Stronger Teacher Evaluations, Charter Schools Pushed by Broad Coalition – Teachers Union Sees it as All-Out Assault

State Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle, leads the army into battle at a Thursday news conference.

By Erik Smith

Staff writer/ Washington State Wire

OLYMPIA, Jan. 13.—One of the biggest armies yet assembled for an assault on the state’s education establishment assembled Thursday in a jam-packed Capitol hearing room and announced plans to push teacher-evaluation legislation and charter schools during the current legislative session.

            And as might be predicted, the Washington Education Association promises a fight to the finish.

            So add one more slugfest to the half-dozen or so battles that seem sure to keep lawmakers occupied in what just a month ago looked like a narrowly focused budget-minded legislative session.

            On one side are some of the state’s most influential business interests, parent advocacy groups and a strikingly bipartisan group of lawmakers. On the other, the state’s powerful teachers’ union and its 83,000 members.

            State Rep. Eric Pettigrew, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, headed a dozen Republicans and Democrats at the news conference announcing the plan. “Believe me, it is hard to be here when you are bucking against the system, the way things have always been done," he said. "But when it is done for the right reason, when it’s done for kids and the most vulnerable, when it’s our obligation as leaders to make sure every single child in this country has an opportunity to succeed, it is well worth the fight.”

             Standing with them are the Washington Roundtable, the association that represents the state’s largest businesses; Washington Stand for Children, a grass-roots organization that urges education reform and funding, the League of Education Voters and the Partnership for Learning, among others.

            Two Big Proposals

            The coalition is promoting two bills, introduced Thursday by Pettigrew and state Sen. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island. The biggest attention-getter is a renewed effort to authorize non-profit charter schools in this state, an ongoing battle for the last two decades. The schools would be eligible for public funding when parents choose to send their children there rather than public schools. The idea is to give them an alternative to low-performing public schools or those that provide instruction better suited to students’ individual needs. The union is the staunchest opponent of the idea, because it would mean less funding for the public school system. Though charter schools are now permitted in 41 states, charter school initiatives have been defeated at the ballot three times in this state with heavily union-backed campaigns.

            The measure also would give the state greater authority in assuming control of failing schools, by designating “transformation zones.” Among other things, it might contract out management and allow greater flexibility in curriculum and school-year schedules. 

            A second big proposal adds an element of support and training to the state’s new system for evaluating teachers and principals, approved last year by the Legislature and set to launch in the 2013-14 school year. Each teacher and principal would be required to have an “individual growth plan” designed to help them increase their skills based in part on their performance evaluation. Teachers and principals who receive the lowest evaluation rating – a 1 on a scale of 4 – for two straight years would lose tenure or provisional status. Tenure would be granted to teachers and principals who receive a 3 or a 4 three times within a five-year period. A dismissal process would be established for those who fail to improve after receiving individualized training.

            Advocates say the evaluation proposal offers greater assistance for teachers than an evaluation plan outlined by the governor last month. Under her plan, teachers rated unsatisfactory for more than a year would get the heave-ho.

            Not Just About Bad Teachers

            “The governor’s bill is pretty much just about evaluation and how you get rid of a bad teacher,” said state Rep. Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup, ranking Republican on the House Education Committee. “This is much more about helping our adequate teachers become good teachers. It looks at how we evaluate teachers, including student achievement measures. It looks at how teachers are assigned to schools to make sure of a good fit. It has a requirement for development plans to help those teachers get better.

“In that it also addresses the very few teachers who are bad performers and perhaps need to look for a different career, but that’s a very small part of this bill. It is all about improving the quality of our workforce. I like to say that it is elevating the profession.”

Quality of a teacher is one of the few things the state can control, he said. “I would hope WEA would recognize there are parts of this bill they really should support,” he said. “Parts of it, I understand, they might not support. But we want to do the best thing by teachers.”  

            Broad Support

            The reform effort enjoys broad backing from business and education advocacy groups. Lending a statement of support is Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel and executive vice president. “There is a growing gap – an opportunity divide – between young people who are prospering and those getting left further behind,” he said. “Education is key to bridging this opportunity divide and we know that great education comes from great teachers. Our teachers and principals need a fair and effective evaluation system that recognize good teachers and helps everyone improve their performance.”

            Said Shannon Campion, executive director of Washington Stand for Children, “The broad-based support for these bills clearly demonstrates how the public – from parents to educators, to the business community, to our legislative leaders – will not continue to accept business as usual when for African American and Latino students in our state the chances of graduating high school are no better than flipping a coin. The time has come to make meaningful changes so our system meets the needs of all kids, especially the kids who need it most.”

            Opposition is Ready

            The hearing room was packed, not just with supporters but opponents. WEA members told their side of the story, and it was one of inadequately funded public schools that will be made worse by the drain of students who pull out for charter schools. Angela Grissom, a speech-language pathologist in Pierce County’s Franklin Pierce School District, said, “the problem with charter schools, and it just makes me want to cry, is that they want to take the money.

“Where is the money coming from to make these wonderful charter schools that seem fabulous for all these kids to meet their needs? The money is coming from the public schools. They want to take more money away from my students who are already struggling just to survive to get through the day.”