The Hits Keep on Coming

  big trouble indeed!  Lots of posts on the Indy Star page and Indiana Citizens encourages you to chime in there but this might be a place to engage this as well.  So many problems here that its hard to begin but, in cynical moments, this looks like the beginning of the end of public education in Indiana.  How do you feel about it being on your watch?

Education officials reveal big reforms

Many educators see trouble ahead

Indiana education officials on Tuesday charted a bold and controversial path for the state's schools with a series of reforms that include forcing out weak teachers, shutting down teacher colleges whose graduates don't get results, and converting troubled schools to charters.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett laid out that plan in their application for a piece of the $4.4 billion federal stimulus money earmarked for "Race to the Top" education reform.

Fast Forward documents: Read Indiana's Fast Forward plan on the Indiana Department of Education website

The state, Bennett said, will continue to push for the reforms even if thefederal government does not provide any money.

The proposal envisions a drastically changed educational system where all teachers are evaluated each year. More than half their review would be based on how their students performed on state standardized tests compared with the students' previous scores, and low performers would face consequences.

"We believe it's going to be one of the most creative and aggressive plans out there," Bennett said. "This is about transparency and accountability."

Read More:
....."aggressive" I can believe but...."transparency and accountability?"  Do folks really understand what putting teachers on a bell curve means?  It means always having a failing group--how will sign up to teach kids with the most needs? Charter schools and state takeover?  Read: privatization and LESS accountability.  The only thing transparent here is the political spin.  Shameless.

State Lowers Standards for Teachers

More spin coming from the DOE.....make no mistake, this means less qualified teachers in the classroom and actually makes it easier for LESS content courses for secondary teachers.  At least their consistent in twisting the truth.

New Rules Will Give Hoosier Students More Knowledgeable Teachers Subject-Experts from Outside Education Welcome   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Media Contact:
Stephanie Sample, Press Secretary
317-232-6616, ssample@doe.in.gov The state board overseeing teacher licensing and preparation voted today to advance new teacher licensing regulations that ensure all new teachers will be experts in the subjects they teach and allow adults from other careers to more easily enter the teaching profession. These new regulations—called the Rules for Educator Preparation and Accountability or the REPA—aim to improve student achievement through better classroom instruction. “We crafted these changes with the belief that students’ academic success is determined, in large part, by the quality of their teachers,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett said. “These new rules for licensing go further than ever before to make sure all Indiana’s school children receive the high-quality instruction they deserve.” Members of the Advisory Board of the Division of Professional Standards, including Bennett, have been meeting since July, 2009, working with the Indiana Department of Education and education stakeholders statewide. In addition to passing exams that test their knowledge, the new rules require those who teach grades 5-12 to earn baccalaureate degrees in the subjects they teach.  This creates a better balance in teacher preparatory programs between coursework on how to teach and subject-specific training on what they will teach. 


Dr. James Fraser, senior vice president for programs for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and professor of History and Education at New York University, said, “The proposal to require every future secondary school teacher in Indiana to complete a full discipline-specific arts and sciences major makes very good sense. Indeed, such a move will bring Indiana up to a standard that is currently in place in many states across the United States. A solid major in the discipline to be taught is an essential minimum to truly knowing the content one aspires to teach.” Equally important, the rules take steps to address future teacher shortages and bring more knowledgeable adults into Indiana schools. The advisory board will have the authority to approve online and non-traditional teacher preparation programs in the future.  Without these alternative licensing programs, it’s unduly difficult for successful adults in other careers to enter the teaching profession.  These new regulations allow for new pipelines to bring real world experts into Indiana classrooms. Ariela Rozman from The New Teacher Project said, “We commend the IDOE for taking important steps to increase teacher and administrator quality—through an expansion of teacher and administrator pipelines, a focus on content knowledge which has been linked to student achievement, a requirement to measure the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs and a commitment to school-based professional development.” The new regulations go even further to improve teacher support and provide greater flexibility. Incoming teachers will work closely with school-level administrators to create targeted professional development plans to benefit student instruction.  


Current and future teachers will have more options to renew their licenses—options that won’t require them to pay for college coursework. The new rules also make it easier for teachers to make their licenses more marketable; they can add subjects to their licenses by passing exams that test their knowledge. “I’m incredibly proud of these teacher licensing changes,” Bennett said. “They address a foundational aspect of my plan to reform education in Indiana by targeting instructional quality. This is a great victory, and it should energize all of us to work even harder to improve Indiana’s schools in the year ahead.” 


The REPA regulations go into effect July 31, 2010. Students currently enrolled in teacher preparation programs will be transitioned into these new rules between now and August 31, 2013.  For more details on REPA and to view an updated summary of the rule,

http://www.doe.in.gov/news/2009/07-July/documents/ProposedTeacherLicensingChangesSummary100107.pdf

A New Year & Public Education

A call to action from the Indy Star.....it's about time.  There is a lot of interest now thanks to the ludicrous policy of Daniels/Bennett and the coverage of the realities of urban education at Manuel High School.  Many misperceptions and confusion persists but it does feel like a time to continue to push the conversation on public education in our city.  We've done some things this past year but perhaps its time to bring this beyond the internet and into the actual public sphere--Should Indiana Citizens go public?  What do you think?

Join in bold vision for our children

No issue is more critical for this city and state than to improve the academic achievement of its children. As go our schools in this new year and new decade so will go our economy, our quality of life and a multitude of other key measures.

The year begins on a sour note, with the state forced to make significant cuts in school funding and without money to expand important initiatives such as full-day kindergarten or early childhood education.

Yet, despite the fiscal challenges, the drive to raise cultural expectations and improve student achievement must accelerate. The status quo, let alone sliding backward, is unacceptable.

The Indianapolis Star is freshly committed to leading a sustained effort to improve the educational attainment of this community's children. More details on what forms The Star's campaign will take will come soon.

But this much must be said emphatically now: This city has for far too long stood by passively as the future for thousands of children was crushed because they failed to obtain a solid education.

The reasons why students fail are varied and complex. No easy answers exist. No one program can fix all the problems. No single entity acting alone can make a lasting difference.

What is needed now -- what must be demanded -- is a coordinated and sustained push in this community, and ultimately in the state, to ensure that all children have a realistic chance to succeed in school, no matter the neighborhoods they live in, no matter the families they come from.

Here is a bold vision for a new decade: By 2020, the children of Indianapolis and their peers throughout Indiana will be the best educated in the world.

Is such a future possible? Most definitely yes. But only if we residents of this city and state are courageous enough to take chances; are committed enough to invest our personal resources, including time and money; are honest enough to set aside biases; are patient enough to overcome inevitable setbacks; are passionate enough to enlist the skeptical; are persistent enough to sustain the effort after the first blushes of emotion fade.

Community Revitalization Summit: Education

not sure of what might be on the agenda here but perhaps this is a place to get this conversation off-line and in the community, eh?

The Community Revitalization Summit’s

EDUCATION SUMMIT

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2010

IPS Julian D. Coleman Academy

1740 E. 30^th Street

9:00a.m. – 3:30p.m.

Snacks and Lunch will be served

Admission – Free

Discussion Topics

*The State of Urban Education

*Parent Support and Engagement

*Diploma Dilemmas  

*Early Childhood Programs/School Readiness

~and much more~

Hard-Won is Right!

More good reporting from Fort Wayne on the impact of public support for quality teacher education.

Hard-won compromise on teacher licensing [link]

Bennett

Ideally, a revision of Indiana’s teacher licensing rules would have started with discussions between education groups, the state’s teacher colleges and representatives of the Indiana Department of Education.

Instead, state officials dropped a complex proposal on the Professional Standards Advisory Board in July that would have made dramatic and disturbing changes to the requirements teachers must meet to earn and maintain their credentials. To its credit, the advisory board objected, calling for more time to consider the proposal, known as Rules for Educator Preparation and Accountability, or REPA.

Five months, thousands of e-mail comments and countless hours of public debate later, the advisory board last week approved the plan that would have come if teachers, administrators and college officials had been involved from the start. To his credit, state schools chief Tony Bennett listened to the complaints, and the final plan will be better for it.

“The changes represent significant compromise from all involved,” Bennett said in a news release. “Yet, these revisions don’t at all compromise the effectiveness of our proposal. In fact, it’s a better document now than it was in July.”  The 19-member advisory board, which includes David Goodwin, superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Steuben County, spent many hours in committee work and reviewing public comment.

“We tried to react as well as we could to the comments,” Goodwin said. “There were some real compromises. There were things I felt very strongly about that didn’t happen and some that did.”


Some key changes in the compromise:

•The original REPA plan would have eliminated early-childhood education and middle school as licensing categories. Teacher professional groups and early-childhood educators objected, noting the special needs of students in the middle grades and of young children. The categories have been restored.

•The fine arts, health, physical education, journalism and library media were proposed as “workplace specialist” licenses. Educators rightly argued that the areas demanded more extensive requirements.

•The final plan eliminates a maximum limit on teaching methods courses an education student must have. DOE officials had argued that college students were spending too much time learning how to teach. Critics effectively argued that schools, with increasingly diverse enrollment, need teachers with the skills to reach students at all levels of ability.

•School principals will verify, not approve, licensing renewal. Teachers will be able to renew their licenses through professional development hours or by earning six college credit hours.


Kathleen Murphey, associate dean of the School of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said she was pleased with the changes made by the advisory board.  “The board has listened to the public comment, and they changed the proposal,” Murphey said. “There are a few things in the secondary (school) area that we might have to change. There’s language that says people getting certified in a content area must have the same courses as someone with a major in that area.”  Teresa Meredith, vice president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said the union is waiting to see the final language presented when the advisory board meets again on Jan. 7, but she said that ISTA also is pleased with the changes. “The Department of Education has been very receptive and willing to talk with us,” she said. “It would have been nice to be involved in the preliminary discussion, but we’re glad the advisory board has chosen to slow down and to allow us to give input.”


Teacher and administrator licensing might not seem to be pressing issues in education, but the quality of schools is inextricably linked to the quality of instruction. It’s important work ensuring students have the best teachers and school leaders, and the advisory board members and Bennett deserve credit for taking seriously their responsibility to ensure students have the best-qualified instructors.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091216/EDIT/312169993/1147/EDIT07

The Public in Public Education

Friends,
  I’m sure you’ll see more of this in the Indianpolis paper but Indiana Citizens just left Manual High School where a second holiday show (see below) was necessary as 1200 community members filled the auditorium to capacity.  Many turned around as the traffic getting in was so heavy but it looked as if another 3-400 waited for the second show.  Undoubtedly, folks were there for many reasons and have many different ideas about needed solutions but....this was a resounding message that this city is willing to engage in a conversation about Public Education!  Well done and well played--what happens next is up to us.

Friends,
  I’m assuming that folks have been following this in the paper and, while a bit problematic in the reporting at places, a showing here might be a strong statement to our community.  Just an idea

____________________________Hi. I'm sending this blog post [from the Indy Star] to everyone who has expressed an interest in Manual. Having a lot of people attend this event Tuesday would be a big deal for the students. Hope you are well. MattA night to support Manual One thing I've been struck by in recent months is the large number of people who want to help Manual High School, and particularly its students. As I wrote recently, many people have donated money, food and time since reading about the school. It's been very touching to see how much people care.
This coming Sunday I will write about another way I hope people will help Manual.
It's pretty easy. The school is putting on a holiday concert this coming Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. Performances at the school typically draw small crowds. The students and teachers putting on this concert deserve a big crowd.
Why I am suggesting this?
Well, I have spent many hours in Spencer Lloyd's choir class this year. He is an amazing teacher -- energetic, caring and insistent that his students reach for excellence. In a school without many of the staples of high school life -- a football team, school newspaper, student council, etc. -- Lloyd is growing the choir program in only his second year at the school. It's been wonderful to watch him work with his students this year. He runs a fun but disciplined class. He has improved his students as singers, but has also helped them deal with serious personal problems.
His class is an example of what can be achieved at an IPS high school. The choir sounds great.
Many of the choir students, as well as those in the band, have been through hard times. They've overcome a lot but are sticking with school. One girl told me choir is the reason she still comes to school. It would mean a lot for these students to see a lot of faces in the crowd next Tuesday.
Finally, this is the kind of program that in tough budget times could be cut. As I am going to write in Sunday's column, how great would it be to see this program not just survive but thrive. After spending so much time watching Lloyd's class, it's easy to imagine Manual in future years becoming known for its wonderful choir program. The choir will be joined by the small but growing school band at Tuesday's roughly one-hour concert.
I hope you can make it to the concert -- and bring a friend or a few. Many people care about IPS and its students. Attending this concert would be a good way of expressing that.

Details:
What: Manual High School Christmas Spectacular
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Dec. 15
Where: Manual High School auditorium, 2405 Madison Ave. (about 1.5 miles south of the Lilly corporate center)
Cost: It's free though donations are welcome

News from the December 10th Advisory Board Meeting

A review of the actions taken (thanks IACTE!):
The Professional Standards Advisory Board met again on Thursday, December 10th to review the proposed revisions to Articles 8, 9, 10 and 12 of REPA. This was a lively meeting with several more active members and "voices" participating than have in previous meetings. Below is a summary of the proposed changes that were approved.

Chapter 8: K-12 License

Clarification was provided that the content areas listed under the K-12 license (8-1-1.7) may be content additions to other licenses and these additions would be at the grade levels specific to the initial license.

In other words, the content areas listed under K-12 are NOT exclusively K-12.

Reading

Joyce Johnstone and Carrie Clements brought up the issue of the specificity in the rules re: reading requirements in the license curricula. Initially, Joyce focused on the fact that the six required hours in the secondary curriculum did not reference adolescent literature or literacy, AND to require six credit hours of reading in the secondary curriculum would represent one-third of the pedagogy for secondary transition to teaching programs (6 of 18 credit hours). She shared with the Board members a summary of research re: adolescent literacy. Board members agreed with Joyce, and the secondary education curriculum requirements (8-1-1.6) were changed. In the list of topics to be covered in education, (AA) has been deleted; all reference to six hours and elements defined by the National Reading Panel, etc. The new language in (AA) is "demonstration of performance of adolescence literacy standards, based on scientifically-based reading research and developed and approved by the Board." The Board will develop a set of standards specific to adolescent literacy.


Given this change, it was moved to strike the reference to six hours of reading and reference to the National Reading Panel for ALL school setting curriculum requirements and insert the language noted above with reference to the respective developmental level. So, for example, in the elementary education curriculum requirements, the reference to reading will read "demonstration of performance of elementary literacy standards based on scientifically-based reading research and developed and approved by the Board." For elementary, these reading standards already exist. These changes will be made in early childhood and middle school curriculum requirements as well.

Exceptional Needs(8-1-21)

Changes in this content area will be made to note that the license at the elementary level will be P-6, rather than K-6. This is the ONLY content area in which this change was made. The rationale is that public schools are required to provide education and services to students with exceptional needs once they turn three years of age.

Thus, it was discussed that teachers must be licensed P-6 in exceptional needs, in order to meet this requirement and to have highly qualified teachers working with these students. Relatedly, there was a great deal of discussion re: the P-3 license.

While the Board did not take away the P-3 license, there seemed to be consensus among the Board members that if candidates wish to work at the elementary level, they should be advised about potential difficulty in being hired to work in a public elementary setting with only a P-3 license.

Science (8-1-36)

This content area was changed to require only one or more areas of science for the license. Yet, it is important to note that each administrator on the Board indicated that they would not hire a science teacher with only one content area; physics being a possible exception.

Board members felt that colleges and universities should advise students that they need more than one area of science. In part the change was made to reflect consistency between the initial license for "traditional" candidates/programs and the transition to teaching candidates.

Social Studies (8-1-37)

This content area was changed to require only one or more areas of social studies for the license. Yet, again, Board members indicated that candidates should be advised to take more than one area and be licensed in more than one area, if they ever hope to be hired. This change was made to align the initial license for "traditional" candidates with the initial license of transition to teaching candidates.

Temporary Administrator License (8-1-50) The change to this section is that this temporary administrator license will be available ONLY for a superintendent. There was A GREAT DEAL of discussion about this section. At least two different motions were made to modify the section to require that a temporary licensed superintendent be required to complete a professional growth plan or academic program. Each motion failed, though the vote was different from the spread we have seen at previous meetings. Dr. Bennett felt that this license was important to provide local school boards with flexibility AND an "alternative" superintendent license is an asset to the Race to the Top application.

Test Requirements and Exemptions(8-2-1)

At the November 18th meeting the reference to the item that the Board may require applicants for the renewal of certain licenses to demonstration proficiency in reading comprehension was deleted. Also the sections referring to a written examination (c)(2) and (3) were deleted to allow for future on-line testing options.

At this December meeting, the section re: license additions was NOT changed (g). License additions WILL REQUIRE both meeting the testing requirements AND content area requirements.

Chapter 9:All the changes proposed by the Board's subcommittee were approved.

Highlights include:
- Candidates planning to earn 2002 licenses must complete

their programs by August 31, 2013 and license applications must be received by the DOE no later than December 31, 2013. THEREFORE, teacher education programs have about 18 months to revise programs to align with REPA.

- Out of state applicants must have completed a program accredited by NCATE, the state or have regional accreditation.
- Out of state applicants may receive reciprocity permits

(note change in term from "emergency permit"). All of the language strike in the REPA draft was "un-struck" AND these licenses may be renewed only up to TWO times. (9-1-8)

- Re: applicants from on-line teacher preparation programs,

reference was made to the fact that institutions which offer an on-line option must meet the requirements in Chapter 3.



Chapter 10


License areas for the workplace specialist license shall include content areas approved by the State Board of Education as vocational/career subjects. The specific reference to fine arts, health, physical education, journalism and library/media was deleted.

(10-1-4)

All the proposed language strikes in 10-1-9 and 10-1-14 was "unstruck"; reference to the beginning teacher residency program and the renewal requirements.

Chapter 12

Changes were made to clarify the content areas in which teachers may earn the accomplished practitioner license. For the administrative accomplished practitioner licenses, applicants must have five years of experience as an administrator AND a total of 60 graduate hours in school administration.

Overall, the changes approved at the November and December meetings of the Advisory Board have been positive and reflect the key issues raised by IACTE. The next step is that the Advisory Board members will receive a new document with all the approved changes no later than December 31st. The Board members will have time to review the new document to ensure that all approved changes have been made and that the proposed rules are internally consistent.



The next meeting of the Board is Thursday, January 7th, and the expectation is that they will take as long as it takes to approve REPA on January 7th. It will be important to show support for the changes at the January 7th meeting. I encourage you to plan to attend the Board meeting. Mark your calendars now!

This has been a long and stressful five months, but each of you made a difference. At both the November and December meetings, Board members made constant reference to the number of written comments they received. Congratulations to each of you! Great job!



Final Note: I have received several calls re: the wording of the Department of Education press release with respective to the secondary education majors. This topic WAS NOT DISCUSSED yesterday. The language with respect to the secondary education curriculum is the SAME as was approved at the November 18th; the secondary content major must be "at least identical to the content major." This does not suggest that the students' degrees cannot be education degrees; only that the content requirements must be "at least identical." There has been a lot of back door negotiations to retain the secondary education majors.

That data provided by IACTE have been a tremendous help in supporting the quality of secondary education programs. Thanks to everyone who participated in those projects.