The Quality Education Council is meeting today and tomorrow in Olympia (no online agenda yet, sorry meeting docs now up). For those interested in seeing Superintendent Dorn’s mustache (it is Movember), tune in to TVW.
I’ll be posting updates throughout the day, all you need do is hit ‘refresh.’
9:05am-10am
Beginning Teacher Mentor Program (Beginning Educator Support Team) – Erin Jones, Jeanne Harmon, Fran Oishi, Jamie Schneider
-Included data on the positive effect of teacher participant in quality induction program on student achievement
-Other research shows import of supportive culture and positive work environments for teachers
-$2.348 million in both 2009-10 and 2010-11; BEST is competitive grant program
-BEST program supports beginning teachers through Professional Certification, assessment at completion of program
-Federal Way, Lake Washington, Renton, ESD 112 Consortium, Lover Valley Consortium (Grandview, Toppenish, Zillah, Wapato)
>>Some pushback/questioning around use of student test scores as demonstrative of teacher effectiveness. Superintendent Randy Dorn asked how mentors are selected and trained. Jeanne Harmon answered that there are standards that are used, as well as training provided by OSPI.
>>Sen. Curtis King asked if mentors are still in classrooms, or if they mentor full time. Ms. Harmon said it varies by districts, and depends largely on the number of beginning teachers in a district. Small districts may have only one or two beginning teachers, and don’t have a need for full-time mentors. Larger districts may have more than 30 beginning teachers, and employ a full-time mentor or two rather than providing release time for part-time mentors.
>>Dr. Jane Gutting asked about retention rates of teachers who complete induction programs. Ms. Harmon said the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession does collect data on retention, and rates are higher for teachers who go through induction.
>>Sen. Eric Oemig asked if Washington could conduct a study like Tennessee did, with student growth and the like. Ms. Harmon said we could not do such a study statewide, but some districts do also use assessments that measure student growth.
>>Dr. Gutting asked what the cost would be to expand BEST to all teachers, and if it could be incorporated into alternative route teacher preparation programs. Ms. Harmon said when they last costed it out a statewide program would cost $24 or 25 million, and they had not yet looked at incorporating the program into Residency Certification programs. Rep. Skip Priest asked if the provided funding was adequate. The question wasn’t completely answered, but Ms. Schneider did say they are able to give much better support to beginning teachers this year than in previous years (when the state provided less than $900 per new teacher).<<
10am-10:55am
State Board of Education Update – Edie Harding, Kathe Taylor
>>Supt. Dorn asked if Career Concentration courses had to be Career and Technical Education course. Edie Harding said they do not have to be taught by teachers with CTE endorsements, which is the same as current requirements around the current occupational education requirement. Sen. Joseph Zarelli asked why these aren’t all just lumped into the elective category so students can choose additional courses that interest them, CTE or otherwise. Kathe Taylor said that because not all high schools have CTE programs, the Career Concentration requirement needs to allow flexibility, and the implementation task force is considering that. Additionally, the flexibility of the requirement allows students to take the courses relevant and/or of interest to them (for example, additional language courses if they know they want to pursue a career abroad).
>>Speaker Frank Chopp asked where financial literacy fits in to these requirements, especially given our current economic conditions. Ms. Taylor said those standards have been incorporated into social studies. Speaker Chopp pushed for financial literacy to be its own requirement. Ms. Harding said she would be open to that, and it needs to be brought to the State Board of Education to consider. Supt. Dorn asked about the third math credit. Ms. Harding said it can be Algebra II, but it could also be Accounting, and depends on the student’s High School and Beyond Plan.
>>Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe asked about waivers for certain requirements, including physical education and art. Ms. Taylor said there are waivers for PE, allowable for “good reason,” but there isn’t a current waiver for the art requirement. Dr. Gutting asked if the impact of CORE 24 on the teacher workforce as been studied. Ms. Harding said they have looked at that, however, many new teachers in shortage areas can’t find jobs because of the economy.
>>Speaker Chopp asked if students needed to take remedial courses at community and technical colleges because advanced math courses weren’t available in their high schools. Ms. Taylor said they are tracking our most recent high school graduates in community and technical colleges. Supt. Dorn then pontificated on the WASL component of graduation requirements, and how the Class of 2013 will need to pass the Math WASL in addition to the Reading and Writing WASLs.
>>Sen. Zarelli asked if the SBE can implement graduation requirements on its own, or if the Legislature has approval authority. Ms. Harding said the SBE does not plan on implementing CORE 24 until there is adequate funding, and the Legislature may always “trump” the SBE.<<
11:05am-11:50am
Anatomy of Change – Paul Rosier, Greg Lynch, Carl Johnson
[In short, a proposal on how to deal with future changes in requirements, system changes, etc.]
1pm-2pm
Phase-In of Funding Recommendations – Isabel Muñoz-Colon
>>Some relevant and irrelevant questions.<<
2pm-3pm
Discussion of Proposal by Reps. Priest and Sullivan
>>Sen. McAuliffe brought up that other members of the QEC met with Reps. Priest and Sullivan, and asked if this proposal reflects their involvement. Reps. Priest and Sullivan said they did have conversations with others (including Dr. Bette Hyde, Mary Jean Ryan, Sen. Oemig and Rep. Bruce Dammeier) and this proposal does include thoughts/reflections from those conversations.
-Recommendations
1) 2010 Legislature should adopt baseline prototypical school funding formula for implementation in 2011, based on Funding Formula Technical Working Group recommendations, but with a more simplified set of funding factors
2) Amend ESHB 2261 to start the work of the Compensation Working Group (change lead staff agency to OSPI) and Local Finance Working Group in May 2010; continue FFTWG to monitor early implementation of the prototypical school model
3) 2010 Legislature should implement new pupil transportation funding formula in 2011 ($806,000 in 2010)
4) Legislature should phase-in full funding of new pupil transportation formula over a 3-year period beginning in 2011 (full implementation cost: $150.5 million if in 2011-12)
5) Legislature should increase MSOC factors in the prototypical school funding formula ($1,082.76 per student; full implementation cost: $619.7 million if in 2011-12)
6) Legislature should monitor outcomes of the Beginning Educator Support Team program; if it proves effective, phase-in funding to cover all beginning teachers (full implementation cost: $31.8 million if in 2011-12)
7) Legislature should include a program of early learning for at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds as part of Basic Education, beginning in 2011, 3 year phase-in (full implementation cost: $54.4 million beyond current ECEAP if in 2011-12)
8) Legislature should continue incremental phase-in of full-day kindergarten, with completion in 2018 (full implementation cost: $181.5 million if in 2011-12)
9) Legislature should prioritize class size reduction in primary grades by providing K-3 class size allocation of 15 students per teacher, phased in over 5 years beginning in 2011, starting with high-poverty schools (full implementation cost: $645.5 million if in 2011-12)
10) Legislature should increase funding allocations to support LAP and Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program in 2011 (full implementation cost $256.1 million for LAP and $75.4 million for TBIP if in 2011-12)
11) QEC workplan for 2010 should focus on increased instruction hours, CORE 24, increased allocations for critical support staff, research-based professional development and possible innovations to support student/school health, with recommendations to the 2011 Legislature for a phase-in schedule
>>Sen. McAuliffe expressed concern for putting certain formulas in statute since the Compensation Work Group won’t have made its recommendations yet, and we won’t know how much educator compensation will be.
>>Sen. Zarelli would like to see the QEC recommend a system of professional development and support to the Legislature, rather than pieces, to weigh whether certain programs work well together, or not. He would also like to know the capacity of districts to handle smaller class sizes; facilities will need to be considered.
>>Dr. Hyde spoke to the cost savings of quality early learning programs, citing work from five years ago that found Bremerton saved $3,000 per child per year (reduced special education and remediation rates).
>>Others brought up data systems and accountability, as well as the intent for the funding formula to eventually be an allocation model. Sen. McAuliffe played Debbie Downer and reminded everyone of the $2.6 billion deficit that has to be dealt with 2010.
>>Rep. Sullivan pushed back on the comments calling for delay, saying the line is already forming for proposals for when the economy recovers, and given the Constitution, the QEC needs to put forward a strong proposal so the Legislature makes sure to move education to the front of the line.
>>Supt. Dorn posited that many districts that can’t pass levies aren’t able to provide what we would consider Basic Education, and the state needs to step up and meet its obligation. Going forward, members need to put forward proposals, and the QEC should consider adopting 2018 values so they know what they are working toward.
>>Ms. Ryan thought the QEC should go back through ESHB 2261 and sync up some of the dates, most likely moving up the work of certain groups. Ms. Ryan also reiterated her sense of urgency.
>>Rep. Dammeier said he sees ESHB 2261 as the vision and the proposal from Reps. Priest and Sullivan as the foundation, and he likes a lot of what is in their proposal.<<
3:40pm-4:15pm
Public Comment
Lucinda Young, WEA – also support WASA’s Anatomy of Change proposal; concerns over Master Certification work of PESB; early learning continuum extends to grade 3; would like to see 2018 values; fund transportation and MSOCs; support teacher mentoring
Pat Montgomery, Auburn parent volunteer -structure implementation of ESHB 2261 so that when funding becomes available, we fund the underfunded first
Doug Nelson, Public School Employees -be bold; support adoption of 2018 goal values; increase support staff allocations
Neil Sullivan, representing himself (works in Spokane Public Schools, on Funding Formula Technical Working Group) – levies are now used to fund Basic Education and that’s not how it is supposed to be, per the state Constitution
Kim Howard, Washington State PTA – supports adoption of 2018 goal values; transparency and ease of understanding are important; support moving work group timelines forward
George Scarola, League of Education Voters – QEC is on the right track, has simplified how to get started and made it easy to understand; QEC/OSPI needs more staff support; tying teacher mentoring to extended provisional contract is good way to support beginning teachers; implement early learning, all-day kindergarten and K-3 class size enhancement synchronously; beef up CORE 24 recommendations; adopt 2018 goal values
Adjourned until tomorrow…
I wish the QEC would consider urging SBE or OSBI to extend the school day by offering non-credit courses, such as financial literacy, on line. Are individual schools or school districts the best providers for all education? How can the economy of education be optimized?
Students go home and look at one screen or another. It would be great if the state offered and paid for some of the extras as online classes. A question should include, “what tools are available for teachers, schools, school districts and the state to provide more learning in more classes to more students at the same or less cost?”
The BEST program is one option. School day classes is one option. Online classes or workbook sites are an option that is not talked about and should be in light of the fact that online classes are becoming an accepted option for students and parents. Another is student directed education, examples are Big Picture http://www.bigpicture.org/ or The EAST Initiative http://www.eastproject.org/AboutContact/
Some day we are going to need a committee that looks beyond the walls.