Below you will find a joint CFT/CTA Press Release on the start of the Vergara lawsuit against due process rights for teachers (which the plaintiffs erroneously refer to as tenure).
Below that is a column written by Mario Banuelos for the Morgan Hill Times, which they declined to print. (In fact, we at MHFT have also submitted items to the Times, including simple letters to the editor, which they have neither printed nor even acknowledged receiving.)
And below that is an important announcement from State Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlaksen about this year’s standardized testing.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Teachers, State Begin Case Against Vergara Plaintiffs’ Baseless Attack on California Laws that Serve Students, Educators and Communities
LOS ANGELES — On Wednesday the State of California and intervening parties—the California Federation of Teachers and the California Teachers Association—will begin presenting their side of the Vergara v. State of California lawsuit. The suit, if successful, will hurt students by eliminating educators' employment rights. The State and educators will call expert witnesses whose testimony will show that the plaintiffs’ arguments are deeply flawed and that the laws they are challenging do not harm students, and in fact serve legitimate purposes that make for a better public school system.
"Over the next few weeks our witnesses will show something very simple,” said California Federation of Teachers President Joshua Pechthalt. “Abolishing workplace protections for teachers—protections that teachers need to advocate for their students—does nothing but harm to students. Teachers need due process rights and adequate resources to do the job properly. Everything else proposed by the other side in this ideology-driven lawsuit is a distraction from what it takes to foster quality teaching and learning environments in public schools.”
California Teachers Association President Dean E. Vogel agrees.
“This blatant attempt to legislate from the bench has resulted in nothing but public and political grandstanding on the backs of our students and educators. Those who truly care about the kids we teach must be involved in serious conversations with all the stakeholders who work hard every day to make our neighborhood schools so vital to our students. We need to talk more about the real trials that our students face from poverty, a lack of state funding, and overcrowded classrooms.”
Among witnesses expected to testify this week are Robert Fraisse, a former school superintendent who will testify to the effectiveness of the challenged laws, and to the chaos and harm upending them would cause to students and schools. Also testifying will be teachers Cynthia Acerno, Vicki Decker, and Christine McClaughlin, a respected teacher with multiple honors, including 2013 Pasadena Teacher of the Year, whom Vergara plaintiffs have oddly named as “ineffective” and cite as one reason for stripping all California teachers of basic rights. Dr. Jesse Rothstein, an economist from University of California at Berkeley will discuss his extensive research into the serious problems with using “Value Added” models to make decisions about teacher performance.
More information on the case as well as background can be found here and here.
Subject: Guest column submittal to the Times
Date: 2/4/14 8:55:11 AM
From: mbanuelos@charter.net
Cc: jmitchell@svnewspapers.com
On January 28, I attended the Morgan Hill Unified School District board meeting. Among the items on the agenda were the contract for Steve Betando as Superintendent and the publication of the 2012-2013 School Accountability Report Cards (SARC) for each of the schools in the district.
The SARC report contains data on student performance, aggregated and compared to the state and county levels and disaggregated by sub-groups over a three year period. During the public comment, a speaker highlighted a few data points of standardized test results for English Learners and told the board that these results were unacceptable.
When it came time for board discussion, Trustee Shellé Thomas mentioned that the graduation rates of our high schools exceed county and state averages. A clarification was also made that English Learners, as soon as they demonstrate proficiency on the standardized test, are reclassified and are no longer included in that subgroup. The reclassified subgroup have excellent test scores. Steve Betando shared that 400 English Learners had been reclassified this past year.
When we look at school data, we cannot assume that all Latino students are English Learners, just as we cannot assume that English Learners only speak Spanish at home. A board member asked what percentage of students in the district are Latino. Staff responded that the Latino population hovers around 50%. The follow up question asked what percentage of Latinos are also English Learners and whether there is a duplication in the numbers. Staff responded that yes, for reported test results, students can be in various sub-group data, including English Learners, Latinos, low-income, and others.
The SARC report generated a lively discussion among board members and staff on how we look at, analyze, and interpret data.
When it came time for public comment on the appointment of Steve Betando, several speakers requested that the board listen to their constituents and open up the process by hiring a recruiting firm to find the best possible candidate. One speaker read results from an online Morgan Hill Times poll as the basis for the board to reconsider the appointment.
To better understand the validity of this speaker’s claim and to understand the poll he referred to, we would need more information from the Morgan Hill Times. For example, what are the total numbers of subscribers for the past three years? Of those that subscribe, what percentage reside within the Morgan Hill Unified School District boundaries? Is there a duplication of votes? Is it possible for a single subscriber to vote more than once in the online poll? Is it safe to assume Spanish speaking families don’t subscribe to the paper since it is published in English? How many subscribers access the online version? What percentage of subscribers have access to computers?
Despite the obvious lack of validity of using an online newspaper poll, this was not the first time I’ve heard speakers quote a Morgan Hill Times poll to state their case in support of their position. I was dumbfounded at the Santa Clara County Board of Education’s public hearing on Navigator Prep when founder James Dent showed a PowerPoint slide with the results from a Morgan Hill Times poll supporting his claim that the Morgan Hill community wanted his charter school. He lost credibility by citing unreliable data.
If we were to consider using online polls as valid data, are we assuming the constituents of the school board are limited to the subscribers of the paper? The student population in the district is 8,700. Assuming the national average of two kids per household, that is approximately 4,350 families served by the district. It is ridiculous for someone to address the board and say that Betando should not be offered a contract because 175 online votes are against it. Perhaps the paper should add a disclaimer, “Online polls are for entertainment purposes only.”
When it comes to data on student performance, we like to draw broad conclusions such as “high performing” or “failing.” However, if we are going to use data to improve student outcomes and address deficiencies, we need to disaggregate it, examine the assumptions that contribute to the disparities many of which are social, cultural, economic as well as academic.
If we want to hold our teachers and schools accountable for the performance of all students, it’s only fair we hold our local newspaper accountable for the information it disseminates to its readership that may fuel erroneous claims. The vision of the school district is that, “students will become critical thinkers and problem solvers who can thrive in the challenges of the 21st century.” Adults in our community need to model critical thinking and lead the way.
Mario Banuelos
Release: #14-26
March 7, 2014
State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson, State Board President Kirst Issue Joint Statement on Federal Approval of California Testing Waiver
SACRAMENTO-State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Board of Education President Michael W. Kirst issued the following statement today regarding the federal approval of California's testing waiver External link opens in new window or tab. (PDF).
"We appreciate the Obama Administration's approval of this important request, which will allow far more California students to get a hands-on experience with the new 21st century assessments that will help guide them as they gain the skills they need to succeed in the real world of careers and college.
"Approval of this waiver could not have come at a better time. In little more than a week, some three million students will begin the largest field test of these new assessments of any state in the nation.
"This is an important moment for California. Across the state, there's a new spirit of hope and optimism in our schools as they take on this challenging transformation. There are concerns as well, and there are sure to be challenges as we move ahead. But California has always led the way, and our teachers, administrators, and school employees have always been willing to meet any challenge to help our students succeed.
"Today's action by the Obama Administration represents a welcome vote of confidence in the course we've set toward providing all students the world-class education they need and deserve."
# # # #
Tom Torlakson - State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
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