Special Education Today

6 March 2010

Fifteen states, D.C. are Race to the Top finalists

Filed under: DC Public Schools, WTU — Maria Angala @ 12:40 pm
It was announced this week that fifteen states and Washington, D.C., have been selected by the Department of Education as finalists from a pool of 41 applicants in the federal Race to the Top grant competition. They are now closer to obtaining a piece of $4.35 billion for education. Other finalists are Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee. Officials expect to announce no more than six winners next month. A second round of competition will take place this year. (also check out The Wall Street Journal)

As soon as my RSS feeds received the news, I immediately checked the Race to the Top application of our district. I found that it is "bold and brave" and it states many of the necessary ingredients for 21st century education that if implemented effectively and collaboratively has the potential to transform the school district's culture of teaching and learning. Who wouldn't want quality and job embedded professional development for teachers, innovative classroom resources, and world class instruction taught by effective educators in every school in DC? We all want to see this happen!

But what is wrong in the picture? The application ties up 50% of the student test scores to teacher evaluations.

Part of the application states: "DCPS worked with the Washington Teachers Union (WTU) to obtain its support for the Race to the Top application, but the WTU opted not to sign on. The application - including its initiatives and goals - is bold, aggressive, and uncompromising, and while the union opted not to support the proposal, the Distict strongly believes that a broad base of reform-oriented teachers and leaders support the DC RTTT plan".

I commend our WTU President George Parker for not giving his support to something that is going to hurt our teachers and students in the long run. Our educators do not deserve all the blame for low school performance because there are other factors that contribute to a school's failure that even the highly qualified and the most effective teachers cannot overcome. Teachers should not be held solely accountable for poor student test scores. I wish we have the right evaluations that measure what our diverse learners and exceptional needs students know and are able to do. I feel that we are also setting up our students to fail when we don't have the right evaluations that measure what they are learning while considering their strengths, weaknesses and special needs.

I believe that the goals as stated in the application are great but overall is based on false assumptions, and having them implemented effectively is another story. I wish our policy makers had deeply involved the educators and sincerely listened to us (and to those who represent us) when making decisions on what is best for our students that we, teachers, truly understand.

1 March 2010

D.C. evaluation system is winning over teachers (?)

Filed under: DC Public Schools, WTU — Maria Angala @ 4:04 pm
According to a blog article, a teacher-evaluation system in place in Washington, D.C., schools has been criticized by a teachers union official as lacking an "appropriate system of support to improve instruction," but some educators say it is the best evaluation system they have seen. IMPACT requires teachers to have five observations each year from veteran teachers and administrators, with follow-up conferences where observers offer suggestions for improvement to teachers. The Washington Post/Class Struggle blog


My effectivity as a DCPS teacher is also being judged by the IMPACT, so far so good, here's a memo from the Chancellor. Yes, my students and I worked very hard for this. Honestly, knowledge and implementation of the core propositions of the national teaching standards and the best teaching practices over time made me the teacher that I am today. I am now preparing for the 2nd cycle of the IMPACT from my Master Educator which will be anytime this week.
Back to the article. "DC evaluation system is winning over teachers"? Speaking as an educator I have some concerns about the truthfullness of this artcile. It would be best to see good data from DCPS and WTU to back up every assertion about the effect of the IMPACT evaluation system on students and teachers.

16 February 2010

Teachers told to cut the “fluff” to make up for snow days

Filed under: DC Public Schools — Maria Angala @ 11:06 pm

After being closed for about a week, schools in the Washington, D.C., area were busy clearing sidewalks and parking lots Monday to prepare for students to return to school today, but some schools decided to remain closed because they were unable to remove the abundance of snow. Teachers and administrators in West Virginia's Raleigh County spent Monday advising teachers how to make up for the lost instructional time when classes resumed Tuesday. "Our teachers will have to cut all of the fluff and teach the essentials to our students," one high-school principal said. The Washington Post

5 February 2010

Dallas teachers say poor leadership is to blame for low morale

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 4:31 am
There are times that I find it difficult to get up in the morning and go to work to teach to the test, what's painful for me is painstaking for my students...the low morale that the teachers feel trickles down to them. It is not good to focus too much on burgeoning rules and tests and a narrow set of data then use it as a basis to judge student achievement and teacher's effectivity. Do policy makers really understand what matters most to our students and teachers? Outstanding teachers need exemplary role models in our schools who can guide us toward more effective decisions and innovative practices focused on genuine student learning...

Pressure to improve student test scores and poor leadership has caused morale among Dallas teachers to suffer, according to recent data. "Employees feel so beaten up," said Rena Honea, president of Alliance-AFT. "They feel they are working and working and they don't feel appreciated. Then they get new administrators not appropriately equipped to do the job." The Dallas Morning News

28 January 2010

Rhee’s Response to WTU President on the WTU Blog

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 12:03 pm
WTU President George Parker wrote a Letter to Chancellor Rhee Tuesday, January 26, 2010. Part of it reads:

Dear Chancellor Rhee:

This is a critical time for D.C. Public Schools, for teachers and for the students we serve. In recent weeks, there have been a number of positive developments. We have seen significant gains in student test scores, and negotiators for DCPS and the Washington Teachers’ Union have been moving closer to reaching an agreement that is good for kids and fair to teachers. These are examples of how our children benefit when the adults work together. That’s why I was so perplexed and, frankly, angered to read the comments ascribed to you in a recent interview with Fast Company magazine....(continue)


Chancellor Rhee responds to this letter yesterday, which is now on the WTU Blog:

Dear President Parker,

I received your letter and wanted to address your concerns right away. Student safety is our highest concern, and we have thousands of teachers, principals, and staff members who share that commitment and treat our students with great care and commitment everyday.

The comment I made to Fast Company was made sometime ago --- and in the context of explaining the importance of considering teacher performance, and not just seniority, in deciding which teachers would be let go during a reduction in force necessitated by a budget cut. I was describing the kind of conduct that was apropriate to take into account in implementing the reduction-in-force (RIF)... (continue)

25 January 2010

Rhee’s Remarks on RIF’d Teachers

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 3:03 pm
Related to my post yesterday, I just received an email from NBC4 requesting to get this word out to my readers...
DC Schools chancellor Michelle Rhee still hasn't explained her comments to a magazine that some of the teachers fired last October sexually abused students. The teachers union wants to know more about this ... and lots of parents do, too. We're chasing this story down tonight on News4 at 5 and 6.


Thanks,
NBC4 Advertising and Promotion

Please watch News 4 this evening! And here's WTU President George Parker's message to the members sent out thru robocall last night:

The WTU leadership believes Chancellor Rhee statement regarding our RIF teachers was reckless, slanderous and damaging to the reputation of all RIFed teachers and an insult to all DCPS teachers. The WTU is requesting the DC City Council to immediately investigate these slanderous allegations and is in the process of discussing legal and other appropriate responses. We will keep you updated.

Same question that I asked yesterday, could this be a landmark case that real advocates of students and teachers have been waiting for?

20 January 2010

DC Public Schools Two Years Ago

Filed under: DC Public Schools — Maria Angala @ 10:13 pm
This was DCPS two years ago...



How much have changed in two years?

15 January 2010

NBCTs should be rewarded for “going the extra mile”

Filed under: DC Public Schools, National Board Certification, Professional Development Trainings — Maria Angala @ 1:52 pm
National Board Certified Teachers should be rewarded for being leaders in their field, according to this blog post from the National School Boards Association that criticizes officials in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere for cutting funding that supports NBCTs. "We know the money isn't the only reason teachers become board-certified, but isn't it fair to pay them for going the extra mile? In any other profession, they would be treated that way," the blog's writer states. BoardBuzz blog

D.C. opens center to diagnose developmental delays in young children

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Special Education — Maria Angala @ 1:16 pm
A $10 million facility to diagnose young children with developmental delays opened Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and education officials say they hope the Early Stages Center will help improve the district's special-education system by providing earlier treatment of young children with special needs. "One of the many things that has sort [of] plagued the District is the fact that there was an under-identification of young people before they started in the school system of their special needs," schools chancellor Michelle Rhee said. The Washington Post/D.C. Schools Insider blog

11 January 2010

Teacher certification prestigious but too costly, Rhee says

Filed under: DC Public Schools, National Board Certification, Professional Development Trainings, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 1:59 am
I remember Chancellor Rhee saying that "...with a wonderful teacher there is no doubt that all the barriers will be overcome. This is where 100% of our focus is right now" in her Charlie Rose interview in July 2008.
I was very disappointed that Chancellor Rhee discontinued the supports for National Board Certification.
In today's WaPo article Bill Turque writes that according to Chancellor Rhee, "although she considers board certification a valuable form of professional development, it was difficult to justify the annual expenditure of about $600,000 because so few teachers were making it through the process".
Why is there a low number of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in DCPS? The same is true in fact in most high-needs schools across the nation. A Teacher Solutions report by 10 National Board Certified Teachers Center for Teaching Quality on the effects of National Board on Advancing 21st Century Teaching and Learning states that:
High-needs schools tend to have much more rigid requirements for curriculum instruction. There is considerably less trust among administrators in teachers' abilities to positively impact student learning. As a result, there is less opportunity for teaches to demonstrate that they can tailor instruction to student needs -- they are not even allowed to do so. It is typical to see scripted curricula and/or rigid, closely monitored pacing guides. All these reduce the amount of time and effort that can be committed to National Board Certification.
Another congressionally-mandated Research shows that the National Board Certification has a positive impact on student achievement, professional development and teacher retention. Even U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised the 2009 Class of NBCT's as "an extraordinary group" that has "demonstrated a commitment to taking their teaching practice and the teaching profession to a different level."
Isn't it more detrimental to DCPS that the supports to the National Board Certification was cut?
The report further relates that...

The National Board Certification process should be viewed through the lens of increasing human capital, not strictly from the perspective of short-term costs and benefits. Smart state and local policies will support candidates as they go through the process and then capitalize on the leadership and skills of those who successfully complete it. Once this dynamic environment is created and sustained, we are confident that teaching quality will improve.
I was a struggling teacher before I started out with the National Boards process. Coming from a foreign country with a different educational system, I was in the dark with how to teach the "American way", how to run a classroom and how to give an effective lesson to my students. I wanted to make a difference, my intention was good; what kept me in the classroom was my passion for teaching. Going through the National Board Certification process was life changing not just for me but for my students. It made me a reflective teacher, strengthened my instructional and behavior management skills, and made me a collaborator and a teacher leader. For me these are the qualities that set a good teacher apart from a great teacher.
For me a good teacher teaches content and is compliant with her professional duties. While a great teacher does not only teach, she is not only religious with fulfilling her professional duties as a teacher. A great teacher reaches-out, connects, communicates, and collaborates with the students, their parents, colleagues, the community; she knows how to gather resources and supports to maximize the potentials of each and every student in her classroom; a great teacher consistently reexamines her teaching practices and she learns from her experience.
In my phone conversation with Bill Turque last week, I mentioned to him the technology and financial supports from DCPS during the leadership of Dr. Clifford Janey that helped make the process more convenient for me during my candidacy. I also told him about the National Board Orientation and Professional Development sessions sponsored by The Washington Teachers Union (WTU), and the mentorship from our NBCTs in DCPS in collaboration with the American University and the George Washington University. These things made us teachers, most especially the aspiring candidates, feel valued that the administration is supporting our quest to become great teachers.
I believe that there are many excellent, outstanding, and effective teachers in DCPS that need to be identified and be rewared for the exceptional job that they are doing who need to join the cadre of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) and be in the forefront as teacher leaders in this education reform.
I can attest to the fact that the National Board Certification helps make good teachers become great teachers.
Isn't this what Chancellor Rhee wants for her teachers? I am hoping that she will reconsider her stand in this matter and decide to support the National Board Certification.

8 January 2010

Los Angeles union weighs in on teacher-improvement strategies

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 10:21 pm
Professional development, training programs and support for educators can improve teaching and learning, according to leaders of United Teachers Los Angeles. In this column, they write that teachers want to work with administrators to create more effective evaluations that include support for teachers who need help. The union leaders also suggest the use of incentives to keep highly qualified teachers in the classroom. Los Angeles Times
As teachers, we want to see our profession strengthened. Here is our framework for positive change.
- Overhaul the way we evaluate teachers and administrators: Evaluations should also be a two-way street, with teachers involved in evaluating the administrators they work with every day.
- Have top-notch teachers help their colleagues: ...need to reinstate the highly effective mentor teaching program (a victim of budget cuts) and tap into the wealth of national board certified teachers ...these educators have met rigorous national standards for teaching, and their expertise should be put to work helping struggling teachers.
- Offer professional support throughout a teacher's career: schools should have effective, teacher-driven professional development and common planning periods for collaboration and sharing of best practices.
- Offer incentives to keep accomplished teachers in the classroom: We should also look at pay initiatives that are working, such as the salary increase for educators who earn national board certification. That incentive has kept countless exceptional teachers in the classroom.
- Revamp teacher training programs at colleges and universities: Teacher certification programs need to concentrate on the skills teachers need the minute they step into their own classrooms.
- Give teachers a say in hiring their colleagues: ...teachers should routinely interview teacher candidates.
The most ineffective thing we can do to improve teacher quality is a tweak here and a tweak there.

Building a New Path Forward

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 10:08 pm
A colleague from IL Tweeted this video from the AFT..."schools are not factories"...I love it!

"Building a New Path Forward for Quality Teaching and Better Schools." Our children deserve more than a factory education. As teachers, we want to inspire students to think critically and creatively. Lets build a new path forward.

3 January 2010

Don’t just give up…

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teacher Sol's Lifestory, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 3:07 am
There is no one GIANT step that does it. It's a lot of LITTLE steps. --Peter A. Cohen

I enjoyed watching a comedy tonight with my family while reading a book; multi-tasking is a skill that I acquired as a teacher :)

I checked my celfone for the last time before going to bed at 2:00am...email, Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds...ok, but wait... a blog comment that will keep me awake if I don't respond to it ASAP. So here I am now, writing an entry about it that brings me back to where I was six years ago when I was a newbie in DCPS. What has changed since then? Nothing I guess...***first year teachers are still struggling during the stage called "the survival" or "the initiation" stage. It's the same thing that happened even to the most effective veteran teachers. It's what's going to test their commitment and dedication, and shape them to become highly skilled and competent!

Read on the latest comment on my last entry here...

Anonymous said...

I am a new teacher at DCPS and without a mentor and coach and to be honest feel like giving up, I just don't know how to keep on going. Last year I worked all the time and went to college, it got to a point where I would stay up all night trying to make sense of what I was teaching but to no avail as I scored badly on IMPACT. I feel like I could be a good teacher, but as a new teacher in the program I feel so unsupported and lost, it seems like DCPS is there to tear new teachers down not support them. Your blog is so positive, what advice do you have ? How can I keep going when I feel like giving up? Incidentally, I am also a foreigner and the whole school system is still a mystery to me and I find that things are not explained because everyone takes it for granted that you should know the system already, the American way. I know I can do better but feel demoralized.

7:51 PM

Maria Angala said...

I perfectly understand how you feel, I was in your exact predicament not too long ago...You are a great teacher and you are making a big difference to your students, please do not let anybody tell you otherwise.

Please email me: solangala@yahoo.com ...we need to sit down and talk, I am willing to support you and be your mentor every step of the way... tough times never last but tough people do!

Stay positive!


-MARIA-
*** OK, I had to clarify this part, I apologize if I did not make myself clear the first time.

18 December 2009

Is a value-added method the middle ground?

Filed under: DC Public Schools, NCLB/ IDEIA 2004, WTU — Maria Angala @ 7:05 am

While teachers have largely criticized an effort to evaluate them based solely on student test scores, a columnist writes that a value-added approach is a possible compromise. Value-added education -- supported by Education Secretary Arne Duncan -- compares a student's achievement from one year to the next. However, teachers unions have been critical of the value-added approach, saying that standardized tests do not measure student achievement or progress. The Porterville Recorder (Calif.)

7 December 2009

DCPS Inclusive Schools Week

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Special Education, Teachers/ Educators, Technology in Education — Maria Angala @ 10:15 pm
To celebrate Inclusive Schools Week (12/7 – 12/11), the DCPS Office of Special Education will be hosting three evening screenings of the documentary Including Samuel (read about the film here: http://www.includingsamuel.org). The first screening will be on Wednesday, 12/9 at Noyes EC. The second screening will be on Thursday, 12/10 at Columbia Heights EC and third screening will be this Friday 12/11/2009; all will begin @ 6pm. Watch the preview:


2 December 2009

Joining the NBCTLink

Filed under: DC Public Schools, National Board Certification, Professional Development Trainings, Teachers/ Educators — Maria Angala @ 6:09 am
I received the invitation yesterday to join the NBCTLink:
Dear Maria Lourdes Angala,

Congratulations on achieving National Board Certification! The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is happy to welcome you and your fellow National Board Certified Teachers into the new NBCT online community: NBCTLink.
NBCTLink is your opportunity to connect with fellow NBCTs, share best teaching practices and learn new and innovative ways to enhance student learning – all via the Internet.
I logged in, posted my first entry, browsed around and on Leadership Opportunities found this:
NBCTs are recognized by Pi Lambda Theta (PLT), the most selective national honor society and professional association of educators, for meeting the high standards of National Board Certification. PLT programs can enhance the career of even the most accomplished teacher. For example, PLT will advocate with a member‘s potential funding source to support that members’ participation in education’s premier annual teacher leader conference.
I want to get more involved in Professional Learning Network like this that is focused on enhancing teacher effectiveness and student achievement. There is too much negativity clouding the school system at this time that makes me wonder if we are really focusing on what we are supposed to target: empowering the teachers and giving them all the supports, resources and training that they need to be successful in supporting, empowering, inspiring, and rigorously teaching the students to maximize their potential.
I believe that things are going to get better if only we all are willing to make a compromise and have a sincere desire to find agreements that occupy the middle ground. Right action produces right results.

3 November 2009

DCPS Teaching and Learning Framework

Filed under: DC Public Schools, National Board Certification, Professional Development Trainings, Special Education, WTU — Maria Angala @ 8:40 pm
Here's the DCPS Teaching and Learning Framework, which supports the IMPACT which is the new system for assessing the performance of DCPS teachers and other school-based staff. I finished the first evaluation cycle with impressive ratings. Thanks to the National Board process. It made me reflect on, rethink, retool and redo my instructional practices. It made me innovative, creative, and try new things for my diverse students to learn the standards. It made me focus on data gathering and analysis, connecting and having good relationships with my students, colleagues, parents, and the community so we can all work towards a common goal --- maximizing my students' potential and increasing student achievement. Nope, I'm not yet National Board certified and I'm still working on it, but the process made me a teacher leader, a teacher collaborator, and a teacher learner...it made me a 21st Century educator! Even if I don't get National Board certified, I'm still glad I went through the process. It made me become a better teacher that my students deserve, and the intrinsic reward which made me grow professionally is worth all the sleepless nights, sacrifice and effort.

What do I think about the IMPACT? Yes, it is far better than our PPEP (old teacher evaluation system) but, for me, not the best one. I understand that this is still a work in progress. I have shared my concerns during WTU-DCPS Focus Group Discussions on this issue as a special education teacher. Studies have shown that students in co-teaching classrooms are better achievers than their peers. Also, the IDEA 2004 mandates inclusive education for our diverse learners. The new DCPS teacher evaluation tool does not support co-teaching nor the inclusion model. I hope that DCPS will come up with a rubric on team teaching model. I also want to know how they expect us to co-plan, co-teach, and co-grade with the regular education teachers, we just need some guidance on that.
Here's the pdf copy of the manual that was given during the training: IMPACT Guidebooks. And here's about our Master Educators. Tell me what you think: solangala@yahoo.com.

29 October 2009

D.C. Council blasts Rhee for teacher layoffs

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 10:16 pm
Washington, D.C., Council members said schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee ignored their instructions to trim summer-school funding to balance her budget. Instead, they said, she used the resulting money crunch as an opportunity to lay off hundreds of educators. Council members suggested Rhee violated the law by not cutting summer-school funding, to which Rhee said she was protecting students instead of staff. About 100 teaching jobs could have been saved by reducing the summer-school funding. The Washington Post




My friend, who's a Special Ed Coordinator in another school, told me that the Office of Special Ed is holding a seminar for them (not with the teachers) on how to be in win-win situations. Is this really thinking win-win? I believe that win-win is not taking advantage when it is understood that you are being trusted to act with honor, it seeks mutual benefit and is based on mutual respect. It is about bargaining fairly, and being open-minded and reasonable to all parties. It is about a sincere desire to find agreements that would be good for the kids and fair to teachers.

DC School Layoffs

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- D.C School Layoffs - Teacher's Union



President of the Washington Teachers Union George Parker joined…
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D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee says budget cuts …

D.C.’s Rhee acknowledges need for better communication with teachers

Filed under: DC Public Schools, Teachers/ Educators, WTU — Maria Angala @ 7:05 am
D.C. schools chief Michelle A. Rhee says she spoke to principals about communication, not teacher trust.

Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is hoping to "regain the trust" of the district's teachers -- according to some who say Rhee acknowledged that she may have lost that trust when she laid off 266 educators this month. Rhee says she did not make that statement, which allegedly came during a monthly school leadership meeting. "What I said was that we needed to do a better job of making sure we were communicating effectively with our educators," she said. "There are a lot of distractions, and we have to remain focused on the task at hand." The Washington Post

24 October 2009

Education News Parents Can Use

Filed under: DC Public Schools, NCLB/ IDEIA 2004, National Board Certification, Teachers/ Educators — Maria Angala @ 7:08 pm
Archived Video Webcast

Originally broadcast live on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 (info from US Dep Ed Homepage)

On October’s special edition of Education News Parents Can Use, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan engaged teachers across the country in a town hall forum about what’s working and what’s not working in our nation’s schools. During the live program, Arne listened to comments from a studio audience comprised entirely of local teachers, and he responded to telephone calls and emails from across the country.

VIEW THE ARCHIVED VIDEO WEBCAST:

WindowsMedia RealMedia Captioned Version: WindowsMedia RealMedia

I was there last Tuesday (many thanks to the AFT, WTU and DCPS for sending me there) with other educators from DC, VA and MD! It was a great experience meeting the US Dep't of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and the Teaching Ambassadors of the US Dep't of Education. I have told many of my colleagues that aside from becoming a National Board Certified Teacher, my dream is to become a Teaching Ambasador. Is this a sign?

I will post a longer entry on this later!
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