Over Testing Resolution

The following is an email from UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh.


Over the past few weeks, students have been taking SAGE tests on writing. We have heard from many of you about the challenges your students have experienced with this test and others.

The UEA has assisted Rep. Marie Poulson in writing a resolution (numbered HCR7, view here) to minimize excessive testing and its negative impacts on the schoolchildren of Utah.

HCR7 is being heard in the House Education Standing Committee on Tuesday, February 17, at 4:10 p.m. in Room 30 in the House Building (view agenda). I will be testifying in support of this resolution. I encourage you, your members and anyone who can possibly join us to do so. Our presence will show our support of this resolution and the efforts of Rep. Poulson.

Even if you cannot attend, please share your testing stories by e-mailing your Legislator.

Thank you!

Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh
UEA President

UEA Legislative Summary February 2-6

I know I encouraged you in an email to listen to UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh's comments, but the links for that are not working, so I removed them.

2015 LEGISLATURE WEEK TWO SUMMARY: February 2-6

During Week Two, about a dozen education-related bills of the nearly 70 currently being tracked by the UEA were heard. In addition, the ,Executive Appropriations Committee approved a base budget that funds the growth in new students, but cuts about 2% from last year’s overall budget. A highlight of the week was UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh’s testimony before the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

Public Education Budget: The Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee recommended and the Executive Appropriations Committee approved a base budget that cuts about 2% from last year’s overall budget. What the committee called a 2% budget cutting “exercise,” has created a great deal of angst in the education community, although committee members are quick to say they believe the final budget will provide a “significant” education budget increase.

The approved base budget includes line item cuts to USTAR ($6.2 million), To and From Transportation ($6 million), the K-3 Reading Program ($2.6 million) and in Concurrent Enrollment ($3,000,000). It also cuts the Flexible Allocation line item ($23,106,000), which is used to help school districts fund employee retirement and Social Security costs (see the full subcommittee recommendation).

Of particular concern to many education stakeholders was a cut to the line item for Charter School Replacement funding ($20.56 million). This not only diverts local property taxes away from districts to charter schools, it also marks a shift in policy done through a budget process rather than being vetted and discussed by the entire Legislature. This shift puts an increased share of taxpayer funds under the control of unelected charter school governing board members and out of the control and accountability of elected officials in districts.

On Friday, Feb. 6, UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh gave a moving presentation to the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee. She first presented the UEA’s Issue Brief about the public education budget and provided members of the committee a brief to help explain “above the line” and “below the line” items in the budget and how they relate to local control. She then reviewed information from a survey of teachers conducted by the UEA asking them where the state should invest to have the most positive impact on student outcomes. “The most pressing need, identified as a top concern by more than 88 percent of teachers, was reducing class size. This was followed by increasing salaries and benefits to attract and retain quality teachers, which was identified by 78 percent as a priority,” she said.

Gallagher-Fishbaugh also shared selected stories from classroom teachers about how legislative decisions impact teachers, students and classrooms. Members of the committee were also provided with stories from educators in their respective districts. After sharing a few stories, she said, “The bottom line is that our teachers are feeling overworked and under-appreciated…our students are over-tested and under-served…and our classrooms are overcrowded and underfunded.” She concluded by asking the legislators to support Governor Herbert’s proposed budget and his requested 6.25% WPU increase.

Educator Day on the Hill: Teachers from Canyons, Nebo, Jordan, Granite and Davis School Districts, as well as members of UEA-Retired, met participated in UEA’s Educator Day on the Hill. Following a quick briefing, participants listened as UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh presented to the Public Education Appropriation Committee (see above).

Reps. Robert Spendlove and Norman Thurston addressed the group and answered questions. Rep. Spendove thanked educators for everything they do. He said he supports the Governor’s proposal of 6.25% on the WPU and hopes legislative leadership and the governor will negotiate a significant increase. Rep. Thurston said education is the No. 1 issue in his district. His constituents are asking that the legislature please get out of the way and let the teachers teach and stop all of the testing.

Bills on the move this week(For the current status on all bills of interest see the UEA Legislative Tracking Sheet)

HB33: American Indian-Alaskan Native Education Amendments is designed to codify the Native American position at the State Office of Education and establish the American Indian and Alaskan Native committee to deal with Native American achievement gap. The bill passed Senate Education Committee on a vote of 3-1.

HB54 (1st sub.): Public Education Increased Funding would increase the state income tax from 5% to 5.5% and put the money in dedicated funds that would be used for teacher pay and digital learning. The bill failed in the House Education Committee with only two yes votes.

HB118: Public Education Human Resource Management Act Revisions opens up SB64 from 2012, further defining dismissal for cause. It was heard in the House Education Committee, but no action was taken. During the hearing, UEA Executive Director Lisa Nentl-Bloom said the UEA does not fully support the bill but wants to continue discussions with the sponsor to make improvements. No action was taken on the bill in the House Education Committee.

HB119: Charter School Finance Amendments would require all school districts to allocate 25% of district per pupil revenues for students attending charter schools. The UEA opposes this bill. It passed House Education Committee with only two ‘no’ votes.

HB124: Education Background Check Amendments would impact both licensed and classified employees by clarifying background check provisions and procedures. There was no public comment and it passed the House Education Committee unanimously.

HB128: Maintenance of Student Records deals with student records and keeping those records. It will allow districts to have a single database instead of two databases for records. There was no public comment. The bill passed House Education Committee unanimously and was added to the consent calendar.

HB163: Student Data Breach Requirements requires a school district or charter school to notify the parent of a student if there is a release of a student’s personally identifiable information. The bill passed the House Education Committee unanimously.

SB104: Education Elections and Reporting Requirements would create a partisan election process for local and state school boards. The UEA opposes this bill and instead supports direct non-partisan elections of state school board members at both the local and state level. The bill passed the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee 5-1.

SB106: Class Size Reduction Program Amendments changes the way class size reduction funding is distributed. It passed Senate Education Committee unanimously.

SB107: Computer Science Initiative for Public Schools creates a computer science initiative that would be directed by the State Board of Education and the STEM Action Center. It allocates just over $2 million to select a vendor to operate the program. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee unanimously.

SB114: Board of Education Compensation Amendments requires the Legislature to annually appropriate salary compensation for members of the State Board of Education. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee unanimously.

SB117: Interventions for Reading Difficulties Pilot Program would be used to start grant program for districts to apply for a proposed grant. It passed Senate Education Committee unanimously.

Prosperity 2020 Academic Excellence Symposium

Following are my notes from the Symposium.  It was a TED Talk set up with each speaker taking about 10 minutes.  You can see news coverage and read the Prosperity 2020 plan.



Attending:  Dr. Johnson, Peggy Jo Kennett, Susan Pulsipher, Todd Quarnberg, Brian Larsen, about 15 UEA members, NEA executive committee member

4th grader John Haugland from Mountain View Elementary asked the question, "Do you believe in me?"  We can reach our highest potential. Students need educators. Believe in your colleagues and yourself. Students need all of us. What you are doing is the most important job in the state.

 Alan Hall, chairman of Prosperity 2020, and Gail Miller, business owner, welcomed all. Need educated workforce. 5 year plan to move Utah to one of the top education programs in nation. Stakeholders must work together to achieve this plan.

 Utah teacher of the year 2014 Mohsen Ghaffari spoke about his background growing up in Iran with parents who did not have a chance for much education. Teaching is not easy. Need collaboration. Education is not I trouble, but it needs help."

 Rob Hutter, Learn Captial, education venture capitalist in technology, spoke about the good and not good.  Great education return on investment, but low pay for teachers. A decade ago, there were no iPhones, Facebook, or social media. There has been an explosion of education technology companies. Responsive education revolution said more money can flow to teachers. Gave examples of lots of programs for education. He said most of the money spent should go to training teachers, not licenses.

Steve Kroes from Utah Foundation spoke about some changes in Utah achievement. Data from 1990s was surprisingly good: 10th highest in reading, and 15th highest in math. Saw elected officials who cared about students' education. The following 10 years there was a slide: now 28th in reading, and 30th in math, just average. Scores have started to rebound. Olene Walker K-3 reading initiative played a part. Back up to 28th in math. Internationally, 22 nations significantly outperform USA in math. Have high quality of life in Salt Lake City.

Natalie Gochnour is dean of U of U business school talked about the economic impact. Deep poverty of most of human history is foreign to prosperous USA. Accelerated change started with Industrial Revolution. We do not know what the future holds. Education's virtuous cycle, where education leads to ideas, which leads to better health, which leads to prosperity. Need investment and productivity. Our commitment to education has fallen from 7th in 1995 to 29th in the nation today. Education equals employment, earnings, upward mobility, tax revenue, and civil society. Utah has 32nd highest tax burden in nation. Tax changes in the last 20 years have resulted in $400 million a year less. Income inequality is growing.

Governor Herbert spoke about high expectations. He said SAGE is designed to give more accurate look at where we are. Cannot compare CRT to SAGE. Not unusual to see a drop in scores when you raise the expectations. Expects scores to climb over the years. Scores do point out that we have work ahead of us. Trust local and state school boards to make good decisions. Utah has best value for education in USA. We are not just throwing money at education. We are last in spending. Need to expand and find better ways to do things. Need to transform, not reform education. "Preserving the good and promoting the better." -- Chase Peterson. He wants to put together a comprehensive, strategic 10-year plan for education. Ambitious goal for one of top 10 states in nation in education outcomes. We can't thank our teachers enough for the work they do. Teaching is a great, rewarding profession, but it is hard. Avoid one size fits all mentality. Find ways to work together and cooperate on 10-year plan.

Greg Bell, Lane Beattie, Dave Dottie, and Richard Kendall presented the Prosperity 2020 5-year plan. Developed and endorsed by the business community. We want to be an economic powerhouse. Utah is ranked 3rd for business, but 46th for education. Good cannot be the enemy of great. Utah has not had a plan for education: growth, minority students, etc. Best education systems pursue reading proficiency by the end of third grade, math proficiency by end of eighth grade. Read by end of third grade, proficiency in math, best graduation rates. Massachusetts implemented an education plan and have seen results (they also spend 3 times more per student than Utah). Takes commitment over time. Every young person needs a certificate or degree after high school to make it. Too many drop out of college. Wasatch Front has the highest number of adults who started college but never finished.

Nadine Wimmer from KSL spoke about the need to have students reading on grade level by the end of third grade. She leads KSL's Read Today tutoring program. Program is particularly effective in 3rd through 6th grade. Program is free, because it is run by volunteers.

Brenda Van Gorder from Granite district pre-school program spoke about the importance of early childhood education. Children who start school behind others their age never catch up. High-quality pre-school makes a difference. Teach alphabet knowledge, book and phonemic awareness, and vocabulary.

Sara Krebbs, literacy coordinator for Cache County spoke about reading. Self esteem suffers when we don't have enough skills to participate. Reading is a gatekeeper skill to 85% of the content in the school day. Same with employment. Every child receives small group reading instruction for 30 minutes every day. Para professionals receive training, literacy facilitators provide that training and make and adjust groups, and classroom teachers work together. Above level readers also receive instruction they need. Must build a foundation in reading first.

Logan Hall from Salt Lake District, with students from Highland High and Hillside Middle spoke about STEM. Students did some science demonstrations.

Robert Goodman from New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (which was developed by NJEA) STEM program spoke about his experience starting a pre-engineering program. Www.njctl.org has free and editable course content. Need to teach physics in 9th grade, so need more physics teachers. Social justice and global competitiveness are two sides of the same coin.

Senator Howard Stephenson spoke about mastery through personalized learning. Computer assisted instructional software which delivers to each student personalized feedback to every response. He visited a middle school with 75 students in a computer lab working on math software, and it was completely silent. They were getting what they needed with immediate feedback. His goal to teach every Utah student to make dopamine in their own heads. Have a shortage of computers. Students are digital natives who should not have to power down to come to school.

Blake and Bo Nemelka, Riverton High graduates and authors of "Beat the Middle: the Middle School Student's Guide to Academic Success" spoke about starting to think about college in 6th grade. Have conversations about what is needed to go to college at early ages. Students need inspiring parents and mentors. Accountability to the right factors over right period of time.

Gina Buttars, principal at Roy High, spoke about improving graduation rates and helping students be college and career ready. Power of one: child, teacher, town, team, dream.  Everyone graduates! Collaborating within their high school feeder system to focus on one goal of everyone graduating.  Home visits to students who are not coming to school. Volunteers working with elementary students who are struggling. Each staff member is focusing on one student. Increase of 5% in their graduation rate over 5 years. Average daily attendance has increased from 94% to 96%. Immense power and possibility in one dream.

Melissa Kincart is commissioner of outreach and access in higher education system. She spoke about school counselors and how they can be better utilized. Look at systems of how counselors are spending time. Key member of high school leadership teams. Counselor training is lacking in the college and career readiness area. Need more counselors.

Commissioner of Higher Education David Buhler spoke about who students go to college. Only half of students who start college finish. Need 4 years of math in high school and in first year of college. Encourage students to go to school full time, which is 15 credits per semester. You can take 15 credits for the same cost as 12 credits.

David Pattinson from American Future, which is a nonprofit supporting youth. Building relationships is important. Teach entrepreneurship. Education needs to be tied to careers.  Thinks job shadowing should be happening at younger ages. Need to learn soft skills like communication and interpersonal relationships. Tie what you teach to a career, how will students use the info later in life.  Show how exciting different jobs are.

Laura Leon is a juris doctorate candidate at the U.  She is an immigrant from Columbia and talked about her experience integrating into school. Received good support from teachers and knew if she worked hard, she could be whatever she wanted to be.

Eric Hanushek from Stanford said we have underestimated the importance of achievement.

K-12 Goals:

• Goal 1: Utah ranks in top 10 in reading - K-3 reading curriculum, PLCs, voluntary pre-school, community schools, support for at-risk students, optional full-day kindergarten - $65 million over 5 years.
• Goal 2: Utah ranks in top 10 in math - technology devices, technology-based math assessment tools, endorsements and technology training for teachers, PLCs, STEM endorsements - $42.5 million over 5 years
• Goal 3: Utah ranks in top 10 in graduation rates - additional counselors and mentors, counselor training, student advocates, academic coaches, tutors - $20 million over 5 years
• Goal 4:  K-12 Teacher compensation and PD - $280 million over 5 years

Higher Ed Goals:

• Goal 1 Higher Ed Compensation - $145 million over 5 years
• Goal 2: Utah ranks in top 10 in degrees and certificates - rewards for colleges that increase completion rates, access and outreach, initiatives for underserved students, programs that meet high-wage and high-demand workforce needs, financial aid and scholarships or lower and middle income students - $85 million over 5 years
• Goal 3:  Affordability of college and financial aid - $35 million over 5 years

 

UEA released the Education Excellence Report in January 2014.  This was research done by UEA Members on what is needed for Education Excellence.  Here is a comparison of the two reports.

 

Similarities:

• collaboration
• focus on student learning
• professional development
• providing resources
• funding

Missing from Prosperity 2020 plan:

• rigorous pre-service teaching programs
• effective, valid, reliable teacher evaluation
• policies to strengthen the teaching profession
• career options for teachers to stay in classroom
• respecting teachers as experts

Walk for Colleen Bliss

Walk for Colleen Bliss! She is a retired Jordan/Canyons teacher who was a career-long UEA member. She is the recommended candidate against Dan McCay in the Riverton/Bluffdale area. See below for her scheduled campaign walk times for this week.

Tuesday, Oct. 28 Colleen's House 1945 Rock Hollow Road, Bluffdale
Rock Hollow is approximately 14900 So. Redwood Road 5:00pm

Wednesday, Oct. 29 Rosamond Elementary parking lot
1219 South 1975 West 4:30pm

Thursday, Oct. 30 Rosamond Elementary parking lot 4:30pm

Saturday, Nov. 1 Jordan River Parkway Trailhead (Draper Rotary Park) 12300 South 1100 West 10 am

South Jordan City District Split Talks

As you have seen in the news, South Jordan City has decided to move forward with a feasibility study about splitting from Jordan District.  A flyer with inaccurate information was distributed over the weekend.  We need to be educators of the public about the harm that will come to students should another split occur! 

As JEA President, I have attended nearly every open study session and school board meeting over the last four years.  Based on my experience, I can also speak to some of the misinformation in the flyer.

"Jordan School District kept important information from voters during last year's bond election debate!"  I was involved with the bond campaign from the beginning.  The Jordan District and Friends of Jordan School District were very open and trying to get the information out using websites, social media, and open houses.

"Now that they are planning on it (bond election) again, but here's what they didn't want you to know last time --"  First, this is not a grammatically correct sentence.  That teacher bit aside, I have heard very little discussion on a future bond.  Occasionally, a board member will say that they want to run a bond again in November.  Others will then say the district needs to wait 2-3 years.  The decision to try for a bond again has not been made.

"On their website, they pointed to South Jordan's growth as a reason to build new schools, but in the first bond they planned for schools in Riverton, Herriman, West Jordan and Bluffdale, but not in South Jordan."  The Bingham feeder system is most of South Jordan.  A new elementary school was to be built in South Jordan from the bond funds.

"The State Legislature is giving South Jordan one chance, this year, to decide if they want to split off."  A law was passed that stated if a district were to split that the property tax revenue to one district cannot be more than 5% higher than the property tax revenue for the other district.  This was a major problem in the Jordan/Canyons split.  Jordan had 60% of the students and 40% of the tax base, while Canyons had 40% of the students and 60% of the tax base.  If South Jordan doesn't decide to vote on a split this year, they still could in the future, there would just be more restrictions.

Back in February, the South Jordan Journal ran an article about a possible South Jordan split from Jordan District.  I wrote a letter to the editor that was published in March.

Dear Editor and South Jordan residents,

I am concerned with the South Jordan City Council looking to form its own school district. I am against this for many reasons including costs, quality of education, and employee morale.
There are students living in South Jordan City boundaries who attend Herriman or Copper Hills High, Copper Mountain Middle, Midas Creek Elementary and other schools on permit. Current schools in South Jordan city boundaries are not large enough to hold all the students living in South Jordan City. This means new schools would need to be built necessitating a bond.

The Jordan/Canyons split in 2009 cost $33 million through months of negotiations and mediation with transition teams from both sides. In addition, Jordan District had to cut $17 million in the 2010-2011 budget year. These cuts hurt students. One example is the money for aides in Special Education classes being reduced leaving those students who are the most needy without the support to help them be successful. Canyons District promised no tax increases, but within two years, property taxes had increased and a bond was passed to build a new high school and rebuild several other schools.

The quality of education students receive will suffer. Jordan District has an excellent curriculum department that provides many resources for teachers at all levels. The new district would likely be unable to hire those types of specialists, leaving teachers on their own to create curriculum. As an elementary teacher, I appreciate having those specialists who can align curriculum to the Utah Core, provide quality assessments, and give curriculum maps for pacing subjects taught throughout the year. If my time had to be spent doing those types of activities for all the subjects I’m required to teach, there would be less time for me to work with students and provide them with the feedback they need to improve.

Many employees on both sides of the Jordan/Canyons split felt like they were just assets assigned to a building. The morale is just now, five years later, beginning to improve. Employees have not received their step increases three of the last five years. While this is a different pay system than in other industries, when teachers are hired, the District explains the pay system, so there is an expectation that has not been met. If South Jordan were to break off to form their own school district, employee salary increases in both districts would likely be nonexistent. At the time of the Jordan/Canyons split, I felt discouraged and frustrated with my career. I have become more optimistic as I have utilized the tools provided by Jordan District. I am proud to have been teaching in Jordan District for 22 years.

Please stop the discussion on breaking away from Jordan District now!

Jennifer Boehme
South Jordan resident and Elk Meadows teacher

Oppose Republican Resolution on Partisan School Board Elections

There is a new resolution that will be proposed in the 2014 Utah Republican Nominating Convention on April 26, 2014 that you may want to review asap.  We are asking that, for those of you who are Republican, to contact your Republican delegates immediately and ensure they vote NO on the Resolution to Promote Partisan School Board Elections.  Here is some helpful background:

·        The resolution is titled Resolution to Promote Partisan School Board Elections and is at the end of this post and can also be found on the Utah Republican Party website at:  http://www.utgop.org/utgop.asp where you can “click here to view submitted Amendments and Resolutions that will be considered at the convention.”  It is the fourth displayed item.

·        Astoundingly, the resolution states that “. . . most school board members seem to welcome federal control of education, and fail to understand that states are (or should be) sovereign with respect to education, . . .”  and then resolves that “legislators affiliated with the Utah Republican Party are encouraged to enact and support legislation that would make candidates for Utah’s State Board of Education and school districts subject to partisan nomination and election .”

 

·        The resolution to be considered by the upcoming Republican convention has only 6 sponsors listed in support.  The chief sponsor is Oak Norton, a resident of Utah County who remains regularly agitated about public education.

 

·        Partisan politics has no place in the State Board and certainly not in our local school boards of education.  A bill to support partisan state school board elections in the most recent legislative session was strongly opposed by UEA and it failed.  This Republican resolution concerning local school boards clearly does not reflect the view of Utah’s public and the parents whose children attend our neighborhood schools. 

 

In order to oppose this resolution, you will need to contact the Republican delegates and state leaders from your area that are invited to attend the 2014 Utah Republican Nominating (State) Convention on April 26, 2014.  Thus, your contact must occur before April 26^th.  Delegate contact information can be found by calling the Utah Republican Party offices at 801-533-9777 and asking for the names of your state Republican delegates.  Knowing your precinct is helpful.  Thank you!

Resolution to Promote Partisan School Board Elections

WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will become the philosophy of government in the next;” and,

WHEREAS, experience shows that the views of school board members find their way into the classroom; and,

 WHEREAS, most citizens do not know how school board members view important issues such as religious reedom, state and family sovereignty, private property, Second Amendment, limited government, and American Exceptionalism; and,

 WHEREAS, the Republican Party has an excellent vetting system by which grassroots-elected delegates can identify who among the candidates will best adhere to the principles in our party platform, most notably the principles of fiscal responsibility and local control of education; and,

 WHEREAS, approximately 65% of our state budget goes to education; and,

 WHEREAS, school district budgets, whose district officers are determined via non-partisan elections, in some cases exceed county budgets, whose county officers are determined via partisan elections; and,

 WHEREAS, most school board members seem to welcome federal control of education, and fail to understand that states are (or should be) sovereign with respect to education; and,

 WHEREAS, in Texas—where school board elections are partisan—when “Common Core” was presented to the states, Texas rejected it and created their own high-quality standards; and,

 WHEREAS, choosing school board members via partisan election is not about partisanship in education, but is about ensuring the selection of candidates whose principles match those found in the party platform.

 WHEREAS, state school board nominees are currently selected by an unelected panel—unaccountable to the public,

 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT, legislators affiliated with the Utah Republican Party are encouraged to enact and support legislation that would make candidates for Utah’s State Board of Education and school districts subject to partisan nomination and election; and,

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT delegates to the Utah Republican Party Convention are encouraged

to research and vet state and local school board candidates, in order to identify the candidate(s) who will best support limited government and local control of education; and,

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Utah Republican Party is encouraged to host debates for state school board candidates and conduct a straw poll among state delegates, wherein state delegates living within a given state school board district may cast a non-binding vote for their choices of state school board members, and that the results of this straw poll be made public on the party web site; and,

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT county parties are encouraged to host debates for school board

candidates and conduct straw polls among county delegates, wherein county delegates living within local school board districts may cast a non-binding vote for their choices of local district board members, and that the results of these straw polls be made public on county party web sites.

 Respectfully submitted to the Utah Republican Party on March 26, 2014

 Sponsor: Oak Norton, HI 07         

Co-Sponsors: Kimberly Park, TA 11, Jennifer Orten, HI 06, Tina Okolowitz, Orem 38, Marie Nuccitelli, LE16, and Aaron Hymas, MAG004

 

 

Kim Burningham on the Utah Legislature

This was sent to me by UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh.  Mr. Burningham has been serving on the State Board of Education, but he is not seeking re-election.  He is a voice for students and teachers and will be missed.

A blog from Burningham:  GRADING THE LEGISLATURE’S EDUCATION EFFORT

Dear friends:

(Note: In this email, Mr. Burningham speaks in his own behalf; the point of view expressed in this blog does not necessarily represent any organization of which he is a part.)

With the 2014 Utah Legislative session complete, a report card is due.  (After all, if they insist on grading schools, the Legislature itself ought to be graded.)    Many ways to grade exist; my grade is a personal evaluation of how the Legislature did on school issues.

My grade: C-

I could be harsher; others have been. 

Bob Bernick, noted political analyst and former Deseret News reporter now a regular writer for UtahPolicy.com, was one.  On his grading scale of 1-10 “with 10 being the highest of success and promise” Bernick evaluated the session as follows:

            Public education funding = 0

            Public education reform = 5

An editorial evaluation in the Salt Lake Tribune didn’t use grades, but observed: “Education fared better this year than during the Great Recession but not as well as it should.”

The fact is the Utah Legislature basically did more of the same.   You know Utah ranks far below any other state in per-pupil spending.  The best that can be said is the Utah Legislature’s commitment maintains that same rock-bottom status. 

Trying to paint a rosier picture, some will brag about a 2.5 percent increase in the WPU or point to a total dollar increase in education funding.  But much of that increase in funding is for new students; and the WPU increase will do little more than fund basic education and employee health and retirement funds.   The appropriation of the Utah Legislature will not begin to pull Utah out of the basement.

Politicians genuinely interested in strengthening our education system must do something more about the inadequate funding.  The huge class sizes, limited professional development, and meager teacher salaries are outrageous!

One effort to increase education funding received much press.   Speaker Becky Lockhart advocated placing a one-to-one computer device in the hands of every student.   Estimates of the cost of such a program vary.  Lockhart suggested between $200 and $300 million would do the trick.  The Governor’s Office, using a study by his education commission, indicated that figure was way low!

The one-to-one device initiative fell flat.   Many observers fear that the gesture was mostly posturing for political capital in the future.  When Speaker Lockhart was offered a measly $30 million by the Senate for the program, she walked out on the talks.   The ballyhooed effort “got none.”

All of us want to improve public education.  Lower class sizes, increased technology, better training for teachers, and increased opportunities for pre-k students will take significantly more dollars.

Our remarkable teachers are laboring in huge classes, offered insufficient support, awarded  nominal compensation.  Until the Utah Legislature and the Utah public is willing to increase funding, we can expect little more than we now get.  Utah’s children deserve more!   Our economy requires the best education possible. 

I keep hoping and looking for political leadership that will act, not pontificate!   Status quo funding will not make the grade!

Sincerely,

Kim Burningham

 

Year Round PTC and Caucus Meeting Conflict

I know that C and D Track Parent Teacher Conferences conflict with the Republican Caucus meetings this week.  We have never had this problem before, so I looked into why the problem happened this year. 

In 2010 and prior caucus years, which is every even year, both the Democrats and Republicans held their caucus meetings on the same night, Tuesday.  Due to changes in the Utah Republican Party timelines, the Republican Party chose to move their caucus meeting to Thursday, so they meet after the candidate filing deadline, which is Thursday at 5:00. 

2012 was the first time the two parties met on different nights.  That year, C and D Parent Teacher Conferences were held March 7-9, so there was no conflict.  This is the first year the conflict has occurred. Now the Year Round Committee can be aware of this conflict and plan Parent Teacher Conference dates for weeks other than the third week of March when the caucus meetings are scheduled.

Educator Day on the Hill - February 21, 2014

Today, Jenny Pedler from Kauri Sue Hamilton School accompanied me at UEA's Educator Day on the Hill.  There was a great turnout with teachers from as far away as Washington County, Iron County, and Cache County!  I saw Richard Osborn, Janice Voorhies, Kayleen Whitelock, Susan Pulsipher, and Peggy Jo Kennett from the Jordan School Board.  I also saw Dr. Johnson, Burke Jolley, and Mike Anderson from Jordan District Administration.


We attended the House Education Committee.  Senator Osmond presented SB103 S1 with an amendment that 4 instructional days could be used for professional development for teachers.  This passed out of committee favorably.


Representative Cunningham presented HB116 about changing requirements and oversight of school construction.  This passed out of committee favorably.


Representative Ivory presented HB109 which would take money in excess of the 9% maximum in the rainy day fund and use it to provide capital funds for qualifying districts.  Under the current proposal, a district would receive around $1.5 million next year (this is about 10% of what a new elementary school costs).  This passed out of committee favorably.


Senator Adams presented SB148 which would make the UPSTART program permanent.  This passed out of committee favorably.

Jenny and I then went to try to talk to some representatives.  She wanted to talk to Representative Cunningham, but he was not on the floor today.  We were able to talk to Representative Knotwell about increasing the WPU, funding retirement and social security on a separate line item, adding professional development days, and the problems with HB131, Speaker Lockhart's technology proposal.  He listened and agreed with us on HB131.

During lunch, several senators and representatives came to talk to the teachers.  The one surprise was Senator Howard Stephenson.  He came in and told us that he had sponsored the charter school legislation and online classroom laws and that he thought these were "silver bullets". He admitted that is not true.  He said, "The proportion of F schools under the school grading in charter schools is actually higher proportioned than for neighborhood schools."  He said the "macrochoice" of parents to be able to choose their school has less impact than the "microchoices" happening inside classrooms with computer adaptive learning.  "What you (teachers) are doing is far more significant than the macrochoices of parents." 

Educator Day on the Hill - February 5, 2014

Represented today by Holly Peregoy from Silver Crest and Herriman Elementary, Carol Whittaker from Jordan Ridge, and Erin Pack-Jordan from Corner Canyon High in Canyons School District.  Mike Anderson, Administrator of Schools for Jordan District, Kayleen Whitelock, Jordan School Board member, and Tracey Miller from Jordan PTA were also at the legislature today.

Public Education Appropriations Committee meeting.

 Utah State Board of Education priorities. Full funding of growth at $64 million, increase WPU by 2.7% at $73 million (COLA, retirement and inflation increases). 

Ongoing expenses: secondary math PD at $5 million, early reading intervention K-3 at $20 million, state office staffing (IT, attorney, auditors) at $2.1 million, graduation initiative to pay for counselors at $8 million, school climate (suicide and bully prevention) at $2 million, core academy $5 million, concurrent enrollment at $1.5 million, high cost SpEd students at $1.5 million.

One time expenses: school improvement at $10 million, 1-to-1 device initiative at $50 million, evaluation implementation at $450,000, innovative transportation at $20 million, Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts initiative $5 million, teacher supplies at $5 million.

Senator Stephenson stated that these are realistic funding requests. Representative Powell pointed out about Speaker Lockhart's technology initiative. Would like to see the 1-to-1 roll out quicker at a much higher cost. Senator Hillyard asked about the WPU request. May need more to match other public employees increases.  There are needs for necessarily small districts. This is formula driven. A lot of one time money need to build buildings for higher education. Attorney needs to come through district attorney's office.

Rep. Eliason asked about priorities. They were numbered in the order listed above. $6.2 million was deducted on 1040 by about 25,000 Utah teachers in 2012. This deduction expired. He would like to add money to teacher supplies to fill this hole. Rep. Briscoe said there is a separate line item for state employees' health insurance and retirement increases, but that is not in place for educators. Understands WPU would need to be increased by 3% to cover these for school employees. He brought up that up until 3 years ago, educator retirement increases were covered by a separate line item.

Rep. Handy asked about the innovative transportation. This would be for natural gas/clear air initiative. School districts would need to match funds. Rep. Moss asked about counselor ratio and student advocates (trackers, mentors, etc.).  Lots of questions about the various line items.

Committee wants state office to reestablish priorities.

Requests were made by the charter school board and Utah School for Deaf and Blind.  Need technology, new phone system, IT infrastructure. Senator Osmond asked about funding for a USDB building that is now in the infrastructure Committee. Motion to move this one time request to Public Education Appropriations. This building would cost $12 million. Money does come from infrastructure budget, but should be an education priority.

State office priority for 5 PD days added to calendar.

 At Utah democrats education press conference. Rep. Briscoe introduced education priorities. Senator Mayne is asking for funds for high need para educators and money to help students pay for AP classes and tests. Rep. Cosgrove sponsoring bill to restore some teacher professional development days. Also need long-term sustainable funding. Senator Jones spoke about SB118 which allows two child exemptions and phases out the rest with the money going directly to schools. Rep. Hemingway has bill that tracks students in military schools that attend school for some time in Utah. Rep. Romero has bill on giving teachers professional development days with local schools deciding on what is needed.

Educator Day on the Hill - January 31

JEA members representing you today include Carol Whittaker at Jordan Ridge, Robert Comstock at Oquirrh Hills, Mallory Record at Sunset Ridge, Patti Zealley at Silver Crest, Jannifer Young at Elk Ridge, Jeanne Yamashita at Elk Ridge, and Mary Smith at Eastlake.

 It is also good for you to know that Mike Anderson, Administrator of Schools for Jordan District, was at Capitol Hill today.

Public Education Appropriations Committee is looking at finalizing the base budget. Discussed Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind and the need to attract qualified teachers for this special population or teachers to be willing to drive from the Wasatch Front to rural areas to service students in need.

Science outreach program, by Clark Planetarium, Thanksgiving Point, Hawk Watch, Living Planet Aquarium, etc., budget addressed. This provides free entrance for students attending field trips as well as these groups going to schools, especially those outside the Wasatch Front, for science presentations and professional development.

Arts outreach program, by Utah Opera, Ballet West, Ririe-Woodbury Dance, etc., funding addressed. This also provides free entrance for these performances to those attending field trips or these groups doing assemblies at schools.  Asking for an increase of $200,000 ongoing and $250,000 one time funds.

Approving base public education budget. His can still be amended until Executive Appropriations Committee meets on Monday evening. Changes can be made throughout the legislative session.

 Motion to consolidate some programs that are based on the same WPU formula be put into the WPU, which would allow local control.  Pilot programs that are now ongoing, i.e. Dual immersion, take off mandates as to how money is spent and allow districts to decide how it is spent. Give state school board the responsibility to provide statewide priority programs, like science and arts outreach, and just provide the funding, but allow the state office to decide which programs to run.  This would weight the WPU differently. This would give the same number of WPU, but the value would be more (as I understand it), presented by Representative Nielsen. He is willing to have this looked at on Monday or in the interim before next year. There are concerns with global, sweeping change and with details of moving money around. Senator Hillyard said many programs (charter schools, dual immersion) would not be in place if the legislature hadn't provided grants in the past. Agrees that locals should have more control, but he doesn't want to just turn all the money over to local school boards. People seem more okay with income taxes going to education, but not with increases in property taxes. Representative Nielsen said we need to build leadership capacity in local superintendents. This motion failed.

Motion to ask state school board and public education committee to study in the interim and provide recommendations for consolidating some items.  Motion to study passes.

Base public education budget has been approved.

After talking to legislators, and debriefing over lunch, we attended the Educational Excellence Task Force Press Conference.  Two members of the Jordan School Board, Susan Pulsipher and Janice Voorhies, were in attendance as well.  See the following press release.

 Teachers present an innovative new vision for Utah public education

Independent task force asks lawmakers to consider their education policy recommendations, detailed in a new report

Although her independent teacher task force was charged with making education recommendations to policymakers, Park City teacher Anna Williams has a bold charge for her fellow public school educators. “Teachers must examine current practice, look beyond traditional roles and be willing to courageously take the lead in creating innovative education solutions for our students,” she said.

After 18 months of study, research and deliberation, the Educational Excellence Task Force presented a report detailing specific teacher-developed education policy recommendations to the Utah Education Association and state policymakers for consideration. The report is titled Educators Taking the Lead: A Vision for Fostering Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

“We are committed to a bold new vision where teachers have the time, support and resources needed to meet the demand of a diverse learning population,” said Task Force Chairperson Williams. “We envision schools rich in learning, where educators and students excel. We choose to transform our profession, knowing that educating our children is the key to creating a healthy, prosperous and compassionate society.”

Thirteen Utah educators who excel in their field and are leaders in their profession participated in the task force. They presented recommendations to UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh at a press conference Jan. 31.

“This report represents a bold vision for fostering excellence in teaching and learning for all Utah students,” said Gallagher-Fishbaugh. “Our hope is that it will serve as a springboard for dialogue in the education community on strengthening the teaching profession and supporting high student outcomes.”

The report outlines very specific “Call to Action” requests for the Utah State Board of Education, the Utah Legislature, school districts, parents, students and even their own teacher association and fellow educators. “It’s important to remember that education excellence is everyone’s responsibility. We all have a role to play and all must step up for every child to have access to high-quality schools staffed by highly effective teachers,” said Williams. “Every member of our great state will reap the benefits of investments in education.”

The Task Force began its work in May 2012, organized by the Utah Education Association as an independent group to study and prioritize critical education issues and create a vision of teaching excellence designed and led by Utah educators.

Task Force members represent a breadth and depth of experience in many areas including classroom teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, specialists, elementary and secondary education, diverse curriculum areas and low-income schools.

The Task Force met regularly with the charge to analyze relevant research to identify priorities for the Utah Education Association and public education in Utah; create a vision of teaching excellence that is led by teachers; develop a comprehensive set of policy recommendations regarding teaching quality and effectiveness; and create a report that will engage policymakers, the public and teacher association leadership in the important dialogue of change.

“Teachers are trained education experts and are in the best position to make policy recommendations that impact their individual classrooms and students,” said Gallagher-Fishbaugh. “The teachers on this Task Force represent the very best of Utah education. I look forward to working with all our education stakeholders in using these recommendations to champion a long-term, student-centered, fully funded plan for Utah public education.”

Educational Excellence Task Force members:

• Anna Williams (chair), instructional coach, Park City High, Park City District
• Eve Bean, assistant principal, Ellison Park Elementary, Davis District
• Laurel Brown, speech-language teacher, Riverview Junior High, Murray City District
• Jennifer Graviet, English teacher, Sand Ridge Junior High, Weber District
• Debra Green, choral director, Sand Ridge Junior High, Weber District
• Judy Mahoskey, sixth-grade teacher, Liberty Elementary, Murray City District
• Suzy Merrill, third-grade teacher, Oakridge Elementary, Granite District
• Jennifer Roberts, sixth-grade teacher, Lincoln Elementary, Davis District
• Dan Rozanas, social studies teacher, Alta High, Canyons District
• Mary Ellen Smith, BYU partnership facilitator, Eastlake Elementary, Jordan District
• Denise Ulrich, second-grade teacher, Foxboro Elementary, Davis District
• Leigh VandenAkker, social studies teacher, East High School, Salt Lake City District
• Patti Zealley, kindergarten teacher, Silver Crest Elementary, Jordan District

See the report at myUEA.org/EDX.

Governor's Faculty Meeting

You were well represented yesterday at the 2013 Governor's Education Summit:  A Faculty Meeting with the Governor.  You can view the meeting at UEN.

Waiting to enter the auditorium

On PACE to 66% by 2020

Prepare

• 90% proficiency in 3rd, 6th, and 8th grade reading and math
• 90% of high school students taking the ACT

Access

• 90% high school graduation rate
• 80% of high school students pursuing post secondary credit
• Eliminate waiting lists in required post secondary courses

Complete

• 13% of Utahns with a board-approved certificate
• 14% of Utahns with associates degree
• 28% of Utahns with Bachelor's degree
• 11% of Utahns with graduate degree

Economy

• 90% of graduates employed in chosen field earning living wages or better

Governor Herbert talked about the statistics of public education in Utah.

• 1,072 neighborhood public schools
• 97 charter schools
• 26,000 teachers
• 600,000 students
• $3.4 billion on education in 2013-14
• $6500 per students
• Need 4% increase in degrees and certificates awarded each year to make the 66% by 2020 goal

At each level, teachers have specific jobs to do.  In elementary, teachers should give students a good start to their education, proficiency in literacy, use of SAGE, and helping students achieve a year of growth.  Middle school teachers should have 90% proficiency in Math and Language Arts and 90% of students taking the EXPLORE test.  In high school, students should take the PLAN and ACT tests, more advanced classes, have an SEOP for transition to post-secondary education, and improve graduation rates.

He also said that education will require a long-term investment.  That as the economy grows and there are more efficiencies in state government that those savings can go to education.  He wants teachers to embrace technology, raise the bar, and realize this will not be easy.  More money is not the cure all, and we need to be more resourceful with our current resources.  "I have confidence in you.  I know your task is not easy."

State Superintendent Menlove said the 2014 legislative requests from the state office include:

• Money for reading intervention
• Funds to support middle grade math instruction
• Technology infrastructure and support
• Addressing improving graduation rates

Dave Buhler, Commissioner of Higher Education, noted that in 1960, Utah ranked 3rd in the nation for the percent of residents with a Bachelor's degree of higher.  In 1980, Utah had dropped to 8th place, and now Utah is in 21st place.  He also commented that students in high school need to be taking advantage of the opportunity to take rigorous and advanced classes, particularly in math.

The Governor concluded by saying he was "most proud of teachers for doing more with less," that "the best value in public education in the nation is in Utah", and the state "can do better in resources and outcomes."




There was a reception following the faculty meeting where the JEA members were able to meet and talk with Governor Herbert.