________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT December 01, 2003 Vol. 3, No. 45 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Covering education news in Vermont and beyond... Informative, provocative, unique... Published by Vermonters for Better Education  VBE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence. Libby Sternberg, executive director: LSternberg@aol.com NEWS & ANALYSIS... UNION CONTRACTS CALL FOR VOUCHERS? The Vermont Education Report has learned from a reader that several union contracts in the state might contain the following, or a very similar, provision: "Annually, the (school) Board agrees to issue to the Association Unit, three (3) tuition vouchers, in amounts equivalent to the announced tuition rate for that school year. The Association may allocate and give said vouchers to teachers in the bargaining unit upon such criteria, terms and conditions as it may establish." Does your district's teacher union contract contain the same language? Let us know by emailing LSternberg@aol.com.  KENNETH LEVINE SENTENCED Last week, Kenneth Levine, the Sudbury teacher who rented an apartment in Castleton in order to send his children to school there, was sentenced in Rutland district court to pay Castleton approximately $16,000. According to a WCAX-TV story on the sentencing, Levine's lawyer is setting up a fund to collect donations to pay the fine. Levine decided to send his daughters to Castleton after his son was harassed at Otter Valley Union High School. (Original VBE story here) WHO COVERS EDUCATION IN VERMONT?  WE DO! Maybe you noticed that this is the third "volume" of the Vermont Education Report. That means we're in our third year of covering education stories in the state that you WON'T FIND ELSEWHERE. Education is a complicated and important topic. In Vermont, it's a nearly one-billion-dollar industry. Yet scant notice is given to it in the major newspapers and broadcast media in the state. Only in the VER will you find regular coverage of education issues - stories on what the department of education is doing, what is happening in the education committees in the legislature, and how the state really compares nationwide, as well as tidbits from around the country. Help us keep going - send a contribution today to: VBE, 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701.  *   *   * ELSEWHERE   A round-up of notable articles from other education publications. FROM THE FORDHAM FOUNDATION E-NEWSLETTER, THE GADFLY IN SUPPORT OF NCLB  Trying to out-sing the chorus of negativism surrounding No Child Left Behind, the Hartford Courant reports that 100 minority superintendents have signed a letter expressing support for the law. "We need to be held accountable. We should not be making excuses like, 'Oh, this kid is from a poor neighborhood,'" said Hartford school chief Robert Henry. Though many signatories say they believe NCLB funding is inadequate--a constant complaint from NCLB critics--they nonetheless agree that funding is no excuse for poor performance. Kati Haycock of the Education Trust, which organized the letter, went even further, accusing NCLB critics of a "deeply cynical" effort to kill the law by claiming, in essence, that poor and minority kids can't learn. "Minority educators back Bush initiative," by Robert A. Frahm and Rachel Gottlieb, Hartford Courant, November 19, 2003, http://www.ctnow.com/hc-nochild1119.artnov19,1,7168606.story "Don't turn back the clock: NCLB not perfect, but hugely important," The Education Trust, http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/D4EA0468-953D-4580-8E86-434925A6E8AD/0/FINALSIGNERS.pdf  FROM THE MACKINAC CENTER IRS BEGINS AUDIT OF NATION'S LARGEST TEACHERS' UNION  WASHINGTON, D.C. - Due to allegations of illegal political spending, the IRS began investigating the National Education Association's finances to determine whether the nation's largest teachers' union is illegally helping political candidates. Under federal law, tax-exempt organizations must list all political spending because some of it may be taxable. According to the IRS, a political expenditure is "one intended to influence the selection, nomination, election or appointment of anyone to a federal, state, or local public office." The NEA has not reported any such expenditures. A 1993-1999 Associated Press report found numerous internal NEA memos detailing political strategies but found no reports of political spending on federal tax filings. Mark Levin, president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, which prompted the IRS to perform the audit, told the Washington Post that, "It appears that the NEA may finally be called to account for its failure to tell the government -- and its members -- how much it is spending on politics." ________  SOURCES:  Washington Post, "IRS Audits Nation's Top Teachers' Union," Nov. 24, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11344-2003Nov24.html Washington Times, "NEA's political spending investigated," Nov. 25, 2003 http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031124-102554-2944r.htm ABC News, "IRS audits nation's top teachers union," Nov. 25, 2003 http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1103/111688.html Michigan Education Report, "Illegal Union Political Spending," Early Fall 2001 http://www.educationreport.org/3757 Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Teachers: You Don't Have to Pay for Union Political Spending" http://www.mackinac.org/4098  FROM THE U.S. FREEDOM FOUNDATION  WHAT DOES CERTIFICATION MEAN?  by David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow There have been numerous proposals for alternatives to the traditional teacher certification processes by which individuals are qualified to become teachers. More than 40 states now claim to have alternative certification procedures in place but some are much less flexible than others. For decades, countless studies of the traditional certification process have overwhelmingly concluded that it does not assure that certified means qualified. To the contrary, there is evidence, even cited by the late Al Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, that the traditional approach screens out many who would be superb teachers but who will not jump through the bureaucratic hoops to get there. A USA TODAY survey a few years ago found almost half of the National Teachers of the Year felt their preparation was inadequate, that it included too much unnecessary theory and not enough classroom experience. A decade ago a survey found 73 percent of all teachers supported expanding alternative certification. Even NEA Today, the major publication of the National Education Association, contained an article in January of 1989 which stated that "we have no evidence that the regular certification makes a teacher effective." Richard Mitchell, author of Underground Grammarian, was a former English teacher at a New Jersey teachers college where, he recalled, the final exam in an education course gave 52 percent of the grade for being able to "Draw all the letters of the alphabet, both upper and lower case." A high standard indeed. Or consider John Corcoran. In his 1994 book, The Teacher Who Couldn't Read, he said he was a high school teacher for over 20 years even though he was illiterate until he was 48. As others have done on occasion, The New York Post once gave examples of writings by Brooklyn teachers, including one concerned about one of her second graders. She wrote, "How comes his past teachers have been passing him from grade to grade without he advancing or progressing [sic] academicly. I would like to know what is causing the mental blockage." The Post is not the only instance where excerpts were published from letters by some teachers who not only demonstrated that they don't know but they don't know they don't know. A few years ago, the New York Times noted that a national survey of 4,000 public school teachers found only one in five believe they are well qualified to teach in a modern classroom. Less than 30 percent felt they were very qualified to use student performance assessments that were being adopted. The Washington Post reported a study that found at least one of every five teachers presently in the public schools has neither a major nor a minor in the subject they are teaching. Again citing Al Shanker, he said at least 25 percent of today's teachers are not qualified to be in the classroom. Further, many of the proposals for alternative certification have passed the theoretical stage so there is no lack of models that work. Among states already doing this are Connecticut, New Jersey and Texas, each of which permits alternative certification in all academic subjects and at all grade levels. New Jersey introduced this practice in the mid 1980s. Officials report that teacher quality improved, the number of minority applicants doubled, and nontraditional applicants even scored higher on the National Teacher Exams. In the first year alone new hires included a Fulbright scholar, five Harvard graduates and a scientist with two patents to his credit. Evaluators concluded that those who moved into teaching from other careers were, in fact, both better teachers and role models because they were more mature and had more varied life experiences. Too many teachers spend their entire lives in the classroom, merely moving from in front of the desk to behind it. Nor is New Jersey alone in its findings. Texas found no difference in quality between teachers with degrees in education and those without. It also became easier to obtain teachers to fill the sometimes critical shortage of science and math teachers. It has been reported, for example, that there are fewer "certified" physics teachers than there are high schools. Other successful programs, not identified with a particular state, include Teach For America and Troops to Teachers. Two states, Michigan ten years ago and Florida last year, have abolished certification requirements for administrators. Thousands of private school teachers are not certified. Nor are the faculty who prepare teachers to be certified. And no two states have the same school code or requirements to be certified.  If a "foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," what is the meaning or rationale for such inconsistency? Continued support of ineffective, mediocre or even harmful approaches, just because they are traditional, reflects little credit on educators or on the dedicated, stellar public classroom teachers who are identified with their less than stellar colleagues.  FROM PUBLIC AGENDA  PUBLIC AGENDA SURVEY  Public Agenda, a nonprofit, nonpartisan polling and surveying organization, recently released a survey of American Principals and Superintendents. Many of the results are not surprising (a majority of respondents don't like the No Child Left Behind Act), but a few provide interesting insights into school leaders' views.  For example, 87 percent of superintendents and 85 percent of principals "believe that the era of testing and accountability is here to stay." In fact, 72 percent of superintendents believe it is a good idea to hold superintendents accountable for standardized test scores at the district level. Only 41 percent of principals believe the same thing. Eighty percent of superintendents and 67 percent of principals said it is "difficult but doable" to get rid of a "terrible" teacher. For a look at the entire survey, go to http://www.publicagenda.org.  *   *   * The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701, 802.773.5240 Contact LSternberg@aol.com for more information.   Subscribe Here SubscribeRemove

---

Return to Education Report Index | Return to VBE Index | Vermonters for Better Education Homepage 

---

........