Member Benefits Spotlight: The AFT Union Plus Credit Card!
Tell the Caddo Parish School Board to Approve Permanent Salary Increases for ALL Employees!
Tell the Caddo Parish School Board to Approve Permanent Salary
Increases for ALL Employees
Email your school board member and ask them to vote “YES” on Agenda Item 8.08 – “Permanent Salary Adjustment to Certified and Classified Employees” at the July 15th school board meeting. This Agenda Item was proposed by District 12 Caddo Parish School Board Member Dottie Bell. This agenda item will make permanent the one-time supplement allocated in the 2013-2014 based on the MFP. Read more here!
Don’t forget to show up to the school board meeting! It will be held on Tuesday July 15, 2014 at 4:00 pm.
LFT responds to Gov. Jindal’s PARCC Announcement
LFT responds to Gov. Jindal’s PARCC announcement
(Baton Rouge – June 18, 2014) Sticking to a vow he’s made for weeks. Gov. Bobby Jindal today announced that he has signed an executive order withdrawing Louisiana from the test consortium associated with Common Core State Standards. The governor said that his action also removes Louisiana from participation in the Common Core standards.
Superintendent of Education John White and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Chas Roemer immediately responded with a press release saying that they intend to remain in Common Core and to implement PARCC tests as planned.
The showdown between Jindal on one side and White and Roemer on the other could lead to a dramatic political confrontation, according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan.
“There is no doubt that Common Core and PARCC are toxic because of the political controversy surrounding them,” Monaghan said. “We know that our questions about the Common Core standards, PARCC tests and their implementation were never satisfactorily answered. The governor did what he has been promising to do for weeks. That is the political reality of the situation.
“Meanwhile,” Monaghan said, “teachers and children want to know what the future holds.”
The governor’s order prohibits BESE from spending money on PARCC tests. He said the state’s school board needs to develop new state standards and to take competitive bids for tests that measure those standards.
Louisiana’s participation in Common Core dates back to 2010, Monaghan said, when BESE signed onto the standards as part of an application to receive federal Race to the Top funds. Although the state did was not approved for the funds, the state began to implement Common Core. BESE chose the PARCC test as the instrument to measure student achievement under the standards.
Controversy followed almost immediately. For various reasons, parents, teacher organizations and school systems all questioned the implementation of the standards as well as the origins of the standards themselves.
Problems with the rollout of the standards and test led to a two-year suspension of high-stakes consequences for students, but PARCC testing is scheduled to begin next year for third through eighth grade students.
The LFT has consistently maintained support for high standards, but questioned the implementation of the program in Louisiana. At last November’s LFT convention, delegates adopted a resolution dealing with several aspects of Common Core State Standards and testing. The resolution asked for legislation that would:
- Adopt a three-year hold-harmless transitional period for the implementation of Common Core (On June 10, 2014, the Gates Foundation called for a two year moratorium on linking new tests to high stakes decisions).
- Guarantee appropriate curriculum framework for the implementation of Common Core and its tests.
- Repeal the letter grading system of schools prior to establishing consequences of Common Core implementation.
- Ensure the provision of appropriate technology to administer PARCC, or to provide for alternate means of assessment.
None of the elements of the LFT resolution were adopted by the Legislature.
Today’s announcement by the governor, and the response from BESE, pose big questions for teachers, parents and students in the months ahead. Whatever the eventual outcome, Monaghan said, there must be a sense of clarity in order for public education to function.
“What do teachers want?” Monaghan asked “Clear educational standards, an instrument that accurately and fairly measures student progress, and the resources necessary to meet those goals. Those are the tools that teachers need to do the job they are prepared to do. We hope that teachers and developmental experts will be consulted as new instruments are created under the governor’s orders.”
Mack Evans, RRU Member and Activist, Highlighted in Shreveport Times for Work with LaPrep Summer Program
Mack Evans, Red River United member and activist was featured in a Shreveport Times Article. Evans, who teaches high school and college math, drilled the students in math formulas to prepare them for a rocket launch. The teams calculated the rockets’ height and velocity as part of the exercise. This summer program has 55 participantsthat exposes minority, female and low-income students to math and science.
Read the full article, written by Melody Brumble of The Shreveport Times
Dottie Bell pdf
Past Teacher Tips!
Past Teacher Tips
View Teacher Tip of the Week HERE!
Have a button or nametag that says “Ask Me!” on it.
Then, when students finish early and their work is correct, give them the button or nametag and let them help others!
– Carrie Culpepper, Bellaire Elementary
Build your bulletin board to last.
Every school has its own requirements for bulletin boards. Some principals want them changed every month, some bimonthly, and a few, it seems, want them reworked every week to resemble an exhibit at the Louvre. Whichever it is, you’ll likely need to adhere a background to the bulletin board before you post your students’ work. Instead of using paper as the background, which you’ll have to replace every two to three weeks, find a large piece of fabric. Not only will the fabric look better than paper, it will last for several months, saving you the time and energy you would’ve spent redoing it every few weeks.
~Staff Submission
It’s easy for inclusion students to get ignored in the classroom. Let your inclusion students know up front, before class starts, that they will be answering questions that day, and give the cooperating teacher non-verbal clues when you are getting ready to ask the student a question.
~Josh Lansdale, Inclusion Teacher
As ALL kids…especially the little ones, they get very “antsy” after having to sat still for a specified amount of time. In my classroom we do what is called Brain Breaks. These breaks give students the opportunity to release that “extra” energy. When I want my students to come back and re-group….we do yoga poses, when I want them to really release that extra energy, I’ll go to YouTube and have them do one of the Kids Dance 2 videos. Their favorite is Despicable Me! I even join in with them…they love seeing their teacher get down too! !
– Natasha Whitehorn, Barret Paideia Academy
As the school year is about to end, I make sure my students are still actively engaged in the lessons. As they easily get bored, I make sure I give them multiple opportunities to be successful. From answering worksheets, to small group rotations to computer hands on activities, and recess in the playground, there are a lot of reasons for kids to enjoy the remaining days of the school year.
– Marlyn Pangatungan, Oak Park Microsociety Elementary School
Secretly have parents or teachers write notes of encouragement for the first day (or each day) of testing. Have it on their desk when they walk in. We’ve been doing it for years and our kids’ faces just light up! It’s a great way to start their day!
-Carrie Culpepper, Bellaire Elementary
There are several components under the Managing Classroom procedures listed.
One of the ways I accomplish this is to have two student helpers each week. At the tardy bell, a student helper begins counting 1-60. Students must have their notebooks and are writing bell ringer’s before 60 is reached or their name goes on the board. The student helper then reads the Bell Ringer question and calls on other students for answers. This can lead to student to student discussion ( a 4 in questioning and techniques) At the end of class, the other student helper makes sure tables are quiet, cleaned and this person releases students from class. (a 3 in Managing classroom)
After two weeks of this, it becomes routine and students beg to sign up to be the class starter or releaser. By the time, observation comes around, students know exactly how this works and it is an established procedure.
– Cristi Cantor, Broadmoor Middle School
Before ILeap testing each day, I give my students a “smart pill”. I tell them the “S” on the Skittles stands for “smart”. They love it, and it’s a good ice breaker/motivator.One of the components for a 4 rating on the Danielson model is to have a student led classroom.}
-Sherry Cordero, Shreve Island Elementary
It is getting very close to testing time. Here is a tip for you. Im certain that you all have been given practice test booklets. It might be beneficial to go through the book and visit with the way the questions are worded. To help my 8th grade students, I took both questions from the old Leap and the Common Core Leap practice bookls, placed the questions on one sheet and we reviewed them when necessary. It is important that students clearly understand the jagon of the test and the way that test wirters write. With each question, have students tell YOU what the questios mean to them on their level, Also, have them to circle or underline important vocabulary words that might show on the LEAP from year to year. Later, administer a mock Leap test using the same jargon and vocabulary you pulled from the practice test and see the differnce in their answers and resposes. The mroe they are in tune to the writers of the test, the better they will do. Good Luck.
– Greg Carter, Walnut Hill Elementary/Middle
AFT Convention will focus on Reclaiming the Promise
AFT convention will focus on Reclaiming the
Promise
On July 10, the AFT will host a major community event at All Peoples Community Center in East Los Angeles, focusing on literacy, anti-hunger and health. In partnership with First Book, 10,000 free, new books will be distributed to disadvantaged children and their families, along with bags of groceries. Another set of 5,000 books will be delivered to the Los Angeles Food Bank, while hundreds of books also will be distributed at several other sites around East Los Angeles.
The more than 3,500 convention delegates will discuss and vote on numerous resolutions, such as ensuring accountability for equity and excellence in public education; delinking the implementation of the Common Core standards from the consequences of high-stakes assessments; maintaining due process and tenure; creating a healthcare system that puts patient care above profits; and ending the reliance on a contingent academic labor system in higher education.
AFT President Randi Weingarten will give the keynote address on July 11.
Delegates will hear from various lawmakers, policymakers and political candidates, including California Gov. Jerry Brown; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.); U.S. Rep. Michael Honda (D-Calif.); and Tom Torlakson (California’s superintendent of public instruction). Appearing by video will be first lady Michelle Obama; Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate; and Mary Burke, Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Former President Bill Clinton will appear by video to discuss the AFT’s work with the Clinton Global Initiative on the investment of public pension dollars for infrastructure projects.
In other notable sessions, delegates will hear from community members who have been deeply involved with local AFT affiliates on various issues and campaigns, including actor Cynthia Nixon and her wife, Christine Marinoni, from New York City, parent Helen Gym from Philadelphia, and student Asean Johnson and activist Jitu Brown from Chicago.
All general sessions will be live streamed.
Louisiana Education Officials Propose To Drop National Common Core Text, PARCC, for 2014-15 year
Louisiana education officials propose to drop
national Common Core test, PARCC, for 2014-15
By Danielle Dreilinger, NOLA.com. Originally published in The Times-Picayune, link here.
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and Superintendent John White has seemingly backed down in a high-profile fight with Gov. Bobby Jindal over testing and the new Common Core academic standards. Rather than use a new test next year developed by the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the state could combine some PARCC questions with LEAP questions, White said Thursday.
“We will continue with the LEAP test,” BESE President Chas Roemer said.
“BESE is trying to thread the needle with a compromise,” White said.
But — crucially — White left the door open to the possibility that all the mathematics and English questions would come from the PARCC process — meaning the board might essentially continue with the national test under a different name. There are no PARCC exams for science and social studies.
PARCC spokesman David Connerty-Marin said, “I don’t see any indication they are withdrawing” from the consortium or the commitment to PARCC.
And because the governor would have to lift contract restrictions for the new plan to proceed, today’s announcement might end up being another twist in the path to court.
Although three of BESE’s officers backed the proposal, there has been no vote from the board, which would presumably have to approve any changes.
Jindal has demanded “Louisiana standards and a Louisiana test,” but until Thursday, BESE had held strong to the national consortium exam.
That’s even though the governor unleashed a quiver of administrative arrows, including freezing the testing contract for the coming year, attempting to drop the state’s membership in the PARCC consortium and strictly limiting White’s ability to approve department spending.
In fact, BESE voted this month to continue to pursue PARCC next year even though unions, the Louisiana School Boards Association and three of its own members asked it to do so in order to reduce confusion for school systems that don’t know what tests they will use in the school year that starts next month. And the board voted to hire external counsel to possibly pursue legal action. In the spring, the Legislature passed on several opportunities to drop PARCC or Common Core.
Roemer said it was a one-year, stopgap measure, and that the state would move forward with issuing a request for proposals for new tests starting in 2015. He also repeated the board’s continuing support for Common Core.
Louisiana public school students have been taking the iLEAP and LEAP tests from third through eighth grade in mathematics, English, science and social studies. Last year, the exams were rejiggered to reflect the Common Core academic standards, which lay out what students should be able to accomplish at the end of the year in mathematics and English.
State law requires that next year’s tests use “nationally recognized content standards” and be scored against the results of students across the nation. Roemer said using some PARCC questions would allow for that comparability.
White said the hybrid exams would be “not nearly as seamlessly comparable” to other states as the board originally wanted. He said the PARCC questions would be free, requiring no new approval for contracts or subcontracts, and that he thought the consortium would allow it.
The superintendent also drew distinctions between buying a test and buying test questions. The former, he said, includes adopting the scoring methods, analysis and reporting, among other services. He said “LEAP” was “a term in the law, not a brand name of a test … it will always be a Louisiana-specific test, and now it will have some PARCC questions on it.”
The plan has been OK’d by Roemer, BESE Vice President James Garvey and BESE Secretary Holly Boffy but is not a formal board action. Roemer said he had reached out to all the BESE members and had “not asked them to voice their support or opposition” yet. But every member he spoke with agreed the state needed a quick solution, he said.
Despite the possible compromise, Roemer stood fast that developing test content and standards was the constitutional responsibility of BESE, not the governor, saying, “We do have multiple branches of government here.”
He also accused the governor of acting in bad faith for scheduling a meeting with White to discuss solutions at 4:40 p.m. the day before the superintendent was supposed to report back to the board.
Louisiana Education Officials Propose to Drop National Common Core test, PARCC, for 2014-15
Louisiana education officials propose to drop
national Common Core test, PARCC, for 2014-15
By Danielle Dreilinger, NOLA.com. Originally published in The Times-Picayune, link here.
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and Superintendent John White has seemingly backed down in a high-profile fight with Gov. Bobby Jindal over testing and the new Common Core academic standards. Rather than use a new test next year developed by the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the state could combine some PARCC questions with LEAP questions, White said Thursday.
“We will continue with the LEAP test,” BESE President Chas Roemer said.
“BESE is trying to thread the needle with a compromise,” White said.
But — crucially — White left the door open to the possibility that all the mathematics and English questions would come from the PARCC process — meaning the board might essentially continue with the national test under a different name. There are no PARCC exams for science and social studies.
PARCC spokesman David Connerty-Marin said, “I don’t see any indication they are withdrawing” from the consortium or the commitment to PARCC.
And because the governor would have to lift contract restrictions for the new plan to proceed, today’s announcement might end up being another twist in the path to court.
Although three of BESE’s officers backed the proposal, there has been no vote from the board, which would presumably have to approve any changes.
Jindal has demanded “Louisiana standards and a Louisiana test,” but until Thursday, BESE had held strong to the national consortium exam.
That’s even though the governor unleashed a quiver of administrative arrows, including freezing the testing contract for the coming year, attempting to drop the state’s membership in the PARCC consortium and strictly limiting White’s ability to approve department spending.
In fact, BESE voted this month to continue to pursue PARCC next year even though unions, the Louisiana School Boards Association and three of its own members asked it to do so in order to reduce confusion for school systems that don’t know what tests they will use in the school year that starts next month. And the board voted to hire external counsel to possibly pursue legal action. In the spring, the Legislature passed on several opportunities to drop PARCC or Common Core.
Roemer said it was a one-year, stopgap measure, and that the state would move forward with issuing a request for proposals for new tests starting in 2015. He also repeated the board’s continuing support for Common Core.
Louisiana public school students have been taking the iLEAP and LEAP tests from third through eighth grade in mathematics, English, science and social studies. Last year, the exams were rejiggered to reflect the Common Core academic standards, which lay out what students should be able to accomplish at the end of the year in mathematics and English.
State law requires that next year’s tests use “nationally recognized content standards” and be scored against the results of students across the nation. Roemer said using some PARCC questions would allow for that comparability.
White said the hybrid exams would be “not nearly as seamlessly comparable” to other states as the board originally wanted. He said the PARCC questions would be free, requiring no new approval for contracts or subcontracts, and that he thought the consortium would allow it.
The superintendent also drew distinctions between buying a test and buying test questions. The former, he said, includes adopting the scoring methods, analysis and reporting, among other services. He said “LEAP” was “a term in the law, not a brand name of a test … it will always be a Louisiana-specific test, and now it will have some PARCC questions on it.”
The plan has been OK’d by Roemer, BESE Vice President James Garvey and BESE Secretary Holly Boffy but is not a formal board action. Roemer said he had reached out to all the BESE members and had “not asked them to voice their support or opposition” yet. But every member he spoke with agreed the state needed a quick solution, he said.
Despite the possible compromise, Roemer stood fast that developing test content and standards was the constitutional responsibility of BESE, not the governor, saying, “We do have multiple branches of government here.”
He also accused the governor of acting in bad faith for scheduling a meeting with White to discuss solutions at 4:40 p.m. the day before the superintendent was supposed to report back to the board.