September - Tennessee Education Association

Speaking out with you
Gera Summerford, President
Remember in November: Vote for Education
In the November elections this year, a unique opportunity
is at hand for Tennessee educators. Many of you across the
state will be able to vote for a fellow TEA member for the 108th
General Assembly. Eleven TEA members — your fellow teachers
— declared themselves candidates for the state legislature this
year. From House district 8 in East Tennessee to House district
91 in Shelby County, these teachers chose to
step up and seek election to help govern our
state. It’s an exciting time in Tennessee and
I’m very proud they’ve taken this bold step!
TEA members have not forgotten that the
107th legislature repealed the professional
negotiations law, dramatically changed
teacher tenure and removed all job security
for non-certified school staff. Educators
who have devoted their professional lives to
preparing children for a successful future are now committed
to making a difference in state government as well. Throughout
2011 and this past school year, TEA members worked hard to
convince legislators to represent their interests. We came to
the capitol in record numbers, we called and emailed and met
our state representatives in their home districts. Now, in 2012,
some TEA members are making the ultimate commitment to run
for office themselves.
Nine of the eleven have been successful in the state primary
races and they need our support in November. These proud
teachers from Knox County, Hamilton County, Coffee County,
Murfreesboro, Weakley County, Tipton County, and Shelby
County are working hard to raise money and raise awareness
for their campaigns. The support of their education colleagues
will be invaluable in the fight to win election this fall, and I
know TEA members will not let them down. If you live in these
counties you can get further information through your local
president, UniServ Coordinator or the TEA website.
As a Tennessee teacher or education support staff, you give
your energy and best effort to help children learn and grow.
You know better than anyone what’s needed in our schools
to provide a quality public education for every student. You
advocate for children and public education in the work you
do each day. Your advocacy is needed at the ballot box this
year — and every election year — to make sure our schools
and our students get what they need. Across the state, those
candidates who will listen to teachers and support public
education will need your support and your vote. They will also
need the support of your relatives, friends and colleagues,
so ask everyone you know to vote for pro-public education
candidates. It is the responsibility of every Tennessean.
TEA has always been the chief advocate for quality
public schools in Tennessee. We’ve always worked to support
education-friendly candidates. This year we must remain united
and focus our efforts like never before.
Remember in November: Vote for education! And, where
possible, vote for an educator!
Al Mance, Executive Director
Student Achievement Gives Tennessee Teachers
Reason to Stand Up and Cheer
Anytime there are indications that classroom results have
improved, it is good news. The recent release of the 2011-2012
Tennessee student test scores brought good news about Tennessee’s
students and teachers.
According to Tennessee Department of Education data, students
in grades three through eight made the following
statistically significant improvements since
2010. The percentage of students scoring
proficient/advanced in reading/language arts
rose from 44.8 to 49.9; the percentage in math
rose from 34.6 to 47.3; the science percentage
rose from 51.9 to 60.5, and social studies
increased from 79.9 to 82.9. Students completing
courses with end-of-course tests (English I,
English II, algebra I, algebra II and biology)
also showed improved test scores. These are all
statewide improvements. Bravo! Thank you, Tennessee’s teachers!
Historically, when the educational achievement of a typical
sixth-grade class is measured, researchers find a range of
approximately eight years in reading comprehension, vocabulary,
arithmetic reasoning, arithmetic computation, mechanics of English
composition, and other forms of achievement. In almost any sixthgrade
class, researchers found a pupil with first- or second-grade
reading ability and another with eleventh- or twelfth-grade reading
ability. In any grade above the primary level, we find the complete
range of elementary school achievement.
Imagine how remarkable it is then that teachers and students have
realized an average six percentage-point improvement over a twoyear
period. Despite the distractions of a new evaluation system and
other “education reform” initiatives, professional teachers continued
to teach to the outer limits of their talent and skills. In the end, the
improvements in student achievement came as the result of commonsense
changes in curriculum standards and teachers’ dedication to
helping all students achieve these new standards.
This is huge! Please take a moment to stand up and cheer for the
success of teachers and public education. Hurray!
Several teachers with whom I have spoken said that previous
lower performance was due, in part, to redundancy in the curriculum.
Students were spending up to six months each school year studying
the same material they had completed the year before. Some of that
wasted instructional time has been recouped and also helped increase
student scores.
More curriculum changes are in progress. The new state standards
are being melded with National Common Core Standards. The result
should be a curriculum that more closely parallels the learnings
measured by national standardized achievement tests. The Common
Core Standards are not a silver bullet for improving teaching and
learning. A rigorous course of study taught by well-educated teachers
who are given the freedom and resources needed to teach just might
become that silver bullet.
One thing is clear. It is the combined efforts of teachers and
students in classrooms that have resulted in improved test scores.
Nothing else comes close. Let’s hope the scores also reflect a higherquality
education.
Congratulations to you.
You count.
teach (USPS 742-450, ISSN 15382907) is published
monthly (except June, July and December) by the
Tennessee Education Association, 801 Second Avenue
North, Nashville TN 37201-1099. Periodical postage
paid at Nashville, TN. The subscription price of $3.65 is
allocated from annual membership dues of $258.00 for
active members; $129.00 for associate, education
support and staff members; $16.00 for retired members;
and $10.00 for student members. Member of
State Education Editors (SEE).
Postmaster: Send address changes to teach,
801 Second Avenue North,
Nashville, TN 37201-1099.
MANAGING EDITOR: Alexei Smirnov
asmirnov@tea.nea.org
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Carol K. Schmoock
PUBLISHER: Alphonso C. Mance
Tennessee Education Association
801 Second Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37201-1099
Telephone: (615)242-8392,
Toll Free: (800)342-8367, (800)342-8262
Fax: (615)259-4581
Website: www.teateachers.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT: Gera Summerford* (800)342-8367
VICE PRESIDENT: Barbara Gray* (901)353-8590
SECRETARY-TREASURER: Alphonso C. Mance (615)242-8392
DISTRICT 1 Leisa Lusk* (423)928-6819
DISTRICT 2 Lauren McCarty (865)385-5220
DISTRICT 3 Karen Starr (423)628-2701
DISTRICT 4 Tanya Coats* (865)637-7494
DISTRICT 5 Michael Plumley (423)749-8228
DISTRICT 6 Scott Price (931)455-7198
DISTRICT 7 Allen Nichols* (615)653-6501
DISTRICT 8 Kawanda Braxton (615)554-6286
DISTRICT 9 Theresa L. Wagner (270)776-1467
DISTRICT 10 Guy Stanley (615)384-2983
DISTRICT 11 Wendy R. Bowers (731)645-8595
DISTRICT 12 Suzie May (731)779-9329
DISTRICT 13 Ernestine King (901)590-8188
DISTRICT 14 Sarah Kennedy-Harper (901)416-4582
DISTRICT 15 Tom Emens (901)277-0578
ADMINISTRATOR EAST Johnny Henry (865)509-4829
ADMINISTRATOR MIDDLE Julie Hopkins
(615)569-5742
ADMINISTRATOR WEST Charles Green (901)624-6186
HIGHER EDUCATION Clinton Smith (731)881-7167
BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER EAST Paula Hancock
(865)694-1691
BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER MIDDLE Kenneth Martin
(615)876-1948
BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER WEST LaVerne Dickerson
(901)416-7122
STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS Vacancy
ESP Christine Denton (931)647-8962
TN NEA DIRECTOR Melanie Buchanan (615)305-2214
TN NEA DIRECTOR Diccie Smith (901)482-0627
TN NEA DIRECTOR Diane Lillard* (423)478-8827
STEA MEMBER Marilauren Anderson (731)478-5106
TN RETIRED Gerald Lillard (423)478-8827
NEW TEACHER Candra Clariette (615)506-3493
* Executive Committee
TEA HEADQUARTERS STAFF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Alphonso C. Mance; ASST. EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR, Terrance Gibson ; ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Mitchell Johnson; ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Carol K.
Schmoock; TEA GENERAL COUNSEL; Rick Colbert; MANAGER
OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS: Stephanie Faulkner; INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY & SYSTEMS MANAGER, Galen Riggs; STAFF
ATTORNEYS: Katherine Curlee, Virginia A. McCoy; MANAGER
OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: Jerry Winters; GOVERNMENT
RELATIONS COORDINATOR: Antoinette Lee; WEB MASTER &
COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: Amanda Chaney; MANAGING
EDITOR & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: Alexei Smirnov;
RESEARCH & INFORMATION: Melissa Brown; INSTRUCTION &
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COORDINATORS: Susan Dalton,
Vacancy; COORDINATOR OF MEMBERSHIP & AFFILIATE RELATIONS:
Duran Williams.
UniServ Staff contact information
can be found on page 12 or by scannig
the Quick Response code below.
Tennesee’s Teachers Impact Evaluation
Constant feedback, surveys and lobbying push for improvement
Ever since Tennessee’s teachers opted to remain
at the table as the Tennessee teacher and principal
evaluation system was being developed, TEA pushed
for a fair evaluation process and guided its members
through the pitfalls of the system’s implementation.
TEA insisted on—and succeeded in—including
the option to grieve evaluation results, circulated
30 Tuesday Reports, highlighting ongoing tweaks in
the evaluation system, conducted multiple surveys
among teachers and principals across the state, and
promoted a comprehensive seven-point plan to fix
the evaluation system in January 2012.
The July 26-27 meeting of the State Board of
Education showed that TEA’s concerns are being
heard. As Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin
Huffman congratulated teachers across the state for
“exceeding expectations against a very high bar,” he
said that more work remains ahead, such as reducing
the number of options for the 15% evaluation
component and reducing the impact of school-wide
teacher effect scores on individual scores.
“Our goal is to get more and more teachers into
an individual teacher effect category,” Huffman
said, hoping that three-quarters of teachers will be
evaluated that way “over the next couple of years.”
Why the half-baked evaluation system was put
in motion without a full trial run is still lost on most
teachers in the state, but Huffman defended the
For new and nearly new teachers
TEA President Gera Summerford (right) shares teachers’ evaluation concerns with State Board of Education
Chairman Fielding Rolston and Executive Director Gary Nixon.
move by saying that the department learned far
more from implementing the evaluation system as
opposed to continuously studying it.
Also during the July meeting, the state board
approved the application by an out-of-state charter
school entity, Great Hearts Academies, to build a
charter school in West Nashville, overturning the
decree of the Metro Nashville school board, which
voted twice earlier this year to reject the Great
Hearts application.
In one of the more contentious meetings in
recent history, state board members chose to ignore
the board staff’s recommendation. Even so, in mid-
August the Metro Nashville school board voted 7-2 to
defer the Great Hearts application in defiance of the
state board’s order.
Sharpen Your Teaching Skills at TEA’s New Teacher Conferences
Novice teachers will have two opportunities
again this year to sharpen their teaching skills and
improve their success in the classroom at TEA’s New
Teacher Conferences.
TEA’s New Teacher Conference is offered on two
Saturdays during the 2012-2013 school year, once
each semester: November 3, 2012, and February 23,
2013.
Power Teaching introduces best practices for
delivering powerful instruction to increase student
learning. This session promises to strengthen
teaching in ways that matter when it comes time for
observations under the state’s evaluation process
no matter the evaluation model used.
I Can Do It! is the highly acclaimed classroommanagement
training program that addresses one
of the most pressing issues identified by beginning
teachers and their principals. The program covers
classroom transitions, reinforcements, rules and
routines, and dealing with difficult behavior.
Both tracks offer valuable insights and
practical tips for teachers of all subjects at all
grade levels.
Each track runs all day, from 8:30 a.m. until
3:30 p.m., on both dates.
Teachers in their first three years of
classroom teaching are invited to attend either
or both conferences. Teachers earn six hours of
professional development credit for each day they
attend, a total of 12 hours for those who attend
both conferences during the year.
Registration for the new teacher conferences
can be done by mail or online. A $40 registration
fee, payable in advance, secures a spot in the
training. A discounted rate is available for those
who register for both sessions at the same time,
and an additional early bird registration discount
applies for those who register by October 6 for both
dates. The fee will be refunded to TEA members
who attend if their registration fees were paid by
personal or Association check.
More details and registration information have
been mailed to local presidents, and can be found
online at www.teateachers.org/new-teacherconference.
New teachers participate in TEA’s ‘I Can Do It!’ training.
Conference fees will be refunded to TEA members.
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