Teachers’ group gives reasons for not signing Race to the Top

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Teachers’ group gives reasons for not signing Race to the Top

Opinions

Friday, 15 January 2010 12:47

Kathy Donato
As I See It
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The Osceola Classroom Teachers Association has refused to sign the current version Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Race to the Top money because we have serious concerns that have yet to be addressed by FLDOE.
Unfortunately, the proposals represent old ideas that have been tried and rejected over the last decade (e.g., “performance pay”). In the interests of the employees and the children of this district and for the reasons stated above, the Putnam Federation of Teachers/ United is unable to agree with the FLDOE memorandum of understanding as currently constructed.
As an association, OCTA works collaboratively on a regular basis with the school district to ensure the best for our students – and we have numerous examples of this collaboration. We have implemented a new evaluation system and have worked together in offering more staff development to meet the needs of today’s students. We worked on an agreement to add Virtual Education this year.
It is the state that has fallen short of their willingness to work collaboratively. At the outset, the DOE established the guiding principles by which all education stakeholders would participate in the RTTT application planning process. In a letter dated Sept. 11, 2009, Commissioner Smith agreed to the following to frame preliminary planning:
• Ultimate focus will be on raising student achievement in core subjects and closing the achievement gap, particularly for low-income, minority children
• Plan will be prudent and decisive in approach; pilot bold ideas first to prove efficacy, before rolling out more broadly
• Participation in pilots will be by choice as opposed to by mandate
• Efforts will be guided by evidence or research-based practices
• Proposal will address all required elements of the USED guidelines for Race to the Top
• Proposal will be focused on implementing sustainable policies
Commissioner Smith also met with educational leaders in Orlando, where he brought in Mr. Barr from the Green Dot School to talk about how his foundation worked to turn around the lowest performing school in Los Angeles.
Mr. Barr emphasized that working cooperatively and having buy in by all stakeholders is crucial for success. He cited how the staff had to work together for a year before the program could start. Teachers had input as well as the district. New and bold ideas were tested, some worked and some didn’t. What worked continued and there were new ideas tried. These proposals and ideas are not evident in the MOU issued by the DOE.
Most of the teachers I know spend countless hours over and above their school day working on ways to help the students in their classes as well as deal with all of the unfunded mandates that have come down from the state.
Those same teachers spend a majority of their summer time attending workshops and going over books and materials that will benefit our students.
Teaching is not a career that anyone goes into because they think they will become rich. It takes a special person to deal with mandates handed down by legislators who have no idea what it is like to work with a classroom of energetic, curious individuals. In today’s society, a teacher is doing more paperwork then ever before in order to validate the progress of their students. Teachers not only teach, they counsel students, they advise, they tutor and even sometimes feed students.
Our decision was not done lightly. We agonized over the decision. We knew it could be a public relations nightmare and appear that we were turning down millions of much-needed funding. While these are substantial amounts of money and worthy goals that the Osceola Classroom Teachers Association and the state teachers’ union, Florida Education Association, both support, unfortunately the Memorandum of Understanding and the accompanying documents that were issued from the Florida Department of Education ignore substantial portions of the objectives of Race to the Top and have jeopardized our state’s opportunities.
Kathy Donato is the president of the Osceola Classroom Teachers Association.