Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Activists push on education bill

The League of Education Voters, a Washington education advocacy group, rallied the troops yesterday, sending some members to Olympia and instructing others to send their message to lawmakers by phone or email. Their timing was good. A bill to make Washington more competitive in its quest to secure federal Race to the Top funds, designed to spur nation-wide education reform, went to a vote in the Senate Ways and Means Committee yesterday and passed out unanimously.

The legislature must pass strong education legislation to make the Obama administration even look twice at Washington’s Race to the Top application. Our state passed up applying for the first round of funds in January with an eye to improving our odds in the second round after passing good legislation this legislative session. With the second round of applications due on June 1, this is our last opportunity to get our ducks in a row.

I visited all three of my legislators yesterday, urging them to support SB 6696 and strengthen it with amendments on measuring student progress, linking this progress to teacher and principal evaluations, and creating a process for easing under-performing teachers out of the system. Providing students with effective teachers and principals is at the core of Obama's mission to improve America's schools.

My conversations were enlightening. I encountered not only understanding and support where I did not expect to find them, but also disagreement. It’s hard to know whether my involvement made much of a difference or not, but I do think there’s truth to the idea that legislators are much more interested in hearing from concerned constituents, especially face to face, than in hearing from a member of the army of lobbyists that canvass the Capitol every day.

Voters do count and activists make a difference. Don’t give up. If you can’t get to the Capitol to support an issue that's important to you, pick up the phone, write a letter or an email, but keep sharing your opinion with your legislators. Remind them who they’re working for back home.

Comments:

Blogger Sarajane46th said...

The Race to the Top requires that states directly link the outcomes of tests of student progress to teacher pay. I watched the head of the teacher's union evade a KING-TV reporter's question on whether she would support this step--twice. Mastery certification for teachers es an exception, and is no solution.

Teachers must recognize that data-driven studies over 20 years for Teach for America show no relationship between student progress with parent involvement or with poverty. The only correlation with student success was the skill and commitment of the teacher. We all know there are far too many bored, disaffected and damaging teachers. No one should have a permanent right to a job they can't do, or that they do badly. As much as I support the right of all employees to bargain as a unit, this system must change.

February 16, 2010 12:09 AM  

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