Category:

Hopeless situation on Hope Street

3/11/2015

Apparently, Momma Bears stirred up a hornet's nest with our last blog, Hope Street is a Dead End for TN and TEA. Concerned members of TEA contacted their elected leaders, then TEA contacted one of our Momma Bears to clarify their position, then we sent the TEA board even more worrisome info we'd found about Hope Street Group (we posted it below so you can see it, too), and TEA was forced to address the issue at their big board meeting this past weekend. Like "Alice in Wonderland," things are not quite as they seem.

First, we are posting the response to our first blog from the TEA Executive Director, Carolyn Crowder:

TEA's number one priority is always improving public education for Tennessee students and teachers. We are a member-driven organization which fights for the issues our members tell us are important to them. That is why TEA is leading the fight for a significant pay increase to attract and retain the best teachers, to reduce the state's over-reliance on testing and increase respect for the voice of Tennessee educators.

TEA has formed a partnership with the HOPE Street Group around teacher leadership. Teachers will have the opportunity to apply to be a part of a cadre of Teacher Fellows who gather information on policy issues approved by the partnership. These partnerships have been successful in other states in making teacher-driven policy changes. Each state partnership is made up of the largest teacher organization in the state (in Tennessee, that is TEA); the most active public policy voice (SCORE in our state) and the State Department of Education.

We agreed to the partnership based on the understanding that the three entities had to agree before an issue was researched by the Fellows. There is no money being given to TEA from the HOPE Street Group and no money from TEA is going to them. The research is based on surveys and focus groups with teachers who have shown an interest in the chosen topics. It is giving our organization an opportunity to determine which topics are sent out in surveys and focus groups to Tennessee teachers (which helps us make sure the issues our members have identified are actually discussed). The partnership provides our members another opportunity to have their voices heard. Our members will have the opportunity to become one of the Fellows and/or respond to the research.

The unique part of this partnership is that the State Department has to agree to work on implementation regarding the priorities that are identified through this process. It is a way to insert our members’ voices into a system that does not always take action on the ideas of the real experts - our Tennessee teachers.

This will in no way replace our own methods of interacting with our members and representing their interests in shaping public policy, but it could supplement our efforts in an important way. If the three entities agree on a topic that we know our members want to be heard on -- and the information that comes back verifies that our members want certain changes or verifies that our members DO NOT want certain changes that affect their practice -- results gathered by the third party will bring extra credibility to the policy issues TEA is already advocating.

Some things Momma Bears need to point out:

TEA isn't receiving any money or paying any money for this arrangement. We are so glad to hear that! We knew National Education Association has received money from Bill Gates in the past (click HERE to see all those grants), so we're glad that the state level isn't being manipulated with Gates' money.
Carolyn Crowder called SCORE, "the most active public policy voice in our state." Really? SCORE doesn't represent our students, SCORE represents their donors. We didn't elect SCORE. SCORE is here because of money from Bill Gates. (Click HERE for our previous blogs on SCORE). In fact, SCORE's latest golden egg from Gates was just last year for nearly $1 million dollars paid over 22 months to "amplify voices on reforms" in TN.
So, that's 2 out of 3 organizations in this arrangement who depend on Bill Gates' philanthropy for their paychecks. SCORE and Hope Street Group are both signed up for the Gates Meal Plan, so why would those organizations ever bite the hand that feeds it? Why would they tell the Emperor he has no clothes on when the money flows into their bank accounts if they keep telling him how dashing he looks in his reformy underpants?
This partnership has an "understanding" that all 3 organizations must agree to an issue before it is researched by the Fellows, and the TDOE has agreed to work on whatever issues are brought forth from this partnership. Read the above bullet point again. What issues are the other 2 organizations firm on? Teacher evaluations using standardized testing, charter schools, privatization of public education, high stakes testing, Teach for America teachers, Common Core, etc. Basically, the same things TEA is battling against.
Carolyn Crowder wrote that Hope Street Group has had "successful partnerships" in other states, but she didn't mention the states. It is important to know that this "partnership in states" is a pretty new concept for them (even though they have a National Teacher Fellowship to influence national policy). Their website says, "Hope Street Group’s state teacher fellowship program was launched in Kentucky in 2013 and in Hawaii in 2014 in partnership with teacher associations." Um, that is more like 1 and a half state partnerships so far. Let's look at those 2 states:

Hawaii: They've barely had time since 2014 to go through the teacher selection process, training over the summer, and a full legislative session (Hawaii's starts the 3rd week of January). So in actuality, the Hope Street Group hasn't done a darn thing yet in Hawaii to influence policy or laws. We wouldn't call that "successful."
Kentucky: That leaves Kentucky. ONE state that has had ONE year of this partnership between their Education Association and Hope Street Group. We did find out that Kentucky teacher evaluations are now using student surveys as part of their evaluations. Ugh... TN teachers have experienced the biased surveys (and parents, too), and have plenty to say negative about that. We asked Carolyn Crowder to give us an example of something positive that has come from the Kentucky Education Association partnering with Hope Street Group, but she couldn't tell us even one thing. She did say she would ask them and let us know. We'd be happy to publish details if she responds.

TEA is clearly outnumbered in this Gates-funded conversation. Despite TEA having a larger membership than SCORE's well-paid staff and Hope Street's army of lobbyists, TEA will be the minority. Gates' money will dominate the conversation, as they intend to do, and will dominate the outcome, as they fully intend to do. And, honestly, can anyone think of ANY organization funded by Gates that doesn't push for his reforms? Anyone??? Nope. Because there isn't one. He's deliberate and strategic in who he funds for a reason.

We have some major questions about this partnership, and we found some alarming information about Hope Street Group. Stay with us, readers...

Who gets to pick the teachers that become the Hope Street Fellows?
There is a application process, including: narrative questions, recommendations, and an interview.
But who gets to narrow down candidates, interview, and pick the fellows?
If a teacher doesn't agree with common core and/or merit-based pay, will their application be quietly discarded or do they have a real chance?
Does TEA have any input whatsoever on this process, interviewing, or selection of teacher fellows? Does SCORE??
We asked the Carolyn Crowder those questions, but were surprised to learn that she didn't know the answer to any of them. She did say that "TEA requested to be invited to the training." Um, that doesn't sound like TEA will have any control over which teachers will be picked or what they will be trained to do as citizen lobbyists. Hope Street Group obviously has a plan; the process is already on their website for teachers to apply. So, it appears that TEA doesn't get a say in that Fellowship process. Are you surprised? We're not.

Grab a bucket to puke in, because we found some sickening stuff about Hope Street Group you need to know about:

On Hope Street's website, we read this:

"Hope Street Group assisted the U.S. Department of Education in designing Race to the Top (RTTT) in 2009. Since then, the organization has partnered with multiple states including the first two Race to the Top winners, Delaware and Tennessee, working on new ways to engage practitioners, complement work efforts and support work product."

Oh, my, we have opened the can of worms with this one...

Nobody. Nobody. Nobody likes Race to the Top in Tennessee!!! So, we're going to allow an organization that assisted the USDOE in designing that horrible RttT program, AND who worked with teachers to get us to the horrible, horrible evaluation system we have now, TO HAVE CONTROL OVER THE CONVERSATION?

Hope Street Group got us into this mess. They need to leave TN. Just go away. Don't use our teacher voices to further your donor's agenda. Don't use our children to profit your investors and yourself. Don't influence our legislators. Just go back to your own little cushy offices and leave us alone. Tennessee can control our own education thankyouverymuch!

Wait, it gets worse... this isn't a worm, this is a monster!

Look at this publication from Hope Street Group that we found on their website (image below). It appears to be a two-page advertisement of sorts for politicians and state leaders to tell them what Hope Street has done in other states and can do for their state:

Do you see that? The very first PRINCIPLE of Hope Street Group says they are COMMITTED to making student test scores AT LEAST 50% OF TEACHER EVALUATIONS!

That document doesn't have a date on it, but judging by the past tense verbs they used to describe TN and Delaware winning Race to the Top grants and the summer training of teachers by Hope Street Group, this document could not be more than 4 and a half years old, and perhaps newer. Four and half years ago they were "committed" to 50% of teacher evaluations being test scores.

Note: this has been deleted from their website now after we sent it to TEA and TEA asked them about it. Their first priority now says that student achievement must be "a major component." Hmmm... Sounds like they watered down the wording because the percentage was offending some people. Even so, "a major component" is still "major."

Here's the thing, we Momma Bears don't want our children's test scores evaluating any teacher or school. That burden should not be on any child's shoulders. There is no fair way to do it. Momma Bears oppose this.

We found more dirt about Hope Street Group, but this blog is wormy enough already. We'll leave you with some red flags (other than the pointy-arrow American flag logo that Hope Street Group uses) so you can dig on your own if you'd like. Our links to Hope Street Group may not work since their website says they are getting a brand new website this month (probably just as soon as Bill Gates' check clears the bank). Lucky for you, we downloaded the documents before they were deleted by Hope Street Group a few days ago. Click to enlarge any of these:

Red flags all over this Hope Street Group Braintrust list above.
Wendy Kopp from TFA? Sir Michael Barber?? All those politicians and charter school investors???

The boxed quote above was on the advertising for a Hope Street Group 2012 Summit. For only $25,000 per person (or $100,000 for a group of 5, which is clearly a better bargain), you, too, can get your major pieces of legislation signed into law!

If you've got a few minutes, watch the above interview of former Commissioner Kevin Huffman with Hope Street Group's CEO (posted May 2012). You'll see how he planned to correlate the TVAAS scores with teacher's observation scores, and his intent to rid the workforce of ineffective teachers.

Momma Bears' recommendation = TEA should run away from this lopsided arrangement and should apologize to their members for making Momma Bears do all this research.

Momma Bears think it is shameful how an out-of-state organization gets a say in our state's public education simply because they have a ton of money. This is America, for goodness sakes! Because of money, Bill Gates and special interest groups have bought their way into Tennessee with plans to control the conversation and outcome regarding our children's educations. This is not okay.

We're just a group of concerned Moms volunteering our time to research and advocate for students, teachers, and strong public schools. TEA can brush off our little blog and all these facts we've shared, but they can't say they didn't know. We kindly gave them all this evidence last week before this blog was published. The staff and board of TEA know exactly who and what they are dealing with and their motives. TEA's leaders don't need to explain why they decided to partner with these shady organizations to Momma Bears, but TEA members who give up part of their already small paychecks for TEA membership dues might just want an explanation why TEA is giving so much power to these underhanded organizations.

This message that TEA's Executive Director sent us over the weekend might help, or it might not:

TEA leads the fight against privatization, defeating vouchers last year. TEA leads the fight for the teaching profession, getting the General Assembly to make basing teacher licenses on TVAAS illegal. TEA leads the fight for fair evaluation, filing lawsuits on the unfairness of value added scores. TEA leads the fight on testing, on funding, on class size, on so many issues critical for teachers, students, and parents. TEA has earned the trust of members and persons who care about schools.

We are engaged in the fight right now. With so many threats to public schools, students, and teachers, everyone who cares about education needs to be focused on those fights, not spending time on ancillary stuff.

This weekend, after seeing that the HOPE Street Group (1) responded to our call to drop a support statement that stated 50% of a teacher's evaluation should be based on student achievement and (2) accepted our partnership statement that said we would not engage in any issue that went against our mission and core values, the TEA Board of Directors turned their attention to important issues such as the fight for school funding solutions and state standards that are appropriate for all students regardless of age, ability or zip code.

HOPE Street Group can help with the fight to include authentic teacher voices in the debate around education policy. If they do not, TEA will stop working with them. Now, how about joining with TEA as we get back to the real fight?

Why does it take Hope Street to bring everyone to the table?
TEA politely partnered with these Gates-funded organizations because they say, "It is a way to insert our members’ voices into a system that does not always take action on the ideas of the real experts - our Tennessee teachers." TEA may have been invited to the Mad Hatter's "tea" party, but the sloshing and spinning of Bill Gates' teacups will not get them where they need to go.

Hope Street is a Dead End for TN & TEA

2/27/2015

There is yet another shiny new organization in Tennessee with a feel-good name: the Hope Street Group. It sounds all hopeful-ish and Main-Street-ish and warm-and-fuzzy Groupy-ish. Momma Bears did some digging, though, and found out that this new "non-profit" organization is pretty much the same package with a new ribbon on top. Or as we like to say, "same pig, different color lipstick."

This Hope Street Group gift has been given to Tennessee courtesy of none-other than Bill Gates. Surprise surprise. He just loves paying for reformy stuff in TN. He's been through here once or twice, right? Let's open this "gift" and see what we find, shall we?

Yep, Hope Street Group is heavily funded by Gates, with nearly $5 million from Gates so far. Less than 1 year ago in April 2014, we see that Bill Gates gave a big fat $468,433 grant to expand Hope Street to TN. This would have fallen under the reign of former Commissioner of Education, Kevin Huffman, and it might lead some to think that this plan has been simmering for awhile just waiting for the new Commissioner of Education to be appointed. Obviously, there's some strategy in choosing TN and waiting until February 2015 for this to become public.

A very helpful comment on Diane Ravitch's website gives insight to this type of organization [emphasis added by us]:

Finding front groups for foundations and other agencies that are hostile to public education is useful. A good place to start is with the USDE website and the publications of The Reform Support Network, created to propagate the agenda for teacher evaluation in RttT to every state, including pay-for-performance and offering “a solution” to evaluating the estimated 70% of teachers who have job assignments for which there are not statewide tests.

That “solution" is the infamous SLO (student learning objectives) process now required in at least 26 states (most recently Maryland), with not even a smidgen of research to support it as reliable, valid, a means of improving student learning in the subjects for which it is supposed to be most relevant.

The policies of Race to the Top (RttT) are so in-credible that USDE hired marketing experts to sell them via a grant of $43 million. The marketing is directed toward the “winners” of the competition and for “scaling” the agenda to every state.

Of special interest, this “Reform Support Network” issues publications to state and district officials on “messaging strategies” that are needed to secure the compliance of teachers with high stakes evaluations based on the SLO process and increasingly ties to pay-for-performance.

One of the “messaging strategies” (there are at least 40 in multiple publications) is to enlist “teacher swat teams” who are paid in time or money to deliver the message that this new system will improve student learning (no proof, of course).

Another method is to by-pass unions where these exist and function to protect teachers due process. The by-pass, promoted in USDE’s publications, is to enlist is so-called “teacher voice groups” as advocates for the rating systems needed in pay-for-performance plans.

A “teacher voice group” is the Reform Support Network’s name for a non-union advocacy collective funded by private foundations favoring pay-for-performance. Five voice groups are mentioned by name. All have received major funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Teach Plus ($9.5 million), Center for Teacher Quality ($6.3 million), Hope Street Group ($4.7 million), Educators for Excellence ($3.9 million), and Teachers United ($942, 000). Other foundations are supporting these groups. For example, Teach Plus receives “partner” grants from eight other foundations including the Broad, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Joyce and several major investment firms.

See the propaganda for yourself, including one of the latest updates.
Reform Support Network (2012, December). Engaging educators: A reform support network guide for states and districts. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/implementation-support-unit/tech-assist/engaging-educators.pdf

Diane Ravitch writes, "We have not seen so many front groups since the 1930s. Today, as then, they represent no community, no one but the funders and the elites and those with a hidden but anti-democratic agenda."

The agenda of Hope Street Group is clearly to push testing, evaluating teachers based on test scores, and common core. They will hand-pick some naive teachers to be their "Fellows" (or as we like to say, "follows" or "foolows" since they will be following foolish orders on what to say and do), give them a little extra $3500 boost to their paychecks, and train them in how to sweet-talk legislators to vote for the reforms that their donors want. So, it is just like the Teach Plus organization that has already been doing dirty work here in TN, except with a more hopeful-ish name and a rosier-pink lipstick.

In a nutshell, that is why Hope Street Group is coming to TN. Well, that, plus all the money they'll make from their donors. Their CEO, Monique Nadeau, made a whopping salary of $352,000 last year according to their tax return. (Remember what we've taught you, class, just because is is a "nonprofit," doesn't mean someone isn't profiting!) And Monique Nadeau is indeed prospering, even if teachers won't be! So even though Hope Street claims to be "dedicated to expanding prosperity for all Americans," Hope Street Group won't be advocating for the things that would truly "expand prosperity" in TN for students or educators. No, Hope Street Follows will be advocating for merit-based pay for teachers using our children's standardized test scores and common core.

To be fair, Bill Gates isn't the only one paying their massive paychecks and light bill. Look at their website* and you'll see other reform-pushing corporate-interest donors such as: The Joyce Foundation, Foundation for Excellence in Education (that's Jeb Bush's reformy group that he just resigned from so he could run for President. Bush's FEE pushes testing and common core bigtime), The Hewlett Foundation, Walmart Foundation (the Waltons love them some reformy standardized testing and low-wage employees!), and Carnegie Corporation. So, lots and lots of rich businessmen who wouldn't dream of putting their own children in public schools with Common Core and rich businessmen who would love to drive down the cost of labor. (*Note: Hope Street is getting a shiny new website in March 2015, so if our links don't work, it isn't our fault. Reformers like to buy themselves new websites with all that money they get from their sugar-daddies).

So, what's so bad about this Hope Street Group?
All this money being spent to hear teacher's voices? This isn't going to help students one little bit. This is clearly in response to the negative publicity swarming in Tennessee around common core, standardized testing, and using test scores to rate teachers and schools.

Call us simple, but... If people really want to hear what teachers think, just ask them! DUH!!! Do an inexpensive survey. Visit their schools and have lunch with teachers. Invite them to join you for a cup of coffee. Whatever you do, don't hire an over-priced consulting firm that will spin whatever the teachers say into what their donors want it to sound like! Hope Street may say they want "conversation," but they will be the one guiding what legislators hear.

What is a reformer to do if they can't find real teachers to support their reforms for FREE?
Why, buy yourself some, of course! They need to buy some voices quick because:

Several lawsuits are currently pending that contest the constitutionality of the test-based TVAAS evaluation system. The lawsuits are gaining some negative attention for TVAAS.
Citizens are hearing about teachers who are evaluated on the test scores of students they don't even teach and saying, "Hey, that isn't fair!" and "No way will my child's test scores be used to hurt their kindhearted, hardworking teachers!" Parents are refusing to allow their children to take the tests (aka "Opting Out").
Common Core has become a dirty word in TN, so they've stop calling it by its real name. Instead, they call it "college and career standards" or "TN Standards" to fool everyone. While that tricks some people temporarily, it backfires when people realize they have been duped. Uh oh, now they've got some angry people on their hands who reeeeally don't trust them now for that sneaky move.
The Tennessee Education Association has been stirring up a bit of trouble by hosting enlightening Road Trips across the state, inviting parents and elected officials, and telling them the truth about the testing... how much testing costs, how much time testing is eating up from instruction time, and how frequently these tests are occurring. (If you're able to catch a TEA Road Trip in your area, please do! You will learn a LOT! Click HERE for the schedule. You don't have to be a TEA member to attend.)

Speaking of the Tennesseee Education Association, Momma Bears are disappointed that TEA has apparently aligned themselves with this money-grabbing, policy-influencing organization. Based on the press release, TEA is collaborating with Hope Street Group. A statement by TEA President, Barbara Gray, said, "We very much look forward to working with the Hope Street Group Tennessee State Teacher Fellows to increase teacher input regarding what works in our public schools."

Why on earth TEA is participating with this?!?!? either they are just very naïve, they are getting money from it (and if that's true, they better do some splainin' to all their members!), or they want to look like a team player to Commissioner McQueen. Hope Street is a dead end for TEA... just like selling their organization's name and their member's souls to the devil. Isn't the whole purpose of TEA to represent the voices of teachers??? Then why the heck are they giving another organization your platform and endorsement?

If you are a member of TEA, you neeeeeed to speak up about this!!! Do it do it do it!

Tell your TEA Board you don't want your organization to have anything to do with Hope Street Group. We'll make it easy for you, just click here for all the TEA Board emails and phone numbers. We recommend sending your email to every board member, which might take awhile with the extra clicks, but your voice will definitely be heard that way. Bombard their inboxes and tie up their phone lines! Share this blog with your teacher friends. Speak up!!! You pay all that money in membership dues, so demand they represent you and not Bill Gates!

"This is a reminder to teachers who want to stay home and say, "Well, I don't want to get my hands dirty with political stuff" that they are opting out of making the decisions that they have to live with. And it's a reminder that "Why must you make this so political?" is another way to say, "I'd like you to go back to being uninvolved and ineffective, please."
- Peter Greene, Curmudgucation blogger extraordinaire

Petition warfare

7/9/2014

Momma Bears are flattered that our petition (Stop Hurting Our Schools: Remove Kevin Huffman as Commissioner of Education) is receiving so many new signatures in the past 48 hours! Apparently, it is now in a little petition popularity contest!

See, Kevin Huffman's fan club (people who wouldn't like him if they weren't getting so rich from his "leadership"... who would surely hate his guts if their own children attended public schools and were forced to do all these standardized tests and crazy common coreishness... or if their spouse worked in a real public school for an honest paycheck and was judged by that mathematical TVAAS cattle-growth formula to show her worth), well, they need to protect their pocketbooks. They know Huffman is in hot water after the whole TCAP mess, his tampering with the TCAP questions and cut scores, his illegally granting waivers to districts, and just last week his harsh announcement that there will be no mercy for SPED students when it comes to testing.

Rumors abound about Huffman's time left in Tennessee, but you gotta admit he's a tough booger for taking the heat for Governor Haslam's awful decisions for so long. (Governor Haslam is only doing what Jeb Bush tells him to do following the step-by-step list on how to ride on coat-tails to the White House.) The word that has trickled down to us common folks that Governor Haslam was so stinking mad at the 15 brave legislators who signed a letter to remove Huffman that Governor Haslam decided to keep Huffman around a little longer just out of spite.

Speculation about who will replace Huffman range from Freddy Krueger to Voldemort. The profitability of either villain bodes well for reformers (both did well in the movie Box Office), so the future looks bleak for public schools under Governor Haslam's leadership. Unless Haslam suddenly grows a heart and puts a real educator with compassion in that position, public education in Tennessee looks bleak.

By the way, we are hearing great things about 2 candidates for Governor! John McKamey (Democrat) and Shaun Crowell (Constitution Party) are both against Common Core and support strong public schools! They don't have nearly the war chest of campaign money that Governor Haslam has, but we Momma Bears believe in miracles, happy endings, and the power of voting parents.

Anyway, read all about the pathetic petition to save Huffman's neck at this link. You can see all the fancy-pants people that signed it who send their own kids to private schools and also about the naive young'uns at TN DOE, ASD, and TFA who are recently out of college and have nice, cushy jobs bossing hardworking teachers around.

My Children, and Their Teachers, are Guilty

7/2/2014

The following is a guest post from New Mexico parent, Wendy Small (originally posted by Kris Nielsen at www.atthechalkface.com, reposted with permission)

Let me start by telling you that my children are guilty. Guilty of being born to middle class–not wealthy–parents, guilty of having special needs, guilty of being the kind of poor test takers who falsely convict their teachers of being bad at their jobs. Most of all they are guilty of being children living in New Mexico.

Perhaps the most guilty among them is my daughter, Jennifer*. She has committed the most outrageous crime of having dyslexia. Despite interventions from teachers, and thousands of dollars spent on outside diagnostics and remediation, Jennifer, age 12, continues to test “not proficient”. She is guilty, and for this both she and her teachers must pay.

Nina, Jennifer’s next youngest sister, age 10, while bright and articulate, must pay. She is guilty. Guilty of wanting so badly to get a perfect score that she will do and redo her answers. Days will go by when Nina, in the fourth grade, will sit and write and erase her answers until she explodes. Nina’s explosions are harbingers for her classmates, who know her to be a steady and capable student. They become guilty of perceiving Nina’s anxiety and inflicting it upon themselves. “It must be really hard for me if it’s hard for Nina,” they think. Then, classmates of Nina’s explode too. They cry, they yell, they come home feeling frustrated and defeated. They are punished.

The youngest of our children are not exempt; they too must be punished. I know this because Ashley, my first grader, had to endure the punishment of standardized testing as well. For her criminal act of being a child in this state, Ashley was required to sit in her chair and interpret and respond to test questions that were abstract and completely inappropriate for her developmental age. Other students in Ashley’s class must be even more guilty because when I opted Ashley out of testing and sat with her in the school office, I could hear the wailing of her classmates begging their teacher to help them understand the questions. These students were being punished for wanting to do well on their tests. To warrant that kind of experience, they must have been deemed guilty.

I am certain that Ashley’s first grade teacher is guilty, too. She was the most punished of all of them. Tears were in her eyes, frustration in her voice. Her hands were tied and her voice silenced as she unwillingly inflicted this test on her students knowing it would forever alter the emotional safety they experienced in her classroom. Ashley’s teacher is guilty of loving her students, and for this crime she was punished.

As parents, my husband and I are guilty. We decided to raise our children here, and for that we must endure the horrific consequence of watching our children be punished. Together, we must watch while the happy childhoods of our children are replaced with anxiety. We are made to stand by while their curiosity is extinguished, while they learn to fear authority, while they learn that they are “not proficient”. We are punished. As we watch the promise of three bright futures fade, we are beaten.

The good news is that, while my children are guilty, they area not as guilty as the 29% of New Mexico children who commit the criminal act of being poor. For their criminal acts, poor children are the most punished. I know this because teachers, for many [these kids'] only reliable adults, are leaving at a rapid rate. Approximately 500 teachers will leave APS alone this year, many of them from schools with children who have committed the criminal act of being poor. [Seeing] the way they are being punished–these children and their teacher–they must be criminals.

Please free our children, offer them amnesty and, in so doing, liberate us all. This is a punitive system where schools, once safe havens, have become jails. Principals serve as unwilling wardens, and the [state education department] is the head of our prison system. Please shed light on this reality by paying attention, spreading the word and serving as advocates for children in our community. We are all called to be up to the task, our children are crying for the childhoods they deserve. The clock is ticking, and time is running out. Teachers are not speaking out because they are terrified that it will harm the job and schools they love. Ask them to speak, and listen. Use your voices and protect our schools, protect our teachers, protect our children.

*All names have been changed

What can little ol' me do about the big ol' tests?

4/29/2014

Parents, are you frustrated, concerned, or feeling helpless over your child having to take high stakes standardized tests? Does your heart break for your child because your he/she has anxiety, stress, trouble sleeping, strange stomach aches, headaches, or even vomiting around TCAP time?

You are not alone.
And your child isn't the only one.

Standardized testing never used to be this way when we were growing up, did it?
We took the test and then went to out to play at recess and our school day went on as normal. There was no pressure or repercussions if you missed questions. No big deal. The teachers simply said that they wanted to see all you had learned and to do your best. There were no TCAP pep rallies, TCAP songs, TCAP t-shirts, pajama days, candy given as bribes on testing days, or videos made by desperate teachers to inspire kids to Zap the TCAP. Kids took the tests. Life went on.

That changed a few years ago in TN. Big time.
Test scores were put on a pedestal. The test scores of your children now prove the worth of their teacher. Student test scores are a huge percentage of every teacher's evaluation rating in TN, varying by district. Yes, we know it isn't fair. Yes, we know that some teachers don't even teach subjects that are on the standardized test--subjects like music, art, PE, library, electives, etc.. These teachers are unfairly forced to use the school's overall English or Math score for their percentage. Yes, and we know the teachers are incredibly stressed about it, too.

The other big change that happened a few years ago is that it became mandatory in TN that the TCAP count as 15%-25% of each child's report card grade. Yes, we know it isn't fair. Yes, we know teachers and parents never even get to see the tests or the questions on it. Yes, we know these companies are making a fortune selling these tests to our state with our tax dollars. No, we don't know if the TCAP test questions are legitimately fair or even if the answers are correct. We've heard rumors from teachers that even they can't figure out some of the answers because the questions and answer choices are so confusing, but nobody can prove it because nobody is allowed to see the test. In fact, teachers must sign an agreement to not discuss the tests. Teachers have told us Momma Bears that they have been forbidden by their administrators to post any comments relating to the TCAP or PARCC test on Facebook or social media. Things have gotten so bad that even students are told they aren't supposed to talk about the test questions, not even to their parents. (You don't tell kids not to tell their parents. That is WRONG. Unless you're throwing us a surprise party. Then it is okay.)

This is overwhelming... What can an ordinary parent do about it?
Contrary to popular belief, ordinary parents are the most powerful forces on the planet. It is true. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they work together, especially when they are Momma or Poppa or Grandparent Bears! Being a SUPER MOM is really quite easy. Here are the easy-to-follow steps:

Steps to saving the world:

Put on your superhero uniform (cape & tights are optional) and harness the power of your words as a parent.
Take a deep breath and blow off some steam. Let your words flow like Spiderman's web from his hands. You can do this. Write down everything that bothers you and your children about these stupid tests. Use curse words if you feel so inclined. The point is to get it out of your system.
Take a break. Go hug your kids. Peek on them if they are asleep and smell their sweet, sleepy heads. Children are such a blessing, and they're only yours for such a short time before they're grown up. Cherish it.
After you've cooled your jets and your head is clear, sit back down and look at the verbal vomit you spewed. It is probably pretty offensive and you need to clean it up. So, put on your thinking cap and turn those words into magic. You can do it. First, delete the curse words. Then, take out at least half of the exclamation points. There's no need for paragraphs to be written in all capitalized letters. Whittle down your message into a sane, cohesive letter or email. You're going to send this to some people who CAN make a difference, so make it polite and polished. If there are red squiggly lines popping up under words you typed, make sure they are spelled correctly and/or are the correct use of the word. You'll sound much smarter if you fix those errors. The red squiggly line is your friend.
You can't just complain without offering a solution. So, in closing your correspondence, write what you want to see happen with regards to testing. Here are some options:
Eliminate it.
Don't tie it to teacher evaluations.
Don't tie it to student report cards.
Spend the testing money on more teachers instead of tests.
Allow parents to Refuse or Opt-Out of testing for their child without penalizing their child's grade or their teacher.
Get rid of Common Core.
Good idea: Let your letter stew for 24 hours just to make sure you included everything you wanted to say.
Optional: Show it to others to get their feedback.
Read it one more time. If you think to yourself, "It is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing!," then make a wish or say a prayer and then send it!
Wait. Who do you send it to? There are a bunch of important people who need to read it, so Momma Bears suggests sending it to them all. Here is how to find the important people:
Google your school district to find out your Superintendent and School Board member's email addresses. Send your masterpiece to them. They need to know that parents are not happy. (If you're lucky, they will reply to your email in a few days and will probably say it is the State's fault. See #11 for a big fat dose of irony.)
Legislators are very important people who make the laws that got us in to this testing mess. They definitely need to hear from real parents. Click HERE to find your TN legislators that live in your district. Be sure to tell them you are in their district; this matters a lot since they need your vote. (If you're lucky, they will respond to your email in a few days and probably say it is your local School Board's fault. LOL. Notice a big fat problem with finger pointing?)
Gosh, since you've put so much work into it, you might as well send it to all the legislators. It may take you awhile to copy & paste their email addresses, and you may want to do it in small batches (send to no more than 25 email addresses per email) so that your email service doesn't think you are spamming.
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/senate/members/
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/members/
The Governor needs to see your masterpiece, too. Who knows... It might be the key that melts his stone-cold heart. His email is: bill.haslam@tn.gov
Who else needs to hear it? Teachers? Principals? Newspapers will publish letters to the editor! Go for it!!!
These are YOUR kids you are advocating for. If EVERY parent spoke up, we could make a huge difference. Don't rely on someone else to do it for you. Don't rely on your elected officials or your school's PTA. YOUR voice is important... Use it!

Your school district won't tell you this, but you also have the right to refuse these tests for your children. They are YOUR children, not the government's. If you want to know more about it, or meet other parents who have bravely gone down this opting out route before you, here are some links to real parents in Tennessee and across the country: Stop the Tennessee Testing Madness website, Stop the TN Testing Madness Facebook page, Stop the TN Testing Madness Facebook group, United Opt Out Website (National group), United Opt Out Facebook group.

(Don't try this at home. Biting your computer is never a good idea)

Liar liar pants on fire: StudentsFirst

12/29/2013

This is a series of posts to educate people about non-profit organizations that disguise themselves as supporting children, but, in reality, do not.

FACTS about StudentsFirst:
Started in: 2010
Founder: Michelle Rhee
Michelle Rhee's salary: about $300,000 from StudentsFirst + profit from book sales + speaking fees of $50,000 per event
StudentsFirst budget: $??? (unknown because they funnel money through so many of their organizations)
Funding from: billionaire foundations, corporate investors, and hedge fund managers
Staff: 50+ people
Spent in TN to influence TN legislators: over $525,000
Headquarters: California (with offices in 16 states)

StudentsFirst does not put students, first.
They put PROFITS and POLITICIANS first.

Momma Bears aren't fooled. This is definitely NOT a grassroots organization. "Astroturf" is a better description. There are no healthy roots, only an expensive layer of fake green plastic that doesn't fool anyone. (Click HERE to read our Momma Bears blog about grassroots)

As StudentsFirst pretends to support children, StudentsFirst attacks the very teachers and school environments that nurture and educate children. Through millions of dollars from corporate interests, StudentsFirst influences campaigns and laws that benefit their wealthy supporters.

In Tennessee, StudentsFirst by far leads the pack of outside funding to influence elections and legislators. Why is an organization in California spending so much money in Tennessee? or any state? Because of the huuuuge profit to be reaped with public tax dollars by turning our public schools into profitable charter schools.

StudentsFirst has publicly celebrated budget cuts to school systems and announced its intent to do away with locally elected school boards, particularly those in urban areas. Why? School boards are the gatekeepers of taxpayer dollars, made up of locally elected individuals representing the people who pay those tax dollars. Without pesky school boards in place, StudentsFirst has far less accountability and can funnel all of its resources into the campaigns of just a few city and state leaders who agree with its agenda. That way, they can have more control no real checks in place. Why focus on urban school boards? Because urban school districts have more students (ie, more $), more per pupil spending (in general), and less-involved parents to protest (in general).

Here is what StudentsFirst supports with its money and paid lobbyists:

privatizing our public schools by turning them into profit-generating charter schools
getting rid of locally elected school boards
politicians
campaigns
decreasing teacher pay
testing kids with lots of expensive tests
common core standards
using test scores to fire teachers
using test scores to close neighborhood schools
hiring cheaper inexperienced teachers that don't have teaching licenses
eroding trust in teachers and public schools with manipulated test scores

Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst. In Washington, DC, where she was appointed Chancellor of Education by the Mayor (who wasn't re-elected because of her), there still lingers a dark fog of suspicion over suspected wide-spread cheating in 103 schools during her time there. Though she denies knowing about the cheating, a memo has surfaced that proves otherwise. Liar liar pants on fire.

Here's what happened to schools who followed Rhee's advice:
(according to an article by John Merrow):
• "Six years after Michelle Rhee rode into town, the public schools seem to be worse off by almost every conceivable measure."
• With tight security after the cheating scandal, math and reading scores have plunged more than 40 percentile points.
• Half of all newly hired teachers leave within 2 years. "It has been a revolving door for principals as well."
• The per pupil expenditure has increased 27%, and the district has lost 13% of its students.
• "The most disturbing effect of Ms. Rhee’s reform effort is the widening gap in academic performance between low-income and upper-income students, a meaningful statistic in Washington, where race and income are highly correlated."

With all that money in their coffers, we can't help but wonder what would happen if StudentsFirst used the money on students, first? Use it for things that have been PROVEN to help students succeed, like:

smaller class sizes
teacher training
funding for art, music, PE, sports, enrichment, etc. (like private schools and nations with higher test scores have).
Heck, even basic supplies for our schools like copy paper, tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper would be better than what they're spending all that money on! (Yes, some schools in TN really have asked parents to send in toilet paper).

Momma Bears has dubbed the StudentsFirst motto to be:
"Students LAST, after we take care of our corporate investors."

Is this the best we can do?

12/23/2013

Momma Bears asked teachers:
What do you like and dislike about common core?
Their answers were surprising:

"I like that students must think critically, but I've been doing that all along as any good teacher does."
"I don't like the never-ending testing. It leaves less time to teach!"
"I like teaching math concepts in depth, but it frustrates and confuses some students and their parents."
"I was happy to hear that standards would be deeper and fewer, but that isn't really the truth. There are more standards and they're just all packaged together."
"The writing assessments are way over my students' heads. I've taught many grade levels and I know that these writing prompts would be appropriate for older students, but not the younger ones I'm teaching now."
"I'm having to ignore bad grammar, misspellings, and penmanship to prepare them for the common core writing assessments. That bothers me as an English teacher."
"I like the idea of every child being on the same level, but that's impossible in real life. Students are not all the same and they will never be."
"My students will be tested on the computer for writing assessments, but they don't know how to type. We don't have enough computers for students either."
"I am worried about my SPED students. I heard the new Common Core tests will be brutal for them, and they won't get any accommodations."
"I wish I could teach more literature instead of non-fiction. I've had to cut great literature that my students used to love and give them non-fiction text that they should be learning in Science or Social Studies classes."
"The common core training was confusing. The 2 Common Core leaders contradicted themselves and argued in front of us about what was correct under Common Core."
"I hate that my evaluation is tied to test scores. We haven't transitioned to the Common Core tests yet, so my students are still tested on the old standards. Which should I teach them: the standards they'll be tested on (and will make my evaluation score higher)? or the standards they will need for the future (but will net lower evaluation scores for me)?"
"I'm grateful that we are given freedom to develop our own lessons, but I've heard teachers in other districts are required to follow scripted lessons. They can't go back and review if students aren't solid because they have to move on to the next lesson on the schedule. I sure hope that doesn't happen in my district!"
"Every time I hear the word 'rigor' I feel sick. Rigor is just another word for test, test, test."

With these valid concerns that teachers raise, plus the issues that Momma Bears has already written about regarding the testing and violation of student privacy that are inseparable with common core, Momma Bears wants to know:

Are common core standards really the BEST standards we can give our children?

Sincere thanks to Paul Söderholm for granting us permission to use his artwork. (gnurf.net ~ paul@gnurf.net) Though he is from Finland, he perfectly captured the corporate influence on our American Education system.

Why are we required to keep these imperfect, unchangeable standards? Why are our children required to take expensive, time-consuming, confusing tests on them? Why aren't leaders listening to teachers???

How to get stinking rich in the education industry

12/3/2013

Times are tough, but that doesn't mean you can't make a buck in education right now. No qualifications or experience? No problem! In fact, it is actually works better if you have zero classroom experience (so you won't have any compassion for the hardworking teachers and innocent students you'll be profiting from).

You could pay $1,395 to attend a workshop (like this one) to learn how to get rich in the education industry, but Momma Bears already did the homework and figured it all out. And Momma Bears is all about sharing knowledge with other concerned folks. So, save your money and read about the easy 10-step program to getting rich with other people's money through America's public school system...

10 steps to hitting the jackpot in education:

Step #1: Start a consulting business or organization. It doesn't really matter if it is profit or non-profit. Non-profit organizations will seem more trustworthy and innocent to the public (but don't worry, that doesn't mean you won't get a nice paycheck.)

Step #2: Create a catchy name for your organization. Acronyms work especially well. Don't forget a logo. You cannot go wrong with an apple logo, they are very much in style right now.

Step #3: Make a website with pretty pie charts and lots of catchy buzz-words like these:

achievement gap
data driven benchmarks
human capital
Common Core aligned
education strategies
global citizen
rigorous, relevant, and robust

Step #4: Convince a school district that they are failing. You'll need to cherry-pick and manipulate test score data, make some glitzy charts, and use lots of buzz words. It helps if you can WOW the school board members and Superintendent with free trips or fancy meals, too.

Step #5: Find a Gullible Billionaire. (Bill Gates, Eli Broad, or any of the Walton family love education entrepreneurs, especially if you have a great logo.)

Step #6: Convince that failing school district to apply for a grant from the Gullible Billionaire. Note: the Gullible Billionaire may require a "matching grant" to get his money. Don't fret your pretty little entrepreneurial heart over that little detail! There's money to be squeezed from within that school district (those students don't need money for library, art, or music, do they?) Don't forget to tell the school district to ask for matching grants from that town's Chamber of Commerce and other gullible rich people. Businesses love to donate if you publicize their names; it is well-known that customers especially love businesses that help children. Be sure to check all those potential sources of grant money.

***Disclaimer: the Billionaire will require private student data in exchange for his grant. Don't worry, you won't go to jail. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) law was quietly changed to make it all legal. Parents would be upset if they knew, though, so don't let them find out.

Step #7: Name your price (which is conveniently the same amount as their grant funds plus the money they squeezed from their tight budget). Set a time limit to your involvement with the district, and include in the contract that you get paid no matter what.

Step #8: Pretend to study the data from the district. Visit some of their schools to seem legitimate. Then, convince the elected school board and superintendent to do any or all of the following (it really doesn't matter to you what they do, of course, because you still get paid regardless):

Fire teachers.
Hire unqualified temporary teachers that cost less and don't stay around long enough to get pricey retirement benefits.
Tell teachers they can earn bonuses and/or merit pay for reaching impossible goals.
Spend more money on testing students (but call them "benchmark assessments" to compile even more data, which Gullible Billionaires love).
Suggest they give biased surveys to teachers, parents, & students to convince them that you know what you are doing (these surveys are a great way to gather even more data. In fact, some Gullible Billionaires will often pay 100% for the surveys in addition to the grant!)
Squeeze even more students into classrooms to save their school district money (but don't ever mention how much they are wasting on outside consultants like yourself!)
Close neighborhood schools and give them to charter school investors.

Step #9: Now that you have stirred up a hornet's nest in that school district, it is time to get out of Dodge, cowboy! The citizens are starting to see they've been duped. It is time to go on a nice vacation or buy yourself a yacht with those millions of education dollars filling up your bank account.

Step #10: If you really want to rake in consistent long-term tax-payer money, consider starting charter schools. Charter operators set their own salaries and you don't have to deal with pesky financial audits and laws that apply to public schools. Charter investors get ridiculous tax breaks up to 38%, which will double your money in just 7 years! Yes, sir-ee, just sit back and let some commoners run your charter school empire while you watch your bank account grow.

So there you have it. Ten easy steps to hitting the jackpot in the education industry. What is your next goal in life? Perhaps children of your own? If you decide to brave the parenthood frontier, just make sure you put your own children in nice private schools with small class sizes, rich art programs, qualified teachers, huge endowments, and none of that common core stuff that some other education entrepreneurs came up with to sell textbooks & testing and gather data for Gullible Billionaires. Hey, maybe you'll see their yacht when you're on vacation so you can ask them for private school recommendations???

Don't believe Momma Bears? This kind of profiteering really has happened... maybe even in your school district!
Click these links to see for yourself:

Click HERE to read about grants & consultants in Knox County, TN
Click HERE to read about the enormous profit in Memphis, TN
Click HERE and HERE to see how TN's Governor profits
Click HERE to read how charters & testing companies make millions in TN
Click HERE to read about the scandals in FL, OK, ME, NJ, TN, NM, & LA
Click HERE to read the waste in Denver, CO
Click HERE and HERE to read how this firm profited from chaos in Colorado, New Orleans, New York, & St. Louis
Click HERE to read how a smart teacher does the math on Charter Schools
Click HERE and HERE to heed other's warnings about the Boston Consulting Group
Click HERE to see how Texas is being swindled big-time
Click HERE to see Louisana being taken advantage of
Click HERE for No Consultant Left Behind
Click HERE to see how a billionaire advertised for paid consultants in 15 states through Race to the Top
Click HERE to see how a consultant gets paid $625 an hour in Florida with public tax dollars (even though teachers haven't received raises in 7 years and the school board cut sports and student activities).

Brave, tired teacher tells the truth...

10/14/2013

This teacher from Knoxville, Tennessee speaks bravely and honestly to the Knox County School Board.

She is tired. Tired of...

trying to plan 5 different lessons a day that hit 61 different indicators on a rubric (and that's just to score a rock solid "3")
having to waste instructional time to give tests every week, whether needed or not, just to have data to discuss at PLC meetings
5, 6, & 7 year olds who don't understand the language of a mandated test or survey
teachers being blamed for test scores, when teachers cannot retain students or get students much-needed resource help
money wasted on programs that take away teacher's professional judgement
money wasted on teaching coaches that have less experience than the teachers they coach
money wasted on pet projects that look good on the surface
professional development training that wastes teacher's time (a whole day talking about what kind of penguins teachers are?)
witnessing great, experienced teachers (with great evaluation scores) quit mid-year due to stress
the mystery behind the TVAAS scores that are used to evaluate teachers, but nobody can explain how it is computed

Momma Bears, we must stand up not only for our children, but for their teachers. We know that teachers would protect our children from bullets, but in reality, teachers are taking constant bullets from the TN Department of Education.

We must use our parent power to tell the TN DOE, Governor, our elected officials, and our local school boards to:
STOP!
Stop bullying teachers! This is a battle worth fighting, and we WILL win.

Hopeless situation on Hope Street

Hope Street is a Dead End for TN & TEA

Petition warfare

My Children, and Their Teachers, are Guilty

What can little ol' me do about the big ol' tests?

Liar liar pants on fire: StudentsFirst

Is this the best we can do?

How to get stinking rich in the education industry

10 steps to hitting the jackpot in education:

Has your school district been duped, too???
Send the info to Momma Bears and we'll post it!

Brave, tired teacher tells the truth...

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10 steps to hitting the jackpot in education:

Has your school district been duped, too??? Send the info to Momma Bears and we'll post it!

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Momma Bears

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Has your school district been duped, too???
Send the info to Momma Bears and we'll post it!