I have to say that this post is definitely not one of my bubbly, super excited, happy
posts. Not to be a Debbie-Downer,
but there are some things that need to be addressed before a vote happens. The NC General Assembly is voting on a major change for
North Carolina education and teachers. In the new proposed budget cuts (Yes! More budget cuts...what
could they possibly be cutting from the education system that has not been cut
yet is my thoughts?) there are many aspects that I, along with many other
teachers, educators, and even politicians, are not too thrilled about.
3. How is the performance of teachers going to be assessed? Would this pay come from single standardized test performance scores? Our current “standardized tests in schools were not designed as teacher assessment tools and aren't valid measures” for teacher performance. Would this system be based on the overall growth of a student during a single year? If this is the case, I am curious if the pay would fluctuate. If a teacher “performs” highly one year and gets a pay increase, but the following year they do not “perform” as highly, would their pay decrease? (I believe that is another can of worms not worth opening!)
With all that being said, I believe I will get off my soap-box now (at least on my blog!). However, I do feel that it is critical that our Senators and Representatives hear our concerns. I emailed back approximately ten of the individuals I originally emailed with my latest email regarding performance pay…needless to say….I have heard back from zero. A little discouraging yes, but that’s not going to stop me. I anticipate continuing to email and continuing to get my voice and opinions out there. How else are the people in Raleigh going to know how the teachers feel throughout the state? I encourage everyone to write a few emails and tell their sides. Check out the the Senate here with email addresses and names, the House here with emails and names, check out my emails here, and even check out a few websites that helped me prepare all this wonderful information: The Heart of a Teacher, Missouri Edu Research, and The Washington Post.
I do start the NCWriting Project next week, only 7 days away, but who’s counting? Until next time :)
I first heard of the budget cuts
because my good friend, colleague, and bridesmaid Candace, told me that our
Masters Degree through Appalachian
State University may not be
acknowledge through a pay increase by the time we complete our courses.
Currently, teachers in North Carolina only see a pay increase (minus the teeny-tiny increase last year) through a Masters
Degree or National Board Certification. Candace and I are scheduled to complete
our degree in August 2014. However, with the new cuts, Candace told me that if
we are not currently getting paid for our Masters at the start of the 2014-2015
school year, we will not receive the pay from that point forward. Therefore,
Candace and I.... we are
out of luck. Needless to say, I felt that it was my obligation to email
some Senators and Representatives regarding my thoughts and opinions.
I sent my first email and heard back from four of the
twenty-five individuals I emailed. I
can start by saying that I was slightly frustrated with that. Can’t a secretary at least email me
back for you? I mean, at least acknowledge that you saw, maybe even possibly
read the email? (Read receipts on emails are awesome by the way!) A couple of
the replied emails were simply "Your opinion matters," but there was
one that was very supportive and very concerned about the passing of the
budgets also. Representative
Tricia Cotham was
wonderful! She was so supportive, so helpful, and made me feel as though
teachers had a support crew in the Assembly in Raleigh. Then there was an email
from Senator Phil Berger. That one was definitely
not the email response I was hoping for.
That particular email mentioned that
Medicaid had eaten much of the Senate budget. Not to mention, there was $1.2
billion dollars that needed to cover unexpected costs in Medicaid. Therefore
this "diverts money away from state priorities like education." (If
it is a priority, shouldn't that mean it comes first? I’m slightly confused on that.) The email did
mention that Senate Republicans got teachers their first raise is nearly five
years for 2012-2013! (Whoo-hoo a whopping 1%) The email then told
me that North Carolina was looking to switch to a “Pay for Excellence” program.
I believe this is sugar-coating words for “Performance Pay.” This
opened a new can of
worms in the Stadler
household. There are multiple issues that I have with performance pay; I would
definitely say more issues there than with not paying for a Masters Degree!
Here are my issues with “Performance
Pay.” First this
pay is typically made through student performance on a standardized test. So technically…that’s
not really even paying the teachers on their performance right? It is paying
teachers based on students’ performance. But here are my issues:
1. Studies
have shown that performance
pay encourages competition among teachers rather than collaboration. This is
contradictory to our current goal of increased collaboration through
Professional Learning Communities. I worry that this increased competition
would also lead to incidents like that of Atlanta Public Schools from 2005 – 2009.
(That was a mess!) Teachers and administrators were cheating on their
tests. They were changing answers on students’ tests in order to boost their
overall scores. Wouldn't performance pay encourage the same? I mean
teachers are basing their salaries on that of the students in their classroom.
2. With performance based pay there is also research that shows the students’ attitude on
any given day could alter test performance. If performance pay, or pay for
excellence, is based on standardized test scores, students could face multiple
scenarios the day before or day of the test that is being analyzed. For
example: I have had multiple students loose a pet during the school year. What if that happens the day before the test? What if parents are going through a
divorce during testing days? What
if a student does not take
their ADD or ADHD medicine the morning of the test? The situations are endless.
Students face numerous challenges throughout the school year, and even test
days; these could drastically affect student performance on the tests they
take. Research shows that this system will also discourage
teachers from teaching certain students in certain areas. How is it fair to
compare the teachers of high income schools to those of lower income schools?
How is it fair to judge teachers who have drastically different materials and
resources to use to teach their students? Not paying attention to these
students and their situations contradicts our current act of “No Child Left
Behind.”
3. How is the performance of teachers going to be assessed? Would this pay come from single standardized test performance scores? Our current “standardized tests in schools were not designed as teacher assessment tools and aren't valid measures” for teacher performance. Would this system be based on the overall growth of a student during a single year? If this is the case, I am curious if the pay would fluctuate. If a teacher “performs” highly one year and gets a pay increase, but the following year they do not “perform” as highly, would their pay decrease? (I believe that is another can of worms not worth opening!)
With all that being said, I believe I will get off my soap-box now (at least on my blog!). However, I do feel that it is critical that our Senators and Representatives hear our concerns. I emailed back approximately ten of the individuals I originally emailed with my latest email regarding performance pay…needless to say….I have heard back from zero. A little discouraging yes, but that’s not going to stop me. I anticipate continuing to email and continuing to get my voice and opinions out there. How else are the people in Raleigh going to know how the teachers feel throughout the state? I encourage everyone to write a few emails and tell their sides. Check out the the Senate here with email addresses and names, the House here with emails and names, check out my emails here, and even check out a few websites that helped me prepare all this wonderful information: The Heart of a Teacher, Missouri Edu Research, and The Washington Post.
I do start the NCWriting Project next week, only 7 days away, but who’s counting? Until next time :)
