Mutual Consent

A key piece of education reform is reviewing and restructuring the commonly accepted practice of "last in, first out" as it pertains to teacher surplussing and teacher lay-offs. This practice endorses staffing based on seniority, not necessarily based on effectiveness.

The reform language is for staffing to be determined based upon "mutual consent"... the idea that students benefit most when teachers and principals are working in buildings by choice and not bound by contractual constraints.

See below an editorial on this issue written in the Nashville Tennessean by Michelle Rhee and former U.S. Senator Dr. Bill Frist:

Tennessean, April 16, 2011

Tennessee must keep up vital education reform

By Bill Frist, M.D. and Michelle Rhee

In the past few years, Tennessee has transformed into a national leader in K-12 education reform. Last year, the Volunteer State demonstrated its commitment to improving outcomes for students and won the inaugural Race to the Top competition, resulting in $501 million in funding for innovative education efforts. The state legislature passed the First to the Top Act, the largest piece of education reform legislation in Tennessee since 1992. This year, the important work of reform has continued, and recently passed legislation will help ensure that Tennessee is able to identify and reward effective teachers and replace ineffective ones by changing the way tenure is granted. We applaud Tennessee for these important achievements. Though these accomplishments are significant, there is more to be done. Research has consistently shown that teachers are the most important school-based factor in determining how much a student learns. An important way to ensure that there is an effective teacher at the front of every classroom is to tie teacher evaluations to important school personnel decisions. Current teacher contracts feature “last in, first out” (LIFO) requirements mandating that if teacher layoffs are necessary, they be done by seniority instead of effectiveness. These requirements could do damage to children, teachers and schools. A recent national poll shows that 74 percent of Americans support dismantling LIFO, and with looming budget cuts, we have a critical responsibility to save our best teachers. Indeed, Tennessee faces a $1 billion budget gap, and recent news reports have suggested that some school districts across the state may unfortunately lay off teachers to balance their local budgets. If cuts and layoffs are inevitable, we must ensure that they have minimal impact on children. Unless LIFO is eliminated, not only will more teachers need to be let go to close the budget gap, but also our children risk losing some of their most highly effective teachers; this is unacceptable. Any change to Tennessee’s collective bargaining laws for teachers must include explicit language removing seniority as the basis for making personnel decisions. Legislation currently moving through the General Assembly and endorsed by Gov. Bill Haslam (HB 130, Amendment 1) contains this important language. Tennessee must also work to create an optimal environment for students by allowing principals and teachers to decide teacher placements based on mutual agreement or consent. Students benefit when both principals and teachers are working in an environment of their choice rather than one in which arcane personal rules dictate who goes where. When instituted in other states, the mutual consent system has resulted in benefits for teachers and schools by offering better choices, increased flexibility and greater transparency throughout the staffing process. To be clear, there is much work to be done. In Tennessee, only half of students score proficient or advanced in reading, and only a third score proficient or advanced in math. Recent economic investment in Tennessee has proven the vital connection between education and jobs, and Tennessee students will not be prepared to compete in the global economy without significant improvement. Thankfully, Tennessee stands ready to take on these critical issues. Support exists across multiple sectors for making further improvements to our educational system. We are excited to build on the tremendous progress made to date, and to continue enacting reforms that put the students of Tennessee first. Dr. Bill Frist is a former U.S. Senate majority leader and is currently chairman of the nonprofit State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE). Michelle Rhee is the former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., Public Schools and founder and CEO of StudentsFirst. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110416/OPINION/304160015/TN-must-keep-up-vital-education-reform?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p

Tennessee Teacher Tenure Law

Yesterday, April 12th, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed into law a new Tennessee Teacher Tenure process. Ultimately, this Tenure Law will be informed by the implementation of a new Tennessee teacher evaluation system to be approved Friday, April 15th, by the State Board of Education. The new evaluation process ties half of a teacher's annual evaluation to student performance measures, some of which have not been identified. The other half of the evaluation will be tied to observations and stakeholder (parent, student) feedback.

The idea is that with an improved and agreed upon vision for effective teaching (teacher evaluation system), Memphis (and Tennessee) will now be able to both define, measure and improve existing teacher quality. As a result, we will be able to make smarter decisions about who (and how) teaches our children as we better decide who does, and does not, receive tenure.

New Tennessee Teacher Tenure Law

1. Extends the probationary period for new teachers from the current three years to five before tenure can be awarded.

2. Requires probationary teachers to place in the top two tiers of a new five-tier evaluation system in both the fourth and fifth years of teaching to win tenure.

3. Teachers awarded tenure after July 1 of this year may be returned to probationary status if they are evaluated in the bottom two tiers of the new evaluation system for two consecutive years.

4. Expands the definition of one legal ground for dismissing tenured teachers - inefficiency - to include being evaluated as below or significantly below expectations.

5. Gives principals flexibility to keep on a nontenured teacher after the five-year period.

Additionally, but not a part of this law, Memphis will use this evaluation system to not only inform the tenure process but also to substantially improve compensation for the teachers scored in the top tier of the evaluation.

MTR supports the Tennessee Tenure law and is committed to the proven best-practice of establishing a clear vision and definition of excellence and supporting teachers as they grow towards excellence.

It's what we do.

MCS Tenure Process demonstrates progress according to plan

Memphis City Schools announced yesterday that approximately 40 out of 499 teachers having completed three years of service were denied tenure. This represents an 8% denial rate, up from a 3% (18 denied out of 448) denial rate last year. See article here: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/apr/07/40-teachers-not-tenured-face-firing/

Please take note of the following...

MCS' Teacher Effectiveness Initiative (TEI), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, local investors and the MCS, is committed to four strategic initiatives:
(1) Using a common process to define and measure effective teaching;
(2) Improving the quality of teachers in the classroom;
(3) Increasing the support and compensation of existing teachers; and
(4) Improving the culture in schools for both teachers and students to foster effective teaching and learning.

Within #2 (Improving the quality of teachers in the classroom), there are four key initiatives:
(1) Improving the recruitment and hiring of high-potential teachers (of which the MTR is a strategic partner);
(2) Raising the bar and improving the process for granting tenure;
(3) Increasing the retention of effective teachers; and,
(4) Increasing the turnover of the most ineffective teachers.

I bring this to your attention so that the community may know a couple of things...
1. MCS has a clear plan for improving teaching and learning (see TEI plan above); and
2. There is real progress being made. The tenure process, in one year, has improved measurably.

We're moving in the right direction. Press on.

Memphis Leads Nation in Education Reform through City-Wide Collaboration

Monday (April 4), Dr. Irving Hamer, Deputy Superintendent of the Memphis City Schools and Mr. Ken Foster, Executive Director of the Memphis Educational Association (teachers union) jointly wrote the following opinion published in the Christian Science Monitor of the good reform work happening in Memphis. Our city-wide collaboration is a unique and key element in Memphis' leading urban education reform nationally.

See the full storty at: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0404/Talking-in-Memphis-When-schools-and-unions-team-up-students-win

From our posts in Memphis as a deputy schools superintendent and a union leader, we watch with concern as state legislatures and teachers' unions around the country clash over methods of achieving school reform. While both sides make important points about improving education, the tone of the national conversation is serving as a wedge, further widening the historical rift between labor and management. Such strife can only harm efforts at meaningful reform.

To our colleagues, all of whom want an improved education system but disagree on how to get there, we suggest: Consider Memphis. We have been in your shoes, and we have found a way to work together to effect positive change.

Two years ago, we took a close look at the Memphis City Schools and what we saw was disheartening: Ds and Fs on the state report card, low graduation rates, and an unacceptable number of graduates – merely 6 percent – prepared for college. The MCS have been plagued with this sort of performance for years. But instead of accepting the status quo, we decided on radical change. The Memphis Education Association (the union) and the school administration resolved to join forces in a complete overhaul of our system.

Teachers are key: Fight for funding

It is clear that teachers are the most important factor in children's academic success. Their work is both a science and an art. That's why we sought funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative (TEI), which focuses on giving our teachers the tools and support they need to instill children with a love of learning and to increase academic achievement.

We are proud to say we earned that funding and are now putting it to good use. We have also earned considerable support from our community. To date, area philanthropies and businesses have chipped in $21 million to help us implement this transformative plan. Members of these organizations – along with representatives from the administration and the union – also serve on an advisory board, which connects our reform efforts with community advocacy and ensures TEI's sustainability.

Honest disagreements, honest teamwork

To be sure, we face hurdles. As is often the case with union and management, we have honest disagreements over issues such as how much emphasis should be placed on student test scores and how to fairly compensate teachers while staying within the limits of our budget. (TEI funding can only be used in certain ways, and, as with districts nationwide, we are grappling with shrinking budgets.)

But each week, we sit down at the same table and work through these concerns. Of the six TEI executive board members, two represent the union. And union representatives chair all three TEI working groups, making recommendations on reforming the tenure process, changing the way we evaluate and measure teacher performance, and how best to support and retain our educators. We are plotting the district's future together.

Early indicators of progress

We are cheered by early indicators of progress: The state of Tennessee is relying heavily on our framework for evaluating teachers. To date, 258 teachers representing 115 of our 190 schools have become TEI ambassadors and are enlisting the support of their colleagues. We have 800 student envoys participating in TEI workshops and encouraging their classmates to excel academically. Online and after-school courses aimed at high-risk students have helped raise graduation rates by almost 9 percent. And for the first time ever – aided by a district-wide writing program – our students earned straight A's in writing on a state assessment.

All of these successes make for a great start. We are confident TEI can further transform our schools into true centers of student learning, where excuses for failure are neither made nor accepted. It can ensure teachers are recognized as the professionals they are. And by improving the education we offer our students, TEI will help revitalize our community economically and culturally.

A common goal makes cooperation possible

Recently, the voters of Memphis decided to unite Memphis City Schools with the Shelby County district. We have much work to do to prepare for this merger, but it won't sidetrack our efforts to better serve our students by empowering our teachers.

We appeal to our counterparts in unions and management across the country to join us by making their school reforms collaborative. We know how fortunate we are to have the support of the Gates Foundation, our community, and federal Race to the Top funding. But we began our united efforts with nothing more than the realization that change was as necessary as it was inevitable.

A host of union leaders and administrators from school districts across the country gathered at a recent forum on collaborative reform hosted by US Education Secretary Arne Duncan, which bodes well for the future of public education. We know many school districts will have a tough time making reforms, and we sympathize. But we are also excited for them. Because in setting a common goal, and working together to achieve that goal, all of us have the chance to achieve greatness.

Even more important, we can offer a shot at greatness to our students.

Ken Foster is the executive director of the Memphis Education Association. Irving Hamer Jr. is deputy superintendent of academic operations, technology, and innovation for the Memphis City Schools.

MLK's "Paul's Letter to American Christians"

Monday, April 4, 2011 is the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

To remember Dr. King, I read his essay titled "Paul's Letter to American Christians" written on November 4, 1956. In this essay, MLK translates a fictitious letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Church in America.

I was especially impressed by his closing paragraphs as he calls those fighting against the injustice of segregation to struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Ultimately, the greatest Christian weapon is the hope of the gospel that reminds us that all we might ever want... all our happiness... is promised to us in heaven. Therefore, until we get there, our mission is to "stand up for the truth of God ... come what may."

Please read below and be encouraged...

May I say just a word to those of you who are struggling against this evil (of injustice). Always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.

In your struggle for justice, let your oppressor know that you are not attempting to defeat or humiliate him, or even to pay him back for injustices that he has heaped upon you. Let him know that you are merely seeking justice for him as well as yourself. Let him know that the festering sore of segregation debilitates the white man as well as the Negro. With this attitude you will be able to keep your struggle on high Christian standards.

Many persons will realize the urgency of seeking to eradicate the evil of segregation. There will be many Negroes who will devote their lives to the cause of freedom. There will be many white persons of goodwill and strong moral sensitivity who will dare to take a stand for justice. Honesty impels me to admit that such a stand will require willingness to suffer and sacrifice. So don't despair if you are condemned and persecuted for righteousness' sake. Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn. Often you will be called an impractical idealist or a dangerous radical. Sometimes it might mean going to jail. If such is the case you must honorably grace the jail with your presence. It might even mean physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent life of psychological death, then nothing could be more Christian. Don't worry about persecution America; you are going to have that if you stand up for a great principle. I can say this with some authority, because my life was a continual round of persecutions. After my conversion I was rejected by the disciples at Jerusalem. Later I was tried for heresy at Jerusalem. I was jailed at Philippi, beaten at Thessalonica, mobbed at Ephesus, and depressed at Athens. And yet I am still going. I came away from each of these experiences more persuaded than ever before that "neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come . . . shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may.

Gates Foundation expresses continued support for Memphis

Friends-

On March 22, 2011 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released a statement expressing their continued support of Memphis, our teachers and our students.

While much has transpired over the past six months, one thing has not changed... every student in Memphis deserves a great teacher.

The Gates Foundation is committed to Memphis' continued role as the center of urban education reform in America. And the MTR is committed to the task of recruiting, training and supporting outstanding teachers for each of our city's 100,000 students.

Please see the Gates' "Post Referendum Foundation Statement on Memphis" below:

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to Memphis’s Teacher Effectiveness Initiative (TEI). We believe the community will continue to support the efforts begun and led by Memphis City Schools (MCS), its leadership, and its teachers to ensure that all students are taught by effective teachers every year in every subject in every school.

We commend MCS Superintendent Kriner Cash, Deputy Superintendent Irving Hamer, and their team, the Memphis Education Association, and all the teachers of Memphis for staying focused on the plan for improving teaching during a challenging time. Additionally, we appreciate that the MCS Board has reaffirmed their support of the effective teaching reforms, and as the issues of governance for a consolidated school system are defined, we are confident that the community will remain focused and united on keeping students and teachers first.

Effective teaching is a priority of both Memphis and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We intend to support the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative for as long as it remains a shared priority.