Molly Spearman's Teacher Advisory Committee
Our new State Superintendent of Education, Molly Spearman, recently created an 18-member teacher advisory committee, but there is concern that the committee does not adequately represent South Carolina teachers. As Congress rewrites NCLB legislation amid concerns about the harmful effects of test-based accountability and controversial teacher evaluation plans, it is crucial that our teachers be given a voice.
Most concerning are the five representatives from special interest groups StudentsFirst and Teach for America. Both political groups have launched huge marketing campaigns, but neither one has advanced public education. StudentsFirst supports test-based teacher evaluations and the segregation of our high risk schools into controversial Achievement School Districts. These types of corporate "reform" tactics do not benefit public education, but only distract us from legitimate educational reform.
Teach for America may have been a viable and reputable group if it had not been branded as the answer to our failing schools. TFA recruits young college graduates and sends them into our high-risk schools with only two weeks of training. TFA teachers do no better than traditional teachers, and they often leave the profession after their mandatory two-year stint in a high-risk school.
Let's take a look at Who's Who on the new committee:
StudentsFirstSC
1) Dana Laurens is the Outreach Director for StudentsFirstSC.
2) Amanda Hobson is a StudentsFirst fellow who serves in that capacity on the BRIDGE teacher evaluation steering committee in Charleston County School District (CCSD).
Teach for America
3) Josh Bell is the Executive Director of Teach for America-SC4) Kirstin Bullington is a TFA Alumni member.
5) Edward Chambers is a TFA Alumni member.
Race to the Top-District program
6) Erin Abner is a Personalized Learning Demonstration Teacher in CCSD.
7) Virginia Sayer is a Personalized Learning Coach in CCSD.
TAP school using VAM and Merit Pay
8) Melonee Ginn has been a mentor teacher on the school leadership team for The System for Teacher and Student Advancement (TAP). TAP schools use a controversial valued added model (VAM) for determining teacher effectiveness.
Palmetto State Teachers Association
9) Kathy Maness is the Executive Director of PSTA
10) Jeff Venables is the President of PSTA
11) Libby Ortmann is the Past President of PSTA
The SC Education Association
12) Bernadette Hampton is the President of the SCEA
13) Sherry East is the Vice President of the SCEA
Others
14) Darleen Sutton is a reading coach in Clover County School District.
15) Lipi Pratt is a teacher in York 4 School District.
16) Jennifer Ainsworth is a special education teacher in Horry County School District.
17) Kelley Payne is a former State Superintendent of Education candidate. 18) Vivian Coleman is a teacher from Saluda County and a longtime friend/colleague of Molly Spearman. http://indexjournal.com/news/New-education-superintendent-s-Saluda-roots-run-deep
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