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January 2010 Newsletter

Our commitment to help you stay informed and engaged during the Session

The 2010 General Session begins next week. It runs from January 25th through March 11th. During the 45-day session, members of the Utah State Legislature will vote on a host of bills affecting education. As always, Parents for Choice in Education will be working with lawmakers to ensure that your voice is heard at the State Capitol.

As parents, citizens, and taxpayers it is not only our right but also our responsibility to steer the direction of our children's educations. They are our future. They deserve every opportunity to become the innovators, entrepreneurs, and future leaders of tomorrow. We must be involved and informed. We must demand a voice and continue to seek meaningful solutions. Parents for Choice in Education will continue to be that voice, we will continue to advocate for every child to have equal access to a quality education, we will continue to advance initiatives that empower parents, and we will continue to seek innovative solutions to Utah's educational challenges.

Once again, we are sending out a "Call to Action" to you. It is so important for citizens to be aware of and involved in the legislative process. Throughout the 45-day session, critical decisions will be made that will affect you, our children, their future, and the future of all Utah citizens. We have always believed firmly that one person can make a difference. Collectively, imagine what we can accomplish!

PCE will keep you apprised of what is happening in regards to specific legislation that will have a direct impact on the quality of education in our state. In addition, we will periodically send out "Action Alerts" on bills that may require your immediate, critical action. This means that we will be calling on you and asking for your help to rally support for the legislation. If it is an issue you feel strongly about, we hope you will get involved. We want to engage you more and assist you in letting your voices be heard as voters, taxpayers, parents, and citizens.

Once the session is underway, we will send out our list of specific PCE Sponsored Bills and all education legislation we will be supporting. Below are the principles that guide our legislative priorities.

PCE POLICY PRINCIPLES

Increasing Choice
We support policies that increase education options. We oppose those that don't. Providing families with multiple options allows them to choose the programs that best serve their child's individual needs. Choice in education increases accountability and improves the overall quality of our education system.

Policies Supported: Charter Schools, Multiple Charter Authorizers, Open Enrollment, Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship, Virtual Schools and Online Learning, Home Schooling, Empowerment and Innovations Schools (providing autonomy and site-based management), Concurrent Enrollment, Dual Enrollment, Additional School Choice Options


Empowering Parents
Parents have the right to demand for their children the best our schools can provide. It is both their right and responsibility to steer the direction of their child's education; therefore, parents must have a seat at the table alongside educators and administrators in making meaningful education decisions. We support policies that empower parents with a voice in the decisions that impact their child's education.

Policies Supported: School Community Councils, Empowerment and Innovations Schools, Charter Schools, School Parent Organization Options

 
Transparency
Transparency is necessary for democratic accountability and enables policymakers, voters, and parents to make informed decisions regarding K-12 education. Policymakers need transparency to understand the impact of public policy. Citizens need transparency to hold officials accountable for how their tax dollars are spent.

Policies Supported: Financial Transparency/Open-checkbook, Simplified Funding Mechanisms, Backpack/Weighted-Student Funding, Sunshine Laws
 

Efficiency in Funding
As Utah faces declining tax revenues accompanied by a projected long-term increase in student population, it is imperative that policies be put in place to use tax dollars more efficiently and effectively. This requires streamlining Utah's complicated funding system. Budgets should be created from the bottom-up (rather than the top-down), providing schools the flexibility to innovate and adjust to local needs. Education dollars belong in the classroom and should follow the student.

Policies Supported: Backpack/Weighted-Student Funding, Simplified Funding Mechanisms, Empowerment and Innovations Schools, Concurrent Enrollment and Early College Credit, Accountability for budgets and percentage of funding going directly into the classroom


Quality Instruction
Teacher quality is one of the most important factors influencing student achievement. As such, teachers should be compensated as professionals with salaries based on their effectiveness and the demand for their individual expertise. We support policies that reward and recognize teachers for excellence and individual student gains. Such polices put teachers in control of their own compensation. Alternative routes to licensure should be used to attract other highly qualified professionals into the classroom. To prepare students for future employment, Utah's K-12 programs and curriculum must keep pace with a 21st century global economy.

Policies Supported: Performance/Merit Pay, Differential Pay, Alternative Teacher Certification, Alternative Routes to Licensure, Equal Access by Professional Teacher Associations, Math Initiative, Rigorous Course Options

Are Your Elected Officials Representing You?

Review our 2009 Report Card to see how they ranked last session - Contact them

Take just a moment to review our 2009 Report Card and then contact your state Representative and Senator to let them know your positions on education policy. They need to know what YOU would like to see accomplished during the 2010 legislative session.

With the current economic situation and budget woes, Utah is perfectly positioned to evaluate what we've traditionally done with education policy and to seek innovative new ways to meet the serious educational challenges we face.

Go HERE to view our REPORT CARD

Become a Delegate at March Caucus meeting - Choose your Party's Candidate at Convention

You can make a difference! Caucus meetings are fast approaching and now is the time to start preparing. Convention races are extremely pivotal, and during the last convention cycle there were several races that were won or lost by just a handful of delegate votes. You have the power to ensure that the best candidates are selected at State Party Conventions by participating in the process. Plan now to become a Delegate.

In 2010 all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the State Senate seats will be up for election. Education is one of the most critical issues facing our state. We need to defend and elect courageous political leaders who are willing to put children ahead of the system and enact the innovative policy changes that will provide our students with the skills they need to succeed.

Special interest groups and protectors of the status quo who oppose innovation, accountability, transparency, parental empowerment, and school choice are already organizing for caucus night. We encourage you to make it a priority to attend your neighborhood caucus meeting and get elected as a Delegate. This is an easy way to get involved and ensure that your positions on education are represented.

If you haven't had the opportunity to be a delegate before, PCE can help walk you through the process - we even have a training video. Please contact us and we will provide you with the information and training you need to get elected!

Become a Registered Voter:

Utah's Election Office website http://elections.utah.gov/voterinformation.html

Find your Caucus Meeting Date & Location:

Utah Republican Party website http://www.utgop.org/

Utah Democrat Party website http://www.utdemocrats.org/

Contact PCE for Delegate Training or to Answer Questions:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (801) 532-1448

 Innovation Highlight

Is Arne Duncan bringing free-market principles to Public Ed?

By Robyn Bagley, PCE Board Chair

I received the U.S. Department of Education's CharterEd Notepad newsletter and found myself rubbing my eyes to make sure the press release posted within it was not a figment of my imagination. It was referencing a plan to turn around the nation's lowest achieving schools. The terms being used in the release were certainly familiar to me. Contained within the document were elements of a topic that the organization I chair has been advocating for years.

I saw words and phrases like transformational changes; have the courage; do right by our kids; unions and the business community can come together; competed. What! A derivative of the word competition in a plan for public education? There were words being thrown out that have been used by education "reformers" for years (yes, even the union word is used by reformers but usually not in the same context). They were suggesting public education actually do things that quite frankly have long since been regarded as "fightin' words" for Democrats and educrats alike. I pinched myself just to check. I felt it.
 
I read on. It appeared Mr. Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, was describing elements of what I fondly refer to as Empowerment Schools. But how could this be? Empowerment Schools operate under free-market principles . You fire people who are not producing results. You shut down failing operations or allow more capable people to take them over. You hire the best person for the job. You empower those running the operation to actually run the operation. Models that are producing a better product are rewarded with customers who are being failed by someone else's product. You engage your customer base. Accountability and positive outcomes are required in order to stay in business. In the traditional public education world these principles would be considered heresy.
 
My head was spinning now. Could this be true? The public education monopoly being married to free-market principles that involved competition! And all of this was being proposed by a very unlikely source saying things like, "As a country, we all need to get into the turnaround business." (Mr. Duncan even used the word business.)

My glee was short lived. There was one giant flaw in this seemingly capitalist approach. Failure was being rewarded by this administration's solution to everything, the government bailout. Now I have previously expressed my lack of support for these stimulus "carrots." It's despicable to me that it takes bribery to get government bureaucracies to do what Mr. Duncan suggests in his incentive proposal - "Adults need to have the courage to make these tough decisions and do right by our kids." Really? You think? Are you sure we shouldn't just keep on protecting the system at the expense of our children's future and the very future of our nation. There's not enough money in the country to "turn around" every failing school. How about we just let failing schools fail. We shut them down, they lose their money and their customers, and those who are actually in the business of producing a great product that is resulting in measurable student gains get rewarded with more customers. But despite how I feel about throwing around taxpayer dollars to a few schools in order to force free-market principles and make people behave properly, I cannot deny that the requirements to get this money are, well, "empowering".
 
See for yourself. "Competing" school districts have to implement one of these four models or components to qualify for $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement grants (read the full newsletter here):

Turnaround model: Replace the principal and rehire no more than 50 percent of the staff and grant the principal sufficient operational flexibility (including in staffing, calendars/time, and budgeting) to implement fully a comprehensive approach to substantially improve student outcomes.

Restart model: Convert a school or close and reopen it under a charter school operator, a charter management organization, or an education management organization that has been selected through a rigorous review process.

School closure: Close a school and enroll the students who attended that school in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving.

Transformation model: Implement each of the following strategies: (1) replace the principal and take steps to increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; (2) institute comprehensive instructional reforms; (3) increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and (4) provide operational flexibility and sustained support.

Of course, the proof will be in the pudding. Will there actually be accountability measures in place to ensure that all these free-market principles are really implemented? Who will measure outcomes to determine whether or not these schools truly "do right by our kids"? In the meantime, I have to admit I am savoring the moment when I read this document and realized that Mr. Duncan is putting the smack-down on the status quo. Protectors of the establishment beware, perhaps you're not in Kansas anymore. 

Link to article on UtahPolicy.com

News Highlight

Demand for Charter Schools Surges - ksl.com

Teachers Group an Alternative to UEA - Daily Herald

"A new professional organization for Utah teachers is gaining traction in Utah County on the premise that teachers' representatives should stay out of politics. Dave Barrett founded the Utah Council of Educators three years ago because he was fed up with the Utah Education Association." "I wanted to restore professionalism to the profession," said Dave Barrett, assistant principal in the Canyons School District. Read more...

January's Featured Scholarship Recipient

By Victoria Lara