Charter name ban: Think it through

A parent recently emailed me with concerns about a soon-to-open charter school in Charlotte.  She's considering enrolling her child,  she said,  so she has been asking questions about staffing,  attending board meetings and researching the new director.  Material she found from the two charter schools where that director worked previously led her to doubt whether the new school's board had made a wise hire and accurately represented the director's experience.

I'm not including specifics because I haven't had time to verify this information.  But my first step was obvious:  Email the two N.C. charter schools where the director worked and ask for details of her work history,  including her titles, dates of employment and whether she resigned or was dismissed.

Under a charter bill passed by the state Senate on June 17,  that information would be indisputably a matter of public record.

Under the amended version the House passed last week,  that's far less clear.

Jeter

There's no indication that Rep. Charles Jeter,  the Mecklenburg Republican and charter school parent who introduced the amendment,  and the 64 other House members who voted for the amendment want to block parents and reporters from getting this kind of information.  Instead,  Jeter said he wants to stop newspapers from requesting and publishing names and salaries of charter school administrators,  teachers and other staff,  as the Observer and at least one other N.C. newspaper have done recently.

But the amendment doesn't limit itself to certain types of requests or certain categories of employees.  It simply says that names of charter school employees  "shall not be open to inspection,"  apparently putting names into the same category of confidentiality as job evaluations.

I asked public records and personnel experts at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government how this might play out.

"It appears to prohibit the release of the name of an employee,  presumably for any purpose. That seems to be a broader limitation than what might have been intended,"  said Professor and Associate Dean Freyda Bluestein,  after reading the amendment and consulting with a colleague.

Most charter schools name their administrators on their web sites,  and some name their full faculty.  Employees often make presentations or are included in announcements at charter school board meetings,  which are public and whose minutes become public records.  Would this kind of disclosure be forbidden?

"It seems to me that it might prohibit the release of the name for any purpose, as I mention in my email,"  Bluestein responded.

The bill that passed the Senate on three readings and the House on the first two puts charter school employees under the same personnel privacy protections and disclosure requirements as other public schools.  That spells out 11 personnel items that must be made public for each employee,  including name, employment date, terms of contract, current position, salary  (including benefits,  incentives and bonuses) and information about promotions, demotions, transfers and disciplinary actions.

The amended version that passed the House on third reading removes names from that list.

That creates another puzzler:  If someone  --  whether a journalist,  parent or prospective employer   --  requests the public information for an individual employee by name,  can the school release it?  And if so,  are they required to do so?

"I suppose technically,  if you somehow had the list of names already and asked for their salaries, (or any other type of information that is public under that statute),  they might be required to provide the salaries and other information since this would not involve the school actually making the names open to inspection (since they were provided in the request),"  said Bluestein.  "I'm not sure exactly how this would work as a practical matter,  if enacted."

Bear in mind that this legislation came about because of confusion about what the law requires.  Even charter leaders who said they thought public disclosure was appropriate hesitated to release information in the face of mixed messages from state staff.  If something as basic as publicly naming the director of your school is potentially breaking the law,  I predict some of the public money going to charter schools is going to be spent on legal advice.

Here's hoping that as the Senate and House reconcile the two versions of the bill,  they think this through carefully.

Once banned for life, 'mooner' now covers CMS

WFAE news intern Nick de la Canal grinned as he introduced himself at this week's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools news conference.  He could see me struggling to place the name.

"You wrote an article about me a few years ago," he said.

de la Canal

Ah yes  --  the Myers Park mooner!  When he graduated from Myers Park High in 2011,  de la Canal rigged his pants and gown with velcro,  staged a stumble and gave the crowd a view of his polka-dot boxer shorts.  That stunt wouldn't have merited an Observer story,  but the chief of CMS police decided to  "send a message"  by notifying the newly minted graduate he could never again set foot on CMS property.  De la Canal appealed and the ban was reduced to one year.

In my article,  I noted that de la Canal had clashed with school administrators when he penned a musical spoof of the school modeled on  "Charlotte Squawks."  The following week de la Canal was recognized as a celebrity guest at Squawks.  He met Mike Collins,  co-creator of the musical revue and host of WFAE's  "Charlotte Talks."  He was later interviewed by WFAE reporter Scott Graf and met others at the station.

De la Canal went to Emerson College in Boston to major in journalism,  and last summer he landed an internship with WFAE.  This year he's back doing on-air work on topics such as the Read to Achieve program,  which is what brought him to Tuesday's news conference at Hidden Valley Elementary.

"In a way, dropping trou at graduation was the best career move I've made yet. Can't recommend it enough for aspiring young professionals,"  said de la Canal,  in an email agreeing to let me write about what he dubbed  "my boxers-to-briefcase story."

That sense of humor will serve de la Canal well in journalism,  a field notoriously populated with smart-alecks.  But his WFAE bio indicates he's been doing serious work as well,  winning awards for his coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings.

I resisted the temptation to introduce de la Canal to Heath Morrison,  who arrived in 2012,  and fill the superintendent in on his story.  But I'll venture a guess that most folks in CMS aren't sorry to see this alum allowed back on his home turf.

Salaries and opportunities: A wrap-up

When I reported on Superintendent Heath Morrison's new administrative appointments Tuesday night,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools didn't have salary information available for the new jobs in central administration.

They are:  $160,000 a year for Chief Academic Officer Brian Schultz;  $126,900 for Akeshia Craven-Howell,  assistant superintendent of school options,  innovation and design;  and $111,000 for Michele Mason,  executive director of leadership.  They join two new zone superintendents Morrison added earlier this month,  as he revamps administration to provide better support for schools.

Following up on Wednesday's post about Opportunity Culture in Project LIFT,  the consultants from Public Impact who are leading that effort sent me a link to their own blog projecting the benefits for 31 schools around the nation that piloted Opportunity Culture jobs last year.  That would include the four in CMS' Project LIFT.

You might wonder how these numbers can be so striking  --  for instance,  $290,000 to $900,000 per teacher in additional lifetime pay  --   when Project LIFT Zone Superintendent Denise Watts says the jobs are changing and evolving so much that it's hard to nail down local specifics.  The Public Impact report takes 2013-14 data and extrapolates on the assumption that all schools  "implement their models fully over three years."  Watts' report indicates it may be tough to forecast what will happen in those three years.  After Tuesday night's meeting, she checked on the status of the 19 who took opportunity culture jobs last year. Ten will continue in those jobs,  five will be in different opportunity culture jobs,  three lost those jobs when their schools redesigned the plans and one retired.

Stam

Finally,  the bill that would clarify beyond question that charter school salaries are subject to public disclosure is supposed to get a final House vote today.  Who would have guessed it would generate a report on incest and pedophilia from Rep. Paul Stam?

Meanwhile,  the two Charlotte holdouts to the Observer's salary request have said they'll provide the information.  Sugar Creek has already sent their full list and Lincoln Charter's director says that school's is coming soon.  We'll update the charter school database as soon as Lincoln's information arrives.  I asked both school leaders how much they paid lawyer Richard Vinroot to fight disclosure;  both said they have yet to receive the bill.

Update:  Salaries for nine districts surrounding Mecklenburg County went online today.  Thanks to database reporter Gavin Off for rounding up that information.

Opportunity Culture still evolving in Project LIFT

Opportunity Culture jobs may be the hot thing for Gov. Pat McCrory and the N.C. House, but in the Project LIFT schools that pioneered them they're still a work in progress.

Zone Superintendent Denise Watts talked about the quest to create higher paying jobs for great classroom teachers as part of a Project LIFT update to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board Tuesday.  A couple of things are clear,  she said during the presentation and in a conversation afterward:  The jobs continue to attract a lot of interest,  and they can be effective in retaining the best teachers.

Watts

Watts said her office got 800 applications for a small number of jobs at five schools in 2014-15.  It was interesting to see how those numbers broke down,  though:  140 of them passed an initial screening and 65  "elite candidates"  got through three interviews and a data review.  So far 27 have been hired,  her report said,  joining nine who remain from 2013-14.

So how many does that leave still to hire?  Well,  that's where things get murky.  Watts said everything from enrollment projections for her nine schools to the General Assembly's decision on teacher assistants will shape the number of jobs available.  Why assistants?  Because some schools have used assistant positions to bolster pay for teachers taking on extra duties,  so if the legislature eliminates those posts it could become more difficult to make the new jobs work.

Bertrand

When I asked about the teachers who took on the first jobs in 2013-14,  coaching colleagues and/or using technology to reach more students,  Watts hesitated again.  Even during that first year,  she said,  some principals redefined jobs.  And some teachers sought changes.  Watts cited the example of Ranson Middle School math teacher Romain Bertrand,  who took on the responsibility for supervising math instruction in two grade levels,  with about 800 students.  She said he asked to cut back to one grade level in 2014-15,  even though it means a pay reduction,  in hopes of being more effective.

The ultimate question  --  Did those teachers boost student success?  --  has yet to be analyzed.  But Watts said that while the opportunity culture approach may not be proven yet,  the change doesn't mean it's failing.  In fact,  she urged West Charlotte to create some opportunity culture jobs for the coming year in hopes of keeping some academic standouts who were being recruited elsewhere.

The Project LIFT schools will join with 17 more CMS schools in continuing to work on the system next year.  Cabarrus County schools has also signed on with the Public Impact,  the Chapel Hill firm leading the national experiment,  to launch the opportunity culture in 10 schools next year.

And if plans in the governor's and House budgets prevail,  more counties will get state money to start their own pilots over the next couple of years.

Watts said she thinks the additional ventures would be a good thing:  "I don't think it will be a perfected model until we do it a few times."

Study: Get more creative in recruiting principals

Urban school districts aren't doing enough to recruit and pay great school leaders,  according to a new study by the Thomas Fordham Institute titled  "Lacking Leaders:  The Challenges of Principal Recruitment,  Selection and Placement."

The DC-based education research and advocacy group  (funded by the usual list of reform philanthropies) studied five urban districts that have been working to improve their principal processes.  I was guessing Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools might be among them,  especially since the institute teamed up with Public Impact of Chapel Hill, which has worked with CMS.  But the descriptions of districts,  which are given pseudonyms such as Reformville and Urbanopolis as part of an anonymity agreement to ensure candor,  don't match.

Still,  the issues loom large here as the summer leadership churn cranks up.  "Leaders must deal with everything from overstretched budgets to mediocre teachers to unruly (and potentially dangerous) students, not to mention heavy pressure to boost academic results (without, of course, 'teaching to the test,' much less engaging in even more dubious practices),"  the report says.  They get little autonomy,  often make little more than classroom teachers and face grueling accountability demands,  it continues.

The researchers conclude that the five districts,  which they describe as pioneers,  are too quick hire from within,  rather than making an energetic and systemic search for the best candidates from other districts and sectors.  Some officials told researchers they'd had limited success with finding outsiders who understand the local culture and stick around,  while others said tapping outsiders over assistant principals in the district hurts morale.

The Fordham Institute and the Broad Foundation issued a 2003  "manifesto"  urging districts to look for noneducators with strong leadership skills.  The latest report also pushes the idea that a strong corporate leader could make a great principal,  so long as there's an instructional expert on the administrative team.

"We acknowledge that private firms do not face the same licensure constraints as school districts, so cross-sector recruitment in public education is apt to be harder" than in corporate hiring,  the report says. "But policymakers could change those licensure rules. And the takeaway is the same: great leaders can succeed across sectors."

I don't think I've seen CMS recruit a principal from outside education,  and the district had some setbacks with a couple of HR directors hired from corporate America.  Superintendent Heath Morrision does seems to be searching outside CMS for principals:  A scan of announcements this spring and summer shows seven from within CMS,  three from adjacent districts and one from Tennessee.

The report also calls for compensation that's more in line with corporate pay,  turning principalships into  "phenomenal job opportunities."

"Districts should also see the principal’s job as the year-round position that it is and treat  —  and 
compensate  —  it more like the executive role that it’s become,"  the report says.  "Too costly, you say? Think of it this way: the United States employs roughly 100,000 principals. If we gave each of them a $100,000 raise, the total price tag would amount to $10 billion—obviously not chump change. But that’s less than 2 percent of the K–12 public school budget—and $5 billion less than the total new cost estimated to fund President Obama’s pre-K plan."

Update: The Wallace Foundation,  which has been working with CMS on its  "principal pipeline"  since 2011,  announced today that it will provide additional money to support principal supervisors in hopes of developing a larger corps of strong principals.

Common Core roots are tangled and fascinating

As North Carolina cannonballs into the political battle over Common Core standards,  I came across two in-depth pieces that helped me understand the roots of the current conflict.

Retired teacher Lou Nachman steered me to a recent Washington Post article on  "How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution."

Gates

Reporter Lyndsey Layton chronicles how the Microsoft founder's billions pushed the quest for academic standards from obscure wonk talk to a national craze in just a couple of years,  "one of the swiftest and most remarkable shifts in education policy in U.S. history."

Layton outlines how Gates money brought together state leaders and groups on the right  (such as the American Legislative Exchange Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) and left  (teachers unions and the Center for American Progress) to find common ground on Common Core.

Hunt

 There's a fascinating section on the role of The Hunt Institute,  founded by former Democratic N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt and affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill.  According to the article,  the Hunt Institute got $5 million in Gates money in 2009,  "more than 10 times the size of its next largest donation,"  and used that money to coordinate more than a dozen organizations,  convene weekly conference calls and hire a strategist to create  a  “messaging tool kit that included sample letters to the editor (and) op-ed pieces that could be tailored to individuals depending on whether they were teachers, parents, business executives or civil rights leaders."

Last week's mail also brought the Southern Poverty Law Center's  "Public Schools in the Crosshairs:  Far-Right Propaganda and the Common Core Standards." It also goes deep on the origins of Common Core,  as well as the various sources of opposition that have emerged.

Image from SPLC report

To state the obvious: SPLC,  an Alabama-based civil rights group,  has a strong point of view.  But you don't have to agree with those views, or the premise that some Common Core critics are striving to undermine public education and turn the system over to for-profit interests, to learn something from the 36-page report. It itemizes a number of concerns the group considers valid,  including the influence of the Gates Foundation and testing companies and the link between Common Core and a "toxic testing culture."

The report attempts to track the basis of claims that some might dismiss as  "the rantings of extremists"  --  that Common Core promotes socialism,  anti-Americanism and homosexuality,  for instance,  and is anti-Christian.  It notes that the standards specify only one set of required readings,  for high school students:  The Declaration of Independence,  the preamble to the Constitution,  the Bill of Rights and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.  Most of the objections are based on selections from "exemplar texts,"  or suggested readings,  the SPLC report says. 

No matter your views,  if you care about education and take the time to get through these two pieces,  you're almost sure to come away with more perspective on the debate  --  and to find something that'll make you crazy. 

Study: Teacher prep weak but improving

Teacher prep programs at UNC Chapel Hill,  UNC Wilmington and Elon University earned high marks in a new national study by the National Council on Teacher Quality,  but the group says most universities in North Carolina and the nation have a long way to go.

"Far more needs to be done to expand the pool of teachers properly prepared to meet the challenges of the contemporary American classroom," the report says.  "Still, an upsurge in quality has begun. It is good news indeed to be able to report some movement, however spotty, given the many attempts to improve teacher preparation that never even got off the ground."

The council rated more than 1,600 teacher prep programs on selectivity,  student teaching programs and instruction in early reading,  classroom management and content.  N.C. schools outperformed the national average on selectivity but fell short on most other measures  (read the state report here).

UNC Chapel Hill got the state's best rating,  ranked 17th in the nation for its graduate program in secondary education.  Elon's undergraduate elementary education program ranked 22nd,  and UNC Wilmington's graduate program in secondary education was 37th.

Just across the state line,  South Carolina's Winthrop University was ranked 27th in the nation for undergraduate elementary and 147th for graduate secondary.

Other schools in the Charlotte area didn't fare as well.  UNC Charlotte was ranked No. 101 for graduate elementary, 221 for graduate secondary and 260 for undergraduate elementary.  Queens University's graduate program landed in the bottom half,  which meant it didn't receive a rank.  Belmont Abbey College,  Wingate University and Pfeiffer University are listed as not having provided the requested information.

Morrison

The council is a reform advocacy group funded by Gates,  Broad,  Carnegie,  Walton and most of the other big names in education philanthropy (including the Charlotte-based Belk Foundation).  N.C. Superintendent June Atkinson,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Heath Morrison and former CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman,  now an executive with the private ed-tech firm Amplify,  are listed as supporters of the N.C. report.

This year's report also rates a sampling of alternative certification programs.  "Alternative certification programs provide on-the-job training to teacher candidates. Candidates are placed in internship before obtaining initial certification and serve as teachers of record who are fully responsible for the students in their classrooms,"  the report says.  The results,  it concludes,  were "even weaker than for traditional programs.  NCTQ found their admissions standards to be too low,  efforts to assess subject matter knowledge inadequate,  and too little training or support provided to candidates who are asked to hit the ground running in the classroom."

Gorman

Teach For America is probably the best known of these programs,  but North Carolina's TFA wasn't among the sample rated. TFA in Massachusetts was the only alternative provider to earn high marks from the council,  while other TFA's sampled landed low ratings  --  along with South Carolina's PACE program and four Regional Alternative Licensing Centers in North Carolina.

The council hopes the rankings will be used by prospective students choosing schools, districts crafting recruitment strategies and government policymakers setting standards. Its conclusions are harsh on both the  "bloated"  traditional university approach and the alternatives that have popped up.

"In our view, the only reason not to pull the plug on the experiment of alternative certification is that traditional teacher preparation continues to have persistent flaws,"  the report concludes.  "Were traditional preparation to add the value that it should,  teachers produced by alternate routes would never be competitive for jobs anywhere.  As long as traditional teacher preparation continues to be so generally substandard,  we recognize the need for,  indeed the value of,  limited, well-regulated alternative certification programs whose outcomes are monitored and made public."