Intercepts
A listening post monitoring public education and teachers’ unions.

My efforts are inadequate to the task of keeping tabs on K-12 education, so I’ve deliberately steered clear of higher education over the years. Things cross my desk that might be of general interest (talks to merge NEA and AFT community college affiliates in California, for example), but generally I leave that stuff to some future entrepreneur who wants to start the Higher Education Intelligence Agency.

There do seem to be some issues that stir up the troops internally, and I’m asking readers with special knowledge to comment on whether this is really one of those issues.

The NEA Academy is one of the many subsidiaries or side businesses the union runs (along with a real estate firm and a now-defunct web portal company). It allows access to online learning opportunities for advanced degrees and continuing education credits. Recently the NEA Academy announced a partnership with three higher education institutions to provide these programs at a discount to members. One of these is Walden University, a for-profit college.

“Our future is dependent upon the effectiveness of our educators and their success in today’s public school classrooms,” said Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association. “Partnering with Walden’s Riley College of Education and Leadership reflects the NEA’s commitment to helping educators master their craft with access to quality higher education.”

This move is causing some heartburn within NEA’s higher ed circles, since the union has traditionally opposed for-profit institutions both on philosophical grounds and for the fact they rarely offer tenure to professors.

“We have been opposed to for-profits for years,” said James Rice, president of the NEA’s National Council for Higher Education and a professor at Quinsigamond Community College. “This is certainly uncomfortable. A lot of my members are not going to be happy.”

This looks like much ado about not much, but the anecdotal evidence is not positive. One commenter wrote:

It’s a perfect match, really.  The NEA and Walden share the belief that a master’s degree is just a hoop for K-12 teachers to jump through in order to get paid more, and should be made as easy as possible. 

Setting aside the for-profit issue, what is the NEA doing partnering with any non-union university? That’s like making Toyota the official car of the UAW.

In NEA’s defense, you might choose Toyota if your original choice – say, Saturn – turned out to be even more problematic.

Andy at Eduwonk had a good post on Friday regarding the hype and excitement around the proposed teacher contract in Baltimore. After one year of transition, it eliminates the old salary schedule and creates a point system for promotion to the next step. The district, the Baltimore Teachers Union and the AFT also want the process seen as a victory for collaboration over confrontation. Andy makes the point that supporters aren’t making much reference to what the contract language actually says.

I think the concept is sound. It reminds me of the military pay scale, where wages increase for time served, but you still need good evaluations to make rank and be retained in the service. But what I think is irrelevant. It turns out there are quite a few Baltimore teachers who have some doubts about the collaborative model.

One group of teachers want to ”Delay the BTU contract vote until we know what we’re signing,” while others don’t want a delay; they want the contract voted down.

“I just want to make sure this is a democratic process and that teachers are not treated as rubber-stampers,” said teacher Robin Bingham, who began the call for a delay. “I don’t like the rushed nature of it, and the fact that it’s rushed makes me extremely suspicious about the things we’re not being told.”

Since the much more controversial DC teachers contract passed, it’s hard to imagine this one being defeated. Still, it illustrates that collective bargaining is more complex than bilateral negotiations between labor and management. These teachers feel collaboration should have been applied internally as well.

Note: Personal matters have intervened, and there will be no EIA Communiqué this week. My apologies.

It’s not unusual that high school teacher Jade Thompson would support her husband’s candidacy for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives. It’s a little more unusual that she’s helping fund attack mailers against him. She’s not too pleased about it:

I’m Jade Thompson and my husband, Andy Thompson, is running for the Ohio House of Representatives. I am a teacher at Marietta High School. Imagine my chagrin when my friends and colleagues began showing me the awful attack ads against my husband which they had received in the mail. Now imagine my dismay when I saw that those defamatory mailers were paid for by the Ohio Education Association – my teachers’ union. In effect, they are using my union dues to attack my husband! This is a new low, even for the OEA.

The law gives OEA the right to spend Ms. Thompson’s dues on member communication, even if it’s of a political nature. Whatever your political views, would you react any differently if it were your money lambasting your spouse?

If you take a look at this NEA campaign ad that’s running in Ohio, you might notice something missing.

That’s right. It doesn’t mention classrooms, school funding or teachers. It’s part of the union’s $15 million round of political ads and $40 million to be spent on some 91 Congressional races.

The fact that NEA would spend $500,000 to highlight a candidate’s record as a used car salesman is actually something of a watershed event. I’ve tried to make the point that the teachers’ unions should be covered and analyzed as a broad political force, not just an education special interest. NEA’s Ohio ad helps make the case.

A small reminder before you watch this local news report from Albuquerque, New Mexico, that the edujobs bill passed only two months ago and the money has not yet been spent.

If Albuquerque teachers are laid off, they may have to rely on their home-based businesses to make ends meet.

Albuquerque had 6,542 full-time equivalent teachers in 2008-09, an increase of 207 from the previous year.

NEA is doing its best to empty its national Ballot Initiative Fund, deciding to contribute $500,000 to the Washington Education Association for its tax battles, most notably Initiatives 1053 and 1098.

The former would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature, or voter approval, for tax increases. NEA and WEA are opposed to this. The latter would institute a tax on gross income above $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for couples. NEA and WEA are in favor of this. Washington currently has no state income tax.

Click here to read:

1) Education Hiring Grew 2.3 Percent During Recession

2) Poway School Staff Disaffiliates from State Union

3) Scheduling Note

4) Last Week’s Intercepts

5) Quotes of the Week