PALs Update

PALs Update
Capo School District Parents Advocate League

Dear PALs,

I have visited all the Senate offices to encourage their opposition to AB 5. This bill went from a quiet slam-dunk to a bill most of the Senators' staff (Democrats and Republican) are reconsidering, thanks to the efforts of several education reform groups as well as concerned parents, like you, that have taken the extra steps to call or email your opposition to AB 5. In fact, Fuentes is making last minute amendments to try to get this bill through. Unfortunately, he is not working together with any student-focused groups on these amendments. Therefore, it appears his biggest concern is his bill passing, NOT the students of California.

This fight is not over. We still need your help NOW. The CA Senate Education Committee needs to hear from you ASAP that Assembly Bill 5 is not good enough for students, teachers, or parents. In fact, most Senators see that this bill is not the answer for students. They need to have support from YOU, the parents, voters, and taxpayers, to give them a solid reason to oppose AB 5. Even if you called earlier this week, you need to call the Senators listed below again today.

Currently, the only group supporting AB 5 is CTA (California Teachers Association). They are a powerful and very political group that protects its members, NOT STUDENTS. Please take time to support students by calling the Senators listed below NOW.

The full Senate will likely vote on Assembly Bill 5 Friday or next week. If the bill passes, it will make the present teacher evaluation system worse than it already is, and it will do nothing to ensure that students have great teachers.

We urge you:

  1. Call all the Education Committee Senators to let them know of your opposition to AB 5, and demand a stronger teacher evaluation bill.
  2. Forward this email to your friends, colleagues, and family who are also interested in improving our public education system, and urge them to act today!

Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg
916-651-1529
Senator.Steinberg@senate.ca.gov
Senate Education Committee:

Alan Lowenthal (916) 651-4027
Sharon Runner (916) 651-4017
Elaine Alquist (916) 651-4013
Sam Blakeslee (916) 651-4015
Loni Hancock (916) 651-4009
Bob Huff (916) 651-4029
Carol Liu (916) 651-4021
Curren Price (916) 651-4026
Joe Simitian (916) 651-4011
Juan Vargas (916) 651-4040

You can also read this editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle. It came out this morning and has had a very strong influence on many Senators who are now reconsidering their support of AB 5 after realizing that so much of the public, newspaper editorial boards, and the education community is against the bill.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/editorials/article/AB5-should-be-voted-down-3805501.php#ixzz24H5V9yMo

It's still not enough! Your voice is needed to oppose this bill and demand that the legislature return with a rigorous and professional teacher evaluation!

For calls, they can be very basic, such as:
A. Your name.
B. Resident of ______________
C. Reason for calling: “I'm calling to urge Senator ___________ to oppose the Teacher Evaluation Bill, AB 5. It's not good enough for our students, teachers, parents, or principals. We need a much more rigorous evaluation system to ensure that every student has a great teacher.”

Or if time allows, give as many of the reasons below as you can to be effective (or consider using these reasons along with your own style of writing):

  1. It doesn't include student growth as a factor - the most important evaluation factor is how effective teachers are in getting students to learn - AB 5 ignores how much the students have learned while in the teacher's classroom. Including student growth as a factor in the evaluation is not about a single test score at the end of the year. It's about growth throughout the school year (using various assessments) and the impact that teachers have on how much students learn.
  2. It continues to use a 2 grade system for teachers: satisfactory vs. unsatisfactory, rather than a 4 point system such as "4. Highly Effective, 3. Effective, 2. Needs Improvement, 1. Ineffective". Great teachers aren't identified with a 2 grade system, and teachers who strongly need professional development aren't clearly identified either. It would be like limiting students to receiving either a C or a D, without a chance to earn an A or B, and no way to identify those who failed so that they can get the additional help that they need. Note: technically, the 2 choices are: "Meets or Exceeds Standards" (which lumps good and great teachers with satisfactory teachers), and "Unsatisfactory". It's insulting to great teachers who can never be identified and honored for their work.
  3. It does not evaluate teachers annually. New (non-tenured) and "unsatisfactory" teachers will be evaluated every year, teachers with 3-10 years’ experience who have received "satisfactory" grades will be evaluated every 2 years, and teachers with over 10 years of teaching who received "satisfactory" evaluations will be evaluated every 3 years. It's unprofessional, it lacks accountability, it prevents most teachers from receiving critical feedback on an annual basis, and it doesn't allow struggling teachers to be identified - the ones that need professional development ASAP.
  4. It continues the terrible policy of "Last In, First Out", which means layoffs will continue to be based on seniority rather than how effective the teachers are in getting students to learn. CA is 1 of 11 states that still bases layoffs solely on seniority. In the present layoff policy (and AB 5 will continue this policy), the number of years taught is more valued than how much the students have learned. This needs to change! How else will you attract people to become teachers when they are told "Join the most important profession in society, but realize that we care more about attendance than effectiveness. You should expect to receive your pink slip next Spring.” How will schools be able to attract and retain great teachers? An example that should baffle and infuriate you: the 2012 Sacramento USD Teacher of the Year, a 6th grade teacher with 9 years of experience, received the district's highest award at about the same time that she received her pink slip (Reduction In Force notice). Honoring teachers for their work in the classroom while continuing a layoff policy that ignores performance is both insulting to teachers and detrimental to students.
  5. It's funded for only 1 year, taking $89 million away from funds that were intended for low performing schools using QEIA funds (Quality Education Investment Act, approximately 1,500 schools serving 1.25 million students, serving 20% of CA students). Funding for the rest of the schools is not yet established.
  6. It will prevent California and individual districts from receiving flexibility waivers from federal funding sources including No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top. Last year, California schools missed out on $350 million in federal funding due to having an inadequate teacher evaluation (CA does not use multiple levels to determine teacher effectiveness (not just satisfactory and unsatisfactory), and does not require student growth be used as a factor in evaluations). AB 5 will continue to ignore these federal requirements and resist what most states have realized and changed: that the impact that a teacher has on student learning is important, is measurable, and must be a part of the teacher evaluation.
  7. It overturns a June 2012 court decision that requires Los Angeles USD to include student growth in their teacher evaluations... which is exactly the intention behind those who are supporting this bill... to prevent student growth from being used in Los Angeles and in districts across the entire state.

“Our students, teachers, parents, and principals need a much better teacher evaluation system than the one in AB 5. We can and must do better!”

“Please oppose AB 5, commit to working on a rigorous and accountable evaluation system next legislative season, and I will support you in your next election.”

Please feel free to tell the Senators' offices that you are a member of Parents Advocate League. I will be visiting the above offices today, and I am looking forward to hearing that PALs is playing an important part in supporting ALL students in California.

All the best,
Julie

Julie Collier
Parents Advocate League
http://www.facebook.com/ParentsAdvocateLeaguePALs