Category: New Jersey

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New Jersey Politics teachers

New Teacher Evaluations, Same Old Issues

While most of the rest of New Jersey was shopping and celebrating, I immersed myself in an article that shined some light on New Jersey’s new teacher tenure and evaluation law. The lesson? Principals, supervisors and other district evaluators are going to have to be crystal clear, honest and consistent in their written evaluations or face the probability that cases brought against teachers will backfire on them.

Why is that important? After all, teachers have been evaluated multiple times every year for their entire careers, and those evaluations have decided whether they’re rehired or earn tenure, right?

Um, well…that’s complicated.

The ugly truth is that administrators have been fudging evaluations for a good long time, with the result that many effective teachers have been unfairly culled from the herd while some ineffective teachers have earned their due process rights. I personally know of three teachers who have earned sterling evaluations in their first two-and-a half years of teaching, and then were saddled with one terrifically poor evaluation at the end of their third year, resulting in their not earning tenure. In every case there was more to the story, in that the teacher had become too vocal or too involved with local association activities or, in one unfortunate case, the principal simply didn’t like the person and wanted a friend to have that job.

The TEACHNJ law is supposed to remedy all of this. The new evaluation system is geared towards making sure that every teacher in every public school classroom is, at the very least, rated “effective” according to the law. The main problem with the law is that it’s still in the testing stage in most districts, with a target date of September 2103 for full implementation. With hundreds of schools still working out the details, along comes the first case to be decided on the merits of a teacher’s performance in the classroom (the first ever case involved off-campus teacher behavior and an excellent analysis by Jersey Jazzman can be found here).

Arbitrator David L. Gregory’s decision was both well-written and concise. You have to love a jurist who cites both Felix Frankfurter and Occan’s razor in their writing, and Gregory gets to the heart of the issue, rendering his decision in five pages. What he found was there there was a “stark and stunning 180 degree turn by the Principal” in the difference between their written evaluation, saying on the one hand that the teacher possessed “marginal abilities” in preparation and classroom environment, but “clear and expressive” oral and written communication. The principal goes on to say that “(T)he teacher’s well-chosen vocabulary enriches the lesson and serves as a positive model.” There’s more, but the upshot is that Gregory recognized that the principal contradicted themselves so egregiously, that the teacher was being evaluated “arbitrarily and capriciously.”

The teacher won the case and all charges were dismissed.

Is there something besides an honest evaluation going on between principal and teacher here? Without other evidence, it’s difficult to say, but the inference is that this was a multilayered case. In any event, it’s a warning to evaluators throughout the state that they must henceforth be honest, consistent and specific with their language if they are to prove that a teacher should be fired.

The 45 day limit on deciding cases was also a factor here as there was no actual hearing due to delays associated with Hurricane Sandy. Quick does not necessarily mean accurate. In this case the facts supported the teacher, but in the future the time limit might have a more deleterious effect and lead to a less fair decision.

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Domestic Policies New Jersey Politics teachers

Alternate Route to Undermining Teaching

It’s not enough that the Christie Administration has bashed teachers as union mules and the source of New Jersey’s fiscal ills. It’s not enough that the governor has promoted private partnerships with public schools to avoid paying the state’s fair share of education aid to school districts in need of money. It’s not enough that he’s advocated for merit pay based on an evaluative model that is reliant on faulty research. And it’s not enough that he’s attacked NJEA officials personally because of their private organization salaries.

Now the governor’s administration wants to make it easier for charter schools to hire lesser qualified teachers simply, it seems, for ideological reasons. How is he doing this? By proposing that alternate route teachers who want to work in charter schools be able to earn teaching licenses with fewer requirements than those people who want public school teaching certificates. If you ever need any more evidence that the governor hasn’t a clue about how to attract and train quality teachers, then here’s your proof.

Let me state from the outset that I have taught the alternate route New Pathways to Teaching in New Jersey (NPTNJ) program since 2003. It’s a wonderful program that has trained thousands of people in New Jersey to become qualified, knowledgeable, effective teachers. It asks these prospective teachers to take hundreds of hours in pedagogy, theory, educational psychology, literacy and mathematics instruction, and classroom management techniques. They need to have at least 30 hours of college credit in their chosen discipline. Once teachers are hired by a school (either public or private) they need to be observed and are required to have a mentor teacher from their school’s staff. All of these things are done to ensure, as best we can, that those new teachers have the practical and theoretical skills that will allow them to succeed in their new field. Besides, the state says they have to do this.

But not, apparently, if you want to teach in a charter school.

For reasons I can only assume are arbitrary, unthinking and ideological, the new state rules for alternate route charter school teachers are different. From the article:

Under the proposal, the charter schools would no longer need to meet the existing requirements that their alternate route teachers have at least 30 hours of credits in their content area, nor would they need to have a set number of hours of classroom training before they are hired and once they are hired. They would also not be required to have a mentor teacher as rookie teachers do in the public schools.

This is being done because of the word most associated with charter schools. This word is supposed to be able to solve the problems that public schools have, like the fact that New Jersey’s public schools are among the nation’s best, or that we have among the highest SAT and Advanced Placement Test scores in the country, or that we have the best trained teachers in the country thanks to an organization whose first objective in to ensure that only the most highly qualified teachers are in the classroom, or that we are the envy of both teachers and parents in other states.

The word is supposed to signal to the public that the stodgy old public schools are stuck in the past and that throwing more money at them would only be a waste of taxpayer resources. The word is supposed to bring to mind the most effective trait we need in education today.

That word is flexibility.

Charter schools should have the flexibility to hire people who are underprepared for classroom teaching.

They should have the flexibility to hire people who have less than the requisite knowledge, 30 credits in an academic discipline, that most every college in the country believes is the bare minimum a graduate should have for a 4-year degree.

They should have the flexibility to teach without the help and guidance of a mentor teacher who can help them navigate the intricacies of the profession in a supportive, nonevaluative manner.

They should have the flexibility to hire people who have fewer hours in the classroom, fewer classroom experiences upon which to draw, and fewer student contact hours either teaching or observing in a classroom with an effective teacher.

This is stunning, not just for its outright ignorance of what constitutes effective teacher training, but what it will mean for the quality of charter school teachers in the future. And yet, the Christie Administration believes that this will ensure their quality. Perhaps that’s why they announced this plan with as little fanfare as possible and buried the change deep within the State’s Professional Licensure Code. Here’s the link. Have fun.

This change is bad enough, but when you pair it with another Christie goody on education, it makes even less sense. The state announced on Friday that it will partner with the Princeton-based Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship Foundation to recruit smarty-pants college students in math and science to teach in New Jersey’s worst performing high schools.  These prospective public school teachers will luckily be able to shadow mentor teachers and will earn Master’s Degrees after they’re finished with the program.

Why can’t the alternate route charter school teachers get the same advantages? Must have something to do with flexibility. Maybe they should hire personal trainers and physical therapists to address that.

I’ve trained hundreds of teachers over the course of my career are mentored scores of others. Teaching is a difficult job and one that needs to be done right. The new charter school rules are an insult to educators and will create a two-tiered system of teachers within the schools and the state. The Christie Administration is again applying ideology in place of thought. It’s a mistake they’ve made time and time again.

Guess they don’t learn too good.

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New Jersey Politics teachers

New Jersey’s Teachers: The Envy of the Nation

And I ain’t makin’ that up, neither.

In honor of back-to-school time here in the Garden State (I know that schools in other states might have started in August), it’s time for us to recognize the unparalleled job that New Jersey’s public school teachers do year in and year out.

We consistently rank in the top 3 nationwide in student outcomes on most available measures; SAT, AP and NAEP scores, college acceptances (too many graduates go out-of-state, though), writing achievement and overall performance. We have some significant gaps between how suburban students perform and how their urban counterparts score, and that is a sore point both economically and politically.

But even with that huge caveat, we are the envy of other states. How do I know? Because this past July I attended the National Education Association convention in Washington, D.C., and many of my colleagues around the country told me so.

I spoke with delegates from Tennessee, and they told me that their statewide tests dictated their curriculum to the point that they had to jettison most enrichment material from their classrooms to make sure they covered the test material. They also said that for the two months before the tests, they did nothing but review and drill.

And just in case you think this is professional bias, I sat next to a family from Tennessee on the train down to DC, and their daughter, a high school senior from a town near Nashville, told me how ridiculous (her word) the tests were and how they made the teachers stop teaching fun stuff (her words) and worry about the tests. Her parents seconded her remarks, then went out of the way to tell me that they were Republicans, but didn’t agree with Governor Christie’s attempts to impose a Tennessee solution on New Jersey. It’s amazing what people will tell you if you look them in the eye and just listen to what they say.

Anyway, when I told the Tennessee teachers where I was from, they told me that they loved the NJEA because it had a backbone and stood up, as much as it could, to the governor.

I got the same treatment from Idaho. The president of the Idaho Education Association also professed admiration for New Jersey’s public school teachers because she said that Idaho was moving towards a state salary system and that the state had appropriated money that should have gone to teacher’s salaries to pay for a misguided technology venture that has no research behind it. I asked if the teachers had any say in the decision, and of course the answer was no. So much for professional respect.

From California’s delegation, I heard the most distressing stories of administrative overreach, even to the point where an entire elementary school’s faculty was being replaced because two teachers were accused of lewd acts with students. The administration’s rationale? “We don’t want any more surprises.” I am not condoning anything the accused teachers might have done, but where are the due process protections promised to teachers as citizens of the United States? As I spoke to the California delegates about these and other occurrences, they said they thought that this could not happen in New Jersey because of its strong association. I certainly hope so.

Other teachers I spoke with consistently said the same things about New Jersey once I identified myself from the state: They admired and respected the NJEA for standing up for member’s rights in a state where teachers still have strong protections and a unified membership. Even the new tenure law, signed by Christie in the dog days of August, keeps due process and tenure protections for all teachers who earn it, even as it takes longer to procure and streamlines the process of firing a teacher who doesn’t meet local standards.

So as we begin another school year, I am proud to say that I am a New Jersey public school teacher.
I am proud to say that I am committed to educating children and young adults so they can become productive members of society. And I am proud to be a member of NJEA, an organization that has a national reputation as one that fosters a pro-education ethic, and one that has the best interests of its members at heart.

I’ve focused primarily on public schools here, but it’s been my pleasure and honor to have worked in private schools and to have trained teachers who work in a wide variety of educational settings. Colleagues, remember that we do one of the most important paid jobs in the country. We have earned honor and respect and we show it through our deeds and actions. Have a great school year.

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Mitt Romney New Jersey Politics

We’ve Had It Up To Here With The Chris Christie Antics

Tired of the playground brawl that is the presidential election? Does the thought of two wonky, somewhat unpopular guys playing nyah-nyah get you down? Well, there’s always the drama created by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

But now that’s getting old too.

Yes, it seems as though the GOP’s darling is playing a little thinner these days and his antics don’t carry quite the same weight as they did eight months ago when he was denying himself, and the poor old United States, a run for the presidency.

For the record, Chris Christie will not be Mitt Romney’s running mate, nor will he be the Republican Party’s candidate for president any time soon… if ever. He might be a featured speaker at the GOP convention or get a cabinet post in a Romney administration and leave the frustrations of Trenton behind, but my sense is that he’d get bored being one of the lesser cabinet members and he could conceivably get us into some kind of war if offered State, Defense or Trade Representative. Secretary of Education?

 

Transportation? Why, use a helicopter to get around the traffic.

I’ve always disliked the stereotype of a “New Jersey attitude” and believe it to be harmful to the state, but even I won’t deny that Christie does exude a certain Garden State brusqueness. The problem is that it’s getting old here. A few months on the road and you’d see video of people with their mouths agape and eyes aghast at the man. Is he still popular with the base? No doubt. But the rest of the country has some manners, and the governor has shown that at critical times, he doesn’t.

Even worse, if Romney doesn’t win in November, then Christie might get tagged as a loser for supporting him. That would seriously damage his aura.

Don’t get me wrong. Christie can point to some significant legislative accomplishments including a 2% cap on municipal spending and the public worker pension and benefits bill that makes teachers, police and firefighters pay more while allowing him to delay full pension payments to the state. And rumor has it that he’s about to sign a teacher tenure reform bill that streamlines the process of firing an ineffective teacher, but not after two negative evaluations. That he was able to get the New Jersey Education Association [NJEA] to the table on tenure is a win for him, but it’s only a small part of what he wanted to accomplish and he’s frustrated. The suburbs are pushing back on Charter Schools, and the legislature will not give him that tax cut that is the gold standard of every Republican lawmaker looking to win national acclaim.

The problem is that the Democrats will continue to hold the legislature even if Christie wins reelection in 2013. What fun would that be? And how many more YouTube videos can you make berating retired public workers, soldiers and lefties who question his policies? (No, I will not provide links to those videos, but you can find them easily enough.)

So in this summer of discontent, the good governor has some decisions to make. None of them are easy, but all will have long-term impacts on his career. I expect that he will carry on as he has been because what he’s done so far is not an act. It’s who he is. And that might be the biggest problem of them all.

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New Jersey Politics

Cory Booker Received Huge Huge Donations from Bain Capital in 2002

So on Sunday’s Meet The Press, Cory Booker made some news. He criticized the Obama administration for running ads questioning Mitt Romney’s connection to Bain and Romney’s claims of being a job creator. Booker called the ads “nauseating.”

Needless to say Booker – a Democratic Mayor from Newark New Jersey – received a huge amount of backlash from the social media and other prominent Democrats, causing him to later release a web video praising President Obama and expressing his everlasting love and support of the President.

But it was too late, the damage was already done.

And now we’re starting to see why this very popular Democratic Mayor spoke up against the Obama administration and in defense to the Romney campaign. Thanks to some investigative work by Think Progress, it seems that Romney’s Bain was a huge donor to the Booker 2002 campaign.

A ThinkProgress examination of New Jersey campaign finance records for Booker’s first run for Mayor — back in 2002 — suggests a possible reason for his unease with attacks on Bain Capital and venture capital. They were among his earliest and most generous backers.

Contributions to his 2002 campaign from venture capitalists, investors, and big Wall Street bankers brought him more than $115,000 for his 2002 campaign. Among those contributing to his campaign were John Connaughton ($2,000), Steve Pagliuca ($2,200), Jonathan Lavine ($1,000) — all of Bain Capital. While the forms are not totally clear, it appears the campaign raised less than $800,000 total, making this a significant percentage.

He and his slate also jointly raised funds for the “Booker Team for Newark” joint committee. They received more than $450,000 for the 2002 campaign from the sector — including a pair of $15,400 contributions from Bain Capital Managing Directors Joshua Bekenstein and Mark Nunnelly. It appears that for the initial campaign and runoff, the slate raised less than $4 million — again making this a sizable chunk.

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Domestic Policies Mitt Romney New Jersey Republican

I Went to Trenton to Govern, But All I Got Was This Lousy $38 Million

Governor Christie has had some major legislative accomplishments over the past two years including a 2% cap on property taxes and a public worker pension and benefits overhaul. Mind you, these laws have not necessarily made life better for New Jerseyans, as taxes have still risen and thousands of experienced public workers have either retired, fled or have been laid off because of them.

The past six weeks, though, have been another story for the guv’nor.

Despite his general popularity, the Republicans actually lost seats in the November legislative elections. Now Christie will need to rely even more heavily on the Democratic majority in the legislature and the Democratic power brokers in Essex and Camden Counties. Add in the disdain that Senate President Steven Sweeney has for Christie and you have a recipe for gridlock sprinkled with a tablespoon of revenge.

Then, the general consensus was that the lame duck legislative session was going to be one of the most active in years, with bills flying around State Street on teacher tenure and evaluation, property taxes, jobs, budget cuts and patronage. What’s happened? Nada. Almost every issue was pushed to the formal session that begins in early January, and won’t probably get any steam until the Governor’s State of the State message in the middle of the month.

And in the spirit of the holidays, Christie picked a fight with Senator, and former Governor, Richard Codey over the permanent appointment of Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf, accusing Codey of (gasp!) feeding information to reporters. Christie canceled Codey’s security detail and fired Codey’s cousin from the Port Authority board. That’s politics through and through and shows that Christie will never be the warm, fuzzy leader he sometimes pretends to be.

But the true state of the Governor’s clout was uncovered when New Jersey was actually awarded $38 million dollars in Race to the Top funds by the Obama Administration so it could implement a speculative teacher evaluation system based on student standardized test scores. Getting money should be a positive, but this award only dredged up the previous failure to even qualify for $400 million dollars in education funds because of the Governor’s attitude towards the New Jersey Education Association. Not only did it cost the state money, it also cost Commissioner of Education Brett Schundler his job and showed that Christie would blame everyone but his leadership for the error. It’s a pattern that he’s repeated in every misstep since, and it’s one reason why he would not make a good president.

He’s ending the year by essentially becoming Mitt Romney’s pit bull and possible vice-presidential running mate. Granted, he did only say that he would keep the door open, but that will only serve as a distraction in the coming year, as his flirtation with the presidency proved throughout the fall, because every time he doesn’t get what he wants, the media will remind us all that he’s got his eye on the national ticket. The Governor should just say no this time around and focus on the state.

It’s still very possible that Christie will get some of his reforms through the legislature, but many in the state are tired of his outbursts and outlandish statements. Prosecutors like him are convinced that they are always right and that they have the ultimate truth on their side, so why compromise? We need to remember that the next time one runs for statewide office.

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New Jersey Politics Republican

Will Christie Run? The Latest Answer… Again!

Some people just cannot take no for an answer. Every time Chris Christie was asked if he was running for president in 2012, he always responded the same way. For whatever reason, the media and élite Republicans don’t know what “NO” means. Christie even joked about killing himself to show that he is serious about not running. And even then, after making that statement, the media asked, “what will Christie do, will he run?”

After Christie answered that question again in his well publicized speech at the Reagan Library by directing all to a political video where he said “NO” a number of ways, the media asked again, “what will Christie do?” Apparently, the word “NO” coming from Christie’s mouth is not an acceptable answer for the media or the elites.

And now this: Christie will make another statement explaining whether he plans to run or not. The Wall Street Journal has a story that says, just last week, Christie made a pledge that he will not run.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has kept the political world in suspense for weeks over his presidential intentions, told prominent California fund-raisers and donors as recently as last Wednesday he had no plans to seek the White House.

One assurance took the form of a pledge Mr. Christie made to Meg Whitman, the newly appointed Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive, said two people familiar with the matter. As a condition of Ms. Whitman’s hosting a high-priced fund-raiser for him, Mr. Christie said he wouldn’t enter the Republican presidential contest, these people said.

But that cannot be right. The media and the Republican elites would not rest until poor Christie says yes!

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New Jersey niggerhead Politics Republican

Democrats Already Have Chris Christie In Their Cross-hairs

Just in case Chris Christie decides this week to join the Republican circus and get the usual instant promotion to ring-master, Democrats have already begun getting their hunting gear prepared. All that’s needed now is confirmation that Christie is running…lol, and the hope that Rick Perry provides his inappropriately named  hunting grounds in Texas.

On the Sunday talk shows, Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick were taking some pot shots at Chris Christie just to start the ball rolling.

Maryland Gov. and DGA Chairman Martin O’Malley on “Face the Nation;”

I think at the end of the day what this race is going to come down to is effectiveness. When it comes to being effective at creating jobs, improving schools, and expanding opportunity, his record in New Jersey has not been a record of governing for effectiveness. His bond rating has been downgraded by two of the bond rating agencies, his unemployment in New Jersey is one of the higher unemployment rates in the country at 9.4%. Last year, New Jersey created no new jobs and his schools, because of the choices he’s made to cut education funding, have actually been declining in their national ranking.

So that’s not a record of leadership and governance and effectiveness. So whatever the entertainment value is, it’s not effective governing.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick on “Meet The Press;”

Look, you know, he’s been governor for, what is it, a year and a half, two years? … I think unemployment in New Jersey is higher even than, than the national average. It’s some unfinished work in New Jersey in order to have proof points for the case he wants to make. I think the point is that the president is not leaving the outcome of this election up to pundits, pollsters, or some view of what the current or future field will be in the Republican Party. It’s about getting out and appealing to people where they live, where they are, where they feel, and making sure that they understand he’s trying to do what he can to help them out.

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New Jersey Politics Republican Ronald Reagan United States

Chris Christie Answered Again… No! Now Stop Asking!

Chris Christie delivered his keynote address tonight from the Reagan Library, speaking to a group of Republicans and reporters eager to know if he was going to change his mind and run for the Republican nomination to take on President Obama. However, after delivering his speech, the question apparently went unanswered.

Then came the short question segment from the audience. The first question was from a woman who asked  Christie what would he do to improve the economy. Boring.

The second audience member however, asked the question everyone wanted an answer to – are you running for President?

Christie’s answer to that question, was to direct the audience member and everyone watching to the video below. According to Christie, this is his answer to the question.

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New Jersey Politics

O.M.G – Chris Christie Defends A Muslim, Don’t Tell The Republicans!

His mouth got him in trouble again, this time, for actually speaking the truth. The Republican governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, went against what has come to be the norm in the Republican party these days – bashing Muslims.

Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who successfully defended other Muslims wrongfully detained by the Bush Administration after the September 11th attacks, was recently appointed to the judicial bench in New Jersey. Naturally, like is customary these days with the Republican party, the attacks against Sohail began, with some even suggesting that if the Muslim becomes a judge, he will introduce Sharia Law in New Jersey.

Christie had heard enough. He stepped to the podium and defended his appointee, in the process, knocking down the insane accusations the Republicans have unfairly heaped on all Muslims, and officially putting an end to any speculation that he would run for president in 2012 – Republicans will never vote for him now, especially after Christie’s very reasonable, truthful comments made in defense of Sohail Mohammed, and the verbal whipping he put on members of his own party.

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New Jersey Piers Morgan Politics Republican United States

G.O.P. Chris Christie Is A Pompous Ass

This is what you get when you vote for someone to run your state, and that person has no regard for the people of the state, because that person answers to a higher calling – Corporations.

Case on point:  Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. Apparently, Christie’s interpretation of being a public servant means that the public has no right to ask him any questions based on his flawed policy decisions, and thinks it appropriate to tell his employers – the people who voted him into office – to mind their own business!

Christie appeared on a PBS program and took questions from the residents of his state. One constituent correctly pointed out that Christie sends his kids to private school, but turns around and cuts funding to New Jersey’s public school. The public servant became absolutely livid.

Below is his response.

Categories
New Jersey Politics Republican

Chris Christie – Fiscally Conservative In Words Only, Not Deeds

Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey – has been much in the news over the last few months. Republicans have been searching for a presidential candidate for the 2012 elections to go up against President Obama, and Christie matched the fiscally conservative ideals Republicans claim to believe in.

For example, the governor, in an effort to save some extra cash for the state of New Jersey even went as far as cutting education spending and necessary funding for teachers. What else was he expected to do? The state needed money and teachers make too much. So cutting their take home pay is what this fiscally conservative governor did.

But now, it would seem that New Jersey is bringing home the dough. You know, rolling in cash… like flushing it down the toilet or something. Jersey apparently has so much money, that the fiscally conservative Republican governor saw no problem with taking the quick way to his son’s baseball game – using the State’s Police Helicopter that was purchased with $12 million of New Jersey’s taxpayer’s dollars.

Right before the lineup cards were being exchanged on the field, a noise from above distracted the spectators as the 55-foot long helicopter buzzed over trees in left field, circled the outfield and landed in an adjacent football field. Christie disembarked from the helicopter and got into a black car with tinted windows that drove him about a 100 yards to the baseball field.

And who exactly will have to cover the bill for the pilot and crew, and the fuel for Christie’s trip? Well the people of New Jersey of course. They’re making enough money, remember? They’re good.

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