Advocate March 10 2015

TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

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TEA LEGISLATIVE REPORT | MARCH 10 10, 2015 | VOL VOL. 11, ISSUE 4

TEA Hold Harmless effort gaining momentum Just before last year’s legislative session, TEA ran this illustration in the January 2014 issue of Teach. TEA had seen in other states that when new common core assessments were implemented scores often plummeted or fluctuated, damaging schools, administrators and teachers.

This illustration from the January issue of Teach showed what happened in other states when their standardized test was converted to Common Core.

The association called for a “hold harmless” period for educators during the transition of standards and testing. At the time, the new sta policy of basing license renewal had yet to be overturned by TEA’s efforts. There were growing overtu questions about the PARCC assessment, whether questio constructive responses would be graded on time, constr and its appropriateness as a paper test. It would unfair to put jobs and careers on the line with be unf so much mu uncertainty.

TEA’s hold harmless period would have TVAAS scores suspended or reduced over a period of years.

The legislature in 2014 heard our concerns and took a giant step no one anticipated: pulling Tennessee out of PARCC altogether.

The Tennessee Department of Education launched a new test selection process and picked Measurement Inc. for the $108 million contract to develop Tennessee’s next standardized test, known as TNReady, to be administered during the 2016 school year.

In order to wipe the slate clean and regain the trust of Tennessee’s educators, students and parents as the state heads into a new testing HOLD HARMLESS go to page 4

Tennessee poll: lowest priority of them all? School choice.

Y would You ould think that with all of o the time and energy some lawmakers devote to privatization efforts, it would be high on the minds of Tennesseans when it comes to education.

Turns out it is the last thing on their minds.

Poll results released by In the Public Interest (ITPI) and the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), national organizations with expertise in national and communitylevel education policy, found that registered voters in Tennessee are not concerned with school choice and strongly favor accountability for charter schools.

really matter to Tennesseans, like parental involvement, overemphasis on standardized testing and cuts to programs like physical education and music. School choice isn’t even on the radar of the average Tennessean, despite what some out-ofstate groups may tell legislators.”

The poll of Tennessee voters, conducted by GBA Strategies on behalf of ITPI and CDP, was part of a larger nationwide VOUCHERS, CHARTERS NOT A PRIORITY go to page 2

“When Tennesseans were asked to rank important issues facing the state’s public schools, school choice came in dead last,” said Barbara Gray, Arlington Community Schools administrator and TEA president. “This poll shows that legislators need to redirect their attention to the issues that

TEA fights bill proposing drastic changes to health insurance, offers solutions A bill proposing major changes to educator health insurance offered by the state has been introduced in the House and Senate. TEA has raised concerns and voiced serious objections to the plan that will alter pre-Medicare retirement benefits and reduce the ability of offering ancillary benefits through the state plan.

TEA is constantly working to protect important benefits for career educators and to and to keep health insurance costs down. An administration bill carried by Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and HB 0648, by Rep. Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) in the House proposes .

The bills, which are part of the administration’s legislative agenda, would rewrite the current law regulating insurance for state employees, local school systems and local government employees.

After discussions with Sen. Norris, the administration, and a careful review of the bill, TEA has identified three key areas of concern with SB607. First and foremost, it would provide a loophole getting around the requirement that a majority of eligible educators vote when an LEA proposes FIGHTING HEALTH INSURANCE CHANGES go to page 2

THE STRONGEST VOICE FOR SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS ADVOCATE 1 PUBLIC SCHOOL

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Tennesseans favor common sense accountability and standards for charter schools VOUCHERS NOT A PRIORITY from page 1

survey on public opinion of charter schools.

In Tennessee, participants overwhelmingly favor charter school reform proposals and common sense accountability for these schools. Nearly 80 percent of participants strongly believe charter schools should not harm local public schools and should be held to the same accountability as public schools.

“Tennesseans believe in their local public schools,” said

Gray. “The survey results are a clear indication that Tennesseans want their local schools protected and to see proper financial investment from the state in the public schools that already have a proven record of success.”

Poll results also revealed that nearly all registered Tennessee voters want charter school educators held to the same qualification standards as public schools and that charters be required to serve students with special

needs at the same rates as local public schools.

TEA has worked with legislators to introduce legislation that directly addresses the issues raised in the poll.

First, a TEA-backed bill would put a claw-back provision into place requiring charter schools with a high student turnover rate to return taxpayer money to the district.

Another TEA bill would implement a reverse parent trigger that would allow parents to sign a petition against a charter school taking over their local public school, or petition the district to close a failing charter school.

In either scenario, the parents have the deciding vote, not a charter operator.

“I hope legislators will take to heart what we have learned from this poll – the only people who think charter schools and school choice are important for student success are the out-of-state organizations who seek to profit from these privatization schemes. Huge majorities of Tennessee voters support prioritizing neighborhood schools over charters, implementing more common sense accountability for charters and greater protections that taxpayer money is being spent appropriately by charter operators. It is important that Tennessee take a cautious, measured approach to any further charter expansion in our state,” the TEA president said.

Contact your legislators now to voice your opposition to private school vouchers and rapid growth of charter schools in Tennessee.

would make recruitment and retention of quality teachers an impossible task in Tennessee.”

FIGHTING HEALTH INSURANCE CHANGES from page 1

changes to health plans.

According to current law, when a local school system wants to exit the State Group Insurance Plan (SGIP) for an alternative, teachers must approve the switch. This is a longstanding safety measure protecting teachers from cronyism and nepotism, and in recent years TEA has defeated bills that have attempted to eliminate this critical vote.

TEA’s initial impression after talking with administration officials is this deletion was an oversight, and we expect this important safeguard to remain in effect.

The second, and most disconcerting issue is the proposed legislation provides the inevitable change of pre-Medicare retired educator health benefits from a defined benefit to a defined contribution plan. Losing the right for a retired teacher to maintain and pay for SGIP health insurance prior to age 65 alters the promise made to educators who spent their entire career teaching the children of Tennessee, and may reduce the ability of school systems to provide retirement incentives for veteran teachers.

Teachers make a lifelong financial sacrifice when they commit to a career in public education and expect certain benefits, such as affordable health insurance, to remain in place so that they can take care of themselves in retirement,” said TEA Executive Director Carolyn Crowder. “Taking away such benefits

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“There are assumptions and concerns that they use to push the plan, but we find them premature and speculative,” said Crowder.

In order to balance the concerns of career educators with the fiscal concerns of the state, TEA recommends the changes outlined in the sidebar at right.

“We will do everything to protect the health benefits currently provided in state law and will not allow these benefits to be taken away,” Gray said. “We look forward to working with members of the General Assembly and administration further on this issue so we can come to a solution meeting educator needs with the needs of liability control for the state.”

Tennessee Education Association 801 Second Avenue North Nashville, TN 37201-1099 Telephone: (615)242-8392, Toll Free: (800)342-8367, (800)342-8262 Fax: (615)259-4581 Website: www.teateachers.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT: Barbara Gray* (800)342-8367 VICE PRESIDENT: Beth Brown* (931)779-8016 SECRETARY-TREASURER: Carolyn Crowder (615)2428392 DISTRICT 1 Joe Crabtree (423)794-9357 DISTRICT 2 Lauren McCarty (865)385-5220

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801 Second Avenue North, TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Nashville, TN 37201-1099.

After watching the administration’s presentation before the Joint Committee on Pensions and Insurance and reviewing their material, TEA raised serious question about why this is necessary.

MANAGING EDITOR: Alexei Smirnov asmirnov@tnea.org ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Jim Wrye EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER: Carolyn Crowder

TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATE (USPS PP 332) is published nine times, biweekly, mid-January through mid-May, by the Tennessee Education Association, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville TN 37201-1099. Pending Periodicals postage paid at Nashville, TN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATE, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201-1099. Periodical postage paid at Nashville, TN. The subscription price of $2.57 is allocated from annual membership dues of $258.00 for active members; $129.00 for associate, education support and staff members; $16.00 for retired members; and $10.00 for student members. Member of State Education Editors (SEE).

Postmaster: Send address changes to TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATE,

The proposed administration’s bill also permanently removes the Local Education Committee’s discretion in determining whether or not things like dental, long-term care, or supplemental disability insurance are part of the basic plan. This change means that plan participants would be forever ineligible to receive state support, or to be organized by the state as allowed by current law.

ADMINISTRATION’S INSURANCE PLAN Creates a loophole for LEAs to get around a vote of the teachers and to go directly to the state when changing health plans.

Pushes changing pre-Medicare retired educator health benefits from a defined benefit (a right) to a defined contribution (a voucher).

Eliminates all future teachers from getting preMedicare retired educator health benefits.

Permanently removes the state’s discretion to offer dental, long-term care, or supplemental disability insurance

TEA POSITION AND SOLUTIONS Keep the requirement a majority of educators must approve new health plans.

Allow pre-65 age educators who qualify the choice of staying with state insurance or taking cash equivalency to purchase private health insurance.

Allow the continued consideration by the state for dental, long-term care, and supplemental disability insurance.

Keep retirement healthcare for future teachers.

DISTRICT 3 Michael Carvella (865)212-9774 DISTRICT 4 Anthony Hancock (865)293-9232 DISTRICT 5 Shawanda Perkins (423)385-9569 DISTRICT 6 Scott Price (931)455-7198 DISTRICT 7 Regina Harvey (615)765-3168 DISTRICT 8 Kevin King (615)504-0425 DISTRICT 9 Theresa L. Wagner (270)776-1467 DISTRICT 10 Becky Jackman (931)980-0206 DISTRICT 11 Wendy R. Bowers (731)645-8595 DISTRICT 12 Suzie May (731)779-9329 DISTRICT 13 Nellie Keeton (901)840-9700 DISTRICT 14 Tiffany Reed (901)412-2759 DISTRICT 15 Tom Emens (901)277-0578 ADMINISTRATOR EAST Jessica Holman (865)591-4981 ADMINISTRATOR MIDDLE Julie Hopkins (615)822-5742 ADMINISTRATOR WEST Dennis Kimbrough (901)494.0105 HIGHER EDUCATION Clinton Smith (901)230-4914 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER EAST Pam Thompson

(615)948.7378 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER MIDDLE Kenneth Martin (615)876-1948 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER WEST Sarah Kennedy-Harper (901)416-4582 STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS Debi Ponder (615)969-4362 NEW TEACHER Carrie Allison (812)205-7689 ESP Stephanie Bea (901)265-4540 TN NEA DIRECTOR Melanie Buchanan (615)305-2214 TN NEA DIRECTOR Diccie Smith (901)482-0627 STEA MEMBER David Johnson (865)828-5324 TN RETIRED Linda McCrary (423)473-9400 * Executive Committee AT LARGE RETIRED DIRECTOR ON NEA BOARD JoAnn Smith (423)283-9037

TEA HEADQUARTERS STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Carolyn Crowder; ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS: Terrance Gibson; Steve McCloud; Jim Wrye; TECHNOLOGY & BUILDING

OPERATIONS MANAGER: Galen Riggs; COMPTROLLER: David Shipley; UNISERV FIELD MANAGER: Karla Carpenter; STAFF ATTORNEYS: John Allen, Virginia A. McCoy; GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COORDINATOR: Drew Sutton; WEB MASTER & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: Amanda Chaney; MANAGING EDITOR & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: Alexei Smirnov; INSTRUCTIONAL ADVOCACY & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COORDINATORS: Rhonda Thompson; William O’Donnell; COORDINATOR OF ORGANIZING SUPPORT & AFFILIATE RELATIONS: Shannon Bain; ADVOCACY HOTLINE COORDINATOR: Forestine Cole, Gera Summerford & Cynthia Wood.

UniServ Staff contact information can be found on page 6.

TEA leads fight against privatization

First Civicationers visit statehouse

School boards, directors, join with TEA in effort to defeat the threat to public schools TEA is continuing the fight in the legislature against vouchers that would bleed public schools of funding and send it to unaccountable private schools. After the announcement that the voucher bill introduced by Sen. Brian Kelsey would not be advancing, a second voucher bill was introduced by Sen. Todd Gardenhire and Rep. Bill Dunn.

While not part of the administration’s legislative package, the bill uses language similar to the voucher bill introduced by the administration in 2014. Under the bill eligible low-income students attending schools whose test scores fall in the bottom five percent of the state would be able to use public school funding to attend private schools who participate in the voucher program.

Schools eligible to participate in the voucher program include a wide variety of religious schools throughout the state. TEA opposes using taxpayer dollars to fund religious instruction.

Supporters of the bill contend the program will ultimately save the schools money by relieving them of the burden of instructing students that leave to attend private schools. However, proponents have failed to provide information about how fixed costs incurred by districts, such as staff, programs, and building-related costs, will be relieved short of closing public schools and firing teachers.

“There are certain costs that school districts have that do not correspond directly to student enrollment,” points out TEA Executive Director Carolyn Crowder. “The only way for supporters of the bill to be correct in saying this bill will save school districts money is if neighborhood schools are closed to adjust for students exiting to attend private schools, and I haven’t heard anyone supporting the bill saying they favor this.”

Members of Washington Co. EA visit with House Minority Leader Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley) during the first week of TEA Civication in March. Drew Sutton of TEA Government Affairs facilitated the meeting.

“Civication is really fun, and we make a real impact with legislators,” said Jenee Peters (third from right).

Another big concern with the privatization measure is the lack of accountability standards for private schools who would receive public funding. The bill lets participating private schools be exempt from various requirements that are in place to ensure schools meet state performance standards.

Private schools would not be required to use the same standards for rigor that public schools must use, nor would they have to take the same assessments that public school students are required to take. The result is that the state would have no meaningful way to ensure private schools taking public money are providing an adequate education.

“Given how proud lawmakers are of the rigorous standards in the state and the recent growth in student achievement data, it is very surprising that some would favor going back on that progress by giving public money to institutions who are immune from the same accountability standards as public schools,” said Crowder. “If it is good policy to allow private schools receiving public money to be exempted from state standardized tests and academic standards, I wonder why any other school system should have to adhere to them.”

The bill, SB999/HB1049, was passed out of House

Education Administration and Planning subcommittee and Senate Education. It now goes on to full House Education Administration and Planning and Senate Finance.

“Get ready to call your legislator about this,” said Crowder. “We beat vouchers the last two years because we stood united, let’s do it again.”

CHARTERS

PRIVATIZATION VOUCHERS

Correction: the administration’s liability pool bill is budgeted at $5 million. It was reported in the Advocate as $50 million. We regret the typo.

Tennessee tax revenues are up; teacher raise should stay

By TEA President Barbara Gray When you decide to become a teacher you know from the beginning that you will never bring home a big paycheck. You know that you will work long hours, despite the school day ending by 3 p.m. and “having summers off.” You know that you will be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted.

So why do it? Why choose one of the most demanding professions in the world? Because you also know that it will be one of the most rewarding professions in the world. You know that you will improve the lives of children. You know that your “kids” will teach you as much as you teach them.

TEA is working hard to make sure you get a significant raise this year because choosing to be a teacher shouldn’t mean choosing to live on the edge

of poverty. It is time to end the constant dilemma of “Do I continue teaching or do I leave the profession so that I can pay my bills each month?”

statewide. Tell your elected officials that you shouldn’t have to choose between being a teacher and feeding your family.

After years of promising for a raise and calls TEA has drafted legislation to give the General

by TEA to fulfill his promise, the governor has Assembly the power to make sure the raise they included a 4 percent pay increase for teachers in his pass in the budget actually shows up in the budget. Unlike last year when the raise he promised paychecks of all teachers. TEA’s bill would remove teachers never the appointed State came to fruition, Board of Education’s After years of promising a state revenues are authority to set the up above predicted state salary schedule raise and calls by TEA to fulfill levels. This means and give that control his promise, the governor has there should be no to the elected reason for that 4 legislature. included a 4 percent pay increase percent proposal to When contacting in his budget. be taken off the table. your legislators, Our fight now is to make sure all teachers receive that raise. The current proposal by the governor leaves it up to the districts to determine how those salary funds are used – which could result in inequitable distribution and some teachers being left without any increase.

I urge you to contact your legislators now and ask that the 4 percent raise be given to all teachers

please ask them to support SB 1308/ HB 1117 to make sure that you receive the raise promised to you by the administration.

It is time to get all teachers comfortably above the poverty line. It is time that we earn a salary representative of our important work and long hours. If we stand together, we can make this happen.

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NO CLIFF FALLS WITH HOLD HARMLESS Tennessee educators deserve relief, protection from years of misguided ‘reforms’

receive e evaluations u that are b based substantially on ially o TVAAS scores generated es gen e by students or subjects bject theyy do not teach, but statee edu education on officials continue to defend d the practice.

TEA filed a lawsuit last month with support supp from the National Education Association, n, asking the federal courts to deem unconstitutional tion the arbitrary and irrational practice of measuring ing teacher effectiveness with statistical estimates based ase on standardized test scores from students they do not teach and may have never met.

HOLD HARMLESS from page 1

regime, TEA again proposed a suspension or reduction of TVAAS use in evaluations while the state transitions to new standards and a new state assessment is implemented.

The approach has gained traction in Nashville with lawmakers signing on to TEA’s insistence on a hold harmless period.

Recently, Gov. Bill Haslam proposed his own hold harmless transition. The administration’s proposal would: • Adjust the weighting of student growth data in a teacher’s evaluation so that the new state assessments in ELA and math will count 10 percent of the overall evaluation in the first year of administration (2016), 20 percent in year two (2017) and 35 percent in year three (2018). Currently, 35 percent of an educator’s evaluation is comprised of student achievement data based on student growth; • Lower the weight of student achievement growth for teachers in non-tested grades and subjects from 25 percent to 15 percent; • And make explicit local school district discretion in both the qualitative teacher evaluation model that is used for the observation portion of the evaluation as well as the specific weight student achievement growth in evaluations will play in personnel decisions made by the district.

“The governor’s proposal is a step in the right

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direction, but it does not go far enough in protecting our educators and we have continuing concerns about the validity of using TVAAS at all in the first year of a new test,” said TEA President Barbara Gray. “We will continue to work until teachers are not hurt by things out of their control during this time of great transition on standards, teaching practices, and assessments.”

Two teachers named plaintiffs teach grades and subjects in which student learning is not measured d by a state standardized test. Each educator saw their ir overall evaluation scores drop as a result of schoolwide TVAAS estimates being used to calculate their scores. As a result, one educator was denied a bonus and the other lost her eligibility to be recommended for tenure.

The major problem with the administration’s proposal is the use of any TVAAS data in the first years of a new test, because there simply isn’t enough data to give the statistical model any validity. Experts and statisticians state there needs to be three years of data for a new assessment before the confidence of the model is remotely adequate.

Some statehouse observers believe that the administration’s proposal to reduce TVAAS estimates for non-tested teachers from 25 percent to 15 percent in their hold harmless bill was a reaction to the lawsuit.

“The governor’s proposal is a step in the right direction, but ultimately it doesn’t go far enough in protecting our educators.”

Barbara Gray, TEA President TEA is continuing to push legislation to suspend TVAAS from teacher evaluations for two years while the state transitions to the new assessment.

The second step in this fight is to continue to question the validity of using statistical estimates in high-stakes decision making at all. TEA has already made great progress in this fight.

In the 2014 legislative session, the General Assembly overwhelmingly supported TEA’s bill to prohibit the use of TVAAS estimates in teacher licensure – overturning a policy put in place by the State Board of Education and former Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman.

Lawmakers are often surprised to find out more than half of the public school teachers in Tennessee

“Educators welcome fair evaluation, but it must be done in a way that actually reflects the quality of our individual work and contributions to student success,” said Gray. “TEA has been pushing back against the inappropriate use of standardized test scores in teacher evaluation since the new system was first implemented in 2011.”

Gray says TEA and its members are committed to ensuring that teacher evaluation systems function ms funct effectively to identify both teachers who ho are performing well and those who need assistance to improve. Yet it is clear relying on the imprecise and volatile statistical estimates in TVAAS AS does not serve these purposes During statewide TEA Road Trips,, TEA will continue to ask teachers about their experiences with TVAAS. “With your help, we will continue to gain ground in this fight against the unfair use of flawed TVAAS estimates in high-stakes kes decisions,” said TEA Executive Director Carolyn Crowder.

“Please join us on one of our Road Trips, come to Civication during your spring pring break and contact legislators to share your experience with TVAAS.”

Meet the man behind the mess ASD Superintendent Chris Barbic is shutting down public schools, and playing loose with the results

$18 million and performance no better (and sometimes worse) than what was happening at district schools. Achievement gains slower than the district pace, and in the case of English/Language Arts, a regression. That’s Chris Barbic’s record as head of the Tennessee Achievement School District.

Who is Chris Barbic?

In 2011, Chris Barbic was tapped to head the state’s new Achievement School District. The ASD was designed to improve the performance of individual schools performing in the bottom 5 percent of all schools in terms of student achievement. Barbic has the authority to hire and fire all staff and the ability to convert schools to charters if he feels that’s the right solution. When he started, Barbic (a former charter chain operator from Houston) asserted that he would get outstanding results by bringing his charter methods to public schools. So far, the data shows that Barbic’s rhetoric far out-paced his reality.

Tennessee’s Department of Education has spent $18 million in Race to the Top funds on Barbic’s Achievement School District and the results have been pretty lousy. What do Tennesseans get from Barbic when he’s faced with the facts? A stream of tweets and some clever PR stunts. To paraphrase an analogy Barbic

made in front of legislators: Maybe it’s time the ASD team got a new coach.

The conflicting information provided by Barbic is even catching the attention of top national education blogger Diane Ravitch. In a story about the ASD, she shared this quote from Tennessee parent T.C. Weber, a blogger known as Dad Gone Wild: “Governor Haslam has made a welcome change at the top of the Department of Education, but like with any illness, the body can only heal when all of the infection is removed. Chris Barbic and the Achievement School District were brought here by Kevin Huffman through their shared experience as Teach For America members. Time proved that Kevin Huffman was not a good fit for Tennessee. Time has also shown that TFA is not a great fit for Tennessee. They are a part of the past and Tennessee needs to look forward. It’s time to add the Achievement School District to that list of failed experiments and embrace policies that will take us into the future, before the damage is irreversible.”

Ahead of a key Senate committee meeting, Barbic went on a tweeting spree touting the supposed success of the ASD. TEA has provided a helpful graphic below to share the truth behind some of Barbic’s more creative tweets.

Do you follow, Chris?

A review of ASD’s trouble with the truth Chris Barbic @chrisbarbic Important to remember that last year @TN_ASD students grew faster than state average in Reading & Math proficiency.

The Truth @factsarefacts It’s easy to grow fast when you start by falling behind: Barbic’s ASD-run schools performed pretty miserably in English/Language Arts, actually regressing by nearly 2 points in the first year of operation.

Chris Barbic @chrisbarbic Important to remember that @TN_ASD schools phasing in a grade at a time averaged double-digit gains in Reading and Math proficiency.

The Truth @factsarefacts Barbic’s ASD schools show an average gain of just 2.92 points in Math and 0.72 points in ELA. That’s WORSE than the schools were doing before Barbic and his charter buddies took over.

Chris Barbic @chrisbarbic First cohort of 6 @TN_ASD schools significantly exceeded state expectations (Level 5 TVAAS) first year; same cohort exceed (Level 4) last yr

The Truth @factsarefacts Barbic’s ASD schools are averaging growth that is slower than what district schools were seeing BEFORE ASD takeover. That’s right, ASD schools on average perform worse than the district schools they take over.

A statements attributed to ASD Superintendent Chris Barbic were tweets posted to his Twitter account on All Wednesday, Feb. 25. All data above based on analysis of TN State Report Card. Twitter name @factsarefacts is just for purposes of this publication, it is not a real account owned or operated by TEA.

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Nashville Civication to draw educators from Memphis to Mountain City Alerted by the threat to public school employees’ insurance plans, a husband of a Claiborne County teacher is planning to arrive on Capitol Hill during the TEA Civication to talk to legislators about the importance of keeping insurance benefits intact.

From Memphis to Mountain City, Tennessee educators are signing up to attend the TEA Civication on Tuesday of their spring break.

“It’s a no-brainer for our members,” said Rutherford EA President Emily Mitchell. “Once we found out that we can get up to two nights, plus breakfast and a mileage reimbursement for those living more than 50 miles away, we shared it with everyone we know because it’s a wonderful opportunity to advocate for our rights.”

Hundreds of educators from across the state have already signed up to come to Nashville during their Spring Break to meet with legislators and attend legislative committee meetings.

“I can’t wait to talk with our elected officials about insurance, vouchers and evaluation,” said Lucianna Sanson, an English teacher at Franklin Co. High School and president of the Franklin Co. EA. “We’re making progress in the legislature, but we need more people on the hill to show our legislators that we mean business.”

Sanson said she is taking advantage of the extended stay option being offered this year through Civication and is looking forward to spending three days in Nashville.

“We need members from all of our locals visiting with our legislators, making sure our voices are heard,” she said. “Our legislators must know that the needs of our students come first and we must put an end to over-testing and other terrible ideas.”

Need information, services?

Tennessee Education Association 801 Second Avenue N., Nashville, TN 37201-1099 (615) 242-8392, (800) 342-8367, FAX (615) 259-4581

UniServ Coordinators

District 1 — Harry Farthing, P.O. Box 298, Elizabethton, TN 37644; phone: (423)262-8035, fax: (866)379-0949; Assns: Carter, Hancock, Hawkins, Rogersville, Johnson, Sullivan, Bristol, Elizabethton, Kingsport. District 2 — Jennifer Gaby, P.O. Box 70, Afton, TN 37616; (423)2340700, fax: (423)234.0708; Assns: Cocke, Newport, Greene, Greeneville, Unicoi, Washington, Hamblen, Johnson City. District 3 — Tina Parlier, P.O. Box 74, Corryton, TN 37721, (865)688-1175, fax: (866)518-

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3104; Assns: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Sevier, Union, Scott, Campbell, Oneida (in Scott Co.).

District 4 — Duran Williams, KCEA, 2411 Magnolia Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917 Assns: Knox,TSD, District 5— Jason White, P.O. Box 5502, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; (615)521-1333, fax: (865)200-5254; Assns: Anderson, Clinton, Oak Ridge, Blount, Alcoa, Maryville, Lenoir City, Loudon. District 6 — Chris Brooks, P.O. Box 3629, Chattanooga, TN 37404, (615)332-2636; Assns: Bradley, Cleveland, McMinn, Athens, Etowah, Meigs, Monroe, Sweetwater, Polk, Rhea-Dayton, Roane. District 7 — Theresa Turner, HCEA 4655 Shallowford Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37411; (423)485-9535, fax: (423)485-9512; Assns: Hamilton. District 8 — Josh Trent; Assns: Clay, Cumberland, Fentress, Jackson, Morgan, Pickett, Putnam, Overton, York Institute, TN Tech. Univ,

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Last year’s Civication weeks resulted in significant legislative victories for public education, with legislators taking note of the committee rooms packed with educators week after week.

“Civication has shown that legislators can’t ignore in-person meetings, phone calls and emails they receive from our members in their districts,” said TEA President Barbara Gray. “More than 600 educators attended Civication last year, helping us to prohibit the use of TVAAS in teacher licensure decisions, pass the moratorium on PARCC and inspire the state to pull out of PARCC altogether.”

Build a Movement will start from 3 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday after Civication – and then continue on Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to Noon.

TEA will reimburse lunch up to $10 per person on Tuesday and will provide an extra night in a hotel (for those who live 50 miles or more away) if you register and attend the training. We will also distribute gas cards to those who live less than 50 miles away who sign up for both days to help reimburse them for driving in twice. Continental breakfast will be available on Wednesday.

Part of registration includes indicating whether Thanks to Civication, TEA was also successful in you will be bringing any of your children with you passing its bill to reinstate the state minimum to the training. If there are children registered – we salary schedule will provide something valuing years of for the children during “I can’t wait to talk with our experience and training from 3 to legislators about insurance, vouchers the advanced degrees, 5 p.m. on Tuesday and prohibiting a forced and evaluation...

9:30 a.m. to Noon on correlation between We must put an end to over-testing Wednesday. observation scores and other terrible ideas.”

We will also ask and TVAAS scores in Lucianna Sanson, the hotel for a late teacher evaluation, Franklin Co. EA President checkout at the hotel and limiting a tenured for TEA guests so that teacher suspension. if a spouse or friend TEA defeated vouchers, protected the state from for-profit wants to stay with the kids at the hotel or sleep in charters and undermined the expansion of the on Wednesday, that is also an option. so-called Achievement School District by drawing “Please join us on Tuesday of your Spring Break attention of the education community to its ability to advocate for our students, our schools and to do less with more resources. our profession,” Gray said. “We encourage you to The extended stay option this year comes with bring your friends and family, and remember that a “Build a Movement” training, which follows gas and hotel room (if more than 50 miles from the day of lobbying on Tuesday. Participants in Nashville) are on us.” this optional part of Civication will learn how to Visit www.teateachers.org/civication for more engage colleagues back home to enact change at details and to register for Civication. the local and state levels.

Bledsoe, Sequatchie,Van Buren, White. District 9 — Jackie Pope, 2326 Valley Grove Dr., Murfreesboro, TN 37128;phone: (615)898-1060, fax: (855) 301-8214, Assns: Bedford, Moore, Cannon, DeKalb, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Manchester, Tullahoma, Marion, Warren. District 10 — Jeff Garrett, P.O. Box 1326, Lebanon, TN 37088-1326; (615)6302605, fax (855)320-8755—; Assns: Rutherford, Murfreesboro, Sumner, MTSU, Macon, Smith, Trousdale. District 11 — Antoinette Lee; Assns: FSSD, Williamson. District 12 — Sue Ogg; phone: (615)856-0503 — Assns: Giles, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Fayetteville, Maury, Wayne, Marshall, Perry. District 13 — Mary Campbell, Susan Dalton, Metro Nashville, 531 Fairground Court, Nashville, TN 37211; (615)347-6578 (Campbell), fax: (855)299-4968 (Campbell); Assns: Metro Nashville,

TN School For The Blind, Lebanon, Wilson. District 14 — Maria Uffelman, P.O. Box 99, Cumberland City, TN 37050; phone: (931)827-3333, fax: (855)2994925; Assns: Clarksville-Montgomery, Robertson.

District 15 — Cheryl Richardson, P.O. Box 354, Goodlettsville, TN 37070; phone: (615)630-2601, fax: (888)519-4879; Assns: Benton, West Carroll, Central, Clarksburg, Huntingdon, McKenzie, Henry, Paris, Houston, Humphreys, Stewart, Cheatham, Dickson, Hickman. District 16 — Lorrie Butler, P.O. Box 387, Henderson, TN 38340; (731)989-4860, fax: (855)299-4591; Assns: Chester, Hardeman, West TSD, Henderson, Lexington, Jackson-Madison, McNairy, Decatur, Hardin. District 17 — Terri Jones, —Assns: Crockett, Dyer, Dyersburg, Gibson, Humboldt, Milan, Trenton, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion, Union City, Tipton, Weakley.

District 18 — Zandra Foster, Ashley Evett, 3897 Homewood Cove, Memphis, TN 38128; (901)3779472, fax: (855)320-8737;—Assns: Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington, Fayette. District 19 — Assns: MemphisShelby County Education Association — Ken Foster, Executive Director; Memphis-Shelby County EA UniServ Directors: Glenda Jones, Tom Marchand, 126 South Flicker Street, Memphis, TN 38104; (901)454-0966, fax: (901)454-9979; Assn: Memphis-Shelby County.

www.teateachers.org www.nea.org

TEA MEMBERS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THE TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY OF YOUR SPRING BREAK?

a e k Ta ! l o t i p a C ! e s h r t o t o t a l e s i ! m g n o e C our l catio y r edu hville o t s k l a o f N a T d up O!) in W n T a R t S t day (O

a e r g a y o j En

!

S E L I M R O F S E S R U B M !

Q H A TEA REI E T T A T S A F K A E GREAT BR ETINGS ARRANGED! E M L O !

T L I E P V A R CA T G N O L R O F L E T O PRE-PAID H ALL MEMBERS! OPEN TO

Do you have h plans l for f your Spring Break? Consider coming to the capitol to talk to your legislators and enjoy the great entertainment of Nashville! It’s a Civication, combining vacation with civic pride in our profession.

New this year is an option to stay a second night in Nashville to learn how to “Build a Movement” back home. Visit the registration link below for more details about the

d d stay plan. l extended TEA pays mileage for any members who want to attend Civication during Spring Break. There is complimentary breakfast at TEA Headquarters in downtown Nashville, free parking, shuttle service to the Capitol, and House and Senate Education Committee meetings to see the legislature in action!

If you live more than 50 miles

outside of Nashville, TEA has a supply of pre-paid hotel rooms for members for Monday night (limited basis). Build a Movement participants will get a second hotel night.

Come to Music City, enjoy the city and have a successful and important Civication. Members who took part in Civication last year had a huge impact on the legislative success of TEA!

REGISTER ONLINE: WWW.TEATEACHERS.ORG/CIVICATION PUBLIC SCHOOL TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

ADVOCATE

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Federal government shouldn’t be mandating tests for Tennessee students ESEA reauthorization must reduce testing, increase opportunity for all students Congress is currently working through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, better known as No Child Left Behind.

The original purpose of NCLB was to help close achievement and opportunity gaps for students, but the law has not lived up to its promise. It’s up to us as educators to advocate for our students and push Congress to get ESEA reauthorization right this time.

Tennessee educators have a prime opportunity to impact this important work as Tennessee Congressman Lamar Alexander chairs the U.S. Senate Education Committee and is leading the work on ESEA. TEA members and staff recently met with Sen. Alexander at his Nashville office to share what students and educators really need for success.

It is important that Sen. Alexander and other Tennessee members of Congress hear from their educators back home on how to get ESEA right this time.

TEA members and staff meet with U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on what students and teachers need to succeed.

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Allow more time for students to learn and more time for teachers to teach - Testing takes time away from learning. We must reduce the emphasis on federally-mandated standardized tests that would free up time and resources, diminish “teaching to the test,” and allow educators to focus on what is most important: instilling a love of learning in their students. A revised ESEA should include a proven approach called “grade-span” testing which would test students in English, Math and Science once in elementary school, once in middle school and once in high school.

“A student’s chances for success should not depend on winning a charter lottery, affording private school, or living in the right zip code,” said Barbara Gray, TEA president. “If we’re serious about every child’s future, let’s get serious about doing what works. This means resourcing all schools so students have more one-on-one attention, inviting classrooms, and a well-rounded curriculum.”

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Ensure every student has a qualified educator who is empowered to lead - We need to build a pipeline of diverse, fully qualified educators who are available to every student in every zip code, and who are prepared to teach in today’s classrooms on day one.

Educators care about their students. We must ensure they have authority to do their job and lead on behalf of their students.

In order for Congress to get the law right this time, a reauthorized ESEA must do three things:

“What happens at the federal level can seem so far removed from our classrooms in Tennessee, but the reauthorization of ESEA will have serious implications for all Tennessee educators and students,” Gray said.

“Please join me in contacting our Tennessee members of Congress to insist that the reauthorization include more opportunity and less testing for all students.”

The original purpose of ESEA was to help level the playing field for our nation’s most vulnerable students, including children living in poverty, students with disabilities, and English-language learners. In reality, ESEA has perpetuated a system that delivers unequal opportunities and uneven quality to our students, making it impossible for us to do what we do best—reach, teach, and inspire our students to love learning.

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Create more opportunities for all students to receive a quality education, no matter their zip code - Replace the one-size-fits-all, top-down approach with a new “school dashboard” of indicators to identify opportunity gaps and reveal gaps in some of the basic components of a high-quality, well-rounded education that prepares each student for college and/or a career.

PUBLIC SCHOOL TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

ADVOCATE

Join educators in the fight to get ESEA right! Call Congress today at 866331-7233 or visit www.getESEAright.com.