College Students Organizing To Support Reform (Even Though We Don't Really Know What That Means. We're Too Young And Inexperienced)

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George Hornedo is currently a junior at Cornell University and has taken a semester off to intern at the White House. George joined StudentsFirst because he believes we need to create a more equitable public education system for all children.
 
Zak Newman is currently a junior at Yale University. During his last spring break he shadowed an 8th grade teacher in in Hartford’s inner city. During that time, he noticed that she had very little support or feedback about her work. Zak believes that a great education is key to ending poverty and we must support teachers to have a quality education system.

We came to StudentsFirst as interns last year because we both believed that every child deserves a quality education and we knew there were many things standing in the way of that. When we started, we realized that there was a critical group underrepresented in the reform movement: college students. Every day, we read letters from students wanting to get involved and wanting to make sure all young people get the same opportunities to go to college that they had. As recent graduates of our nation’s K-12 system, college students have especially strong and insightful views on improving public education.

With this in mind, we launched StudentsFirst on Campus in October at Cornell University to a packed crowd of more than 500 students and community members. The campus outreach arm of the organization, StudentsFirst on Campus is an opportunity for college students across the country to work with this bipartisan grassroots movement on their campuses.

The Campus Directors have accomplished so much since the launch last October. In just two short months, our four Campus Directors have organized 25 events across the country with local and national partners, brought in more than 1,000 new StudentsFirst members and have become leaders in education in their communities.

For example,

• At The Ohio State University, Campus Director Justin Schulze, organized an “Innovative Pathways to Teaching Fair” for students to learn about teaching opportunities available to them from Teach for America and various teaching fellowships.

• At Morehouse College, Campus Director Jonathan Wall hosted a Waiting for Superman screening with other student groups to introduce people to some of the issues behind this movement.

• At Cornell University, Campus Director Geoffrey Block helped organize the StudentsFirst on Campus launch, during which Michelle Rhee spoke to a packed crowd at her alma mater about the need for college students to get involved in education reform.

• At the University of San Diego, Campus Director Mariko Peshon helped organize the first stop of the StudentsFirst California Listening Tour in which Michelle Rhee heard what southern Californians had to say about the policies and practices working for and against kids in their communities.

With the spring semester coming up, we’re looking to bring on more dedicated and passionate students to the StudentsFirst on Campus team. Campus Director applications are available now and are due on Friday, January 16. We believe that the next generation of education leadership will put an end to income and race-based gaps in student achievement. We hope that you will help carry that vision forward.

New Study Shows Need For Academic Accountability With Charters (Also, New Study Shows Need For End To Money In Politics)

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According to a new study from the Center for Education Reform, though 15% of charter schools have historically closed since 1992, only 3% have closed for academic poor performance. Reports the Huffington Post on the study:

In nearly two decades, only 3 percent of charter schools have ever been closed for underperforming, according to a new report released Tuesday.

The Center for Education Reform, a pro-charter advocacy group, traced charter-school closures since 1992 in what it called the "first-ever national analysis" of its kind. It found that 15 percent of 6,700 charter schools have been shuttered, and 18 percent of those closures were attributed to academic underperformance. Other prevalent reasons charter schools were closed include financial deficiencies (41.7 percent), mismanagement (24 percent), district-related issues and facilities problems.

While the report identifies key levers of accountability – such as the charter quality measures StudentsFirst members and allies recently pushed for in Michigan – it also should serve as a clear call for greater academic accountability and quality measures. The information presented shows a startling low number of charters being closed for poor academic performance. While we know that many charters deliver particularly outstanding results in difficult circumstances – and that charters typically do as well as public schools – not all charters are performing at the same high levels we expect for our kids.

In Michigan, we proposed requiring charter authorizers to close bottom-performing schools, to require annual reviews and parental notification of performance, and to create pathways and incentives to allow high-performing charters that are doing a great job educating our kids to replicate and expand. StudentsFirst members will continue to push for these important reforms. This coming year, we hope that Michigan legislators – and leaders across the country – will do more to ensure academic accountability in schools serving our kids.

2011 Impact -- Our Member Annual Report (A report about Rhee's member?)

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One year ago we launched on Oprah with a vision:  To transform America’s schools through building a national grassroots movement of parents, teachers, students and concerned citizens who demand change.

We had a core belief that every child can learn and that equal access to a quality education is a civil right.  But the stats show that we are failing our kids:  two-thirds of  fourth graders are unable to read and American students rank 25^th out of 34 developing countries in math.

Outdated policies have to change in order for every child to have the opportunity to succeed and for our country to be competitive in the global economy.  However bucking the status quo isn’t easy – the only way to create lasting change is to tap into hopes of the American people who share the belief that we can ensure the right to high quality education for every child when we put students interests first – change will only occur from the ground up.   

This year we are proud to announce that within the coming weeks, we are projecting our grassroots movement will reach the one million member mark.   Our members come from every state and include teachers, parents, principals and school board members. They are Democrats, Republicans and Independents; they are union members and corporate executives.  And they range in age from middle school students to grandparents.

Through their organizing, our members have passed over 50 new policies in 7 states impacting the education of 8.7 million students.  These policies include implementing meaningful teacher evaluations, ending the practice of laying off the best teachers under last-in-first-out (LIFO), expanding public charter opportunities, and empowering parents to turn around failing schools.

In Nevada, for example, our members supported a multi-million dollar ad campaign starring local teachers, and also lobbied both the Democratically controlled houses of the state legislature and the Republican Governor to pass student-centered reform into law.  This bipartisan blueprint for reform surprised some observers but was replicated in some capacity elsewhere, including in Michigan and Maine.  Our members also acted to successfully pass student-focused reforms in Tennessee, Florida, Ohio and Indiana.

When state bureaucrats in California threatened to weaken parental power to fix failing schools, our members rallied quickly and gathered nearly 2000 thousand petition signatures within 15 hours, presenting them at a State Board Hearing, and helping to implement a meaningful parent-trigger law.

But we are only at the beginning and we have a lot of work ahead.  Our success has provided a rallying point for the special interest groups who oppose reform.  We need your help to grow our movement and to take action in your community.

Sign the pledge to put StudentsFirst and recruit your friends, family and colleagues to join you.

Together we will fight on behalf of students until every American child get the quality education they deserve.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to working with you in 2012.

Beyond Tolerance [Or, I Will Blame Other Teachers For The Lack Of Tolerance In America, Even Though I Am A Teacher]

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Scott R. Conwell teaches at an urban charter school in the metro Detroit area. He has a wife and one daughter and is motivated mostly by wanting a better world for them to live in. Scott is a passionate educator and hopes to one day see an educational system that allows a powerful and equal education for all of America's students.

Diversity is the key. When my daughter was born my wife and I decided that diversity should be part of her life. We taught her at a young age that diversity was a part of everyday life. We also taught her that tolerance was not the whole story; we taught her acceptance. As a country that touts itself proudly as the "melting pot"; this should span into every household. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened.

I teach at an urban high school in the metro Detroit area. We are a "melting pot" of students. We have a high population of African-American students, we have a solid population of Hispanic-American students, and we have a small population of LGBTQ students. Our school conducts anti-bullying programs and initiatives, but they are not enough. When we teach "tolerance" of one another we are leaving out a key element of the picture. Tolerance without acceptance doesn't solve the problem. Often times, adults in our schools not only ignore the discrimination but even encourage it.

On "National Coming Out Day" several of our students chose to take the opportunity to reveal who they knew they really were. They declared over social media channels that they were LGBTQ. When they came back to school, they received the treatment that might be expected from the students; but what was worse is they also received it from the staff. These students were the main source of "copy machine" humor by the teachers, and the support that should have been there was absent. These students came to my classroom because they knew it was a safe place for them to declare who they were. They came to me seeking advice on acceptance. Unfortunately, within our school there were few places for them to go.

Every student, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation deserves an opportunity to attend a school where they feel safe to learn. How can we as teachers, administrators or counselors expect them to maintain focus on educational concepts when they are fearful of what will happen to them on the bus when no one else is around? We must have effective anti-bullying programs in schools; not just for students but for the staff. I know teachers who also live in fear that if they come out to their peers they will receive the same discrimination they see in the students. It is time for us as educators to right these wrongs.

My six-year old daughter understands diversity on all levels; why can't we understand this concept as educators? My classroom is a safety zone for acceptance; why isn't my school? Why aren't all our schools?

Supporting Anti-Bullying Laws Nationwide [Or, We Need To Appear Supportive, Even Though We're Fucking Jerks]

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Eric Lerum is Vice President of National Policy at StudentsFirst.

We are moving in the right direction in our effort to eradicate bullying from schools. More than 20 states have taken up anti-bullying legislation in the past year. But we need to make sure that every state has strong policies in place that ensure a safe learning environment for every child.

Every child has the right to a high-quality education. This basic civil right should not be abridged by a student's zip code, the circumstances of their birth, or their sexual orientation. That is why we support policies that would expand educational choices, improve teacher quality and end bullying. It is why we supported legislation like the DREAM Act, which would ensure kids aren't punished for the actions of adults.

While almost all states have some anti-bullying law on the books, they vary greatly in form and strength. And, following several highly-publicized student suicides and a rise in cyber-bullying, officials are taking notice of the need to strengthen their laws and do more to not only protect students, but foster a safer school environment overall.

Comprehensive anti-bullying legislation should include the following key elements:

• A clear definition of bullying and harassment of students;
• Clear roles and responsibilities for schools, administrators, and teachers, as well as a requirement that all schools adopt anti-bullying policies;
• Training for teachers, administrators, and students;
• Investigation protocols for all reported incidents;
• School-level staff teams dedicated to and focused on monitoring bullying incidents and school climate.

This year, New Jersey established what many consider the strongest anti-bullying law in the country with training for teachers and students, "safety teams" at every school, and investigation of bullying incidents within one day. Other states are also considering enhancing their ability to produce safer school environments including Washington, DC. We applaud and support those efforts.

Those of us focused on improving schools for students should view the attention given to this issue as cause for optimism -- momentum is with the state leaders and advocates who are tackling school bullying head-on. StudentsFirst is proud to stand with them.

Whether it's combatting student bullying, guaranteeing access to a great public school for any student, or ensuring that there is an effective teacher in every classroom, the goal is the same: we have to do whatever it takes to fulfill the promise of an excellent education for every student

IMPACT Results In Higher Teacher Pay And Improved Practice [Or, Let Me Confuse You By Referring To DFER]

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Eric Lerum is Vice President of National Policy for StudentsFirst.

In 2009, under Chancellor Michelle Rhee, D.C. Public Schools implemented a new, comprehensive teacher evaluation system called IMPACT. In a recently released report, Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) found that D.C.'s IMPACT evaluation system is doing what it was designed to do: reward and support teachers. Here are some findings from the report:

Teachers are earning higher pay

• Last year, 660 teachers (17%) who were rated "Highly Effective" were eligible to receive bonuses between $3K and $25K.
• In addition, 290 WTU members (7%) were eligible for base salary increases of up to $27,000 for being rated "Highly Effective" two years in a row.
• Under IMPACT, a teacher can earn up to $131,340 -- 50% more than under the previous system.

Teachers are improving their practice

• 58% of teachers who received a rating of "Minimally Effective" the first year who stayed in the district improved to a rating of "Effective" the following year.

Ineffective teachers are being dismissed so that all students have the benefit of a good teacher

• 206 teachers who were rated "Ineffective" or were rated "Minimally Effective" for two years in a row were dismissed.

IMPACT uses multiple measures to assess teacher effectiveness including student achievement growth, classroom observations, and contributions to the school and community. Where standardized test data are not available, teachers collaborate with principals to develop their own assessments of student growth. IMPACT is unique in that it involves 5 classroom observations each year, with evaluatios based on a consistent rubric.

These findings indicate that IMPACT has enabled DC to make significant progress in elevating its teachers and ensuring that every student has a great teacher in the classroom. That's great news for everyone.

Read the full report

Having Their Say: College Students Get In On Ed Reform [Or, Well, I Think Jonathan's Title Says It All]

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Jonathan Wall is the StudentsFirst Campus Director at Morehouse College. He is a senior from Raleigh, NC, studying Sociology and Child Development. Jonathan is also on the board of directors for the Atlanta Branch of the NAACP and has held leadership positions in Morehouse's Pre-Law Society and Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity. In 2009, he and his best friend founded the Outstanding Community Leaders Scholarship, which provided a $1,000 scholarship to a student from his former high school. In 2011, he was one of four nationally selected as an Allstate Martin Luther King Jr. Give Back Hero for his community service and advocacy work.

As young adults not too far removed from the public school setting, college students are in a great position to call for overhauling outdated policies that keep our education system from living up to its potential. However, the voice of college students has until recently largely been excluded from the education reform debate. I’m excited to be part of the new movement to change that.

Too many of our education policies seem to reflect the wants of adults rather than the needs of students. The "Last In First Out" policy, in which teacher layoffs are based on seniority and not job performance, is probably the clearest example of this problem.

Students need great teachers, whether they are veterans or people newer to the profession. No student benefits from ineffective instructors whose employment is a bi-product of years within the system rather than effectiveness on the job, and no society benefits from a generation of under-educated youths. Yet, in many states and districts, there is a sustained effort to keep seniority as the determining factor when layoffs unfortunately arise. It's a terrible problem, yet it is just one of the many issues that make up our public education dilemma.

Far too often, we as students are generalized as being too young and inexperienced to present opinions on potential solutions to problems that have affected us and those we care about. That's why I'm so excited to be part of StudentsFirst On Campus. I believe it will be a great outlet for college students to gain a better understanding of education reform and how to affect change while advocating for policies that are in the best interest of America’s youth.