To follow is the testimony of the SEA President Olga Addae given to the Seattle Public School Board on August 18, 2010:
I’m Olga Addae, President of Seattle Education Association.
In these tough economic times the district once again prioritizes spending their limited resources for “things” and not services for our students.
Will the 2.5 million dollars for new technology enhance student learning? I doubt it.
Will the new technology close the Achievement Gap? Definitely not!
What other technological machinery does SPS propose to waste its limited resources on? Nearly 4 million dollars to mechanize and automate the teacher evaluation system.
Will tying test scores to teacher evaluation enhance student learning? NO!
Will tying test scores to evaluations close the Achievement Gap? Definitely NOT.
The district can not show any evidence that tying student test scores to evaluations will enhance student learning.
So what purpose can it SERVE?
- It serves to mechanize/automate firing teachers
- It serves to dismantle collaboration amongst educators
- It serves to increase “teaching to the test”
- It serves to narrow the curriculum choices for students
- It serves to undermine our Profession of Teaching
I stand on the integrity and experience of our profession. Educators know:
- Children are more than test scores
- Teaching is more than “teaching to a test”
As professionals we say “No” to the improper use of tests and the destruction the district plans to serve to our students and teachers.
We will not sell out our profession or our students for failed and an unproven education policy driven by the Gates and Broad Foundations hidden agenda.
We will not sell out our profession or our students because our experience tells us that it is only through enhancing our profession through collaboration; collaboration that leads to “ongoing inquiry” , that we will build a quality education system for our students.
We the educators seek authentic accountability? Yes! Hold us accountable to our teaching practice!
The SEA and SPS joint Professional Growth and Evaluation Task Force has developed a robust evaluation system that not only holds us accountable to our teaching practice but builds collaboration and professional learning communities that will enhance student learning.
This shift in education culture is the only proven way to close the Achievement Gap.
It uses student outcome data, explicitly as stated in law: To reflect and improve our teaching practice.
We are about to embark on a “historical cultural shift” not a packaged program.
Creativity, professional autonomy, collaboration, and authentic evaluation, are the foundations to a quality public education that all students deserve.
DO NOT: Block the way of this historic change
DO NOT: Serve Seattle students anything less.
Honor our collaborative work.
Seattle Education 
Otke,
Yes, we need to be doing a better job of educating our children but for the last few decades that has not been our priority as a nation, hence, very little financing of our educational system. I always think about how much we are willing to pay our professional athletes and how much we are willing to pay our teachers. The gap is tremendous and reflects our values as a nation.
For a more in-depth analysis of what has happened to our educational system over the last 40 years, see: https://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/where-do-we-go-from-here-2/
To now blame teachers for being the cause of an educational system in need of support turns the focus away from what the problem has been for the last four decades, a lack of money. The irony of all of this is that the folks pushing this ed reform agenda never paid the taxes that would have helped our educational system. These same people, who have their children in private schools, now want to tell us how to educate our children in public school and others just want to cash in on this new red-reform movement. The only people who really lose from this are our children.
No it’s not about the teachers or the union. It’s about making education once again a priority in this country and showing that we really mean it by funding public education adequately.
Speaking of robots, Gates approach to education is by way of computers, online learning and testing. He would just assume that children, at least our children, need little to no interaction with human beings. See: https://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/the-art-of-teaching-and-the-automatons-of-education-reform/
and
Dora
It’s just time for something to change. The writing is on the wall and the union is appropriately scared that they may be held responsible for decades of student failure. Addae’s speech is classic shift the blame (it’s somehow testing that creates the dropout rate?), mixed with a kind of technophobic hysteria (subtext: ‘are your children just cogs in a machine’ and ‘do you want robots teaching your children?’), which I would find laughable if it weren’t so sad.
Demian,
I will support SEA and the teachers also if they stick to this statement.
Dora
A strong statement from SEA. This Seattle parent will support the teachers on this one.
Olga A said: …… “The SEA and SPS joint Professional Growth and Evaluation Task Force has developed a robust evaluation system that not only holds us accountable to our teaching practice but builds collaboration and professional learning communities that will enhance student learning.
This shift in education culture is the only proven way to close the Achievement Gap.”
I DO NOT THINK the above statement is correct in regard to closing the achievement GAP. ….. I put forth “Project Follow Through” for evidence … and can put forth other more recent studies as well that close achievement Gaps substantially and do so without meeting the definition of profession learning communities. What evidence does Olga have?
…. In addition it certainly seems that from fall 2006 through Spring 2009 at Cleveland High School an expensive school wide experiment was tried that had a focus on professional development and learning communities and the GAPS in math widened.
Until real research is done rather than politically correct pandering ….. significant improvement will be very elusive.