Saturday, March 18, 2017

Contact the Times Union about Vitti leaving. Let them know how you feel

Have a take on the superintendent leaving? Let Denise Amos Smith of the TU know. denise.amos@jacksonville.com

Superintendent Vitti get in touch with me ASAP!

Superintendent Vitti I read that you are a finalist for the superintendent position in Detroit and let me be one of the first to wish you good luck!

http://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2017/03/17/detroit-school-superintendent-finalists/99328504/

I imagine this announcement must have blindsided many of your supporters. Where teachers and parents may celebrate, those in the business community who went to bat for you will probably be disappointed and feel betrayed, I however think it is noble that finally you are doing what is best for the community.

Sir, I would like to know how I can help? I have written frequently about how you seem to just throw ideas against the wall to see what sticks. How much of your staff lives in a constant state of fear and intimidation and how you have often regarded teachers as little more than "widgets" and how you seem more interested in what the business community rather than what parents and teachers think among many other pieces and I want you to know I am prepared to take them all down at a moments notice. I wouldn't want anything on Education Matters to slow you down.

Finally do they have a need for a community foundation in Detroit? I have a feeling your pals at JPEF may be looking for new positions as well.

God Speed Sir, God Speed!

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Superintendent Vitti goes on a charm offensive.

Now that's offensive.

Yesterday he touted improvements to the school culture survey, despite the fact ten percent of the district staff didn't even bother to fill it out, full disclosure I was one of them.

Further more a long time reader pointed out, The surveys show improvement because they only ask about how teachers feel about admin leadership. We feel better about how our principals are running our buildings. The surveys do NOT ask about the culture created by district arrogance and incompetence that continues unabated under current leadership.

Today he is celebrating an award from the National Council on Teacher Quality

From News4Jax

"It is an honor and a point of pride that the NCTQ selected us as an honorable mention in its first Great Districts for Great Teachers initiative," said Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti. "Over the last four years, we have revamped our thinking, strategy and systems to become more intentional on recruiting and retaining great teachers. There is no investment more valuable than in our teachers and no better way to support our students' futures and success."

http://www.news4jax.com/news/duval-county-public-schools-honored-for-national-achievement

Deep breaths, NCTQ is hardly the organization one should go to, to recognize teaching, though as we look into their background its no wonder why Vitti loves them.

They were founded sixteen years ago through a huge infusion of Bill Gates cash to push market based reforms. Many people who follow education reform believe they are one of the chief drivers behind the punitive, blame the teacher evaluations that have become all the rage and high stakes testing that has had dubious results and has sucked the love out of education for many teachers and students alike.

In effect the have been blaming teachers for years but I guess nobody is to anti-teacher enough for Vitti to turn down an award from.

Before they made up some award they were best known for rating teacher preparation programs while simultaneously pushing Teach for America.

Diane Ravitch had an interesting take on their formation, from the Washington Post:

NCTQ was created by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation in 2000. I was on the board of TBF at the time. Conservatives, and I was one, did not like teacher training institutions. We thought they were too touchy-feely, too concerned about self-esteem and social justice and not concerned enough with basic skills and academics. In 1997, we had commissioned a Public Agenda study called “Different Drummers”; this study chided professors of education because they didn’t care much about discipline and safety and were more concerned with how children learn rather than what they learned. TBF established NCTQ as a new entity to promote alternative certification and to break the power of the hated ed schools.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/ravitch-what-is-nctq-and-why-you-should-know/2012/05/23/gJQAg7CrlU_blog.html?utm_term=.3db59bcff0d3

John Thompson, had a similar take, from Ed Week,

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), is a Gates-funded organization dedicated to data-driven, market-oriented "reform." It sees itself as a part of a coalition for "a better orchestrated agenda" for accountability, choice, and using test scores to drive the evaluation of teachers. Its forte is publishing non-peer reviewed opinion pieces under the guise of "policy analysis."

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2011/06/john_thompson_fact_checking_th.html

I could go on and on and on. Seriously google them.

The bottom line is NCTQ where well funded is the type of organization that respectable districts stay away from, and the super can put as much lipstick on the pig as he wants, but at the end of the day its still a pig.

In my estimation this award isn't worth the paper it is written on and it shouldn't distract you which I think is the super's intent, from the problems we have.

Here is a link to NCQT, explore if you like. http://www.nctq.org/siteHome.do

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Vitti admits he's not a good leader

Vitti admits he thought teachers were easily replaceable. Nothing more than a "widget"

For years I have been writing about Superintendent's open disdain towards teachers and he has shrugged it off, well friends in today's Times Union he admitted that he considered teachers little more than easily replaceable "widgets".

From the Times Union:

He said education leaders in general and he, personally, have at times “treated teachers as widgets,” assuming that departing teachers can be easily replaced by hiring more teachers. With the ongoing national teacher shortage, Vitti said, school leaders are concerned that they’re not attracting or retaining enough quality teachers.

http://jacksonville.com/news/education/2017-03-14/climate-surveys-culture-improving-duval-schools-progress-needed

Teachers aren't widgets, they are caring professionals who sacrifice so much and shame on the superintendent for thinking they were any less.

Now that there is a teacher shortage suddenly Vitti has changed his tune? He is like a metaphorical clan member who used to burn crosses on people's laws, that inherited a lawn care service, well I better start being nice to folks with lawns now.

I don't believe he has changed his tune at all just circumstances have changed. During the down turn anybody with a diploma on the wall was willing to try teaching, now however it takes a special sort to show up and fewer and fewer are doing so.

He doesn't get or take ownership that in Duval at least, he because of his open disdain towards teachers and what they do, is partly responsible for our shortage.

How many careers have ended prematurely because of his leadership? How many teachers left the district to go to other ones where they were appreciated? How many people retired early to get away from him? Hundreds if not thousands is my bet, but oh now he's changed his mind about teachers?

I don't believe it for a second and one of the way I can tell is by his use if the word widget. The district has sent truckloads of cash to an outfit called the New Teacher Project or TNTP. They are the super's go to for data collection and consultation. Well friends TNTP's guiding principal is called the "widget effect" which basically says you can fire teachers to success. So we are to believe that he is suddenly enlightened, now that the district is desperate for teachers, while he is still working with an organization that has no regard for the teaching profession? Well friends birds of a feather flock together.

I ask any school board members out there how can we have a leader that only cares about teachers when he has to? When he has no other choice and one that had driven hundreds maybe thousands of teachers away, why do you still allow him to lead?

We are never going to reach our potential as long as we marginalize and disrespect teachers, or as long as we have a leader that only appreciates them when he is forced to.

The Superintendent was a "teacher" for a cup of coffee before he started his march to education domination, and I imagine its because he has no idea what they do and endure that he has little regard for them. That hasn't changed, what has is now teachers have more options and he has fewer ones.

A leopard can't change its spots friends, and I can't imagine the super's real opinion about teachers has changed either.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Talking student testing and education reform with PISA

SO

By John Louis Meeks, Jr.

If you thought that the Americans were fiercely competitive in the Olympics, take a look at public education.

Instead of pride over the sons and daughters standing astride the podium amid the rising swells of the national anthem, we get an inferiority complex about how we teach our children.

Of course, instead of leading the medal count, American schools are in the middle of the pack – neither great nor poor. This is taken for mediocrity and lack of effort on the part of a failing school system.

There is more than meets the eye here.

In March, the local Duval Teachers United teachers union hosted a presentation of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) at the Schultz Center. PISA studies the academic performance of 15-year-old students in math, science, and reading. This is done through a random sampling of student testing in nations that belong to the PISA partnership. DTU hosted this gathering to look at the data from their latest survey based on student testing in 2015.

The morning began with remarks from the presidents of the American Federation of Teachers and the Florida Education Association – Randi Weingarten and Joanne McCall.

Weingarten said that it is useful to see what the top ranking countries are doing. For example, she said, “They actually make teachers important.”

This meant, she said using their tests to inform instruction and not for punitive measures.

Another factor behind high student performance, she said is equity.

“Countries that deal with equity move up on the PISA scale,” said Weingarten, speaking of the proven results of universal Pre-K, mental health services, and other programs that can level the playing field for student achievement.

Weingarten also highlighted how the long term PISA numbers reflected education policy in two distinct nations that went opposite ways on the privatization issue. The results, she said were as clear as Sweden and Poland.

On one hand, Sweden was “high flying” among other nations on their testing. Then something changed.

“Sweden fell in love with market forces,” Weingarten said, along with privatization and for-profit schools expanding tenfold. As a result, Sweden ranked lower than the United States in the following PISA reading surveys.

On the other hand, Weingarten said Poland had the lowest performing schools for a quarter of a century. They made changes in 2000 that used testing to inform instruction instead of to punish schools. Since those changes were made, Poland’s fortunes changed.

Rob Weil, AFT director of field programs and educational issues briefed the assembled on the PISA data and additionally provided best (and worst) practices of schools around the world.

As data is only as reliable as its interpretation, I braced myself for the usual bad news but gained a better perspective of was beneath the surface of the PISA results.

For example, the United States ranks 24^th in reading scores from the 2015 survey. Its average reading score of 497 was only four points above the international average.

While the knee jerk response would be to bemoan why American students cannot event crack the top ten, consider that federalism creates a patchwork of 50 different education systems that fall in different places on the curve. It would be a mistake to treat American schools as a monolith of mediocre results.

Imagine if Massachusetts were a sovereign nation. According to the PISA survey, they would actually tie with Canada for 3^rd place on the 2015 survey. The average reading score for both is 527, above the average score of 493.

Meanwhile, the Sunshine State has some ground to cover. Weir referred to Florida’s 2012 PISA results as the 2015 did not have a sufficient sample to include. If Florida were an independent country, it would rank 42^ndwith an average score of 467 in the PISA results.

When a team’s performance is not up to par, the blame often falls on the coach – rightly or wrongly. But is there more than meets the eye when pointing fingers?

Weil challenged the current mindset where teachers are the root of public education’s woes.

“There’s no research that shows that we have to fire teachers” to improve public education, Weil said.

And to the contrary, pitting schools against each other in competition for students under the guise of ‘choice’ is not the panacea either said, Weil.

“…cross-country correlations of PISA do not show a relationship between the degree of competition and student performance,” said an earlier PISA report from 2009.

To explain how choice and competition could have a detrimental effect on education, Weil presented Chile’s PISA scores. The South American nation has used a voucher-based system for three decades. Based on the ideas of Milton Friedman of the University of Chicago, Chile’s free-market approach to education resulted in Chile’s 2015 PISA reading results (459) falling 34 points below the international average and ranking it 42^nd among the 72 surveyed nations.

Furthermore, according to PISA research, charter schools and competition in general are not a definitive solution to education woes.

“The bottom line appears to be that, once again it has been found that, in aggregate, charter schools are basically indistinguishable from traditional public schools in terms of their impact on academic test performance,” said the Review of National Charter School study in 2013.

“Education isn’t a competition,” said FEA president McCall, during a panel discussion including Weingarten, Duval County school superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti and local education leaders that was held after Weil’s PISA presentation.

To the contrary, investment in public education has increased in other nations. In spite of the global financial crisis of 2008, nations outside of the United States increased their investment in education by five percent. The United States cut spending by one percent in this same time frame.

“You have to invest in a public school system,” said Dr. Vitti, who compared improving test scores in the district to rising fortunes in the corporate world.

“You don’t de-invest in a company that’s on the rise,” he said, “It’s the same concept for public education.”

The panel discussion also spoke of the challenges that equity presents to public schools that must serve all students regardless of their background, home life, or prior knowledge.

“We have so many students who start behind the curve,” said McCall.

What Duval County’s public schools has accomplished, Dr. Vitti said, has been an improved ratio of school counselors to students and the district ranking first in Florida counties for the percentage of students taking art and music classes. And the district is planning to provide mental health training to all of its teachers.

This aligned with McCall’s vision for all Florida public school students.

“We have to have wraparound service school,” she said, referring to before and after school care to create a ‘safe haven’ for students.”

And how can teachers better serve their students in light of the latest PISA survey results? According to Weir’s presentation, the answer lies in allowing teachers to collaborate with each other, trusting teachers to do what is best for their students, and affording teachers the time to do more than teach but to best work directly with their students individually.

Take notice that the solution does not include punitive measures or adversarial attitudes toward educators and education support professionals.

“We’re never the enemy,” said McCall, “We’re always on the side of what’s best for students.”

Together, we can go for the gold.

Together, we can go for the gold.PHIA DELANE

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Superintendent Vitti says letting children be children is a hardship

As you may know there has been a debate about recess. the superintendent says teachers can take their kids out whenever they feel like they need it while teachers on the other hand report that those times because they are afraid of following behind on the learning schedule and the repercussions that brings, are close to never. Some parents at schools that don't do well on subsidized tests report they can count the number of time their children have gone out for recess on their fingers,

Well yesterday the superintendent once again let his feelings be known on kids being kids.

Via Facebook: from Elizabeth Ross who has been spearheading the effort to get children consistent recess.

I was at the Duval County School Board meeting tonight. During the Superintendent's Report, Dr. Vitti talked about some of the education issues before the Florida legislature this year. He mentioned the Recess Bill, and said it would be a hardship for the district if it had to provide daily recess to elementary students.

A hardship. What about the kids who have to sit all day long without a break? Who don't get to play and do developmentally appropriate things in school?

Attitudes like that are EXACTLY why a state mandate is needed.

The superintendent who spent barely a cup of coffee as a teacher doesn't understand that if we make school pure drudgery for kids they won't do well.

Come on superintendent let them play.

If you are interested in supporting the recess movement, click the link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RecessforDCPS/

Some good news about recess, http://floridapolitics.com/archives/233538-mandatory-recess-bill-sails-second-senate-committee

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Teacher speaks out about counseling students out of school

From a reader,

There is definitely district pressure to counsel non-grad 4th year high school students to the alternative high schools so that they don't hurt our graduation rate.

Students affected are usually students who didn't come to school and when they do, they can be behavior problems. Many have been beat down by the emphasis on testing and the direct effect on meeting graduation requirements.

Being in a traditional high school setting doesn't work for them, and for some, the flexibility of the alternative settings has worked for them. FSCJ used to have a great program, Pathways, that not only graduated students but prepared for work after high school. Unfortunately, FSCJ cut the program to focus exclusively on post-secondary education.

As long as school grades are based partly on 4 year gradation rate, the schools will continue to push the non-grads out to help their graduation rate.

The main emphasis for the district is to save the Ivory Towers jobs by encouraging schools to counsel these non-grads out. Little regard is given as to whether or not this practice benefits the affected students.

Trump on school choice

Will superintendent Vitti survive another scandal that would get others fired?

Last fall a former police officer with the DCPS police force alleged that the district was having children baker acted rather than arrested.

From First Coast News

A former lieutenant in the Duval School Board Police Department says a controversial mental health law they say is being misused in the district.

When he worked for the Duval School Police, he directed officers to use a controversial Florida law called the Baker Act to deal with problem students.

"I have had an officer do that before," says former lieutenant Benny Reagor. "I have made that command decision. I have said Baker Act them and don't put them in jail."

He says when a problem student is placed under the Baker Act, statistically, it's not counted as an arrest at school.

The Baker Act allows a law enforcement officer to involuntarily commit someone to a mental health facility.

"In lieu of physically arresting them for the felony, we would Baker Act the child as opposed to an arrest," he says.

Reagor worked for the department's previous police chief and retired in 2015.

http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2016/08/if-allegations-about-vitti-having.html

Well in today's Times Union's there were as equally damning allegations that public high schools would council out poor performers, sending them to charter schools in affect juking the books to raise graduation rates which has been his and his supporters go to line for him keeping his job.

From the Times Union

LaRoche called Vitti’s criticism of his school unfair and hypocritical. He said Duval’s high schools have been using schools like his to unload students they know won’t be able to graduate on time.

If students transfer to alternative high schools, then the district schools’ graduation rates get a boost, but it pushes the problem onto schools like his, he said.

“We have principals bringing these kids to us,” he said. “In essence, what we’re doing is helping these (district) schools’ graduation rates. We are an alternative drop-out recovery program, not a drop-out prevention program.”

Often these students come to him at least two years behind, he said; some at a fourth-grade or fifth-grade reading level. Many need to earn more than half their high school credits.

http://jacksonville.com/news/education/2017-03-03/school-board-members-vitti-question-charter-alternative-schools-graduation

A couple things, I wrote about this issue years ago when the district decided to extend the contracts of some of these charter schools,

http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2015/04/dcps-gives-charter-school-with-8.html

And likewise I have heard about the allegations that principals counseled out poor performers for years but i could never get anybody to go on the record.

Here is the things I doubt there is an email from Vitti to his subordinates saying get our arrest stats down and grad stats up by using these morally reprehensible means. No I think he puts such pressure and intimidation on people that they will do whatever they have to, to keep their jobs. Just ask any teachers how they feel? I bet intimidation comes up in thier first three sentences somewhere.

If either of these things, let alone both are happening, how does the super keep his job? And unless Becki Couch , Paula Wright and the rest of the school board sent the super a memo titled, "chuck ethics, just get it done", doesn't the buck stop at the superintendent? Who is going to pay the price for these policies even if they are unwritten? My bet is somebody way down the totem pole.

We need to do things the right way, and here is yet more anecdotal evidence that we are not.

Vitti believes he was brought in to turn us around, his methods though are less than desirable.

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