By John Mooney, December 8 in Education

As New Jersey enters the hot zone this week in debating the merits -- and demerits -- of teacher tenure, an interesting fact unites two nearby states for which this debate is almost old hat.

In Delaware and Massachusetts the word "tenure" is literally stricken from the state statutes.

Not that the word alone matters.

In Delaware, "due process rights" essentially covers the same territory. In Massachusetts, they switched more than a decade ago to “professional teachers status,” a five-year renewable certificate that also affords certain job security.

But both states -- each admired for its public schools -- have changed the conversation on what it means to afford teachers those job protections and how to measure them, a conversation that New Jersey is beginning anew.

That conversation picks up in earnest this week, with the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) yesterday unveiling a plan to streamline the process for bringing tenure charges against a teacher, reducing what many have called an onerous and expensive timeline.

The Senate Education Committee is holding its own hearing tomorrow, inviting state and national experts to speak on ways to improve the tenure process.

And, of course, much of this discussion is predicated on Gov. Chris Christie making clear his intentions on tying teachers’ pay and retention directly to how their students perform.

In the meantime, Delaware and Massachusetts afford telling lessons as to how other states have changed the way teachers are judged and protected -- and won over their teachers unions, at least for now.

Delaware

The First State -- the land of just 19 school districts -- is making a big name for itself in school reform circles, in large part thanks to its surprise finish as one of two Round I winners for federal Race to the Top funding this year.

There were many components to that win, but none more important than the state’s plans for changing how teachers are judged, including how they are granted those due process rights.

It is no coincidence that a committee appointed by Christie to devise a statewide evaluation system for New Jersey has begun its work by looking at Delaware’s Race to the Top application.

In Delaware, as in New Jersey, teachers need three years to gain due process protections -- but they also must be rated as "effective" teachers for at least two of those years.

Under a statewide evaluation standard set six years ago, such rankings are assigned by a formula that looks at five components: planning, classroom environment, instruction, professional responsibilities, -- and, yes -- student improvement.

In its Race to the Top application, the state went further and proposed that the student improvement component be an explicit requirement for that “effective” evaluation, including the use of student test scores.

"They have inverted the presumption, and teachers have to actually demonstrate their effectiveness before they are granted tenure," said Patrick McGuinn, a Drew University associate professor who has studied state tenure laws.

"Then you have to continue to show it, really changing the whole dynamic," he said. "They are really on the outer edges for most states."

In other words, teachers in Delaware must demonstrate their students’ "satisfactory growth." But how that term is to be defined remains to be determined. A task force that includes 400 teachers from across the state has begun to develop a system to determine what exactly “satisfactory growth” means.

“What are the measures to be used, what is satisfactory growth?” asked Diane Donohue, president of the Delaware State Education Association, the teachers union. “We don’t have it all solved yet. We’re maybe just a little further along.”

Compared to their larger neighbor to the north, what allowed the Delaware union to bend on even allowing student test scores in the mix?

Donohue said it helped that the state’s teachers already had agreed to include student measures in the teacher evaluation. “It made it more palatable by already having these conversations,” she said.

And maybe in one lesson for New Jersey, collaboration helped, she said.

“There is still apprehension because we still don’t know what those measures will be,” Donohue said. “But it is less so because the teachers are part of the discussion.”

Massachusetts

Whether it’s from the “Massachusetts Miracle” tag first coined in the 1980s or its perennial showing in state and national achievement tests, but Massachusetts has gained the reputation as the highest-performing public education system in the country.

There are many factors contributing to that heady standing, but the state's pushes for school reforms dating back two decades -- while holding the lid somewhat on property taxes -- have only burnished that reputation.

Part of that reputation includes how it treats its teachers, a model held up by both the NJEA and some of its critics as an illustrative lesson for New Jersey.

As in New Jersey, school reform in Massachusetts started with a court case that forced the state to address inequities in its schools. Out of that came an omnibus education law in 1993 that set funding levels, curriculum frameworks and even created the first charter schools.

From that law also came the renewable certifications for teachers and tenure reforms. The method for dismissing a teacher was taken out of the hands of local school boards and the courts and put in the hands of outside employment arbitrators, essentially the mirror of what the NJEA proposed yesterday.

“The process grew quicker, no question about it,” said Ann Clarke, executive director of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and its general counsel at the time. “It saved time at the local level, and it put it front of arbitrators who are experts in the employment side of the law.”

She said it didn’t lead to many more dismissal hearings, but a fairer process for both sides. “Last time I looked, it’s close to 50-50 to who wins,” she said. “And of course, that excludes the majority of cases that are settled before it reaches that.”

But that has only been the beginning. Now the state is in the midst of revamping its own evaluation system for what determines an effective teacher, a process launched through its Race to the Top application, which finished first in the second round.

In the application, the union agreed to a proposal that would include student achievement as a “significant factor” in teacher evaluations.

“Those are the two key words, and the question is what satisfies that,” said Clarke.

A task force is doing its own review as well, and the MTA is expected to come out with its proposal in the coming months. One important factor already on the table is a recognition that less than half of the Massachusetts teachers now teach classes that are subject to state’s standardized tests, likely excluding the rest from such test score measures anyway.

Nonetheless, test scores will be central in the final system, Clarke said, and the state and the union have so far agreed that they be more a validation of a teacher's evaluation than a determinant in it.

“It has absolutely been a tough sell for our members,” she said. “But as long as it was multiple measures, and as long as the teacher observation remained the foundation of the evaluation.”

McGuinn, the Drew professor, said Massachusetts’ debates, past and present, reflect the two important ingredients to improving tenure in any state, including New Jersey.

“To the degree you can shorten the process and make it a less costly, that’s a good thing,” he said. “But if you don’t address the underlying evaluation system, it won’t make a difference. You may be changing the venue, but not the evidence to make the case.”

 

Star Ledger  ‘NJEA plan for dismissal of tenured teachers draws tepid praise from Christie       Wednesday, December 08, 2010AM by Jeanette Rundquist

TRENTON — The state’s largest teachers union took its first steps Tuesday toward streamlining the process for removing tenured teachers, a plan that drew tepid praise from Gov. Chris Christie but was criticized by others for not going far enough.

The proposal by the New Jersey Education Association, unveiled during a press conference in Trenton, would allow tenure charge cases to be handled by an arbitrator instead of a state Administrative Law Judge. Changing the process would make it quicker and less expensive to dismiss tenured teachers, NJEA President Barbara Keshishian said.

Tenure is the job protection New Jersey educations receive after three years and one day on the job. It has come under increasing fire from Christie and some education advocates.

The governor, during a separate press conference Tuesday, said it wasn’t until he took office and began his reform efforts that the union started talking about tenure.

"I’ve said all along that I’m happy to work with the teachers union if they’re willing to show some concrete steps," Christie said, adding that union leaders should "stop denying the fact that we have significant educational challenges in the state."

In a separate interview, Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, said that "while the governor is encouraged the NJEA is finally acknowledging the tenure system is broken, given the fatal flaws in the current system, this is simply not enough."

Others faulted the proposal for what it did not include, such as changing the length of time before teachers get tenure or moving to renewable contracts.

"It doesn’t get to the root of the problem," said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, whose group wants a tenure system where job performance is taken into account for renewal.

Vincent Giordano, the NJEA’s executive director, said the union did not propose extending the three-year probationary period because "when a system works, why would we seek to change it?"

"No one has identified what would be gained by lengthening what is the longest probationary tenure in any union structure," he said.

Giordano did say, however, that the union would be open to discussing it.

NJEA president Barbara Keshishian talks about Gov Christie and Education Commissioner New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian and New Jersey State School Board member Edithe Fulton, a past president of NJEA, talk about Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks decision that she would break tradition and not address the NJEA at its annual two-day convention in Atlantic City. (11/4/2010) (Video by Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger) Watch video

 

Under the current system, an Administrative Law Judge hears tenure charge cases and issues a ruling to the education commissioner who can uphold, modify or reject it. According to the school boards association and the NJEA, that process can take up to a year, cost a school district approximately $100,000 and the union as much as $25,000.

 

Under the union’s proposal, the process for bringing tenure charges would remain largely unchanged. However, an arbitrator would hear a case within 60 days of its filing and issue a binding decision within 30 days of that. The new system would apply to all school employees, plus those at county colleges and public four-year colleges.

The proposal comes at a time when tenure and education reform are hot-button items in the state. Christie has an appointed a special task force to come up with a way to evaluate teachers and principals. The issue will also be discussed in Trenton Thursday during a hearing of the Senate Education Committee.

The committee chairwoman, Sen. Teresa Ruiz, (D-Essex,) said she hopes to bring together "a good consortium of folks from across the board" and come up with a solid tenure reform bill.

Extending the probationary period before teachers get tenure could be one of the items in the bill, she said.

"The most important thing is that children in classroom have the most qualified people leading them," Ruiz said.

In addition to tenure proposal, the NJEA also called for more teacher mentoring and legislation to expand the scope of collective bargaining for teacher contracts to include items such as class size and selection of instructional materials. The school boards association objected to the collective bargaining change, too.

"Something like class size is a public policy matter that needs to be determined in an open public meeting," Belluscio said. "Negotiations take place behind closed doors. We are against that."

The NJEA proposal did not include merit pay for teachers, although it does calls for creating a state-funded voluntary grant program to support teacher-driven innovation in successful "Schools of Distinction."

 

Politickernj.com ‘NJEA outlines visions for education reform’

By Darryl R. Isherwood | December 7th, 2010 - 11:44am

New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian Tuesday outlined the teachers union’s vision for education reform, a proposal that includes tweaks to tenure, collective bargaining and teacher concessions, long controversial topics in the education community.

The tenure reform outlined by Keshishian includes virtually all of the current procedures for dismissing a tenured teacher – inefficiency, incapacity, conduct unbecoming and other just cause - but would refer cases to a neutral, nationally certified arbitrator rather than an administrative law judge as is the current practice.

“By taking the courts out of the equation, we believe the average case can be decided in 60 to 90 days and at a fraction of the cost,” Keshishian said, adding that reasons for dismissal would remain the same but the arbitrator’s ruling would be final and binding.

Under the current process, the average case takes between six and 12 months to complete and are governed by the state Education Commissioner’s final approval of the court ruling.

The change would require legislative approval, but Keshishian said the measure already has strong support from legislators, teachers and the public.

All public school employees, including employees of county colleges and public four-year public colleges, would be covered by the measure and the current three-year probationary period prior to attaining tenure would remain in effect.

“There is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding surrounding New Jersey’s current tenure law,” she said. “Tenure is not a job for life.  The law simply spells out the reasons for which and the process by which tenured teachers can and are dismissed.”

Asked why the union’s tenure reforms do not go further, Keshishian and other union officials supported the bulk of the process already in place.

Executive Director Vince Giordano said the union does not believe that the complaints about tenure include the “fairness” of the process, but rather the time involved in removing a teacher.  Giordano said while the union would listen to other proposals for tenure reform it would not entertain any that changed the standards for dismissal.

“I think we all know what happens then,” he said. “We turn it over to the politicians and the nepotism process and we are not going back there.”

But a governor's spokesman disputed Giordano's assertion that tenure reform was about the speed of the process.

"Real reform that puts quality education for every New Jersey student as our only priority requires complete reexamination of the tenure system," said spokesman Michael Drewniak. "There is more to the broken tenure system than just the amount of time it takes to remove a bad teacher."

Keshishian’s proposals were outlined in a wide ranging press conference outlining a raft of proposed reforms and ideas entitled Growing the Garden State for All Students.

In addition to tenure reform, the proposal also included changes to collective bargaining that would increase the scope of the negotiating process.

Among the items the union would like to see added to the process are class size, transfers and promotions, professional training and development and selection of instructional materials.

“Thanks to the collective bargaining process, we have been able to attract high-quality teachers and school staff to New Jersey’s schools, and our student achievement reflects that,” she said.

Keshishian also through the union’s support behind a measure passed in the senate and awaiting a vote in the assembly that would require any concessions made by teachers at the local level be used to restore positions and programs cut in the governor’s budget.

NJEA officials faced several questions about why merit pay for teachers, which was part of the unions original compromise reached last spring as part of the initial Race to the Top application later nixed by Christie, was not included in the proposal.

In answer officials said they believe research shows merit pay does not work and has in face been disbanded in states where it has been tried.

Much of the press conference was geared toward defending earlier attacks by Gov. Chris Christie, who has been largely successful in painting theunion as greedy and self serving.  Keshishian outlined several successes of the state's schools including the highest graduation rate and advanced placement scores in the nation, 8th grade writing scores among the highest in the nation, Latino and African-American graduation rates that are the highest in the nation and pre-schools ranked number one in the country.

Asked what she thought would change in the union's relationship with the governor, given his penchant for using the union as fodder for his cost cutting campaign, Keshishian said much of the NJEA proposal had laready been vetted by legislators and the remainder would not need legislative changes to implement.

As to whether Christie would view the proposals favorably, Keshishian said it remains to be seen.

"If anyone including the governor is interested in truly seeing education reforms take hold in our state than there has to be a dialog," she said. "We are just waiting for that to begin."

Wall Street Journal ‘Christie Pay Cap Irks Some in GOP’

By LISA FLEISHER 12-8-10

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has used his feisty, prosecutorial persona to become the darling of the national GOP, but his campaign to limit schools chiefs' pay has irritated some Republicans in the state.

The governor has imposed a pay cap based on student enrollment. For example, districts of fewer than 10,000 students are barred from paying more than $175,000, under the governor's new rule.

But some conservatives with ties to school districts see it as an example of state government trying to mandate what should be a local issue.

"A lot of the feeling here in town is, let us run the schools the way we want," said Stephen Root, a parent and registered Republican in Westfield, one of the school districts tangling with the governor. "Let us do what we do."

The policy particularly affects superintendents in the northern part of the state, where pay is higher. District officials say they worry superintendents will retire or leave the state.

Mr. Christie has targeted two districts, Westfield and Parsippany, that he says were trying to get around the February implementation of the rules by granting new contracts early. Both towns went for Mr. Christie in the 2009 election, and several of the governor's top advisers live in Westfield. Parsipanny sued to keep its new superintendent contract, which would see the schools chief earn $234,000 at the end of five years.

It's a "Chris Christie-style" means to an end—expanding state power to cut local government costs—that could be hard for traditional conservatives to defend, said Brigid Harrison, a political-science professor at Montclair State University. "This flies in the face of some of the ideological considerations that really have informed many of his decisions," she said.

In other areas, Mr. Christie has given local voters more power. A cap on annual increases signed in July, for example, allows local voters to choose to raise taxes over the cap. And Mr. Christie has repeatedly said he believes mayors need more control over their towns' finances.

Superintendent salaries are different, he said, because elected school boards keep giving rich contracts "over the taxpayer objections." When asked why he doesn't just allow those taxpayers to vote board members out of office, Mr. Christie said that would be too late to save money now. "I need to save every dollar that I can, so I can't sit by and watch the horse getting ready to run out of the barn, and know that I could close the door and not do it."

At a Friday event in Parsippany, the crowd cheered Mr. Christie as he took on school board members and teachers.

Several Republicans said they believed the pay cap is getting big support outside the small world of school-board members.

Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, a conservative Republican, said he believed that as long as the state provided some money to districts, it should have a say in finances.

Write to Lisa Fleisher at lisa.fleisher@wsj.com

 

Asbury Park Press ‘NJ taxpayers, businesses hit hard by unfair valuations’

Inaccurate values cost the Garden State property owners $1.6B annually

http://www.app.com/article/20101208/NEWS/312070005/NJ-taxpayers-businesses-hit-hard-by-unfair-valuations