Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL? Updated!!!

Florida is trying to implement a huge overhaul of the way teachers are paid. EVERYONE is included- art teachers, gym teachers, even custodians. If scores are good, everyone gets paid more. I haven't been able to verify everything I read (one FL teacher claimed that all teachers would only get half their salary; if the kids did well on the tests then they would get the rest).


One of many articles

I think we need to pay careful attention to this, especially those of us in NYC- this is right up the mayor's alley. There is also a Facebook page which has lots of up-to-date info. I joined- I really want to keep track of this.

Message edited 4/15/2010 7:58:01 PM.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Oh good grief, could you imagine??? We REALLY need to get past Mikey's term.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

From the article:

Would there be any way to account for students who are absent a lot, who don't do homework or who have difficult home lives?

No, there is no such wiggle room. Former Gov. Jeb Bush, whose Foundation for Florida's Future is pushing this proposal, has long argued that schools must overcome outside influences and that all students can achieve equally if schools provide appropriate instruction. The bill seems to take the same stance.

My 2 thoughts:
Why don't we just raise the children? Leave them with us in K, and give them back to their parents in June of 12th grade.

If this was me, all I would do is teach for a test. That's it. Everything would be a constant test prep. No trips, no coloring or cutting, nothing but test prep.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

where are the parent data reports? i just had my teacher data report meeting and i wanted to laugh.

ps how would kindergarden teachers get graded? i mean come on. and just because kids dont do well in gym or art doesnt mean the teacher isn't doing their job. its all ridiculous. children are not little robots.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

And again, where is the accountability on the part of the children AND the parents?

What really pi$$e$ me off about this is what about those kids who have it out for a teacher? So his or her life is dependent on whether or not some kids FEELS like performing?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Quote from article:

Would all of Florida's public-school teachers come under the new system?

Yes, at least partially. Starting in 2014, all teachers would have their pay raises tied to student performance. And all of them would come under the new requirements for teaching-certificate renewal.


So what about teachers that have AP classes compared to those that have lower level classes? How is that fair?

When are people going to realize that you can't run the education like a business?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Message edited 3/31/2010 9:55:27 PM.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

For those that don't know, I moved to FL 2.5 years ago. The education system is a nightmare. I'm a guidance counselor. This new "system" has everyone up in arms and all the unions are fighting it. I work in a school with a huge ESOL population, low socio-economic pop, etc. NO ONE will want to teach in a school such as mine, NO ONE will want to be a special ed teacher, be with lower-level kids. Why should my salary be based on things like this? It's horrendous and disgusting.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Can someone FM me the name of the FB group? I'm with MrsProfessor. In October, i will get my 10 year longevity and officially get a pension. I have to complete one year as per my sabbatical contract and then... who knows? Law school?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

that is unbelievable.

when are the powers that be going to hold PARENTS responsible for their children??? there is only so much that teachers can do during the day--parents need to be held accountable to make sure their kids study, do homework, try their best and EAT. some parents don't do any of that but somehow a teacher is supposed to get that kid to get a 4 on the ELA. ridiculous.

i am a parent of 2 children. they are MY responsibility first and foremost. i am responsible for their well being and ultimately, their education and ability to become a law abiding, respectful adult. teachers will have a huge hand in shaping their minds and bodies, but i, as the parent, should be the one held accountable.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

This is an email our union sent out today: This plan is BEYOND frightening and sickening...

Q & A: The facts about Florida’s merit pay plan for teachers


(Note: I'm only passing this on; I don't have any more info)

By Josh Hafenbrack and Leslie Postal, Sun-Sentinel


What would the merit-pay law do?

It would scrap the current pay system based on seniority and educational degrees and replace it with a system in which salaries for Florida's 167,000 teachers are tied to student performance. Newly hired teachers would work forever on annual contracts without the job security of the current "continuing contracts" — commonly called tenure.

All teachers could earn more if their students made big gains as measured by tests or if they took jobs in struggling schools. The system also would require new tests to gauge student growth and new evaluation systems to judge teacher effectiveness. Most provisions would kick in during the 2014-15 school year.

Would teachers see their current salaries slashed?

No. The phased-in plan does not cut teachers' current pay but would affect future raises.

Why do advocates want to shake up the current teacher-pay system?

They say it will improve overall teacher quality and student academic performance by paying top-notch instructors more. The current system, they argue, does not differentiate among teachers, even though their quality runs the gamut. Last year, 99.9 percent of Florida teachers earned "satisfactory" evaluations, though many students failed to make reading and math gains. They also say the current system protects bad teachers.

Who is opposed and why?

Many teachers say the bill is punitive and even insulting. They fear it would cut their future pay, strip away their job security and blame them for the failings of students and parents. They say it has already badly damaged morale. Critics also have called it a union-busting scheme from Republican legislators.

The Broward Teachers Union said many of the so-called reform efforts, such as eliminating tenure, are unnecessary. New teachers can be fired during their first 97 days and have annual contracts for the next three years. The Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association said teachers will be hesitant to work with special needs students for fear they won't earn as much money.

What will happen if school boards decide not to implement this merit-pay plan?

Districts would lose 5 percent of their funding — the money that funds the merit-pay program. The Senate backed away from requiring districts that don't go along to put ads in newspapers saying they had "violated the law."

Florida has tried and failed to pass merit pay before. What are its chances this time?

Better than ever. The Florida House will take up the bill Wednesday – with a final vote likely to come Thursday. If Republicans can avoid any attempts to add amendments onto the bill, it will head to Gov. Charlie Crist for his likely signature, and become law.

Would all of Florida's public-school teachers come under the new system?

Yes. Starting in 2014, all teachers would have their pay raises tied to student performance. But veteran teachers who already have tenure would retain those job protections as long as they stay in their current jobs. New teachers hired after July would not have tenure and would instead work on one-year contracts.

How would the new pay system work?

Teachers and school administrators would get raises based on their performance. At least half of their performance would be judged by how well their students did on standardized tests. The remainder would come from performance evaluations by administrators. A teacher's students would have to show learning gains in at least two of the previous three years to earn an "effective" or "highly effective" rating and be eligible for raises.

How would districts or the state measure "learning gains" of students?

The state would use the FCAT and national exams such as Advanced Placement where possible. Districts would develop or find end-of-course tests for grade levels and subjects not covered by those tests.

Would there be more money pumped into teacher salaries?

Probably not, especially as Florida weathers another grim budget year. Instead of providing new funding, the bill redistributes existing dollars. It sets aside 5 percent of a school district's state funding for performance pay raises — and also for creating new tests to measure student progress.

How would teachers be evaluated?

Teachers would be placed in four categories, based on performance: Unsatisfactory, needs improvement, effective and highly effective. The big change is that starting in 2014, student "learning gains" — a year's improvement — would account for at least half the evaluation. Only teachers with at least "effective" ratings could earn the new performance-based raises.

What would the new contracts look like?

New teachers hired after July 1 would be put on one-year contracts, and they could be fired at any time. After five years, these teachers would need to earn an "effective" or "highly effective" rating in at least two of the three preceding years to keep their jobs.

Would unions have any role in salary negotiations?

Yes, but it could be much more limited. The proposal sets out what the pay system must look like and requires the Florida Department of Education, which now has no role in local salaries, to approve each district's new salary plan.

Are all the bill's provisions legal under Florida's constitution?

Maybe not. The Senate staff acknowledged the proposal could be challenged as a violation of the Florida Constitution, which defines collective bargaining for wages and benefits as a fundamental right.

Would there be any way to account for students who are absent a lot, who don't do homework or who have difficult home lives?

No, there is no such wiggle room.




The last question - regarding students who don't do work, bad home lives, etc - yeah, that's my school.

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?

From this morning's Sun Sentinel:

BTW - I love how the education system in this state, which is already awful, is going to go down the crapper completely based on a vote that was only 9 votes different

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
2:26 a.m. Friday: House passes teacher bill, next move up to Crist
GOP pushes landmark legislation, governor’s support unclear

By Josh Hafenbrack, Tallahassee Bureau

2:49 AM EDT, April 9, 2010

TALLAHASSEE

After an after-hours, marathon session, the Florida House passed a landmark teacher merit-pay bill early Friday morning that aims to put the state at the forefront of a controversial national push to tie teacher compensation to student performance.

The bill (SB6) identical to the Senate version that passed two weeks ago, upends the current salary system based on years worked and advanced degrees earned. In its place, it creates a new, complicated plan that ties teacher pay largely to student learning gains on standardized tests.

The merit-pay plan was part of a sweeping rewrite of the state's educational system given final legislative approval Thursday night and Friday morning. The package includes a constitutional amendment to roll back class-size caps, replace the controversial FCAT with end-of-course exams and massively expand the state's voucher program that pays for low-incomes students to attend private and religious schools.

The House began debating the merit-pay measure at 5 p.m. Thursday – and didn't take a final vote until 2:26 a.m. Friday, after 69 House members debated for 10 or 15 minutes each with dueling talking points. The final vote: 64-55.

Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, called it one of the most "transformational policy changes that our state and our nation has ever seen."

"It is tough and it is scary and does make you do a gut check and ask, is this right?" Cannon said. "And the answer is, it aboslutely is right."

Every House Democrat and 11 Republicans opposed the measure, but the GOP's lopsided majorities in Tallahassee provided just enough cushion to push it through. Now, it's up to an undecided Gov. Charlie Crist on whether to veto the bill or sign it into law.

Under the bill, pay raises for Florida's 167,000 teachers would be based primarily on student test scores. No longer would years of experience and degrees dictate teacher salary. Instead, pay would hinge on student "learning gains," as charted by standardized tests, and principal reviews.

In addition, the bill would eliminate tenure job protections for teachers hired after July. New teachers would work on one-year contracts, which would be renewed only if their students show testing gains two out of every three years.

The late-night session is relatively rare, especially to decide such a weighty issue. But in a chamber with 120-members, many who love speechifying, the hours dragged on.

Some legislators ticked off as many of their teachers as they could remember. Just before midnight, one representative performed a symbolic burial of the bill – stuffing it in a trash can. A few minutes laters, at 11:45 p.m. Thursday, House Speaker Larry Cretul announced there were still 20 scheduled speakers left. Legislators let out an audible gasp, then settled in for three more hours.

The last time the House went this late was April 20, 2008, when House Democrats forced a 16-hour session by requiring lengthy bills to be read aloud in full. That session ended at 2:17 a.m. and concluded with a vote on Gov. Crist's Cover Florida health care plan.

Rep. Kevin Rader, D-West Palm Beach, said he wished the House had started the teacher tenure debate in the morning, so they could have concluded it while most Floridians were still awake.

"This is the most important bill to affect public education, and we're debating it at 12:20 a.m.," he said. "I hope it wasn't intentional."

Florida would become the first state in the nation to enact such a broadside on teacher tenure, which Republicans said would reward excellent teachers with higher salaries and get rid of a system that promotes mediocrity.

Democrats were "bordering on fury," in the words of Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Davie. Critics expressed alarm about linking teacher livelihoods to student scores, even though teachers can't control external factors such as student's home life or socioeconomic status.

The bill is "discouraging and insulting" to reachers, said Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota.

"The impact of this bill could well be devastating to the morale of teachers around this state," he said. "It amounts to a gigantic social experiment" on testing and teachers.

"Teachers are teachers -- not miracle workers," said Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, one of the Republicans to cross party lines and oppose the bill.

Republicans said it's essential to get rid of teacher tenure. The system means "no matter how bad you are, once you've been there for three years, short of committing some heinous crime, you can't be fired," said Rep. Paige Kreegel, R-Punta Gorda. "Tenure means never having to say you're sorry."

"We believe good teachers should be paid more," added Rep. Anitere Flores, R-Miami.

The big question now: What will Crist do? Although he'd previously expressed support, Crist is now considering a veto, citing teacher concerns. The governor said before Thursday's vote he hasn't decided what he'll do, but added he's "listening to the people of Florida, my boss." He has a week to act.

Crist's office has been inundated by opponents of the bill: 6,161 phone calls, 6,597 e-mails and another 3,358 "organized campaign" e-mails as of Wednesday. By comparison, 53 residents called or e-mailed the governor to voice support.

Republican legislators are furious about Crist's shift. "He's told me he's going to sign it, and I take him at his word," said Senate sponsor John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine.

Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Re: Have you ladies been reading about what is happening in FL?