LAE HOSTS SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENT IN SULPHUR, LOUISIANA
Educators from across the state recently took part in a major instructional professional development opportunity sponsored by the LAE—Educating the Whole Child: A Toolkit of Best Practices for Great Louisiana Public School Educators.
The day-long event provided educators from across the state with an opportunity to learn about innovative strategies geared toward teaching in 21st-century classrooms. The conference offered one-of-a-kind sessions led by Louisiana educators. Topics ranged from Common Core best practices to information on important aspects of Louisiana education policy to using emerging technology in the classroom.
Amy Bogan, a consultant with the Danielson Group, presented the conference attendees with information on the Framework for Teaching by Charlotte Danielson. Bogan pointed out that Louisiana education leaders ignored important procedures in adopting the rubric—procedures that would have made COMPASS a professional development map instead of the punitive method that’s used today.
The group also learned about the role that educators play in the testing resistance and reform movement. Robert Schaeffer from FairTest discussed how educators, parents, students, and community leaders across the U.S. are building a strong coalition to challenge testing misuse and overuse.
Conference attendee and Vermilion Association of Educators member Karen Richardson said the event was a great opportunity to get quality professional development from real teachers at a great price.
“The workshops were relevant to me and the work I do in my classroom,” Richardson said. “Overall, the conference was inspiring, and the information I received will definitely be put into place with my students. I can’t wait for the next professional development opportunity offered by the LAE!”
LAE leaders would like to thank Calcasieu Parish Superintendent Karl Bruchhaus for hosting the event and LAE member Dr. Sheryl Abshire and her staff for presenting and running the operations for the conference.
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
Debbie Meaux, President
The Louisiana Department of Education recently released a report on the second year of implementation of the teacher evaluation process—you can read the report by visiting the following website: louisianabelieves.com. Through this report, the department claims that school systems holding a high bar of excellence for teacher observations made the most significant strides with students. Upon reading these findings, there are a few significant points I’d like to address.
First, it’s been found that the LaDOE manipulated school scores to mirror last year’s percentages in order to reach certain mandates. The increase in “A schools” at the elementary and middle school levels is a result of score manipulation which does not offer an accurate portrayal of true school quality. Lousiana Superintendent of Education John White said we will see more schools receiving lower scores in the coming years. I agree with this, considering that our accountability system is being artificially rigged to soften the initial blow to scores. It appears as though implementation is being set up this way to avoid the major shock of declining scores in order to give the PARCC test an easier transition. It appears as though BESE plans to steadily increase the “cut scores” and the definition of an “A school,” which only stands to mislead the public, drive down confidence in our neighborhood schools, and cause a more aggressive push for school privatization through vouchers and charter schools—and we all know what this means for public school funding.
In the report, Superintendent White claims that no school is denigrated, no student humiliated, and no teacher punished. In my opinion, this statement is inaccurate, considering some students failed a new, more difficult test that many had little to no experience taking, a test that not all educators were fully prepared to teach.
Several schools were, in fact, denigrated due to falling school performance scores despite the LaDOE’s attempt to implement a “fail safe” system to ensure the same number of As, Bs, Cs, etc. How is this fair to students, teachers, and schools whose educators are in the middle of retooling during a time of transition? Under the current structure of Louisiana’s school accountability system, schools falling into the C, D, and F ranges risk losing students to charter schools, paving the way for BESE to approve even more Type 2-charter schools, which unconstitutionally divert funding that should otherwise be used to pay for the operation of parish schools. The LAE is currently pursuing legal action that would rightfully require funding to be used as it was intended—for parish public schools.
Another issue with the LaDOE report is Superintendent White’s request to have state legislative auditors do an external review of the implementation of this year’s modified accountability system. In my opinion, this is an imperfect solution to a complicated problem with no reliable answer. It may ensure that the modified system was applied as was intended, but it doesn’t guarantee an agreed-upon level of quality in the measured school systems. (That would take a much better system with multiple criteria and consensus on what quality should look like in statewide school systems.) Quality is often relative to the environment and circumstances in which the school exists; since not all criteria fit every school, it’s highly unlikely that there is a universal “cut score” that can or should measure real quality. Superintendent White referred to school report cards as “tools that help parents and educators understand what is happening in their schools.” I feel this statement is insincere, since the scores do not adhere to a steady, agreed-upon scoring methodology used from year to year to indicate accepted levels of quality. One has to consider that the test itself has changed and will change again this year; and furthermore, the scores have been artificially manipulated to produce predetermined outcomes.
Additionally, Superintendent White hints at the cruelty of the accountability system. This is ironic considering this year and next are years in which the accountability system is being tweaked to ensure predetermined results. Superintendent White admits that in the following years, it will become more challenging for schools to maintain high ratings. While the reprieve from the negative effects of accountability is needed, it is not being done in the manner in which many public education stakeholders advocated: at least a three-year moratorium on school performance scores during the transition period to new testing and curriculum changes. Instead, Superintendent White plans to ramp up testing and accountability quickly each year until 2025, when all schools are expected to score “mastery” in order to be considered an “A school.” A detailed masterplan for ensuring success for all students, schools, communities, and districts statewide still has not been constructed.
Public schools rely upon the state for funding to make educational progress. It’s disheartening that several of Louisiana’s top education leaders continue to seek a path of privatization by forcing unneeded (and mostly unwanted) competition amongst public, charter, and private voucher schools. When three school systems are forced to use the same pot of money to function, Louisiana’s students lose. If our public schools are forced to give up their already scarce financial resources to charter schools, educational quality in public schools will diminish. We need to adequately fund public schools to which all of Louisiana’s students have access. We can’t continue to lose our precious public schools—schools that constitutionally guarantee a free and appropriate education for every child.
It’s important to note that the LAE commends efforts to increase graduation rates, and as the president of this organization, I congratulate any school successful in achieving this significant accomplishment, but it’s important for the LaDOE to be transparent and fair in evaluating how such an achievement is assessed. It is my opinion that the LaDOE’s Accountability Commission must do more to strengthen Louisiana’s school accountability system. Instead of reflecting how students do on a single test at a single point in time, we should be looking at what our students are capable of producing over time, perhaps via a pretest/posttest system. This would give school systems a more accurate picture of student growth and what needs to be done to ascertain higher levels of student success.
In Solidarity,
Debbie Meaux
LAE CHALLENGES IMPROPER USE OF MFP FUNDS
ILLEGAL USE OF MINIMUM FOUNDATION PROGRAM DOLLARS TO FUND CERTAIN CHARTER SCHOOLS SIPHONS MUCH-NEEDED DOLLARS AWAY FROM LOCAL SCHOOL BOAR
Leaders from LAE affiliates across the state have officially signed on to a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s use of Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) dollars to fund certain charter schools.
“The illegal use of MFP funds to pay for BESE-approved charter schools has had a devastating impact on city and parish school boards,” said LAE President Debbie Meaux. “We must put an end to these unconstitutional practices so that local school boards receive the MFP funds that they need to educate all students in Louisiana.”
Louisiana public schools are funded through the MFP, and the Louisiana Constitution requires that MFP funds be equitably allocated to “parish and city school systems.” Despite this requirement, Louisiana’s charter school demonstration programs law and the latest MFP resolution approved by the Louisiana Legislature require the payment of MFP funds to Type 1B and Type 2 charter schools. (Type 1B charter schools operate pursuant to a charter with a local charter authorizer; Type 2 charter schools operate pursuant to a charter with BESE.) Parish and city school systems have no control over Type 1B and/or Type 2 charter schools because neither of these types of schools are considered “parish and city school systems” under Article VIII, §13(B) of the Louisiana Constitution.
The LAE successfully challenged the funding of voucher schools through the MFP formula in 2012. LAE Attorney Brian Blackwell said the recent lawsuit, filed in September 2014, is an outgrowth of the 2012 voucher case.
“The 2012 lawsuit challenged the funding of private schools through the MFP,” Blackwell said. “The latest suit challenges the funding of state-created schools through the MFP.”
In 2012, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that “once the minimum baseline for public education is met, the MFP funds must still be allocated equitably to city and parish school systems.” This ruling follows the Louisiana Constitution, which unambiguously requires that MFP funds be allocated to city and parish schools.
President Meaux went on to express that the association stands by the fact that charter schools approved by BESE or local charter authorizers are not city and parish school systems. All money appropriated by the legislature to go into the MFP must be allocated equitably among the 69 city and parish school systems in the state.
“The LAE has always considered school funding to be a top priority, which is why we chose to take legal action on the improper use of the funds,” said Meaux. “This lawsuit will ensure that MFP funds are spent on what the people of the state wanted them to be spent on—city and parish school systems—not on state-approved charter schools that siphon scarce resources away from those systems.”
A decision is expected soon on whether to allow a permanent injunction on the allocation of MFP funds to Type 2 charter schools. LAE leaders will keep members posted on the outcome of this important issue.
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