Edventurists Attack! A Look at Efforts to Privatize Public Schools Since 1997 page 3
Published by the TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION October 2012 Vol. 44, No. 3 www.teateachers.org
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“I Survived Saddam” page 4
Speaking out with you Gera Summerford, President
We Know What’s Best for Students. Let’s Vote! On a recent Saturday, I joined my fellow TEA members to “canvas” some neighborhoods on behalf of a Tennessee state senator’s re-election campaign. We carried a list of registered voters and knocked only on doors of residents likely to vote. The people we met in the neighborhood were generally friendly and receptive as we encouraged them to vote and to support the incumbent senator. Where no one answered the door, we simply left a brochure to share some candidate information. Since that day I’ve also made phone calls for two other campaigns. Although there were many “no answer” calls, the ones who did answer the phone were congenial and responsive. For one local campaign, the people called are known supporters of the candidate. I was simply reminding them of voting dates and asking if they’re willing to place a sign in their yard. In each case, I committed only about two hours of my time, and the phone calls could be made from the privacy of my home. I figure it’s the least I can do to help elect candidates who truly support public education. While most candidates for public office claim to support children’s education, we know that some of them have ideas for reforming schools that don’t agree with what educators know is best. When we look back at the 107th General Assembly’s actions for reforming public education, we can’t ignore the importance of electing new representatives this year. We can’t forget that some legislators apparently believe that ending negotiations, reducing educators’ due process rights, and removing TEA representatives from the retirement Board of Trustees can actually improve teaching. We can’t deny the need for extraordinary effort to elect people in 2012 who will actually listen to teachers. When the new Legislature convenes in January, what can we expect for public education in our state? Will they try to increase class size? Change our fiscally solid retirement system? Institute merit pay for teachers or tie teacher pay to student test scores? Plans are underway to legalize vouchers so taxpayer funds can be used to support private schools. How would that improve opportunities for all children? Can we expect more charter schools and parent triggers? How does that align with local decisionmaking for public schools? If you believe as I do, that those closest to children know what’s best for them, that local educators working with community leaders will make the best decisions for students, and that public funding should support only our local public schools, I hope you’ll join me in a commitment to change the state legislature this year. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something, and every effort makes a difference. On November 7, let’s all be able to say we did our best to elect education-friendly representatives in Tennessee. I’m working on it!
Al Mance, Executive Director
Our Votes Determine Our Freedoms, Quality of Life. Vote for Education in 2012. Whatever successes the public schools of Tennessee experience are due largely to what happens in classrooms between teachers and students every day. Teachers are the largest educated group in every voting district in the state, and the moral leaders of the drive for a quality education for all. We have an ethical and moral responsibility to help elect people to office who respect teachers and are dedicated to a quality public education for all boys and girls. The Constitution of the State of Tennessee, Article XI, Section 12, declares: “The state of Tennessee recognizes the inherent value of education and encourages its support. The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public school.” Two movements that undermine the state’s capacity to carry out its constitutional mandate are receiving favorable attention in state government: charter schools and education vouchers. One allows groups of citizens to write a proposal or “charter” to establish and operate a tax-funded school for specific groups of students. The second, education vouchers, gives tax-paid vouchers to parents to send their sons and daughters to a parochial or private school of their choice. The funds for these initiatives come from state aid and local funding for students in the public schools where the students live. The vouchers will not cover the tuition for any of the more reputable private schools. In fact, parents will be fortunate if it covers half the tuition. The reality is that both movements are destructive. Who will use vouchers and what will the resulting schools be like? These schools will be attended by students whose families can afford them and who already receive a quality education in public schools. Some will be students already attending private schools. Students from families for whom education is a priority, and who believe they cannot get the desired education in their current situation, may attend such schools. Others for whom certain elitism and social philosophies are priorities are also likely to attend. Most Tennesseans will continue to attend true public schools and will have a better chance of receiving a quality education than similar students in charter and private schools. Several reputable research studies support this conclusion. Equally as important as public taxes being redirected to fund private education, these students will miss the experience of being a part of the institution that, more than any other, Americanizes citizens and advances national unity, understanding and equality. Neither charter nor private schools are run by local Boards of Education elected by the citizens. Schools receiving vouchers will be neither free nor approved by local school boards. The teachers employed to teach in these schools are not public employees and resign at an average rate of nearly 34 percent per year. If you believe in a high quality public education for every Tennessee student—if you believe it matters who gets to propose and vote on the laws, rules and regulations that limit your living conditions—then you must go to the polls and elect those who believe in supporting public education and who respect teachers. For Tennessee’s future, you count.
teach (USPS 742-450, ISSN 15382907) is published in August, September, October, Nov/Dec, Jan/Feb, March/April, and May by the Tennessee Education Association, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville TN 37201-1099. Periodical postage paid at Nashville, TN. The subscription price of $3.65 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 teach, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201-1099. MANAGING EDITOR: Alexei Smirnov asmirnov@tea.nea.org ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Carol K. Schmoock PUBLISHER: Alphonso C. Mance
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: Gera Summerford* (800)342-8367 VICE PRESIDENT: Barbara Gray* (901)353-8590 SECRETARY-TREASURER: Alphonso C. Mance (615)242-8392 DISTRICT 1 Leisa Lusk* (423)928-6819 DISTRICT 2 Lauren McCarty (865)385-5220 DISTRICT 3 Karen Starr (423)628-2701 DISTRICT 4 Tanya Coats* (865)637-7494 DISTRICT 5 Michael Plumley (423)749-8228 DISTRICT 6 Scott Price (931)455-7198 DISTRICT 7 Allen Nichols* (615)653-6501 DISTRICT 8 Kawanda Braxton (615)554-6286 DISTRICT 9 Theresa L. Wagner (270)776-1467 DISTRICT 10 Guy Stanley (615)384-2983 DISTRICT 11 Wendy R. Bowers (731)645-8595 DISTRICT 12 Suzie May (731)779-9329 DISTRICT 13 Ernestine King (901)590-8188 DISTRICT 14 Sarah Kennedy-Harper (901)416-4582 DISTRICT 15 Tom Emens (901)277-0578 ADMINISTRATOR EAST Johnny Henry (865)509-4829 ADMINISTRATOR MIDDLE Julie Hopkins (615)569-5742 ADMINISTRATOR WEST Charles Green (901)624-6186 HIGHER EDUCATION Clinton Smith (731)881-7167 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER EAST Paula Hancock (865)694-1691 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER MIDDLE Kenneth Martin (615)876-1948 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER WEST LaVerne Dickerson (901)416-7122 STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS Vacancy ESP Christine Denton (931)647-8962 TN NEA DIRECTOR Melanie Buchanan (615)305-2214 TN NEA DIRECTOR Diccie Smith (901)482-0627 TN NEA DIRECTOR Diane Lillard* (423)478-8827 STEA MEMBER Marilauren Anderson (731)478-5106 TN RETIRED Gerald Lillard (423)478-8827 NEW TEACHER CandraClariette (615)506-3493 * Executive Committee
TEA HEADQUARTERS STAFF EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR:AlphonsoC.Mance;ASST.EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,TerranceGibson;MitchellJohnson;CarolK. Schmoock;TEAGENERALCOUNSEL;RickColbert; MANAGER OFBUSINESS AFFAIRS:StephanieFaulkner;INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY&SYSTEMSMANAGER,Galen Riggs;MANAGEROF LEGALSERVICES:SteveMcCourt;STAFFATTORNEYS:Katherine Curlee,VirginiaA. McCoy;MANAGEROFGOVERNMENTRELATIONS: JerryWinters;GOVERNMENTRELATIONSCOORDINATOR: AntoinetteLee;WEBMASTER&COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR:AmandaChaney;MANAGINGEDITOR& COMMUNICATIONSCOORDINATOR:AlexeiSmirnov; RESEARCH &INFORMATIONCOORDINATOR:MelissaBrown;INSTRUCTION &PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENTCOORDINATORS:SusanDalton, Vacancy;COORDINATOROFMEMBERSHIP&AFFILIATERELATIONS: DuranWilliams.
UniServ Staff contact information can be found on page 12 or by scannig the Quick Response code below.
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October 2012
Edventurists on Track to Privatize Public Schools Schools follow private prisons, hospitals in profit-seeking schemes By Gene Bryant Michael Podgursky, an economist with the Just over 15 years ago as an editor for TEA, I University of Missouri, addressed investors’ concerns. monitored a conference in Nashville— “ED-ventures He said if entrepreneurs can gain control of public ‘97” —where strategists outlined an ambitious plan schools, they will be able to wring profits from them to “break up the public school monopoly” and turn by reducing personnel (increasing class sizes) and education into a profit-making industry. The brashness phasing out career teachers with younger, cheaper, I observed stunned me. non-certified instructors with reduced benefits. Someone had sent me a brochure announcing ‘There is no question in my mind that the private this conference. I mailed in a $170 personal check sector can do it cheaper,” Podgursky said. “In private for registration and received, much to my surprise, a schools, teachers don’t stay around long, and that nametag that allowed my admission to the conference. keeps costs down.” I was not an active participant, but I took notes and He added: “Let teachers prove themselves in the prepared a report for TEA News. marketplace and stop hiding behind credentials. As I look back at the last 15 years and review Certification is not protecting the public from that report, I am astounded with how much of the incompetent teachers. Let school managers decide who privatizing agenda has been achieved. The profiteers can and cannot teach.” may not have fulfilled their goal of creating a Mike Ronan, chief operating officer of the lucrative industry, but they finally have in Tennessee a Alternative Public Schools, an EMO founded by a group legislature and administration siding with them. of Nashville businessmen and operating at that time At this 1997 gathering of about 200, education in a few school districts outside Tennessee, said his entrepreneurs attempted to convince potential company had been able to cut back considerably on investors that market-driven education has the the cost of teachers because it was able to set salaries potential of producing hefty returns. “With sufficient independent of collective bargaining. capital,” declared Denis Doyle, a senior fellow with the Joe Murphy, an education professor at Peabody pro-privatization Hudson Institute, skilled business College at Vanderbilt University and author of the leaders will be able “to bring down the Berlin wall of book Privatization of Education, said public school monopoly.” teachers with their union The businesses leverage make money “They’re in it to make money. They represented included off government schools. education management make a lot want to multiply dollars. They want “Teachers organizations (EMOs), of money selling their to become zillionaires.” charter school operators, services,” he declared. management consultants Under a privatized (including “union busters”) system, Murphy pointed Todd Parchman, Vaughn Co. and testing and data out, a different set of during 1997 ED-Ventures Conference processing firms. The people would be reaping big push was for charter benefits. Under the current schools—both for-profit charters and “nonprofit” system, professional educators are making the money, charters that allow for-profit management. They said Murphy, who predicted that situation will change viewed the emerging charter school movement as an as public school management shifts from school boards exploitable bonanza. (Tennessee had not instituted to EMOs and as more schooling shifts from government charters at that time.) to the free market. “Government imperfection is seen There was, however, ample skepticism that a as greater than market imperfection,” he said. “There taxpayer-supported industry can deliver significant is a rampant discontent with government.” private gain. Mike Sandler, founder of Education Repeatedly, speakers criticized the National Ventures in Boston, acknowledged that many venture Education Association and its state and local affiliates capitalists are not convinced that privatizers “will ever as staunch defenders of “government schools” and a be able to pull it off.” huge stumbling block to privatization. Sandler said he, personally, was more optimistic Joy N’Daou of SABIS International, an EMO and than many of his clients. “I see a lot of growth consulting firm, said teacher unions are a major opportunity,” he said. “This is a very exciting industry. impediment to market-driven schools. “Teacher unions We’re right in the middle of it.” hate us,” she said. Todd Parchman of the Vaughn Company, an Although the conference was held in Nashville, investment firm in Baltimore, said he was finding a participants acknowledged that Tennessee was not limited number of big investors who were willing to risk politically ready for privatization, primarily because capital on this type of speculative enterprise but the of TEA’s influence with the state legislature. They number was growing. cited many impediments—collective bargaining, union Parchman said his clients were accustomed to “big, contracts, teacher tenure, seniority rights, teacher blockbuster returns” on their investments. “Most want certification, class-size limits, etc. —that would need to quadruple their money in three years. They’re in it to to be relaxed or repealed through legislation. On the make money. They want to multiply dollars. They want other hand, they noted, privatization of prisons and to become zillionaires.” hospitals began in Tennessee.
Also present was Mary Turner, managing director of the now-defunct Wall Street investment firm Lehman Brothers that raised start-up capital for the Nashvillebased Hospital Corporation of America. Turner said many of her clients viewed Tennessee as privatizationfriendly and were ready to invest in EMOs if the state legislature ever cleared the way for them. Lisa Keegan, Arizona’s superintendent of instruction, said school vouchers are the best vehicle for breaking up “the monopoly.” But Turner of Lehman Brothers said vouchers had become politically toxic, especially with Democrats. “We try not to use the v-word on Wall Street,” she said. There was general agreement that “school choice” is the appealing phrase to ride to privatization and that charter schools should be branded as “public” schools, even though they are privately operated, increasingly for profit. “The concept of choice—of choosing a school—is becoming an American platform,” said John McLaughlin, publisher of a school privatization newsletter. The sentiment also seemed to be, from a strategic standpoint, that the privatization push should begin in vulnerable urban areas, where public schools are perceived as failing. Turner said these embattled public schools were “ripe” for takeover. The conference ended with a session led by David Kilpatrick of the “Coalition of Independent Education Associations.” He introduced edventurists to acquiescing “professional” educator groups, with cheaper dues, that serve to weaken NEA and its affiliates by siphoning off members. Doug Rogers, executive director of the Association of Texas Professional Educators, accompanied by a few Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET) members, said his organization supports both public schools and private alternatives. He said he believes competition will be good for public education in the same way UPS and other private carriers have been good for the U.S. Postal Service. This conference was hosted by APS, the EMO founded by Nashville investors Bill DeLoache and
Continued on page 11
3 www.teateachers.org
“I’m Lucky to Be Alive”
Springfield Middle School teacher prepares to cast her first vote as U.S. citizen
Rozhan Sadik (third from left), Robertson Co. EA member, with her ELL students at Springfield Middle School in Ashland City. On the cover: Sadik explains conjunctions and interjections to Merlin Morales in September. Rozhan’s Kurdish Rice Kubeh Ingredients Dough 2 cups rice ½ cup flour ½ tsp turmeric 3 cups water Filling ½ lb ground beef 2 chopped onions ½ tsp paprika ½ tsp black pepper 4 tbsp canola oil Some parsley Frying oil Directions Dough Soak the rice for two hours and drain. Mix the rice, the turmeric and the water, bring to boil. Lower heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes until rice is soft and water is absorbed. Sprinkle flour over the rice and set aside to cool down. Filling Fry the onion to golden color. Add the beef, paprika and black pepper, mix and fry for 10-15 minutes, turn off heat and set aside to cool down. Knead the dough until smooth. Make dough balls about the size of a tennis ball. Poke the ball with a finger to make a kind of a bowl. Fill about 2 tbsp of filling and close the top. Press carefully on top to flatten the filled ball. Heat oil in a pan and fry the kubeh on both sides until golden. 4
October 2012
Rozhan Sadik calls her father a hero because he disobeyed the law by reading to her and her brother in Kurdish as they hid in mud huts of northern Iraq, on the run from Saddam Hussein’s bombing raids. When she was four, Sadik remembers being awakened by her parents and prompted to pack up and run for another village, almost every night for two years. It was freezing cold, but sometimes there wasn’t a tent in sight, so she had to sleep in oversized trash bags. When the refugees were lucky to hide in houses made of mud, families dug holes in the ground for more protection from helicopters that searched for their targets. Twenty-four years later, Sadik is raising her own daughter, Karez, and teaching English to immigrant children at Springfield Middle School in Ashland City. She studied to become an English teacher in Kurdistan after the fall of Saddam’s regime, and came to the United States in 2006 at the invitation of her sister-in-law who had won a Green Card lottery. At the invitation of her principal, Sadik speaks to Springfield Middle students and faculty about her childhood. “It was hard for me to talk about these things at first, but I realized that I can influence my students in a positive way,” she says, sitting in her beautifully decorated classroom at the end of September. Nearby, Diana Diaz, one of Sadik’s English Language Learners, works through a Rosetta Stone course on the computer. “I try to encourage them to just go for their dreams and goals. I see a lot of teenagers – they are lost, don’t see a purpose in life.” Sadik’s passion has always been in languages. With her degree from Tennessee State University, she considers herself lucky to have a career of connecting young minds to the opportunities they have in life, through text and the constantly evolving technological tools at her disposal.
“The newcomers are the most challenging, because some of them can barely speak, but I love working with them,” she says. “I get to use the total physical response method and other techniques.” While teaching English, Sadik always tries to encourage her students to keep their native language as a foundation for all future learning. This is a field where Sadik would like to pursue a PhD. She is constantly thinking of the next step, having accomplished much by the time she turned 30. “My passion is learning languages and learning about people from different cultures because we are all people in the end,” Sadik says. “Conflicts stem from differences, but our human characteristics are the same.” To realize that, one has to look no further than Sadik’s classroom, where in a span of one hour she manages to work with students from Guatemala, Mexico and Yemen. When she says she’s lucky to be alive, Sadik is reminded of the buzzing sound that was imprinted in her memory as a mine exploded when she and her friends played in a field. One of her friends was wounded, another one died. This sound is always with her. Even when she describes the atrocities and hardships that no child or parent deserves to experience, Sadik exudes such optimism and vitality that could be the envy of fellow Tennesseans with peaceful and bucolic upbringings. This November, Sadik and her husband Murad will vote in the general election for the first time since becoming U.S. citizens last year. “We didn’t have the right to vote back home during Saddam Hussein’s regime,” she says. “It’s an amazing opportunity. People should vote. After the regime collapsed in Iraq, I could vote. But this is my first time voting in the United States.” Sadik is just as elated when she describes her citizenship ceremony at the U.S. Middle District Court in Nashville. “It was an amazing feeling. If you live and work here, it’s an honor to become a U.S. citizen. It was a very smooth process. We drove to interviews in Memphis. They gave us the study guide with 100 questions about the history, geography and government of the United States.” “My principal, Dr. Morris, was there even before us, with his camera,” Sadik says. “I cried because he reminded me of my dad. A person from a different culture who loves you for who you are. It was wonderful to have him there. It was amazing to take the Pledge of Allegiance. I saw the greatness of America. It’s a unique country and it has an open heart. Everybody can fit in, if you’re willing and accepting.” Sadik saw the importance of joining Robertson County EA as soon as she began teaching three years ago. She wishes she could attend more meetings, but she’s always ready to share recipes and bring tasty treats to her colleagues. From her parents to her current principal, Dr. Bell, to colleagues and her growing family in Nashville, Sadik is grateful for so much in her life. Igniting a similar passion for learning and discovery in her students, she leaves no doubt that America’s current and future citizens will remain grateful to Ms. Sadik for the rest of their lives.
Scan to watch Obama vs. Romney comparison video
Election 2012
You Decide: Barack Obama & Joe Biden or Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan? • President Obama believes a good education is an economic necessity for everyone and a key part of creating an economy built to last. The Obama Administration fought to save the jobs of educators and support professionals across the country, protecting over 450,000 jobs in total from layoffs and keeping class sizes small. • President Obama doubled our investment in scholarships and financial aid so middle-class and working-class families can achieve the dream of a college education. He’s spurring reform across the country and helping millions of students pay for college. • Romney and Ryan would cut teachers’ jobs and college scholarships so they can give tax breaks to millionaires like Romney, just like Romney did in Massachusetts. President Obama believes better education is critical to creating an economy built to last, keeping America competitive and growing our economy from the middle class out. • He’s offering relief from No Child Left Behind’s top-down mandates so states can use local solutions to improve schools and prepare students for success. • His college tax credit has helped more than 9 million students and families pay for college. He took on big banks and cut out the middlemen to reform student loans, using the savings to double our investment in Pell Grant scholarships. That’s helping millions of students pay for college and repay their student loans.
• Obama prevented more than 400,000 teacher layoffs that would’ve increased class sizes. He’s urging Congress to prevent 325,000 more, which would accelerate the recovery and keep classrooms from getting even more crowded. In Massachusetts, Governor Romney made cuts that led to teacher layoffs and higher college costs while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest. He’ll do that again if he’s elected President. • Romney forced Massachusetts schools to take the second-largest percentage cuts in the country, which led to teacher layoffs. That was during his first year in office. • Romney also made deep budget cuts to higher education and slashed financial aid that could’ve helped lower-income students cover the higher costs. • By the time Romney left office, college costs had skyrocketed. Fees at state colleges and universities had gone up 63 percent while tuition at Massachusetts’ public colleges and community colleges had risen above the national average. Romney wants to cut taxes for millionaires but says we don’t need more teachers. The top-down Romney-Ryan plan cuts critical investments and reforms when students need them most to help pay for budget-busting tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.
Using Our Voice to Elect Friends of Public Education How Do Candidates Receive the TEA and NEA Fund Recommendations?
The federal and state candidates presented in this special section are true friends of public education. They are recommended by both the TEA and NEA Funds for Children and Public Education (TEA-FCPE and NEA-FCPE). The candidate recommendation process for national office includes several steps that involve local, state and national political action units (local PACE, TEA-FCPE, NEA-FCPE), as well as concurrence by TEA and NEA governing bodies. No dues dollars are used to support candidates. Before they receive our endorsement, candidates for state and national office are interviewed on education issues and usually asked to complete written questionnaires. Every TEA member has the opportunity—
through their locally affiliated FCPE unit—to give input into the Association’s candidate recommendation process at every level. Recommendations are based on candidate support for, and commitment to, education issues supported by the Association. Our inclusive, transparent, bi-partisan recommendation process starts with our members at the grassroots, not from the top. The determining factor always is the candidate’s support for education, not his or her party label. The candidates listed in this report have committed themselves to key Association issues. They need your support to make that commitment count. What happens to you and your students in 2013 and beyond depends on your choices on Nov. 6.
Additional information is available in the Member Center at www.teateachers.org. 5 www.teateachers.org
Election 2012 Vote for These Friends U.S. House of Representatives
Eric Stewart
Congressional District 4 Bedford, Bledsoe, Bradley, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, Maury, Meigs, Moore, Rhea, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Van Buren & Warren Counties
Steve Cohen
Jim Cooper
Congressional District 5
Congressional District 9
Cheatham, Davidson & Dickson Counties
Shelby County
Tennessee State Senate
Doug Overbey
District 2 Blount & Sevier Counties
Phillip North
Tim Barnes
District 22 Houston, Montgomery & Stewart Counties
Maria Brewer
District 18 Davidson, Sumner & Trousdale Counties
District 6 Knox County
Brad Thompson
District 24 Benton, Carroll, Gibson, Henry, Obion & Weakley Counties
Meryl Rice
District 26 Chester, Decatur, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson & McNairy Counties
Ty Cobb
District 28 Giles, Lawrence, Lewis, Maury, Perry & Wayne Counties
Jim Kyle
District 30 Shelby County
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District 20 Davidson County
TEA Member Evelyn Gill
“Coming out of a classroom, with the education I have, I could help direct the policy instead of some of what this current Legislature has put on the table for Tennessee.” Evelyn Gill (Metro Pulse, October 3, 2012)
6 October 2012
November 2010
January 2011
March 9, 2011
April 6, 2011
May 4, 2011
May 25, 2011
ds of Public Education Tennessee House of Representatives, TEA Member Kent Williams District 4 Carter & Unicoi Counties
Michael Harrison District 9 Hancock & Hawkins Counties
Gloria Johnson District 13 Knox County
“I’m running because good teachers can no longer sit quietly and watch bad politicians destroy our schools and shortchange our children’s future.” Gloria Johnson (teach, May 2012)
TEA Member Joe Armstrong District 15 Knox County
Andrew Farmer District 17 Jefferson & Sevier Counties
Anthony Hancock District 18 Knox County
TEA Member Bob Ramsey District 20 Blount County
Joanne Favors District 28 Hamilton County
Jim Hackworth District 33 Anderson County
Luke Dickerson District 34 Rutherford County
“Educators deserve dignity and respect, and children deserve access to high-quality instruction guided by the curriculum.” Anthony Hancock (teach, September 2012)
Doug Clark District 39 Franklin, Marion & Moore Counties
TEA Member Sarah Marie Smith District 40 DeKalb, Smith, Sumner & Trousdale Counties
John Mark Windle District 41 Fentress, Jackson, Morgan & Overton Counties
Charles Curtiss District 43 Grundy, Warren & White Counties
Steve Glaser District 44 Sumner County
Scott Price District 47 Coffee & Warren Counties
“My campaign is about bringing the community and parents back into the classroom.” Luke Dickerson Bo Mitchell District 50 Davidson County
Mike Turner District 51 Davidson County
Mike Stewart District 52 Davidson County
Jason Powerll District 53 Davidson County
Brenda Gilmore District 54 Davidson County
(teach, May 2012)
Go v pr . Bi op ll cla os Ha e s th ss si s to lam an ze in po 5 s, cr s ,0 c e an itio 00 ut m ase d e ns te o st li in ac re a m h sc te’s ina K-8 ing he m te al du in th on le im e e, . um Sp sa la Te ea ry nn ki n As es g so se to Sp cia e P th e sa ake tion ress e ys r R , S by he on en a di teac was Ram te ss h u s fro uad ers nm ey ’ o in m a e la ef fo ved cr sc wm r cu eas he a ts t t e m k o te mo cla e t ers ac re ss o hi th s ng a ize po n 5 an sit ,00 d io 0 Af ns di ter . s m tr ic teac o ts un der , pahers i a , Ha f ied te larent sch s o s w ra lam aga ma and ol ise ’s in ke wi c sc st G rs t la h sa hdr ss s em ov. ys aw iz e t in he s es o 20 ’ll his , H 13 re p as . -in lan lam tro , b T du ut th akin ce a g it in t no th t h fo e p c h e r m os il te i to dre ach al t tion r n i a t th eac is n ng o ini e S h e f ng Co en in ces T s m HB mi ate enn ar y t E e a b 305 tee duc sse a a e 9 at ill th /SB ppr tion , ta a 2 ov un cke t f 29 es la d pr ermd an gra 8, o d n is fess ined tly re io e st fer na du u r l c co dy” ed t s. T ati ns fo o he on id r f “su bi er ut m ll at ur m io e e r n. Ma on ke ea Elec you r t r 17 ly b ion voic an etw Da e h d ee y, ea No n or rd ve Oc vo m to te be b r 1 er .
Mike Williams District 49 Rutherford County
January 10, 2012
February 9, 2012
February 15, 2012
March 14, 2012
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November 6, 2012 www.teateachers.org
Election 2012 Vote for These Friends of Public Education Tennessee House of Representatives, Part 2 “After the 2011-12 legislative sessions, I didn’t feel that our elected officials represented the interests of teachers in our area... I would like to take a real teacher’s perspective on education reform to the state House.” Scott Price (teach, May 2012)
Gary Odom District 55 Davidson County
Harold Love, Jr. District 58 Davidson County
Sherry Jones District 59 Davidson County
Darren Jernigan District 60 Davidson County
TEA Member Brian Brewer District 64 Maury County
Johnny Shaw District 80 Hardeman & Madison Counties
Joe Pitts District 67 Montgomery County
David Shepard District 69 Dickson, Hickman & Maury Counties
Craig Fitzhugh District 82 Crockett, Haywood & Lauderdale Counties
Tommy Hill District 81 Tipton County
Calvin Moore District 70 Giles & Lawrence Counties
Joe Towns, Jr. District 84 Shelby County
John Tidwell District 74 Houston, Humphreys & Montgomery Counties
Steve Wright District 75 Benton, Henry & Stewart Counties
Mark Maddox District 76 Carroll, Obion & Weakley Counties
Mark Oakes District 77 Dyer, Lake & Obion Counties
“I believe that a locally controlled, quality education is the strength of thriving communities. That kind of education is basic to a workforce that will attract high-wage jobs.” Mark Maddox (repmarkmaddox.com, October 2012)
TEA Member Johnnie Turner District 85 Shelby County
Barbara Cooper District 86 Shelby County
Karen Camper District 87 Shelby County
Larry Miller District 88 Shelby County
John DeBerry, Jr. District 90 Shelby County
Lois DeBerry District 91 Shelby County
“We need to give struggling students more after-school support. This is where I want to see our state spend more money, not on evaluation and testing. We have enough of that already.” Luke Dickerson (teach, May 2012) 8 October 2012
G.A. Hardaway District 93 Shelby County
Jim Coley District 97 Shelby County
Antonio Parkinson District 98 Shelby County
Ron Lollar District 99 Shelby County
9 www.teateachers.org
10 October 2012
Edventurists Attack, continued from page 3 John Eason. While I’ve been retired for more than a decade and haven’t kept up with APS, a quick online search indicates that APS evolved into Beacon Education Management and has managed charter schools in a half-dozen states, plus the District of Columbia. I notice that DeLoache and Eason are back in local news. With new friends in high places, they have organized a pro-charter political action committee named “Great Public Schools.” It is attracting both in-state and out-of-state contributions. DeLoache—a cousin of Anne Davis, wife of Nashville Mayor Karl Dean—serves as an education adviser to the mayor. DeLoache is a trustee of a Davis family foundation, a source of funding for Mayor Dean’s charter “incubator,” which aims to hatch new charter schools. DeLoache is also a resource for Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, according to The (Nashville) City Paper. Through the state public records act, the newspaper obtained an exchange of emails between DeLoache and Huffman. These emails indicate that DeLoach is urging Huffman to convince Gov. Bill Haslam to support legislation that would give the state full reins in authorizing charter schools, thereby bypassing local school boards. Eason, who served as president of Beacon, is a board member of the Tennessee Charter Schools Association (TCSA), a lobbying group with immense clout with legislative leaders. TCSA successfully lobbied two major bills through the last legislative session. One gives the State Board of Education the authority to override local school boards that reject charter applications. The other—known as “the parent trigger law,” a product of the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council—allows a charter operator to take over a public school if 60 percent of the parents can be persuaded to sign a petition urging such a takeover. TCSA and Mayor Dean recently hosted an invitation-only audience in Nashville for the showing of a fictionalized, highly propagandized movie, “Won’t Back Down,” promoting “the parent trigger law.” Billionaire capitalist Philip Anschutz financed the movie’s production. With tentacles springing from the 1997 conference, edventurists new and old continue with their master plan of taking over public schools and privatizing the teaching profession. In the meantime, teachers and education support professionals have precious little time to focus on the big picture because they are so burdened with high-stakes testing, evaluations and the absence of collective bargaining. Unless we can begin to turn the tide by electing pro-public education politicians in November, the privatization train will continue gaining momentum. And if massive dropout rates at America’s for-profit universities (coupled with egregiously excessive compensation packages of their CEOs) are any indication, you won’t need a complex formula to predict what will happen with Tennessee’s students. Gene Bryant is a former editor of TEA News.
'Won’t Back Down’ Doesn’t Stand Up to Criticism Fictional account picks up where “Waiting for Superman” left off Chances are, by the end of October you have heard plenty about “Won’t Back Down,” a full-length feature film financed by the school privatization movement whose goal this time is to promote so-called parent-trigger laws. In order to spare you the disappointment, we’ve compiled some reviews of the film below. The Hollywood Reporter: “Pedestrian & insultingly tendentious... condescending... dumbed-down agenda film… Given the disingenuous way in which this lumbering movie pushes obvious buttons and manipulates the audience’s emotional investment while conveniently skimming the issues, it’s a mystery how some of these names got roped in.” Associated Press: “’Won’t Back Down’ fails to make the grade… Theaters should install glow-in-the-dark versions of those old clunking classroom clocks so viewers can count the agonizing minutes ticking by as they watch the movie.” NPR: “Something less honorable...propaganda piece with blame on its mind.” Salon: “ …the movie is unbelievable crap and the whole project was financed by conservative Christian billionaire Phil Anschutz, also the moneybags behind the documentary “Waiting for ‘Superman,’” …“simpering, pseudo-inspirational pap, constructed with painful awkwardness and disconnected from any narrative plausibility or social reality... script that has that disconnected, amateurish quality distinctive to conservative-oriented entertainment and plays written by fourth-graders…. a set of right-wing anti-union talking points disguised (with very limited success) as a mainstream motion-picture-type product. Someone needs to launch an investigation into what combination of crimes, dares, alcoholic binges and lapses in judgment got Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal into this movie…” Variety: “Disingenuous pot-stirrer... taking public for dummies... cardboard characterizations.” New York Observer: “This is Norma Rae with chalk and erasers in place of a sewing machine, except for one major difference—this time it’s the unions that stand in the way of progress. With that in mind, it’s little surprise that political conservatives at the press screening I attended booed loudly... For the most part, the direction by Daniel Barnz is clear and substantial, and the screenplay, by the director and Brin Hill, is meticulously researched and stumble-free. As a message picture, its heart is in the right place. Too bad it doesn’t always manage to rise above a swirl of predictable Hollywood clichés.” Edutopia: “The bottom line is that, while any filmmaker has the absolute right to present his or her point of view, this emotionally manipulative and dramatically effective film is a piece of propaganda that further polarizes parents and educators, distorts educational issues, and presents simplistic, misguided solutions. It doesn’t help solve our educational problems; it magnifies them. “
11 www.teateachers.org
Kim Smith Taylor (left) of Clarksville-Montgomery Co. EA and Sen. Tim Barnes (second from left) talk to supporters and campaign volunteers in early October.
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: (423)262-8053; Assns: Carter, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan.
District 2 — Jennifer Gaby, P.O. Box 70, Afton, TN
“We Monitor and Adjust”
Running a campaign is not much different from teaching
37616; (423)234-0700, fax: (423)234-0708; Assns: Cocke, Greene, Unicoi, Washington, Johnson City. District 3 — Tina Parlier, P.O. Box 74, Corryton, TN 37721; (865)688-1175, fax: (865)688-5188; Assns: Claiborne, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Sevier, Union. District 4 — Jon White, Knox County Education Association, 2411 Magnolia Ave., Knoxville, TN 37917-8289; (865)5229793, fax: (865)522-9866; Assns: Knox, TSD. District
5— Jason White, P.O. Box 5502, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; (615)521-1333, fax: (865)200-5254; Assns: Anderson,
“When you are a politically active person, it’s hard to For a full-time teacher, managing a state senator’s re-election understand why people aren’t keeping up with politics, which is campaign is just another project she has to monitor and adjust. why going door-to-door is important,” Smith Taylor says. “That Kim Smith Taylor, member of Clarksville-Montgomery County face-to-face contact, if you get that person to commit, they EA and ELL teacher at Northeast Middle School, never saw herself are likely to go and vote. Talking to your friends and neighbors as a campaign manager until her dissatisfaction with the political — that’s what turns out the vote more than mailers and phone status quo caused her to reconsider. banking, even though they are important.” It was 2008, and Tim Barnes was weighing a run against an In her 14th year of teaching, Smith Taylor is willing to stay up incumbent candidate who had considerable name recognition. late and do what needs to be done for her profession—and she’s “I saw Tim as a viable candidate, and we wanted somebody we quick to encourage her colleagues to do the same. could trust,” Smith Taylor says. “I wanted a senator who would “If we’re not willing to stand up for the students in our be honest, someone who would tell you the truth even if it’s classroom and ourselves, who is going to stand something you wouldn’t want to hear.” up for us?” she says. “It’s in our best interest That’s when Smith Taylor approached “It’s no longer Republican to make sure that our vote counts and we Barnes and encouraged him to run. “If you do,” vs. Democrat. It’s whether have to make sure it’s counted in November. If she told him, “I’ll be your campaign manager.” your candidate is friendly we stick together, if we’re united, that’s a lot of During the 2008 race, Smith Taylor and her votes. We will make a difference.” team spent plenty of time on name recognition, to our profession.” Smith Taylor is convinced that politics is so now they have more time to promote and not about parties anymore. “We have to think educate the electorate about Barnes’ proabout what happened to the education profession after the teacher voting record. 2010 election,” she says. “If we want to protect the students in As someone who supported teachers and voted in the best our classroom, we are going to have to focus on the candidates interest of public education in Tennessee, Barnes is eager to who are public-education friendly. In my opinion, if your home show teachers that he will continue to fight for them in the next economic situation is good, everything else will fall into place.” General Assembly. Smith Taylor is convinced that politics play a vital role in That’s why Smith Taylor and her team of interns and volunteers attaining personal and professional success. are focused on going door-to-door, sharing with people what’s at “We have to move beyond party affiliation,” she says. “It’s no stake in the upcoming election. One day in early October, some 25 labor supporters and CMCEA longer Republican vs. Democrat. It’s whether your candidate is friendly to our profession and understands what’s at stake when it members came out to canvas neighborhoods in support of Sen. comes to the future of our state.” Barnes, knocking on 1,750 doors.
Campbell, Blount, Morgan, Scott. District 6 — Jim
Jordan, P.O. Box 4878, Cleveland, TN 37320; phone/fax: (423)472-3315; Assns: Rhea, Roane, Meigs, McMinn, Monroe, Loudon, Bradley, Polk. District 7 — Theresa
Turner, 4655 Shallowford Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37411; (423)485-9535, fax: (423)485-9512; Assns: Hamilton County. District 8 — Jeff Garrett, P.O. Box 1202, Lebanon, TN 37088; (615)630-2605, fax: (855)320-8755; Assns: Coffee, Cannon, Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Manchester City, Marion, Sequatchie, Tullahoma City, Van Buren, White, Warren. District 9 — Shannon Bain, 1001 Rhett Place, Lebanon, TN 37087; phone: (615)5477769, fax: (855)715-0824; Assns: Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Trousdale. District 10 — Jackie Pope, 2326 Valley Grove Dr., Murfreesboro, TN 37128; (615) 898-1060, fax: (615) 898-1099; Assns: Bedford, Marshall, Moore, Williamson. District 11 — Susan Young, P.O. Box 422, Madison, TN 37116-0422; phone: (615)8659700, fax: (615)865-9701; Assns: Rutherford, Sumner.
District 12 — Cheryl Richardson-Bradley, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201; (615)630-2601, fax: (888)519-4879; Assns: Cheatham, Dickson, Hickman, Wilson. District 13 — Forestine Cole, Ralph Smith, Metro Nashville, 531 Fairground Court, Nashville, TN 37211; (615)726-1499, fax: (615)726-2501; Assns: Metro Nashville. District 14 — Rhonda Thompson, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201; phone: (615)242-8392, ext. 321, fax: (615)259-4581; Assns: Clarksville-Montgomery, Robertson. District 15 — Miley Durham, P.O. Box 10, Lawrenceburg, TN 38464; phone: (931)766-7874, fax: (913)762-9391; Assns: Giles, Lawrence, Lincoln, Hardin, Lewis, Maury, Wayne.
District 16 — Maria Uffelman, P.O. Box 99, Cumberland City, TN 37050; phone: (931)827-3333, fax: (931)8273330; Assns: Benton, Carroll (West Carroll) Central, Henry, Stewart, Weakley, FTA, S.S.D. Decatur, Houston, Humphreys, Perry. District 17 — Lorrie Butler, P.O. Box 387, Henderson, TN 38340; (731)989-4860, fax: (731)989-9254; Assns: Chester, Hardeman, Henderson, Jackson-Madison, McNairy. District 18 — Karla Carpenter, P.O. Box 177, Brunswick, TN 38014; (901)5902543, fax: (901)382-1433; Assns: Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion, Tipton. District 19 — Zandra Foster, 3897 Homewood Cove, Memphis, TN 38128; (901)377-9472, fax: (855)320-8737; Assns: Fayette, Shelby. District 20 — Memphis Education
Association — Ken Foster, Executive Director; MEA UniServ Directors: Marilyn Baker, Susanne Jackson, Terri Jones, Tom Marchand, Herman Sawyer, MEA, 126 South Flicker Street, Memphis, TN 38104; (901)454-0966, fax: (901)454-9979; Assn: Memphis.
www.teateachers.org www.nea.org Scan this Quick Response code for UniServ contact information
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October 2012