school Superintendent Nancy Grasmick can finally agree on one thing: O'Malley's proposal to make the state competitive for Race to the Top round two.

Score one for Grasmick? Before Maryland decided not to apply in the first round of the Race to the Top competition -- making it one of only 10 states not to -- O'Malley said that no legislative changes were needed, while Grasmick insisted that they were if Maryland was to submit an application that had a snowball's chance in hell of being successful.

It looks like the Governor has come around. The Baltimore Sun reports that the Governor "wants to add a year to the time it takes public school teachers to achieve tenure and to tie their performance evaluations to data on how well their students are doing" and that Grasmick is "very happy."

A draft of the governor's Education Reform Act of 2010 shows that it includes:

•Lengthening the teacher tenure track from two to three years.

•Requiring that schools provide mentors to new teachers who are in danger of not achieving tenure.

•Making data on student growth a "significant component" of teacher evaluations, one of "multiple measures."

•Providing incentive pay (contingent upon Race to the Top funding) for "highly effective" teachers and principals who serve the bottom 5% of lowest-achieving public schools.

But will the Legislature agree? That remains to be seen, but the fact that the Governor and the state Superintendent could agree -- and that the proposal is supported by the state teachers' unions -- bodes well.

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Updates on the Race: 12-21-2009

NATIONAL
Creative RttT Lawmaking (Politics K-12)

RttT Hopefuls: Clear The Week of March 15, 2010 (Politics K-12)

States Struggle With Pk-20 Data (Education Week)

CALIFORNIA
State senate passes RttT reform bill (AP)

Bill addresses failing schools (San Francisco Chronicle)

Final bill could be passed "before the holidays" (Los Angeles Times)

Assembly Speaker: Race is 'on track' (San Jose Mercury News)

FLORIDA
Teachers union says 'no' to state plan (Teacher Beat)

Unions balking on Race (Orlando Sentinel)

Florida Dems cry foul (St. Petersburg Times - The Gradebook blog)

63 of 67 school districts sign on (Miami Herald)

HAWAII
Failure to address teacher furlough could jeopardize RttT chances (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

IDAHO
State supe stumps for RttT (Times-News)

Luna: Charter school cap to stay (Times-News)

ILLINOIS
RttT funds could target lowest performing schools (Chicago Daily Herald)

INDIANA
DoE rolls out RttT proposal summary (Journal & Courier)

LOUISIANA
Governor pushes performance pay (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

MARYLAND
Apply in Round 1? Governor: Yes! State Supe: No! (Baltimore Sun)

MASSACHUSETTS
Editorial: More reform needed (Boston Globe)

MICHIGAN
Education reform bill passes (Detroit News)

Reforms pass, including control of failing schools in Detroit (Detroit Free Press)

Editorial: Better than expected (Detroit News)

NEVADA
Governor will wait for second round (Nevada Appeal)

Bill draft would remove state data firewall (Las Vegas Sun)

NEW JERSEY
Expanded school choice could fuel state RttT effort (Philadelphia Inquirer)

NEW YORK
Move your ass, New York (New York Daily News)

OREGON
Two districts sign on (The Oregonian)

RHODE ISLAND
Gist pitches aggressive ed reforms (Providence Journal)

TENNESSEE
Governor's special session: a 'high-pressure gambit' (Nashville City Paper)

Special session will address teacher evaluation (The Tennessean)

WISCONSIN
School district sign-ups underway (Baraboo News Republic)

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Past Updates on the Race to the Top

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Updates on the Race: 12-14-2009

NATIONAL:
Who Would Have Guessed The Race Would Look Like This? (Democrats for Education Reform)

36 States to Apply in Round 1 (Education Week Politics K-12 blog)

CALIFORNIA:
Campaign cash from charters driving Governor's, state's goals? (Contra Costa Times)

Editorial: Schools race to -- where, exactly? (Los Angeles Times)

Politics, politics (AP)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: DC gets to apply, too (Washington Post)

GEORGIA: State a 'frontrunner' (Gainesville Times)

LOUISIANA:
State bid would impact teacher evaluation, pay (The Advocate - Baton Rouge)

Educators wary of state plan (The Advocate - Baton Rouge)

MARYLAND: Editorial: Gates rejection a 'wake-up call' (Baltimore Sun)

MASSACHUSETTS: Op-ed from Stand for Children, Black Leaders for Excellence in Education (The Boston Globe)

MICHIGAN:
Race to the trough in Michigan? (Ann Arbor.com)

Editorial: Legislature's 'racing', but to where? (Lansing State Journal)

NEVADA: Editorial: Governor Gibbons' failure to lead (Las Vegas Sun)

NEW YORK:
Strategy to be unveiled (Gotham Schools)

More charters, teacher testing part of plan (Albany Times-Union)

OHIO: State eligibility caught up in budget stand-off? (The Columbus Dispatch)

SOUTH DAKOTA: State probably a 'long shot' (Sioux Falls Argus Leader)

TENNESSEE: State partnership with Battelle to focus on STEM (The Tennesseean)

WASHINGTON: Editorial: 'Beggars can't be whiners' (The News Tribune - Tacoma)

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Updates on the Race: 12-11-2009

NATIONAL:
New Teacher-Evaluation Systems Face Obstacles (Education Week)

ALABAMA: Governor touts charter schools (Andalusia Star-News)

CALIFORNIA:
Guvinator will 'veto' Assembly-passed RttT reform bill (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Assembly passes reform bill (Los Angeles Times)

Editorial: 'Assembly failed California's schoolchildren' (San Jose Mercury News)

COLORADO: Educator evaluation changes focus of bill, Race (Denver Post)

DELAWARE: State targeting students at risk of dropping out (The News Journal)

FLORIDA:
State is a serious contender (Eduwonk)

Op-Ed: Ed commish calls Race 'a defining moment' for Florida's schools (Miami Herald)

School districts asked to line up for Race (St. Petersburg Times)

IDAHO: Community meetings focus on RttT (KPVI-TV)

ILLINOIS: Advance Illinois advances RttT blueprint (Catalyst Chicago)

KENTUCKY: State ed dept wil lseek authority to remove superintendents, school board members in struggling districts (Kentucky.com)

LOUISIANA: Controversy surrounds state's revamped RttT proposal (The Advocate - Baton Rouge)

Stronger focus on great teachers and school leaders (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

MARYLAND:
Fordham Foundation calls state 'biggest RttT disappointment' (Flypaper)

Gates Foundation denies state RttT planning support (Baltimore Sun)

State superintendent proposes teacher quality changes (Baltimore Sun)

MICHIGAN: Legislative efforts to strengthen state position in Race on-going (MLive.com)

NEW JERSEY: Outgoing, incoming guv camps scrap over timing of application (The Star-Ledger)

OKLAHOMA: Governor's Office seeks RttT input (The Oklahoman)

TENNESSEE: Governor promotes new partnership to promote math & science (AP)

WEST VIRGINIA: State board calls for RttT reforms (The Charleston Gazette)

WISCONSIN:
State superintendent seeks greater authority to intervene in struggling schools and districts (WisPolitics.com)

Editorial: Mayoral control of city schools the right approach (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

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Past Updates on the Race to the Top

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Updates on the Race: 11-18-2009

ALABAMA: Gov. Riley to push for charter schools

MARYLAND: Gov. O'Malley says state is working on RttT

MASSACHUSETTS: State senate passes 'sweeping' ed changes, Gov. Patrick challenges House to do its part

NEVADA: Gov. Gibbons wants law change to compete for RttT

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Updates on The Race: 11-17-2009

California: The tortoise wins?

Colorado: A road map

Maryland: Late to the starting line

Massachusetts: Reform to put a spring in its step?

Nevada: Out of the running

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Teachers' Voice

An important survey was released this week that captures teachers' perceptions of their professional working environment. The national study of 900 teachers by Public Agenda describes educators as falling into one of three groups: "Disheartened," "Contented," and "Idealists." It also raises some serious policy implications for the placement, retention and longevity of teachers based on teachers' perceptions about working conditions, why they entered the profession, and their opinions about proposed policy reforms.

But as useful as this survey may be in defining these issues at a 30,000-foot level, it does not approach the power and utility of teacher surveys that offer entire populations of educators in individual states and districts the opportunity to share their voice about working conditions, leadership support, resources, opportunities for professional learning, etc. In turn, these anonymous surveys also provide contextualized, customized summary data at the state-, district- and school-level based on the perceptions and opinions of local educators.

Teaching and Learning Conditions surveys have been led by the New Teacher Center in states such as Alabama, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina and West Virginia, and in school districts such as Fairfax County, Virginia. They provide state and district policymakers and educational leaders with powerful data to define issues that need to be addressed in school and districts that have major implications for the quality and effectiveness of teachers and principals.

Read the Public Agenda report, but also think about conducting a Teaching and Learning Conditions survey in your state or school district. What do the teachers where you live and work think?

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The Great Debate

What's a university to do in a recession? Use the opportunity to learn how to do less with more? Use it as a convenient excuse to privatize? Stand by your constituents and struggle along with them to build political support?

Right now we're seeing it all. A few examples--

From the Chronicle: Public Colleges Consider Privatization as a Cure for the Common Recession.

In Baltimore: Regents approve tuition freeze for Maryland undergraduates, Out-of-state, graduate students to see increases

But what I'm looking for is a state or university that's using the recession as a chance to focus in on the core questions, which include:
1. What are we doing that is working? At what cost? Given that cost, is it worth it?
2. What are we doing that by no measure is having any impact? What's that costing? Do we have the stomach to stop doing it?

In other words, use this as a time to get focused on cost-effective ways to educate college students--not as a time to grow bigger and broader. Get back to your core mission. As the NY Times pointed out yesterday, right now you've got to live in the house you're in--there's no trading up. There's no upgrade in a recession, especially not one that comes at the expense of students and families.

Postscript: As I finished typing, the following news rolled in. We have a WINNER! Temple University has managed to cut its operating budget by 5% (by consolidating programs, leaving some staff positions vacant, and freezing salaries for nonunion employees) and give half of the savings (nearly $20 million) to financial aid. Tuition will rise only minimally (less than 3%). You go, Temple!

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