Intercepts

News of the behind-the-scenes shenanigans accompanying the teacher strike in Puerto Rico has finally reached the mainstream press.

Well, the New York Daily News, but still.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:04 | Permalink | Comments

The Tacoma School District hired Gayle Elijah to be their new human resources director. Elijah is the president of the Tacoma Education Association.

Term-limited out in July, Elijah had to resign the presidency in order to take the $93,000 district position. Interesting, too, that the teacher contract runs out in August. The district and the union are about to begin negotiations on a new contract.

Oh, no! Elijah says she "will not be involved in the bargaining." Come on, Tacoma School District! Co-opting your opponent's leader is a time-honored tradition going back at least to the Romans. Put her on the negotiating team!

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:24 | Permalink | Comments

The National Education Association may find itself unable to choose between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but union officials know they can serve both candidates by preparing to hammer John McCain, the GOP's presumptive nominee.

"We plan to be very aggressive," said Reg Weaver.

The Hill has an excellent story by Sam Youngman about what is going on over at NEA's Campaign and Elections Division. The union plans to spend $40-$50 million at all levels in the fall election season.

The article overflows with pungent quotes:

"I made it very clear that we cannot afford to be in the pocket of one party anymore," Weaver said.

I love that these admissions are always made in the past tense. I don't remember Keith Geiger or Bob Chase announcing, "We are in the pocket of one party!"

Weaver told The Hill that the overhaul of their political operation and the hiring of former Emily's List director Karen White (see Item #2 here) added sophistication.

Meanwhile, Clinton and Obama are still making a pitch for an NEA endorsement:

Weaver said the group, which has not endorsed a candidate, met with Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) Monday and plans to meet with Sen. Barack Obama
(D-Ill.) next week.

Weaver said Clinton talked mostly issues, but she did ask about the union’s
endorsement process and told Weaver she would like to have the group’s
support.

Weaver said he is holding off before he makes a recommendation to the group
about an endorsement.

"I'm going to hold off until I have what I need," Weaver said.

For Republican National Committee spokesman Danny Diaz, word of NEA's plans is a yawner.

"The fact that a liberal trade organization is going to attack the Republican nominee shouldn't be news to anyone." Diaz said.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 09:25 | Permalink | Comments

"We want our members to feel like they're supported by us. But on the other hand we're certainly not going to get involved with an ax murderer."

- Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association Executive Director Barry Dubin, explaining the criteria used for the union's decision to defend teacher Diana O'Neill, charged last week with abusing four of her severely handicapped students.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:41 | Permalink | Comments

Click here to read:

1) Brokered Convention? Not Democrats, But NEA
2) NEA Foresees Union Battle Over Pre-School Employees
3) Utah Education Association Looking for New Executive Director
4) The Rich Get Richer
5) Last Week's Intercepts
6) Quotes of the Week

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 13:43 | Permalink | Comments

The Albuquerque Public Schools want to take away electives from students who do poorly on state tests and give them remedial reading and math instead. A teacher at one middle school urged the kids to write letters of protest about the plan to the Albuquerque Journal.

Here's a sample of what the paper received:

"I know I wont wont my eletive tooken away. wht about the sped kibs? Hae you thought about that!"

The local news station ran a report as well. Take a look at the video accompanying the story.

Hat tip: Ben Cunningham, subbing for Joanne Jacobs.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:10 | Permalink | Comments

The United Teachers Los Angeles vote is in. The union sent out 42,952 ballots. Here are the results:

A.J. Duffy - 5,242 (12.2%)

Linda Guthrie - 2,112 (4.9%)

Becki Robinson - 1,468 (3.4%)

Barbara Eisen-Herman - 103 (0.2%)

Don't Give a Crap - 34,027 (79.2%)

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 09:10 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 13:23 | Permalink | Comments

Off-topic, but I was blown away when I read this story in the Manchester Union-Leader. The story has a link to a detailed video, but I've embedded a short version here.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 10:48 | Permalink | Comments

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association has decided to join the autonomy movement.

"Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend."

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:36 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 09:50 | Permalink | Comments

While the Oregon state legislature reacts to the Oregonian's series on teacher discipline (see Item #6 in yesterday's communiqué), the flip side is being acted out on the other coast.

The Portland Press Herald has the story of a teacher who was wrongly accused of sex with a student and persuaded to resign, even though administrators knew they had the wrong man. After years of litigation, the district settled for $320,000.

School officials so botched the situation that when they identified the correct suspect, they were unable to make a case against him. That guy still works for the district.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 09:35 | Permalink | Comments

Click here to read:

1) NEA Sends $5.2 Million "Behind the Wall"
2) NEA to "Privatize" Its Members?
3) NEA Will Not Change Its Position on Performance Pay
4) Outsourcing Pays!
5) Dues Hike
6) Another Newspaper Series on Teacher Discipline
7) Last Week's Intercepts
8) Quote of the Week

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 13:26 | Permalink | Comments

I'm sure I'll receive comments and e-mails to the contrary, but I don't think this graduate degree program in Texas passes the smell test.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:44 | Permalink | Comments

From Reuters:

"The changes, to be implemented gradually from next year, reverse reforms implemented in 2000 to create a more 'relaxed' environment that would foster creativity and reduce rote learning. "

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:17 | Permalink | Comments

Teachers Association of Long Beach executive director Scott McVarish resigned his position "to pursue other interests, such as spending more time with his 30-month-old daughter." The needs of McVarish's daughter just happen to coincide with the completion of an audit of union finances. The local is under California Teachers Association administratorship and the audit is part of an internal investigation into financial mismanagement.

The events in Long Beach have been the source of much comedy for almost a year, prompted by a previous dismissal of McVarish. This would seem to bring the curtain down on the show.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:07 | Permalink | Comments

The Massachusetts Teachers Association supports a plan by Gov. Deval Patrick to create three casinos in the state, with the idea that it will increase education funding.

But, as Boston Globe columnist Steve Bailey notes, MTA should be especially reluctant to embrace casino gambling:

"Anzivino admitted he had been embezzling the union's money for years to pay for his high-roller trips to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos in Connecticut. He first told them he had stolen maybe $200,000. Or was it $500,000? The final count: 270 checks totaling $802,000 in all."

Even better, here's MTA President Anne Wass' sensitive take on gambling addiction and the state's responsibility:

"If somebody has an addiction problem, they are going to find a way to do it."

Cool. We can shut down all those pricey alcohol and drug treatment centers as well!

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 10:29 | Permalink | Comments

How else can you explain his statements to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial board yesterday? Here are the relevant paragraphs:

Obama said he has been a strong supporter of charter schools "as a way to
foster competition in the public school system."

He pronounced himself a skeptic of private school vouchers, saying: "My
view is you're not going to generate the supply of high-quality schools to meet
the demand."

Obama said he was surprised to learn from Gov. Jim Doyle that "there
was no assessment process" for the Milwaukee program but indicated he might be
open to supporting voucher programs if studies show they work.

"If there was any argument for vouchers, it was 'Let's see if the
experiment works,' " Obama said. "And if it does, whatever my preconception, you
do what's best for kids."

Before anyone gets too excited, don't forget John Kerry's brush with performance pay. Candidates tailor their message to their audience, and Obama wouldn't say those same words in front of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association. Nevertheless, it appears Obama isn't overly concerned that the NEA endorsement is still "up for grabs."

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:19 | Permalink | Comments

What are you going to do about this?

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:21 | Permalink | Comments

I mentioned in Monday's communiqué:

"Interestingly enough, the only place an NEA endorsement may have real weight is
in a brokered convention. Many of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention are NEA affiliate officers, representatives and staff."

It didn't take long for an illustration to appear. Missouri NEA government relations director Leila Medley is already getting phone calls.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:17 | Permalink | Comments

Looks as though the officers of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association decided that discretion was the better part of valor and granted the Bruce Randolph School the contract waivers it sought.

They're spinning it like mad, but only time will tell if they have headed this off at the pass. Eighteen more schools are considering autonomy.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:10 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:55 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 08:03 | Permalink | Comments

Click here to read:

1) "Valuable NEA Endorsement Up for Grabs?"
2) Oregon Support Workers Join AFT Over NEA Opposition
3) Columbus Education Association Plans to Join AFL-CIO
4) How Low Can You Go?
5) Last Week's Intercepts
6) Quote of the Week

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 13:48 | Permalink | Comments

NEA state affiliate presidents get the press, but executive directors run the staff - and usually earn more than elected officers. Openings in the ranks don't occur very often, but retirements and other personnel changes in recent years have led to turnover in Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia... and that's just off the top of my head.

Add to that list Idaho, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, all of whom are currently searching for a new executive director. Soon to join them is the Ohio Education Association, where Dennis Reardon recently announced this will be his final year.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:38 | Permalink | Comments

I'm not really sure how this went unnoticed for four weeks.

The January 16 Delegate Assembly of New York City's United Federation of Teachers was interrupted by a phone call from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to UFT President Randi Weingarten. Placed on speaker for all the delegates to hear, Sen. Clinton thanked Weingarten for her help in securing her victory in the New Hampshire primary.

According to a January 31 story by UFT staff writer Michael Hirsch:

"'Education and children are the causes of my life,' she said and promised that
'we're going to get rid of No Child Left Behind,' a promise that brought
delegates to their feet roaring approval."

Badmouthing NCLB is a bipartisan activity, but getting rid of it was Bill Richardson's position, not Clinton's. Her web page on education reads:

"Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, we have learned a lot about how
this law can be improved. I will use the pending reauthorization to expand
support early childhood education, improve teacher training, lower class size,
enhance parental involvement, eliminate environmental hazards in schools, and
protect the programs that work for all of New York’s children. And I will
continue to hold the Administration accountable for not providing the resources
that it promised to allow the landmark legislation to succeed."

I'm sure a clever campaign staffer will be able to craft a rationale that explains how these two statements are consistent, but perhaps former President Bill Clinton shed some light on it in his February 6 speech in Springfield, Missouri:

"I could go to Idaho to a place where there's not a Democrat within 50
miles and get a hand if I say we're going to get rid of No Child Left Behind.
It's the only surefire applause line in America today. And yet when that bill
was adopted it had the support of everybody from President Bush to Senator
Kennedy. They all thought it was something to vote for, and I'll never forget
the conversation I had with Hillary about it. She said, 'you know, we're all
going to have to vote for this because it's got so much money for schools,' but
the people that wrote it never talked to any principals or teachers. They
couldn't have or they'd never have done this."

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 10:48 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:39 | Permalink | Comments

The teachers, parents and administrators of the Bruce Randolph School in Denver didn't set out to provoke a massive reevaluation of the role of teachers' unions and collective bargaining in the state. The Denver Classroom Teachers Association, one of the more progressive and free-thinking local affiliates of the National Education Association, didn't set out to position itself as obstructionists to the wishes of its own members and representatives at Bruce Randolph and elsewhere. No commission, think tank, government agency or special interest group decided in advance that this battle would be fought in Denver.

Nevertheless, here we are. In direct response to the Bruce Randolph situation, Colorado Senate President Peter Groff (D-Denver) introduced the Innovation Schools Act of 2008, which would essentially remove the union's veto power over exemptions to the contract by allowing teachers and schools to request waivers directly from the state board of education.

"I vote with the union 99 percent of the time," Groff said. "But there are times when we need to ask . . . 'What's in the best educational interest of the child?' "

The Colorado Education Association has already announced its opposition to the bill. "There is no research to show that abandoning state laws and collective bargaining improves student achievement," reads the union's statement.

When the officers of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association denied the exemptions, they probably thought they were putting a stop to something, rather than setting something else in motion. And even if they change their minds (as these guys did, back in the day), they may find they have forever lost their ability to apply the brakes.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 10:35 | Permalink | Comments