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* Bruce Rauner is holding a press conference on education reform. Click here to read it. From the twitters…
Some education changes proposed by Rauner: reform tenure, teacher merit pay, roll back unspecified state mandates, admin "efficiencies."
— Monique Garcia (@moniquegarcia) September 8, 2014
@BruceRauner re charters: lift cap on them, provide same amount of $$$ that traditional public schools get
— Paris Schutz (@paschutz) September 8, 2014
‘’
Rauner's policy book says there's an "arbitrary cap" on number of charters in IL
— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) September 8, 2014
@BruceRauner blueprint also wants expanded funding for early childhood education, but how to pay for it??
— Paris Schutz (@paschutz) September 8, 2014
Rauner wants "Success schools" which are formed from teachers at top 10% of schools; gives $ per pupil to school for their discretion
— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) September 8, 2014
Rauner says IL system is "rigged" to protect the bureaucracy; says funding formula has inequities in it and needs to be changed
— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) September 8, 2014
On changing funding formula: pic.twitter.com/ELtc6e1Ixz
— Monique Garcia (@moniquegarcia) September 8, 2014
Rauner proposes lifting cap on public charter schools #twill #IlGov14 pic.twitter.com/Ie9n89tw1v
— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) September 8, 2014
* This one also caught my eye…
Rauner cites teacher tenure in Florida as a good example of what to do with tenure; says FL gets annual contracts for new teachers
— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) September 8, 2014
* I was told early this morning that Rauner would not be calling for the end of teacher tenure. Well, according to NPR, Florida’s law essentially ends tenure for all new hires and teachers who move to new districts..
Rating teacher performance. The law requires districts to rate teachers and administrators annually, according to a legislative analysis, with half of their score based on student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Performance over a three-year period.
How teachers are paid. New hires will no longer have to climb the decades-long seniority ladder to earn the highest salaries. Now, the highest-rated teachers can earn the top salaries just a few years out of college. Highly-rated teachers already working can opt out of the merit pay system — but if they switch districts they would be paid on their performance, according to a United Teachers of Dade Q & A. Teachers will also no longer be guaranteed additional pay for advanced degrees.
Job security. New hires will no longer enjoy long-term contracts, but instead must be rehired on an annual basis. Those already teaching are again exempted from the new law, but teachers who switch districts would then move to annual contracts.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the IFT…
“Bruce Rauner’s blueprint reads like a Greatest Hits of failed education experiments that penalize good teachers instead of addressing the fact that Illinois schools are some of the worst funded in the nation,” said Dan Montgomery, President of the IFT and a high school English teacher for eighteen years.
“When it comes to what ails us, teacher tenure and merit pay are red herrings. There is no evidence that giving teachers due process negatively impacts student achievement, but research overwhelmingly shows the devastating effects of poverty and under funding schools. As a teacher, I saw firsthand the heartbreaking impact on a student when a parent lost a job or struggled to pay the bills.
“If Rauner was really interested in our students, he wouldn’t advocate eliminating the minimum wage.
“If Rauner was really interested in our students, he wouldn’t propose budget ideas that would cut billions out of public education resulting in teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, and higher property taxes.
“We want great teachers for all of our students, and if the goal is to improve education, we don’t need to pit teachers and parents against each other. We need the resources to make success possible.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Paul Vallas…
“Bruce Rauner’s education blueprint includes a lot of promises, but predictably fails to pay for any of them. In reality, Rauner’s plan will put an additional one million dollars in his own pocket while laying off 1 in 6 teachers by blowing a $4 billion hole in Illinois’ education budget.
“This is reckless and irresponsible. The outcome of Rauner’s plan - larger classroom sizes, higher property taxes and cuts up and down the line to education - will represent disaster for our public schools.
“Education is for everyone - not just the elite.
“This is just another example of Mr. Rauner looking out for people like himself at the expense of the working families of Illinois.”
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 1:47 pm
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Well, according to NPR, Florida’s law essentially ends tenure for all new hires and teachers who move to new districts.
NPR? Wouldn’t Florida be a better source? They probably know a bit more than NPR regarding their policies on teacher tenure.
Sounds like someone on the Rauner team needs to clarify what he means when he uses Florida as an example.
Rauner needs to be certain not to feed his political critics regarding education. Anything he says, writes or has said or write, would be fodder for a new series of teacher union mailers. I wouldn’t ever compare Illinois to Florida on anything other than beaches or vacation resorts. Polls show that Floridians aren’t all that keen on their governor, btw.
Is the Rauner team aware that their examples from Wisconsin and Florida are polling worse than he is right now? If Rauner wants to be a popular governor of Illinois, he might reconsider mimicking either Walker or Scott, especially regarding education reform. They didn’t make friends.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 1:59 pm
Um, what about vouchers?
Don’t tell me he betrayed Rev. Meeks??
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:00 pm
We probably don’t need to speculate much more about teachers sitting this election out. Now the question is do they get more involved in campaigning against Rauner.
Comment by CD Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:08 pm
“If Rauner wants to be *governor* of Illinois, he might reconsider mimicking either Walker or Scott, especially regarding education reform.”
Fixed that for ya, V-Man.
If he gets too in the weeds on education reform–most of which will go *nowhere* with the Legislature he will have–Rauner will make PQ look good on another policy matter.
Comment by Chris Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:09 pm
Is he endorsing Manar’s SB 16?
Comment by Under Influenced Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:10 pm
Not the best time to advocate taking off whatever cap there is on charters, given the Sun-Times recent report on their failure to compete with neighborhood CPS schools. http://www.suntimes.com/news/29536936-418/cps-outpaces-charter-schools-in-improvements-especially-in-reading.html#.VA3_g_ldUy7
Comment by Chi Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:13 pm
Rauner doesn’t have anything new to offer that hasn’t already been trotted out by Scott Walker, Rick Snyder, Rick Scott, Bobby Jindal, etc. The question is whether Illinois wants to go the slash and burn route.
Comment by Chi Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:14 pm
I’m sorry for repeating a link, but here’s the most needed reform: forcing teachers to participate in research. Look at this Sun-Times report on a study of 150 teachers using “merit pay with a twist” - the twist being that the money was given up-front, but the teachers had to return it if performance wasn’t up to par. Math scores skyrocketed (and “teaching to the test” arguments are pretty strained when it comes to math). How did the unions react? They were justifiably ticked that the study, which was supposed to be secret, leaked, but resented that it was performed by *economic researchers* rather than education researchers. No call for follow-up or encouragement of their OWN positive results! http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/14687664-418/cash-upfront-the-way-to-get-teachers-to-rack-up-better-student-test-scores-study.html
Go back to Rahm’s first battle with Lewis over the longer school day and you’ll see a paucity of debate about research (or coverage addressing it, save Eric Zorn), and NOTHING about what research had to say about the worst-of-both-worlds compromise that was ultimately reached. Education policy in this state is maddening - only outdone by education funding.
Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:14 pm
The key word is “ideas”.
This election can be about graham crackers and guys dressed up in chicken suits or it can be about ideas.
Like these ideas or not, I give him credit for suggesting some newer ones and at least attempting to find ways of addressing problems in our education system.
Your move, Governor Quinn.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:16 pm
“newer ones” as in, “newer” to Illinois.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:18 pm
Yeah the solution to improved education is more money in the pockets of clouted charter school proprietors and weaker union/tenure protections for teachers.
That’s why Rauner lied about his residence and prodded Arne Duncan to get his unqualified daughter into a non-charter public school with unionized/tenure-protected teachers.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:19 pm
==NPR? Wouldn’t Florida be a better source? They probably know a bit more than NPR regarding their policies on teacher tenure.==
Do you understand why the media exists?
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:19 pm
==Your move, Governor Quinn==
But wait, this discussion will have nothing to do about a non-binding minimum wage referendum! Quinn’s answer to all of this is that he has the support of the teachers’ unions.
Comment by Western Ave. Doug Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:22 pm
The piece about charter schools receiving less funding because of Quinn is a load of pucky.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:23 pm
How does he plan to pay for this?
Comment by Under Influenced Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:25 pm
“Outcomes cannot be measured by graduation rates and test scores alone.”(p3)
Yet the first 2 pages are all about bashing Quinn and Madigan based on graduation rates and test scores alone.
He also has a section bashing superintendents wages, funny how someone who lives in a district that pays the elementary super over 190K and the high school super that makes over 300K he hasn’t started in his own district trying to get these outrageous salaries reduced. Maybe if Winnetka didn’t pay them so much, others wouldn’t follow suit.
Comment by Person 8 Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:28 pm
Does “merit pay” mean that pay scales are set by the state for all districts?
Who evaluates the evaluators and can a teacher appeal his or her rating to the elected school board?
Comment by Bill White Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:35 pm
Formerly know as— your straight on the issue. Change is not what the teacher unions want. Why would they ? And as you put so well ” newer to Illinois “
Comment by Leprechaun Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:39 pm
Had more teachers and their spouses gotten off their butts and voted in the GOP primary, then they wouldn’t be facing a gubernatorial favorite who wants to end tenure.
Comment by Anon Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:43 pm
Anyone that actually supports anything policy related to Rick Scott doesn’t care about re-election.
Comment by Jorge Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:47 pm
Credit to Rauner for making clear some of his ideas and positions. Something for voters to ponder and choose to support or reject.
The “more funding for education” phrase remains a mystery, given his positions on the budget and taxes.
As a numbers guy, he just seems always to fall short with his promises.
Comment by walker Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:47 pm
=== I give him credit for…at least attempting to find ways of addressing problems in our education system. ===
Lack of state funding is a pretty major problem. Rauner’s solution? Roll back the income tax hike in four years, reducing revenues by $8B in year four. And today he proposes to spend more on early childhood ed. What is he planning to do — stop making pension payments??
Comment by Anon Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:49 pm
=== Um, what about vouchers?
Don’t tell me he betrayed Rev. Meeks?? ===
Nothing a big check can’t handle.
Comment by Norseman Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:55 pm
Why are some people incapable of understanding what tenure is? Or are they unwilling because demonizing it is such fun? Tenure means there is due process in terminating the teacher’s contract. They have to have some reason (how unreasonable and unprofessional that is!) for the termination. Under no circumstances does it mean a guaranteed job or a job for life. I’ve seen a few teachers terminated in my lifetime who had tenure. And merit pay? In a profession that depends on collaboration amongst staff, institute merit pay and watch everyone get tight-lipped, locking up their precious file cabinets every night. A woman I taught with had worked in NYC under tenure and she did exactly that. No one could count on her for any ideas or contributions. Heck she viewed each of us as her competition! Sounds like a very nurturing, enlightening way to work to get the best for the students, doesn’t it?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:58 pm
What us he planning to do–stop making pension payments?
Um, yes. He would definitely love to do that. How can pension payments, constitutionally mandated
continue if the kitty goes dry? In his mind, if you can’t undo the constitution, you can sure run the funds dry. And don’t think he won’t do that with the look of a genius on his face.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:01 pm
woman I worked with worked under merit pay, not tenure in NYC.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:03 pm
And Rauner won’t be able to blame the legislature…I mean Obama isn’t allowed too right? It’s his failure to lead that is the problem. So Rauner will wear the collar for his failed policy initiatives when they go nowhere due to his leadership failure right?
Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:07 pm
I suspect much of the money for Rauner’s plans will come from the pockets of current state employees. He’ll most likely force a strike, then rehire under a new contract with a 20% cut in pay.
If you don’t like the new contract, you’re fired. This is why Rauner is silent on the funding source — he can’t run on a platform of shutting down government.
Comment by Frenchie Mendoza Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:11 pm
–Um, what about vouchers?
Don’t tell me he betrayed Rev. Meeks?? –
Rev. Meeks and other Rauner supporters would much rather be in the charter school business.
The potential scores for siphoning off K-12 taxpayer funding are endlessly lucrative.
I can smell the meat-a-cookin.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:22 pm
–That’s why Rauner lied about his residence and prodded Arne Duncan to get his unqualified daughter into a non-charter public school with unionized/tenure-protected teachers.–
What’s trippy is that Rauner bangs the drum for charter schools, but charter Rauner College Prep wasn’t good enough for his own kid.
How do you spin that? Give me taxpayer money to let me privately operate a school, but let my kid go to the unionized traditional public school?
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:38 pm
More funding for education while freezing property taxes and rolling back the income tax hike. It’s called budget-making with smoke and mirrors, a tried-and-true GOP method.
=== Rauner won’t be able to blame the legislature…I mean Obama isn’t allowed too right? It’s his failure to lead that is the problem. So Rauner will wear the collar for his failed policy initiatives ===
Are you really expecting consistency from Republicans (or Democrats)? In the political realm, principles are invoked and discarded depending upon the party interest at the moment.
Comment by Anon Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:38 pm
===In the political realm, principles are invoked and discarded depending upon the party interest at the moment. ===
You mean like the RGA running a TV ad in Michigan blasting a Democrat for supporting service taxes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGVDBP1WooI&list=UUXoDi7VJxlDU_iwX3LfSKFQ
LOL
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:41 pm
Since Wordslinger is so offended by politicians getting lesser-qualified friends/benefactors into schools, I’m sure a quick search of past posts will reveal you railing prodigiously against Speaker Madigan. Don’t know how I missed those.
Anyone ever look at the results for the few CPS kids who got to take advantage of the NCLB public school choice lottery? Want to tell those kids parents how terrible public school choice is and they need to go back to their local neighborhood school?
Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:46 pm
Getting rid of job protection for failing teahers is an essential part of student improvement-based school reform. A teacher making $120K for 178 work days per year better be able to justify it by productivity (students taught) or quality of results (objective evaluation). Currently, they aren’t and Illinois education is a basket case because of it.
Between 1998 and 2011, IIRC, spending per pupil in Illinois went up by about 83% while inflation was only about 40%. Unacceptably low student contact time is a big contributor to Illinois K-12 underachievement. The money allocated for this increase could’ve allowed for increasing the spending for compensation by inflation AND increasing the contact days to over 220. The biggest increases in spending are coming from large increases in non-teaching staffs in our schools and incredible increases in senior faculty and administrator compensation.
There is a massive need to re-allocate resources for the benefit of the kids, and killing the “tenure” monster and limiting spending for things that add little value are at the top of the list.
Tax increases should be limited based upon enrollment, not just inflation plus new construction. Dropping enrollment should drop tax collections, just as increasing enrollment should allow higher than capped amount increases.This should be a school tax “reform” all, except the eduocracy who benefits from this scam, could agree to.
State funds should be allocated NOT just by low income enrollment, but by spending per pupil and staff comensation packages.
If a district can afford to pay 93% of its employees health care premiums and pay $120K for 178 days of work regardless of teacher quality, they shouldn’t be able to receive state funding.
Likewise if they can afford those “end of career spikes” that unfairly increase lifetime pension payouts without fair contribution from the employees and the districts, they should lose at least a portion of their state funding.
Outside of basic foundation level funding, grants should be based upon districts applying for the grants, setting objective, measurable goals by a date certain, then LOSING that funding if they fail to meet those goals. This is most important for the education of low income kids.
I just love “sunsets”!
It’s time some of our candidates took a serious look at how effectively the state money in K-12 education is being spent. I’m sure Rauner can see how the massive “investment” the taxpayers have made will never pay off for the kids as long as this obsolesent tenure and “sole source” collective bargaining exists in Illinois.
Comment by Arizona Bob Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:49 pm
NPR is a secondary source of information. Media is trumped by any primary source online. You want to know about Florida’s teacher tenure, should google it.
You must not understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. If you did, you wouldn’t rely on any media on a subject as important as teacher tenure.
It’s the 21st century. Enjoy the power it gives you.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:15 pm
Wordslinger: the US Attorney is making charter schools a lot less lucrative. I would stay away if I were Meeks.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:18 pm
I’d like to hear more in regards to school vouchers. There has been many studies everywhere from Sweden to New York City that indicate competition in education not only helps students, especially minorities, but also good teachers who get paid more under these programs as schools focus less money on bureaucracies and more money on the actual classroom experience.
Comment by Uncle Milt Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:25 pm
–the US Attorney is making charter schools a lot less lucrative.–
I think history has shown that no matter what the U.S. attorney does, some people just can’t be dissuaded from going for the big score.
And taxpayer funding for K-12 education is a huge pot of money.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:27 pm
If charter schools are the way to go (and research would tell you that they are no more effective than traditional public school) why not allow/mandate that ALL public schools operate under charter rules? He is the charter advocate, why not fix all of our achievement problems in one move?
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:28 pm
Uncle Milt, what studies are those?
NYC did not have a publicly funded voucher program. There was a private scholarship program for Catholic and Orthodox schools. I know for a fact there are some privately funded scholarships for religious schools in Illinois.
Here’s a study on the Swedish experiment.
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/03/26/the-swedish-voucher-system-an-appraisal/
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:38 pm
Thanks to Bruce Rauner for warning us about what he’ll do to Illinois if he’s elected on Nov. 4.
Comment by Northsider Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:42 pm
The Rauner plan would decimate the public school system. His plan to privatize schools will result in less qualified teachers and selective enrollment. The funding stripped from public schools will leave students who don’t qualify for selective enrollment in overcrowded classrooms with the least amount of resources.
Comment by Wensicia Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:42 pm
Most of this is just off-the-shelf corporate “school reform” boilerplate — charter schools, merit pay for “great teachers,” get rid of “bad teachers” like they do in Florida (where teachers are evaluated on the test scores of students who aren’t even in their classes), and so on …
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/05/07/u-s-judge-its-ridiculous-to-judge-teachers-by-test-scores-of-students-they-dont-have-but-its-legal-in-florida/
But there’s something else that caught my eye, where Rainier says, “With 860 school districts, Illinois’ massive educational bureaucracy means more administrators superintendents and less investment in children and teachers” and pledges a “comprehensive approach to finding efficiencies between schools and school districts in order to reduce the administrative burden.”
What in blue blazes does that mean?
I know Rauner’s charter school buddies are all about closing neighborhood schools and opening charters. Does this mean he wants to close local school districts, too? Was he asked about it in his presser?
Comment by olddog Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:44 pm
To the updates: Mr. Montgomery might want to stick to the issue at hand and leave the minimum wage alone. Schools are notorious for paying this wage that offends them so much to aides, cafeteria workers and others not in the union. It’s a little far afield for him to be discussing that. Paul Vallas criticizing a guy who’s championing charter schools is almost too rich to comment on. These guys are equally weak on offense and defense.
Comment by A guy... Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:47 pm
@- olddog - In short..YES. Which tells you how little he understands the geography of our state.
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:49 pm
Failing schools in the innercity will only be saved by removing gangs from the neighborhoods and providing quality early childhood preschool programs for all of Chicago’s disadantaged children.
These children will not be helped by merit pay for teachers and principals or taking away tenure, and not with charters, turnarounds, teaching to the test, or vouchers.
Comment by Enviros-Anon Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:51 pm
==Schools are notorious for paying this wage that offends them so much to aides, cafeteria workers and others not in the union.==
Nonsense. Aides, cafeteria workers and “others” are also protected by union contracts and receive fair wages/benefits.
Comment by Wensicia Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:53 pm
–“With 860 school districts, Illinois’ massive educational bureaucracy means more administrators superintendents and less investment in children and teachers” and pledges a “comprehensive approach to finding efficiencies between schools and school districts in order to reduce the administrative burden.”
What in blue blazes does that mean?–
Everyone in rural Illinois knows what that means — forced consolidation.
Good luck with that, Baron, lol. I guess your Cheezwhiz kids didn’t know that consolidation is the third rail in Illinois farm country.
For a guy who will say any crazy thing to get elected, that’s a pretty dumb thing to say before an election.
Might want to keep that one on the down low, downstate.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:57 pm
@- Wensicia =Nonsense” You said it right the first time, stating that all support staff are “protected” by union contracts is nonsense. Ours are not and many districts are in the same boat.
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:02 pm
@Wordslinger- 100% on the money, you would now be talking about kids on a bus or buses for two or more hours morning and afternoon. There is room for consolidation, but the generalities used by both Quinn (when he was making the arguement) and Rauner are merely uninformed pandering. The state created a commission to look at the issue and was not able to find the claimed “administrative” savings but was able to find increased transportation costs and increased facilities costs (initially) because schools would have to expand to handle the additional enrollment (schools that are currently handling 300 students are usualy not built to hold 600 or a thousand)
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:07 pm
Well, we could follow Mississippi’s desegregation era lead when private “county” academies were established and then property taxes were cut so that people NOT of color could afford to send their kids to these safe white havens. Of course that starved the existing public school system so if we want to mirror that southern state’s leading achievements in education (snark intended) a charter path with reduced support for existing public schools is one way to go.
I still remember when the GOP was strongly focused upon the wisdom of building infrastructure, too bad those days are gone.
Comment by former southerner Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:38 pm
==- VanillaMan - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:15 pm:==
Apparently Rich doesn’t either. I’m sure before he posts again he’ll dig through here: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/.
==Media is trumped by any primary source online.==
The media helps process and contextualize primary sources. A primary source devoid of context or used without additional primary sources is not useful.
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:39 pm
The text of SB736: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/0736
And the context, which is what Rich posted anyway:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/gov-scott-signs-first-bill-sweeping-teacher-pay-tenure-evaluation-overhaul/1159307
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:44 pm
What is meant by Vallas’ comments that this will put a million dollars in Rauner’s pockets?
Comment by SamHall Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:53 pm
Charter schools mean schools for profit and millions of dollars in profits for investors.
Comment by Enviros-Anon Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 6:01 pm
Hmm. Gov. Sam Brownback over in Kansas right now is trying to save his political career, by crusading steadfastly against any “rural consolidation of schools.” He brought up it repeatedly in his recent debate.
Different state, but makes me suspect wordslinger is onto something.
Doesn’t necessarily mean of course it isn’t a good idea, policy-wise.
Comment by ZC Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 6:10 pm
Chicago teachers who have a doctorate and 30 years of experience don’t make $100K. They also work 208 days on the clock. This doesn’t count all the weekends and breaks that they take stuff home with them. Where do they pay $120k for 178 days because I know a lot of teachers who might want to send in a resume.
Merit pay and ending tenure would guarantee that no teacher would ever willingly work with any low income students. In fact, the data that Rauner wants to base 50% of teacher ratings on has been debunked by the American Statistical Association
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/13/statisticians-slam-popular-teacher-evaluation-method/
Comment by Mount Greenwood Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 6:19 pm
Not only would teachers not want to work with low income students, but also any special needs students. If it’s all about test scores and improvement, neither group bodes well in that arena. Good luck as parents of those groups.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 6:29 pm
Every state representative candidate running in November should be asked to declare clearly and succinctly whether they would support or oppose the forced consolidation of school districts.
Comment by Bill White Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 6:34 pm
To those posting about teachers not working with low income or special ed.
It is actually the opposite if everything is based on a student growth model. It’s is easier to move a kid from the 40% to 60% then it is to move a kid from 90% to 99%.
Teachers would mst likely want the lower kids to guarentee easier growth.
Comment by Person 8 Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 6:57 pm
It’s not true that lower test score students are easier to improve. At both the high and the low end it is more difficult. The outside factors with low income students and any learning issues with special education students make it very difficult for them to gain more than a year’s growth in a year’s time.
Comment by Pollster Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 8:01 pm
@wordslinger
Genius! I’ve been looking for a local issue to use against Rauner with the small town folk. Thanks!
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 8:24 pm
@Mount Greenwood
=Where do they pay $120k for 178 days because I know a lot of teachers who might want to send in a resume.=
Just about every HS district north of Orland park pays they much, and in HS district 230 they “earn” that amount after only 20 years experience with a 30 hrs past a Masters. That’s 43 years old. Lyons Township and Hinsdale pay REALLY serious money. Hinsdale 81 is threatening to strike because they’re AVERAGE salary of over $100K doesn’t satishy their greed.
BTW, don’t bother to try applying to district 230. The union and the Board colluded to set up a contract where “outsiders” CAN’T bridge ANY of their experience to a job there. They’d only get paid like a new grad.
That’s why despite paying that $120K for 178 days, they can’t hire top experienced staff or quality coaches from outside the district. The Board would rather pay that money to medicre staff than to serve the students by hiring the best and brightest for that money.
Adverse to quality, bad economics, corrupt school board. What better defines Illinois K-12 education?
Comment by Arizona Bob Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 8:31 pm
@Mount Greenwood
=They also work 208 days on the clock.=
Actually, you’re not even close to the number of school days over 5 hours they teach in Chicago.
According to the isbe, based on infromation supplied by CPS, there are only 181 school days, but evebn that’s deceiving. I understand that CPS has about the lowest number of contact hours with students of any major city in the nation.
CPS also pays about the highesgt salaries per contact hour in the major cities. This all came out during the CTU strike a while back.
I understand that Houston public schools avberage about a MONTH more of contact hour schooling than Chicago.
This is what the good people of from Mt Greenwood to Edgewater have found acceptable from their voting record.
Practically no major city school system gets less results for their money than CPS.
Comment by Arizona Bob Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 8:43 pm
Just about every HS district north of Orland park pays they much………yes and bruce rauner makes 53 mil a year and he’s retired
Comment by foster brooks Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 8:54 pm
=== To those posting about teachers not working with low income or special ed.
It is actually the opposite if everything is based on a student growth model. It’s is easier to move a kid from the 40% to 60% then it is to move a kid from 90% to 99%. ===
No. You’ve been misinformed.
The studies consistently find that low-income students do not test well for a variety of reasons, and their schools suffer as a result when test scores are used to measure student growth or “value added” by teachers. Here’s an excerpt from one that’s representative:
“Student test score gains are also strongly influenced by school attendance and a variety of out-of-school learning experiences at home, with peers, at museums and libraries, in summer programs, on-line, and in the community. Well-educated and supportive parents can help their children with homework and secure a wide variety of other advantages for them. Other children have parents who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to support their learning academically. Student test score gains are also influenced by family resources, student health, family mobility, and the influence of neighborhood peers and of classmates who may be relatively more advantaged or disadvantaged.
“Teachers’ value-added evaluations in low-income communities can be further distorted by the summer learning loss their students experience between the time they are tested in the spring and the time they return to school in the fall. Research shows that summer gains and losses are quite substantial. A research summary concludes that while students overall lose an average of about one month in reading achievement over the summer, lower-income students lose significantly more, and middle-income students may actually gain in reading proficiency over the summer, creating a widening achievement gap. Indeed, researchers have found that three-fourths of schools identified as being in the bottom 20% of all schools, based on the scores of students during the school year, would not be so identified if differences in learning outside of school were taken into account. Similar conclusions apply to the bottom 5% of all schools.
“For these and other reasons, even when methods are used to adjust statistically for student demographic factors and school differences, teachers have been found to receive lower “effectiveness” scores when they teach new English learners, special education students, and low-income students than when they teach more affluent and educationally advantaged students. The nonrandom assignment of students to classrooms and schools—and the wide variation in students’ experiences at home and at school—mean that teachers cannot be accurately judged against one another by their students’ test scores, even when efforts are made to control for student characteristics in statistical models.”
Richard Rothstein, Helen F. Ladd, Diane Ravitch, Eva L. Baker, Paul E. Barton, Linda Darling-Hammond, Edward Haertel, Robert L. Linn, Richard J. Shavelson, and Lorrie A. Shepard, (27 August 2010), “Problems with the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers.” Economic Policy Institute. http://www.epi.org/publication/bp278/
I’d suggest that we all read the whole thing before swallowing any more of Rauner’s snake oil.
Comment by olddog Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 9:06 pm
I like it that Bruce Rauner is becoming increasingly specific with the newer position papers he is putting out. To his paper:
>much of it is simply facts about our current education system, both K-12 and Higher Ed. Many of those facts are quite damning, that is undebateable.
>many of those nasty facts can’t be blamed on Governor Quinn since they have been bad for a long time before he became Governor. However, the significant reduction in education funding over the past 6 years is owned by the person who is Governor.
>some new (to Illinois) ideas are included, and some of them are probably worth trying.
>increasing both K-12 and Higher Ed funding is, in my opinion, a good and necessary idea. Inadequate K-12 funding does drive up property taxes, and inadequate Higher Ed funding has imposed a very large hidden middle class tax increase in the past 10 years.
>most of those new ideas will cost new money.
Aye, and now we come to the rub, don’t we. Bruce Rauner simply HAS to tell us how he’s going to pay for these things. Governor Quinn can’t pay for them in FY15 (and perhaps beyond), because the legislature has chosen to reduce our state tax revenues considerably. Candidate Rauner has told us he wants to reduce our income tax rate below even what it will become Jan 1. Fine, but cognitive dissonance is starting to kill me, since I can fairly quickly back of the envelope round number what our state tax revenues will be 5 years from now, giving Rauner credit for his policies increasing tax revenue growth at rates above what I believe they will actually be, and adding in his new proposed tax on services (which I think is a good idea, just not taken far enough). So far it just doesn’t add up. I’m looking forward to what’s to come.
Comment by steve schnorf Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 9:35 pm
Sam hall: I believe that the million is Vallas’ estimate of additional income tax savings for Rauner if he has his way on rates. Steve Schnorf: damn, hell mister, you summed it all up perfectly.
Comment by SAP Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 10:18 pm
One rich guy, who is an unproven candidate for public service, says he has a plan to fix education in Illinois. Did he come up with this all by himself? I say no way no mater what he prints and distributes. As governor, he will be the fox in the hen house.
Comment by Makandadawg Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 10:23 pm
=== Did he come up with this all by himself?===
Huh? That’s a really weird question. Of course not. Do you really think candidates all come up with plans by themselves?
Time to go to bed. Yes, it’s early, but you really need some sleep.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 10:29 pm
Regarding the charter school debate in Chicago…. as some posters have noted here, charters are under-performing neighborhood schools according to Northwestern U. studies on test scores and student growth. But here’s the rub: charters are actually doing much, much worse than that. The admissions policies for charters in Chicago are more selective than neighborhood schools. Their admissions standards are much more comparable to the policies of CPS magnet schools, (based on a lottery draw.) And according a Sun-Times review of the data, CPS magnet schools “dramatically” out-perform charters. Why are charters still part of the debate when almost all the data shows that — at least in Chicago — they are failing?
Comment by Frank G. Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 11:59 pm
Frank, lot of money to be made in charters if you’re wired.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 9, 14 @ 7:23 am