It's critically important what the Obama administration is doing at the national level to drive reform, but equally important is what's going on in the trenches at the state and city level – and I'm pleased to say that there are amazing things happening here as well. There were two important examples yesterday: first, in Houston, despite massive union protests, the school board unanimously passed a plan "tying measureable student outcomes to teacher evaluations". Victories like this just didn't happen as recently as a year ago, and this one has important national implications, as this Eduflak blog post notes (with an nice plug for DFER; full post below):

Of course, this wasn't the typical local issue. Superintendent Grier's plan was the proverbial canary in the teacher quality mine. If he could get the board to approve his efforts, they could serve as a blueprint for similar efforts in other urban school districts across the country. If he failed, then the teachers unions would be able to demonstrate their strength, even in a weak union state like Texas (where most still refer to the unions as "teachers organizations."

So heading into last evening's vote, two of the loudest voices in education reform/school improvement gladly took up arms on Grier's behalf.

Under the header "Nation's Edu-Eyes Are On Houston Tonight," Joe Williams, the executive director of Democrats for Education Reform came out as Grier's bad cop, going after Weingarten and the AFT:

We don't question President Weingarten's intent or sincerity, nor do we doubt her assertion that ineffective teachers are a minority of the teaching profession.

But far too often in the past, promises by union leaders for real reform over the airwaves have been squarely contradicted by the positions advanced by union officials in political backrooms. Both national unions have steadfastly treated teaching, despite the high stakes for children and communities, as a right rather than a privilege.

The first test of AFT's commitment to the principles it outlined last month will begin tonight in Houston, and play out over the days and weeks ahead.

… Together, DFER and EEP are defining a new paradigm with regard to urban education reform. We are now recognizing that school districts are no longer islands unto themselves, where local decisions are made to stay within the city boundaries. Instead, when one of the big 50 school districts acts, its repercussions can be felt across the nation. A good idea pursued by one is replicated by others. A plan that goes down in flames is avoided by any means possible. Houston is looking to do what is best for student success in the district. DFER and EEP are looking to defend and support those activities that can feed into the larger national objectives of school improvement and closing the achievement gap. And now both sides are working together to put a squeeze play on the system of old. One thing is for sure, this is the first in what will be many, many local skirmishes on new policies and plans aligned with the new federal education improvement agenda.

Many have been longing for the day when education decisionmaking would leave Washington DC and return back to the localities. The advocacy dynamic down in Houston may show just how that works in practicality. Let the locals act, and then have AFT, DFER, and EEP square off in the Lincoln-Douglas debates that will occur during and after the decisionmaking process.

Act locally and opine nationally!

Here's a link (http://www.dfer.org/date/blog/2010/02) to DFER's blog post about it, which has this doozy of a statistic:

Recent statistics show that right now, termination of teacher contracts in Houston is a rare occurrence. Last year, in a district where 100,000 students were reading below grade level. only 36 teachers, a miniscule .3% (yes, point 3 percent) of a total teaching force of 12,000 were let go for performance reasons.

Over the last five years only 140 Houston teachers were dismissed for performance reasons, while 240 were fired "mostly" for criminal activity. Could criminal misconduct, sexual abuse, workplace intoxication, and job abandonment really be almost twice as prevalent as poor job performance? It seems about as unlikely as it would be tragic.

Here's an excerpt from an email by Natasha Kamrani (TFA alum, former HISD school board member, wife of YES Prep founder Chris Barbic, current ED of the Arnold Foundation, and all-around ERBA (ed reform bad ass) (full email below)):

Dear All,

Tonight, the board voted in favor of tying measureable student outcomes to teacher evaluations by a vote of 7 to 0. Board members Carol Gallowy and Manuel Rodriguez were absent.

It was an emotional and action packed evening with a packed house at HISD. Houston Federation of Teachers members made a strong showing, filling many seats and identifying themselves with buttons on their jackets. However, when it came to speakers to the agenda item, and I believe there were approximately 64 speakers registered, supporters appeared to out-number those opposed with most support coming from parents, community activists and business leaders. Union members made up the opposition.

The auditorium was so packed that folks were ushered in to watch the proceedings on TVs inside the administration building lobby and cafeteria and the crowd in opposition was often times openly hostile, booing speakers for daring to state their opinions. A real debt of gratitude is owed to those who showed the courage to stand up in front of such open aggression to speak their mind. I have been on the receiving end of it and I know, regardless of how passionate, determined and committed you are to an ideal, it NEVER feels good to put yourself so far out there. It is downright scary and it is often hard to negotiate the wisdom in doing something so scary. I am so thankful to the many brave men and women who took a stand. We were lucky tonight to have so many supporters present to not only speak, but to support one another.

Finally, below is the article from the Houston Chronicle, which ends with a quote from Randi, who is already showing that she didn't really mean what she said a couple of weeks ago – she's in favor of tying teacher evaluations to student achievement only in concept, not in practice:

Hundreds of HISD teachers crowd into the school district's headquarters on Thursday to demonstrate their opposition to the policy that will allow the firing of teachers who students fall short on standardized tests.

At a contentious meeting pitting parents against teachers, the Houston school board gave final approval on Thursday to a policy allowing the firing of instructors whose students fall short on standardized tests.

Dozens of parents spoke in favor of the decision, while more than 750 teachers packed the school district's headquarters to protest the policy, considered among the most aggressive efforts in the nation to improve teacher quality.

Starting next year, the Houston Independent School District will include a measure of student progress, called value-added, in teachers' job evaluations. Those teachers whose students fall far below expectations for multiple years could be at risk of losing their jobs.

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the school board, which passed the policy on a 7-0 vote, have promised to provide training and mentoring to struggling teachers and to use termination as a last resort. Trustees Carol Mims Galloway and Manuel Rodriguez Jr. were absent.

District data show that more than 400 teachers — about 3 percent of the teaching corps — could be at risk if they don't improve.

…Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said HISD's plan is too narrowly focused.

"Houston is a perfect example of what not to do," said Weingarten, who recently gave a well-publicized speech supporting the use of student data in teachers' evaluations. "The plan has all the wrong components, and it's one of the reasons why teachers and parents are opposed to standardized testing."

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Teacher Quality Showdown in Houston's Corral

http://blog.eduflack.com/2010/02/12/teacher-quality-showdown-in-houstons-corral.aspx

Looking at the headlines coming out of Houston last night, it was a regular showdown at the school improvement corral. Teachers versus parents. Reformers versus status quo. Process versus outcomes. And in the words of far too many Simpsons episodes, we can't possibly forget about the children!

For those late to the rodeo, last evening the Houston Independent School District School Board voted (unanimously, 7-0) to approve HISD Superintendent Terry Grier's teacher quality efforts. The plan allows the school district to terminate (as a last resort) teachers whose students are unable to make the grade on standardized tests. According to the numbers being circulated, about 3 percent of the HISD teacher force, or 400 teachers, could be affected by this new initiative. For those who want more on this, the full story can be found here in the Houston Chronicle.

Most see Grier's efforts as a direct response to the current calls for teacher quality and accountability coming from Arne Duncan and the folks at the US Department of Education. Student performance remains the king. Effective teachers are the path to student performance. Ergo, students whose test scores don't improve have ineffective teachers who may not be suited for the classroom. Or so the SAT logic goes. Grier is moving a real, tangible plan aligned with Duncan's teacher quality pillar.

This vote has been brewing for weeks. As part of his negotiations with the teachers union, Grier tried to use AFT President Randi Weingarten's speech from nearly a month ago (Eduflack's analysis here) as grounds for the union to support his efforts. His argument was straightforward. If Weingarten was serious about rhetoric to fix a broken system and focus on effective teachers and student achievement, she should side with him on his teacher quality efforts. Why should 97 percent of HISD teachers be tarred by the student test scores of just 3 percent? And don't forget, Weingarten embraced the idea of using student test scores as part of teacher evaluation.

The AFT prez failed to see the connection between her speech and HISD's plans. As expected, Weingarten rose to the defense of her teachers and in opposition to any plan that would put the jobs of AFT teachers at risk. As she told the Houston Chronicle, "Houston is a perfect example of what not to do. The plan has all the wrong components, and it's one of the reasons why teachers and parents are opposed to standardized testing."

Typically, these sorts of battles are local. We see the local union and the local school district spar. Local parents and teachers lay their hearts on the rostrum at public hearing, and then a vote comes and all sides live to fight another day. If most national voices get involved at all, it is after the fact to either praise or condemn the local decisions. After all, who knows better about how to deal with student achievement and teacher quality in Houston than the folks in Houston.

Of course, this wasn't the typical local issue. Superintendent Grier's plan was the proverbial canary in the teacher quality mine. If he could get the board to approve his efforts, they could serve as a blueprint for similar efforts in other urban school districts across the country. If he failed, then the teachers unions would be able to demonstrate their strength, even in a weak union state like Texas (where most still refer to the unions as "teachers organizations."

So heading into last evening's vote, two of the loudest voices in education reform/school improvement gladly took up arms on Grier's behalf.

Under the header "Nation's Edu-Eyes Are On Houston Tonight," Joe Williams, the executive director of Democrats for Education Reform came out as Grier's bad cop, going after Weingarten and the AFT:

We don't question President Weingarten's intent or sincerity, nor do we doubt her assertion that ineffective teachers are a minority of the teaching profession.

The first test of AFT's commitment to the principles it outlined last month will begin tonight in Houston, and play out over the days and weeks ahead.

And the Education Equality Project, in the voice of its director, Ellen Winn, played good cop, offering a far more positive and forward-looking defense of Grier's reform agenda:

Together, Superintendent Terry Grier (a signatory of the Education Equality Project) and the Houston Board of Education are embarking upon a comprehensive project to dramatically improve student achievement by placing a highly effective teacher in every classroom. Rigorous research efforts have demonstrated that – in the words of the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind – "teacher quality is the single most important school factor in student success."

Last month, the Board unanimously approved a plan to improve teacher evaluations starting next year. Going forward, teacher evaluations will give teachers an honest assessment of how much they're helping their students learn. The evaluation process will include standardized test scores as one indicator of teacher success.

Tonight, Grier is asking the Board to approve a policy that would require principals to use all the information available to them—including value-added test scores—when making decisions about renewing a teacher's contract. Value-added analysis is a statistical method used to measure teachers' and schools' impact on students' academic progress rates from year to year. (The process only analyzes the change across one year relative to where a student begins, thereby leveling the playing field.)

The Education Equality Project emphatically encourages the Board to approve this critical proposal and commends Superintendent Grier for leading the charge to close the achievement gap. If Houston approves this policy, hundreds of thousands of students will be impacted. Think of the doors that will open to these students with better teachers and better chances at a good education – the chances they will now have for meaningful work and a real opportunity at attaining the American dream. How can we afford to keep those doors closed?

Together, DFER and EEP are defining a new paradigm with regard to urban education reform. We are now recognizing that school districts are no longer islands unto themselves, where local decisions are made to stay within the city boundaries. Instead, when one of the big 50 school districts acts, its repercussions can be felt across the nation. A good idea pursued by one is replicated by others. A plan that goes down in flames is avoided by any means possible. Houston is looking to do what is best for student success in the district. DFER and EEP are looking to defend and support those activities that can feed into the larger national objectives of school improvement and closing the achievement gap. And now both sides are working together to put a squeeze play on the system of old. One thing is for sure, this is the first in what will be many, many local skirmishes on new policies and plans aligned with the new federal education improvement agenda.

Many have been longing for the day when education decisionmaking would leave Washington DC and return back to the localities. The advocacy dynamic down in Houston may show just how that works in practicality. Let the locals act, and then have AFT, DFER, and EEP square off in the Lincoln-Douglas debates that will occur during and after the decisionmaking process.

Act locally and opine nationally!

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From Natasha Kamrani:

Dear All,

Tonight, the board voted in favor of tying measureable student outcomes to teacher evaluations by a vote of 7 to 0. Board members Carol Gallowy and Manuel Rodriguez were absent.

Among all the supportive comments made tonight--and many people spoke with much eloquence--one particular set of comments resonates with me at this late hour. Mary Ramos, a long time activist in the Hispanic community stood up and during her one minute of allotted time stated that in these sorts of votes, elected officials often times wonder about their political futures because they are threatened in their upcoming elections by those in opposition. Mary explained that years ago, she had been part of an effort that had registered 10,000 voters in Houston and that, if any of these board members felt threatened by doing what was right for kids, she would register another 10,000 voters to make sure that children's interests came first. I know Mary and I know she can deliver. This is exactly the level of commitment to the cause that we must all represent. We absolutely cannot expect people to do the right thing if there is not a force standing at the ready to give them political cover. We must be diligent.

I applaud Mary and the over 30 other speakers who stood up in the face of intimidating opposition to represent the interests of children. I also thank so many others who showed up to support the board, the Superintendent and speakers but were shut out of the board auditorium as a result of it having achieved an overflow capacity.

The Houston Chronicle provides both an article and a live blog from tonight which can be found at the following links:

The article:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6863554.html

The blog:

http://blogs.chron.com/schoolzone/2010/02/live_blog_hisd_school_board_me.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+houstonchronicle%2Fschoolzone+%28School+Zone%29

This was an invigorating and exhausting night, so I'm going to sign off. A huge congratulations and much appreciation for the leadership of HISD Board Trustees Meyers, Harris, Eastman, Davila, Lunceford, Marshall and Moore, congratulations as well to Superintendent Grier and a big congratulations to all our community members who showed up to support our District's leadershop. You done good! You done REAL good!

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