Teacher pay gets hot-potato toss

I didn't make it to Raleigh for the final meeting of the General Assembly's teacher compensation task force,  but the report is online and it's pretty much as predicted:  This panel is tossing the topic back to legislators and asking them to tap the state Board of Education for another round of study.

The recommendations are broad and fairly obvious:  Focus on a pay system that benefits students,  raise pay for newer teachers as a short-term goal  (a tactic already proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory and GOP leaders) and make across-the-board hikes and  "modernization"  a long-term goal.  Just how long isn't clear,  but a draft proposal suggests giving the state board another year to study teacher compensation,  with a goal of putting something in place in 2016-17.

The report indicates that the task force was intrigued by career-ladder approaches such as that being piloted with Charlotte-Mecklenburg's  "opportunity culture"  program,  and by the IMPACT teacher evaluation model in use in District of Columbia Public Schools.

"There are no examples of state-centered comprehensive compensation models that have positively impacted student achievement and have been sustained,"  the report notes.  "Reform models that emphasizes (sic) local flexibility within evidence-based parameters may be a more promising and sustainable strategy."

The lack of specifics on how to raise salaries and modernize the pay plan drew fire from some of the educators and legislators who served,  the AP's Gary Robertson reports.  "We've heard a lot of presentations and propaganda but there really hasn't been a whole lot of meaningful discussion going forward,"  said Timothy Barnsback, president of the Professional Educators of North Carolina.

Kidd

Judy Kidd, president of the Classroom Teachers Association,  said the task force was  "playing kick the can."

Cotham

"The report could have been written in January, frankly," said Kidd, a CMS high school teacher. She said it may have been naive to think a real plan could be drafted after four meetings, but she said lack of information isn't the real challenge.  "They know what they need to do. They know they need to do it."

State Rep. Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg,  posted a critical synopsis on her Facebook page:  "I called the committee report 'fluff' and argued that many teachers are hurting NOW. Teachers across NC are trying to make ends meet as we speak. I challenged my colleagues to 'put their money where their mouth is' and send the message that we as a state value our teachers, our children, and education."

Wake on suspensions: It could be worse

Wake County Public Schools are under fire for high suspension rates for African American students.  Superintendent James Merrill recently acknowledged that it's an issue that needs dealing with, but at least things aren't as bad as in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Merrill

"Putting things in perspective,  in 2012-13 a similarly sized North Carolina district had 35,800 suspensions when Wake was at less than half that at 15,000,"  Merrill said,  as quoted in a blog post by reporter T. Keung Hui.  As Hui notes,  Merrill didn't name CMS,  but he didn't need to.  Wake and CMS are the only two districts in the same size league,  and as I reported recently,  CMS' numbers are down but still much higher than Wake's.

I've heard that the CMS board will get a detailed report on racial inequities in suspensions and discipline in the near future.  Meanwhile,  read the state report on crime,  violence,  dropout rates and suspensions here.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/14/3782468/wake-county-superintendent-jim.html#storylink=cpy

Still no plan for teacher pay reform

A task force created by the General Assembly last summer to study teacher pay and effectiveness will hold its final meeting in Raleigh today to wrap up a report for state lawmakers.

So will we finally get a look at North Carolina's long-range plan for identifying and rewarding the best educators?

Bryan

Nope.

"It's heavier on goals and principles and thin on specifics,"  said state Rep. Rob Bryan,  a Mecklenburg Republican who co-chairs the task force.  He said the state is still early in the process of working through an issue that has challenged politicians and educators across the country.

Watching North Carolina and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools slog toward pay reform feels a bit like watching  "Groundhog Day,"  without the assurance of a happy ending.  Over and over,  study groups convene and conclude that the issue needs more study.

The big picture is the easy part.  Is it essential to identify the teachers who make the biggest difference for kids?  Absolutely.  Should they be rewarded for excellence?  Of course.  Do N.C. teachers deserve a raise and a better pay system?  Most would say yes.

The stumper is how to identify those teachers,  how to distribute the rewards and above all how to pay for it.  Last summer the state legislature created the much-reviled 25 percent plan as a first step and charged the task force with taking a longer view.

Bryan said his group is interested in getting local districts to create their own pay plans,  perhaps with a state fallback for those that can't or won't.  That's in line with what CMS is seeking as an alternative to the state-mandated four-year contracts and $500-a-year raises for 25 percent of qualified teachers.

But it was just over a year ago that the state invited local districts to submit performance pay plans for consideration.  CMS was initially gung-ho,  appointing  (of course)  a teacher task force and hiring consultants to study the issue.  But ultimately the district missed the deadline and said there was little point creating a detailed plan without state money to make it happen.

What we've seen so far is a series of pilots and experiments that fizzle when the money runs out.  The conclusion is inevitably that the effort needs more study  --  and more money.

Today's meeting will at least bring a new visual device:  College students putting 10-foot ladders outside the legislative building to illustrate the need to  "rebuild the ladder"  to the teaching profession.  Lynn Bonner of the News & Observer wins this week's round of  "identify that advocacy group;"  click here to see what she found out about who's behind Students For Education Reform-North Carolina and who's footing the bills.

Standardized tests: Opt out or buckle down?

As the testing season nears, the debate over the value of those exams is heating up, locally and across the country.

Bryan

On April 21,  a group of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools parents are holding a forum on  "How did testing get so out of control and what can we do about it?"  Sparked by Selwyn Elementary parents concerned about the testing demands imposed by North Carolina's Read to Achieve program,  the event will be from 7-8:30 p.m. at Alexander Graham Middle School,  1800 Runnymede Lane.  Panelists will be UNC Charlotte literacy professor Bruce Taylor,  state Rep. Rob Bryan and Pamela Grundy of Mecklenburg ACTS.

Grundy's group is taking part in the national  "Testing Resistance and Reform Spring" movement,  which encourages parents to opt their students out of exams.  You may have seen the recent opinion piece by Grundy and her husband,  Peter Wong,  about why their seventh-grade son won't take state exams.

"During nearly a decade of experience with high-stakes testing, we have become increasingly appalled at the damage we have seen it do to schools and children,"  they wrote.  "... Elected officials from both parties have failed us.  It is time for parents  –  who have the biggest stake in high-quality public education  –  to just say no."

Michelle Rhee,  former chancellor of Washington, D.C, schools, recently weighed in on the opposite side in the Washington Post.

Rhee

"Opt out of measuring how well our schools are serving students?"  Rhee writes.  "What’s next: Shut down the county health department because we don’t care whether restaurants are clean? Defund the water-quality office because we don’t want to know if what’s streaming out of our kitchen faucets is safe to drink?"

Read more here: http://obsdailyviews.blogspot.com/2014/04/why-our-son-wont-take-eogs.html?showComment=1396400619199#storylink=cpy

N.C. Deputy Superintendent Rebecca Garland recently sent a memo to superintendents reminding them that the state does not allow opt-outs.  Students who refuse to take state exams will receive failing grades,  the memo says,  and those who stay home on testing day will be given a makeup exam when they return.

Push is on to change N.C. grading scale

If a North Carolina high school student scores a 92, it's a high B.  In some other states it would be a low A.

Leaders of some of the state's largest districts,  including Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake,  are urging the state to allow districts to adopt a 10-point scale that they say would help N.C. students compete for spots in good colleges.

"We met with the state superintendent in January and have continued to advocate for this change,"  CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison says.  "It is consistent with most school districts and states across the nation. The current grade scale puts our NC students at a competitive disadvantage with their peers in other states."

The Wake school board's policy committee recently discussed the 10-point scale,  Keung Hui of the News & Observer reports.  The current seven-point scale,  in which 93 to 100 is an A,  85 to 92 is a B and so on,  was locked in to get transcript consistency across the state, he reports.

Under a 10-point scale, 90 to 100 would be an A, 80 to 89 a B, etc.  (I'm not sure if the failing point is universal,  but under this scale recently approved by Henrico County  (Va.)  schools,  a D is 65 to 69 and anything below 65 is failing.)

"Supporters give reasons such as how a 10-point scale might cause more students to get As and Bs and could result in an increase in student self-esteem and confidence,"  Hui writes.  "Critics say a 10-point scale might diminish student motivation to achieve higher standards."

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/02/3750488/wake-county-may-try-to-change.html#storylink=cp

Are charter schools safer?

At Lake Norman Charter School,  where almost 1,600 students in grades 5-12 went to school last year,  the only criminal or violent acts reported in 2012-13 were two cases of weapons other than guns.

At the nearest Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools in Huntersville,  Alexander Middle School had four weapons incidents.  North Mecklenburg High reported eight students caught with drugs,  three with alcohol,  three assaults on school personnel,  one gun,  one other weapon and one assault resulting in serious injury.  Lake Norman's rate was 1.3 incidents per 1,000 students,  according to the state tally released Wednesday,  compared with 4.5 at Alexander and 10.6 at North Meck.

In east Charlotte,  KIPP Charlotte charter school reported one assault on school staff and Sugar Creek Charter reported one sexual assault  (touching private parts against the person's will).  That put Sugar Creek,  which had 858 students in grades K-8,  at 1.2 acts per 1,000 students and the smaller KIPP,  which serves grades 5-8,  at 3 acts per 1,000.  Both charters serve mostly African American students from low-income families.

Sitting right between the two charters is CMS' Martin Luther King Middle School,  with similar demographics.  It reported 11 students caught with alcohol, five with weapons other than guns and four with drugs.  There were three assaults on personnel, two assaults with weapons and one sexual assault,  for a rate of 27.6 acts per 1,000 students.

That pattern plays out over and over when you look at the 2012-13 state crime and violence report.  I calculated an average for 16 charter schools in Mecklenburg or just across county lines.  Half of them  --  Carolina International School, The Community School,  Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy,  Queens Grant,  Crossroads High,  Community School of Davidson,  Socrates Academy and Corvian Community School  -- reported no crime or violence last year.  All totaled, the 16 schools served a total of 11,659 students last year and averaged 1.8 acts per 1,000.

That compares with an average of 9.9 in CMS  (which had 27 of 160 schools with no criminal/violent acts), 5.1 in Cabarrus, 3.5 in Gaston, 7.5 in Iredell-Statesville, 5.8 in Lincoln and 8.2 in Union County.

So what does that mean?  I didn't hear back after leaving messages at Lake Norman and Queens Grant.

The CMS response was skeptical.  "I certainly wouldn't say that charter schools are safer than CMS,"  said Chief Communications Officer Kathryn Block.  "We have to remember that this is self-reporting."  She noted that CMS takes the state mandate seriously,  though  "I can't speak for what other entities may or may not report."

It's possible that some schools underreport.  Several years ago CMS logged remarkably low numbers on this very report.  One of my colleagues delved into police reports and showed that those numbers were far below reality.  CMS acknowledged the flaws and started reporting much higher tallies.

And among supporters of traditional public schools,  there are always rumblings that charters force out troublemakers.  The suspension/expulsion section of the crime/violence report doesn't seem to support that  --  I counted 10 long-term suspensions and two expulsions from the Charlotte-area charters  --  but it's possible that some students are  "counseled out"  and return to district schools.

Still,  this seems to be one of the intriguing questions about what charter schools bring to the mix.  I've heard parents say they opt for charters because they consider them safer and more orderly.  These numbers seem to bolster their belief.

N.C. moving toward online charter schools

The state Board of Education will get a report Wednesday on virtual charter schools, a venture other states have tried with mixed results.

The report suggests that the state legislature clarify rules for charter schools that have no physical location,  and that the state consider starting with a pilot authorizing about three virtual charter schools.  It also suggests a different funding formula than that used for most charter schools. While counties are required to pass along per-pupil funding for those schools,  the report suggests making it optional for online charters.

State education officials,  Public Impact consulting firm and advisers from charter schools, districts,  higher education and homeschoolers crafted the plan,  which will go to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee if the state board approves it.

Virtual education is hardly a new concept,  as the report notes.  The state has already created its own Virtual Public School,  and several districts,  including Charlotte-Mecklenburg,  Iredell-Statesville and Union County,  also offer their own online courses.

"This trend is quickly growing across the state, even attracting homeschoolers in some districts and being used for dropout recovery in others. These locally based digital academies are largely using a
blended model, which provides education both virtually and in-person,"  the report says.

The question is whether North Carolina can ensure quality,  which has been a challenge in states that moved more quickly to let other providers offer online education at public expense.

Providers are eager to jump in.  Connections Academy,  a Baltimore-based virtual school company that is part of Pearson,  is holding meetings around North Carolina this month to drum up support for an eventual online charter program for grades 6-12.