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‘N.J. education chief gets mixed reviews for reform plans, 'Race to the Top' grant’ The Star-Ledger "Education Commissioner Bret Schundler [spoke] to Garden State Coalition of Schools (GSCS) about education reform...Speaking before the Garden State Coalition of Schools’ annual meeting, Schundler pushed New Jersey’s application for Race to the Top...So far, 492 local education agencies, including school districts and charter schools, have backed the state Race to the Top plan. Schundler’s audience was politely skeptical of the bid, although several districts said they had signed on to support Race to the Top. Many of the Coalition’s members -- about 100 suburban districts — are still reeling from state budget cuts that left many with little or no state aid."
‘Christie and NJEA: Three Topics on the Table’
Tenure, merit pay, and seniority are the three main issues under negotiation in last-minute Race to the Top talks...
njspotlight.com
‘N.J. education chief gets mixed reviews for reform plans, 'Race to the Top' grant’
By Kristen Alloway/The Star-Ledger May 26, 2010, 5:35PM
Picture- Education Commissioner Bret Schundler speaks to Garden State Coalition of Schools (GSCS) about education reform at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township.
MONROE TOWNSHIP — New Jersey Education Commissioner Bret Schundler got a mixed response today from suburban school officials as he pressed an education reform plan that includes teacher merit pay and tenure changes.
Speaking before the Garden State Coalition of Schools’ annual meeting, Schundler pushed New Jersey’s application for Race to the Top, an Obama administration grant program that rewards states for ambitious — but often controversial — school improvement plans. Schundler urged the 120 school officials at the meeting to sign memorandums supporting the state’s bid.
“If any of you haven’t signed it, it’s nuts not to sign it,” Schundler said. “There’s not a thing coming down the pike that we’re not doing anyway. The money is an incentive to get it done quickly.” School officials at the meeting expressed concerns about the application, as well as other initiatives, such as school vouchers, a proposed 2.5 percent spending cap and deep cuts this year in state aid to schools.
“There’s concern about buying into principles many of us are not ready to buy into,” Chatham Superintendent Jim O’Neill said in introducing Schundler. “I think in many ways it’s not the friendliest crowd he could have appeared in front of. I think it’s courageous of him to be here.”
So far, 492 local education agencies, including school districts and charter schools, have backed the state Race to the Top plan. Schundler said he expects that number to grow before next week’s deadline. There are about 600 school districts statewide. The New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said it has not decided whether to support the state’s application. It did not endorse the state’s first-round bid earlier this year.
In addition to teacher merit pay and changes to tenure, New Jersey’s application for the federal competition proposes a data system that tracks student progress and turning around or closing failing schools.
Last week, the state said participating districts would receive a minimum of $100,000 if New Jersey’s application is accepted.
Schundler’s audience was politely skeptical of the bid, although several districts said they had signed on to support Race to the Top. Many of the Coalition’s members -- about 100 suburban districts — are still reeling from state budget cuts that left many with little or no state aid.
‘Christie and NJEA: Three Topics on the Table’
Tenure, merit pay, and seniority are the three main issues under negotiation in last-minute Race to the Top talks
njspotlight.com, May 27 in Education
Four months ago, the New Jersey Education Association opposed New Jersey’s bid for federal Race to the Top funds, saying its proposals to expand student testing and change how teachers are judged and paid were anathema to its members.
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Now down to the wire on New Jersey’s next application, NJEA leaders are sitting at the table with the Christie administration, meeting and exchanging phone calls with top state officials to hash out details in the application that they might be able to live with. The administration is equally anxious to have the NJEA come on board, since teacher buy-in is a critical component to the federal government's scoring system.
The deadline for the application is next Tuesday, and negotiations continued through the day yesterday. So far, 400 districts have signed in support the application. Few local unions have signed on, however, as they await word from the NJEA leadership.
At stake is potentially $400 million for the state, and also how New Jersey schools evaluate and pay their teachers.
According to those privy to the talks, three issues are central:
Teacher tenure
Teacher tenure— the lifetime job protections that teachers receive after three years on the job—may be the hottest topic of all with the public, but it's actually one where the two sides appear to be close to agreement.
State Education Commissioner Bret Schundler says he initially wanted a provision that teachers can see their tenure revoked after three years of unsatisfactory job evaluations.
The NJEA says current law allows for districts to seek tenure charges after two years of poor performance, rather than waiting three years. However, such charges are rarely pursued. The NJEA has agreed that the law requires a strong system for evaluating teachers and said it is is willing to work with the commissioner to strengthen and better define that system.
“It is very important that principals and supervisors be well-trained in the process, so they can be offering formative feedback to teachers,” said Dawn Hiltner, a NJEA spokeswoman.
Schundler said on Tuesday that he would be willing to bend on this, given the NJEA’s support on other measures.
“We will lose some points by moving away from reforms the federal government wants, but we’ll gain points with teacher buy-in,” he said.
Hiltner agreed last night: “I think we have made significant progress on that.”
Merit pay
Schundler wants a system where teachers and schools as a whole would receive bonuses in pay for significant growth in student achievement, as gauged in part by test scores but also other measures.
The NJEA has argued against such bonuses, or merit pay, for teachers as potentially unfair and divisive. It has requested in a series of meetings with Schundler and other senior staff for only school-wide bonuses.
On Tuesday, Schundler said he would compromise and provide half of the funds for school-wide bonuses and the other half toward a pilot system that would allow selected districts to try bonuses for individual teachers or groups of teachers.
“NJEA seemed willing to accept that approach, but we are still waiting approval,” Schundler said.
Late yesterday, Hiltner said the two sides are making progress, but said there were still details to work out. For one, she said a school’s teachers must be given final say as to whether the money goes school-wide or to individuals.
“Teachers often will feel that the quality of the school as a whole and the school climate is more important than a few extra dollars to themselves,” she said.
Teacher retention
Maybe the toughest of the three, since it gets to one of the sacred tenets of organized labor: seniority.
Schundler seeks in the Race to the Top application a system where teachers would be rated by “effectiveness” when considered for dismissal, which is a real possibility these days with the state’s dire financial condition and thousands of layoffs likely.
The teachers union is steadfast in demanding that such dismissals be determined by seniority, with the least experienced the first to go.
Now the two sides are talking about a tiered system in which teacher seniority would count within set categories of teacher effectiveness, based on his or her evaluations. The categories would range from “ineffective” to “highly effective.” There would also be a new standing for “master teachers.”
But the NJEA appears least likely to budge on this one.
“All these categories are difficult for everyone,” Hiltner said. “Seniority is in there for a reason. It helps principals make decisions and teachers who have dedicated their whole lives to teaching and are doing a good job.”
