[Vision2020] Idaho, Education, and State Senate Bills 1068 and 1069

[Sue Hovey]

And with a single swipe of the pen (or vote in session) this effort wipes 
out the progress made by teachers over the past 40 years to establish 
themselves as professional educators with the ability to participate in 
significant education decisions--including those affecting them as well as 
their students. Once again they become nothing more than indentured 
servants, working at the whim of a Board of Trustees, who may or may not be 
all that concerned for teacher welfare.  Were I a young Idaho teacher today, 
I'd be looking for another state in which to practice.  Most wouldn't have 
to go far.   Any one of the several states which borders Idaho will be 
appealing--more money, more professional autonomy, more governmental support 
for true education improvement.

You know, I really believe student progress is a valid criterion for 
evaluating teachers.  Student learning  is what we are all about.  But the 
state has no current measures which can be administered, scored, and 
returned to the teachers in a timely manner so they can look at the results, 
make decisions about reteaching, and then do it. When scores are aggregated 
and don't come back until months after the test is administered, one can see 
trends, but there is nothing that will help a teacher determine what to do 
for an individual student.    A determination of how that learning will be 
validated should be in place before it is used for teacher evaluation.  And 
teachers, themselves, should help determine those measures.

Those who believe strong unions are an impediment to student learning fail 
to acknowledge the facts.  One example from The Nation, Jan 10/17, "There is 
no evidence that the presence of unions impedes academic success in American 
schools.  Consider this:  in states like Massachusetts & Minnesota, where 
public schools are heavily unionized, students earn the highest scores on 
the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the standardized exam known 
as the nation's report card.  In contrast, students in states such as 
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas which have few, if any teachers union 
members and virtually no union contracts, have the lowest NAEP scores. 
What's more, in almost all the nations that outperform the US in education, 
teachers are unionized and teaching is a respected profession."

Of course, these bills aren't about improving student learning.  The 
Melalucca Man, Tom Luna, the Governor, other Republican policy makers,  and 
even the folks at the Albertson Foundation have as their priority the 
breakup of the Idaho Education Association. If they really cared about 
public education, they'd be looking for ways to fund it.  Adequate funding 
of education isn't even a part of their mind-set--children don't vote and 
teachers already know how to spin straw into gold.  They've been doing it in 
Idaho for all their professional lives.

Sue Hovey

-----Original Message----- 
From: Moscow Cares
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 10:24 AM
To: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: [Vision2020] Idaho, Education, and State Senate Bills 1068 and 1069

Greetings Visionaires -

On Thursday Jason Hancock (one of Supt Luna's underlings in the State
Department of Education) met with the Senate Education Committee to lay
the "ground work for, and introduce, RS20241 (now known as Senate Bill
1068) and RS20254C1 (now known as Senate Bill 1069).  As a result of Mr.
Hancock's groundwork, these two bills will be introduced before the Senate
Education Committee on Monday (February 7, 2011).

Just what are Senate Bills 1068 and 1069, you ask?

---------------------------------------------------------

S1068   by EDUCATION COMMITTEE

EDUCATION - Amends, repeals and adds to existing law relating to education
to revise conditions relating to the employment of professional personnel
by the Board of Trustees; to revise provisions relating to certain
employment; to provide that a district may place certain employees on
unpaid leave of absence; to revise provisions relating to contract
categories; to provide provisions relating to grandfathered renewable
contracts; to provide provisions relating to reductions in force; to
provide legislative findings; and to provide provisions relating to
contract negotiations and establishing contracts.

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1068.pdf

---------------------------------------------------------

S1069   by EDUCATION COMMITTEE

EDUCATION - Repeals, amends and adds to existing law relating to education
to provide for a fiscal report card; to repeal provisions relating to
matching grants for science education programs; to revise provisions
relating to the educational support program; to revise provisions relating
to certain program support units; to revise provisions relating to staff
allowances; to revise provisions relating to the experience and education
multiplier; to revise provisions relating to obligations to PERSI and
social security; to provide provisions relating to pay for performance; to
provide provisions relating to public school technology and online
courses; and to revise provisions relating to public charter schools.

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1069.pdf

---------------------------------------------------------

You fine peeps of the Viz have two options:

Option 1:  at 2:00 pm (our time) on Monday (February 7th) you can crank up
your computer speakers and link yourself to:

http://www.idahoptv.org/leglive/committee.cfm?CommID=17

and listen to the hearings concerning these two bills, or . . .

Option 2:  You can wait until "Moscow Cares" records, and posts these
hearings (in their exciting entirety) online for y'all to scrutinize.

Your call.

Until then . . .

I'll be postin' this weekend from the 'hood in Spokane.

Seeya on the flip-flop, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho



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