South Carolina's Teacher Advisory Committee

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-SC
4) 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

Parent Advisory Committee

Coming soon, Molly Spearman will be choosing members for a Parent Advisory Committee.  Get your nominations in! 

   

   

Opt Out News: South Carolina Suggests Jail Time for Parents, Disciplinary Action for Students

Why the pushback?

SC Department of Education COO, Betsy Carpentier
speaking at the SCASA meeting April 17, 2015

In the last few weeks, Opt Out South Carolina parents have been trying to figure out why they have received such extreme pushback from their schools when they refuse state testing for their children, and they now know why.  On Thursday, April 17, 2015, the SC Department of Education (SCDE) addressed approximately 80 people at an Instructional Leaders’ Roundtable Discussion hosted by the SC Association of School Administrators.  SCDE Chief Operating Officer Betsy Carpentier gave some pretty intense guidance to our school district leaders.  According to this account and this account of what was said, here are some highlights from the presentation on how school districts should respond to Opt Out parents:

-          If parents try to opt out of tests, school districts should not allow it.  Instead, they should just refer parents to this letter from SCDE Deputy Superintendent Nancy Busbee.  Hanging up on parents who call was also mentioned as a tactic.  (No need for an actual conversation.)

-          School districts should make sure these opt out kids are in the testing room, because then maybe they will give in and take the tests.  (You know, against the written refusal of the parent.)

-          If any of these kids act up or refuse the test, schools should deal with them as a behavior problem.  (“But my mother said…”)

-          In some “you didn’t hear this from me” remarks, if students miss test days, parents could spend an automatic 30 days in jail.  (yes, JAIL)  In fact, if a student misses just one test day, he can be reported for truancy.  This all goes back to the public school contract that parents sign.  (Uh…contract?)  In addition to that, if any of these “crazy parents” or groups suggest that a parent keep a child home on test days, they can be charged with aiding and abetting.  (Okay, now I’ve lost count of the number of threats.)

The audience was also reassured that the SCDE was handling and controlling the Opt Out problem.  The SCDE will get ahead of the parents by going to the media with their spin, making parental concerns "null and void."
 

And Just to be Clear...

On the day after this meeting, every public school in South Carolina received this memo from the SC DOE.  The language in the memo is tamer than what was said at the meeting, but it is easy to connect the dots and fill in the blanks.

We Want Answers

What was not said and what continues to be withheld by the SCDE is the answer to Opt Out parents’ question:  "Can you show me a state or federal law that requires my child to take these tests or denies me the right to refuse these tests?"

With one week until testing and no one knowing who will be tested, disciplined or jailed, I wrote our governor and state legislators this letter.  Stay tuned for updates.