Union stance on testing costs Portland schools big bucks
Rightly or wrongly, the Portland public schools, who are currently asking voters to pay for for the biggest borrowing in state history, are passing up on eight figures of federal grants because they won't evaluate teachers in any way based on student test scores. According to the news reports, the public school teachers' union won't allow it. We're voting no on the school bond, and we feel more confident every day that that's the right vote for this school district at this time.
| Posted at 12:45 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (15)
Teachers unions say "no" to everything. Literally every single idea anybody ever has for schools, the union opposes.
Posted by Mike in NE | November 2, 2012 1:15 PM
Their union may take this hardline stance but how do individual teachers feel about passing up on this amazing potential opportunity to help their students?
Posted by SKA | November 2, 2012 1:18 PM
Well, the union supports the bond, and that's an idea. Unless you're using "literally" in the Joe Biden sense of the word, meaning "figuratively."
Posted by Dave J. | November 2, 2012 1:18 PM
The union today seems to want it card blanc (from taxpayers) with no oversight. By not agreeing to teacher evaluations to receive some federal dollars may be a back to the future lesson for teachers with class sizes of 35 to 40 students, as they were in the 1950s and 60s. There should be no rewards that update buildings to today’s standards. A NO is in order for the bond measure.
Posted by TR | November 2, 2012 1:51 PM
I like that fact that Oregon law kicks in next year that will require them to use test scores in the teacher evaluations, so they are giving up $40 million so they can delay for one year.
So I agree a no vote is called for. (I can't vote no because I am just outside the PPS district, which is a good thing...)
Posted by Michael | November 2, 2012 2:19 PM
"Their union may take this hardline stance but how do individual teachers feel about passing up on this amazing potential opportunity to help their students?"
Great question... I feel that the "union" is really just the collective entity representing the "individual teachers". Not every teacher of course, but all the teachers and yes, the "average teacher".
So when individual teachers claim that their bad union doesn't represent them, I know they must be in the minority of teachers.
Similar to Portland Native's comment in a similar thread here: https://bojack.org/2012/11/portland_public_schools_going.html#comments
Until the individual teachers start changing their unions from within, they will continue to be slimed by their association with said unions, and rightly so.
Posted by Harry | November 2, 2012 2:22 PM
The insanity that is PPS never ends.
-David Wynde has already stated that the PERS increases for next year will mean cuts equivalent to NINE school days. Why do we need an asssistant/deputy CFO anyway?
-PPS was "saved' from cutting 111 teachers this fall by the city coughing up $5 million. What happens this January when they are looking to balance the budget?
-Do the rank and file really believe the actions of their union will sit well with the rest of us?
Posted by teresa | November 2, 2012 3:31 PM
Weird isn' working.
The cop union runs the Poorland Police Bureau.
The teachers union runs the Porland school district.
And nobody needs "Windy Dave" including US Bank, which is why he is retired on he job, and on he public ea, as permanent staff a PPS.
Posted by Nonny Mouse | November 2, 2012 4:11 PM
Have any teachers or the union ever offered a proposal as to how teacher effectiveness could be measured?
It's one thing to be against standardized tests, but what would they like to use instead?
Anyway, what's $40M anyway?
Posted by Mike (one of the many) | November 2, 2012 4:28 PM
Mike: Are you under the impression that teachers are not currently, and have never been, evaluated?
Are you evaluated by your clients' test scores? If not, do you think you are not evaluated at all?
Posted by Ted | November 2, 2012 4:52 PM
Some people think that fogging a mirror for another year means that you have been successfully evaluated.
Got seniority? Nothing else matters.
Posted by Harry | November 2, 2012 5:04 PM
Ted: of course, I know that teachers do receive some sort of evaluation today. Apparently, not very useful.
Don't get me wrong, I work very closely with teachers at middle and high school levels. I see some that are very, very good; others not so good. Apparently, though, they are all exceptional or "above average".
Seniority seems to be the only criteria that has any bearing.
I know teachers cannot solve society's issues.
Who shall we hold accountable for low graduation rates? for mediocre college prep?
Posted by Mike (one of the many) | November 2, 2012 5:32 PM
One fact: lack of parental involvement affects student success. Some parents either won't or can't provide the guidance and support at home to back up the teachers efforts in the classroom. Too bad measuring parental involvement on a case by case basis will never be part of the assessment. It should count.
I still think it's lame of the union to derail the opportunity for going after this grant though.
Posted by SKA | November 2, 2012 7:11 PM
I saw a recent news story that stated the Oregon Teachers Union was number 2 behind Hawaii in union funding. And people wonder why teachers in Oregon are so well paid.
Posted by Dave A. | November 2, 2012 8:05 PM
PPS is not about the educating of children, it is about the employing of adults.
Posted by fancypants | November 3, 2012 5:56 AM