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talking back

February 3, 2012

Cuomo’s education deputy takes agenda to city teacher group

by Geoff Decker, at 5:00 pm

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top education aide took his boss’s message on the road Thursday night for a speaking event with city teachers.

Speaking at a Midtown hotel on a one-man panel moderated by three teachers from the group Educators 4 Excellence, Deputy Secretary for Education David Wakelyn primarily discussed teacher evaluations and why, nearly two years after a state law was signed requiring that they be toughened, nothing had changed.

The meeting was notable not for what Wakelyn said — his comments hewed closely to what the governor has said about evaluations in recent weeks — but because it happened at all. Wakelyn has been relatively quiet since becoming Cuomo’s education deputy in September. But now Cuomo has made his education agenda a priority for 2012 and has increasingly sought to exert greater influence over policy.

The event began with a question from Dan Mejias, a teacher at JHS 22 Jordan L. Mott, one of the 33 low-performing schools slated to close and reopen with new teachers under Mayor Bloomberg’s “turnaround” plan. Bloomberg devised the turnaround plan to sidestep a requirement under a previous plan for the schools that the city and its teachers union agree on new evaluations.

Mejias said his school had shown progress with federal money it received under the previous model, known as “transformation,” and wanted to know what the governor planned to do to force both sides to drop what he saw as pure political gamesmanship.

“The NYC DOE is threatening to fire half of our staff, the UFT is willing to protect every single teacher at all costs, and none of this is beneficial for our students,” Mejias said.

In response, Wakelyn reiterated Cuomo’s strategy to strong-arm the state and districts into implementing the new teacher evaluations. In his State of the State address last month, Cuomo said he would withhold school aid increases districts that don’t have a deal in place soon. (Bloomberg said yesterday he wasn’t concerned about the threat.) Cuomo also signaled that he would change the teacher evaluation law using the state budget process if the State Education Department and the state teachers union can’t settle a long-disputed lawsuit.

“The governor is trying to create as powerful an incentive about this as possible,” Wakelyn said.

Over the course of the discussion, the roughly 100 teachers in attendance answered poll questions about evaluations; the answers were displayed in real-time on a screen. One question asked the teachers what they most want to get out of new evaluations. The vast majority of teachers said their top priority wasn’t to earn more money, get a promotion, or boost the teaching profession’s prestige — it was to “provide meaningful feedback to improve instruction.”

Their top concerns about new evaluations? That principals might not would be adequately trained to assess teachers and that the evaluations would be used to punish teachers, not support them. The vast majority of the teachers who attended had under 10 years of teaching experience, according to another poll question. (A sampling of poll results is below.)

Wakelyn framed New York State’s shortcomings on Race to the Top, which earned an official warning from the federal government last month, as “implementation issues” and he didn’t get into the state-level labor-management dispute that has hung over the evaluations stalemate.

He did address New York City’s dispute, however. Wakelyn confirmed reports that Cuomo is taking an active role in the negotiations between the UFT and the Department of Education and said he shared the union’s concerns over having a fair appeals process.

“I would say that the governor and all of us on staff have been firm about the fact that any process needs to be fair and reliable,” Wakelyn said. “And teachers have a right to be heard if they feel like the rating that they’ve been given is arbitrary and capricious.”

Wakelyn declined to specify if he thought that process should be taken up by a third party, which has been the main sticking point.

In a brief interview after the event, Wakelyn questioned the merits of a statewide petition by principals who are concerned that the state’s evaluation requirements give too much weight to test scores. Earlier in the evening, a poll question revealed that 85 percent agreed that student growth should factor into evaluations. He cited the poll’s overwhelming approval as a reason that student growth on test scores should be a significant component in any evaluation system.

Questions that teachers at the event answered, and their answers:

To what extent do you agree: “A fair and equitable evaluation and support system is necessary to elevate the teaching profession.”

Strongly Agree – 82%
Somewhat Agree – 14%
Neutral – 0%
Somewhat disagree – 0%
Strongly disagree – 0%
To what extent do you agree that growth in student learning should be a part of a teacher’s evaluation?
Strongly agree – 45%
Somewhat agree – 40%
Neutral – 6%
Somewhat disagree – 7%
Strongly disagree – 2%
In order to increase collaboration in schools, a new evaluation system should include:
Multiple observations – 17%
A standardized rubric – 10%
Peer to peer feedback – 60%
Individual contributions to school community – 13%
What is your greatest concern about a new evaluation system?
Principals won’t be adequately trained – 38%
Teachers’ ideas aren’t included in the development – 11%
One component will outweigh the others – 13%
Will be punitive and not supportive – 38%
What is your greatest hope for a new evaluation system?
Provides meaningful feedback to improve instruction – 63%
Effective teaching will be acknowledged – 10%
Opportunities for professional growth – 11%
Increase the prestige of the profession – 16%
Print Print
  • Prof

    ‘Earlier in the evening, a real-time poll of teachers in the audience revealed that 85 percent agreed that student growth on test scores should factor into evaluations.” This strikes me as a very troubling statistic. I know there were only 100 teachers there, and I know it was held by E4W, which has Gates money (and Gates has been supporting all sorts of initiatives that tie teacher evaluation to student test scores), but I thought most teachers would have knowledge about the pseudo-science behind Value Added Models. The New York State Principals’ letter and petition lays it all out very well. The facts are clear: it is very bad math to run low reliability, criterion-referenced test scores, on tests that are not vertically aligned from one grade to the next, from schools where students are not randomly assigned (which is in violation of the assumptions of the Value Added formulas) and generate scores that have such a wide confidence interval (because of the large error of measurement) as to be useless (approximately 50%). Come on E4E teachers: make some data-driven decisions! 

  • Tinamcollins

    Geoff, could you clarify the wording of the question that was asked about student growth?  The question on the list at the bottom only cites “growth in student learning” (which could be measured in various ways), but your article states that 85% of teachers approved of using “student growth on test scores.”  It’s an important distinction, as Prof’s comment indicates. 

  • nuff said

    Pathetic a meeting stacked with e4e drones —-and only 100–and they claim to represent over 80,000 NYC Teachers—Wakyln and Cuomo this is a farce that makes you look corrupt

  • michael

    Less then 10 years experience? I would bet that most had less then 5 years experience.  What was the point having a discussion with teachers who are still wet between their ears as far as experience is concerned.  When is Cuomo’s education whip boy going to have a discussion with real teachers?

  • Nycdoenuts

    Typically, E4E allows only E4E teachers near events they host. And E4E vetts each ‘applicant’ before they become a member to make sure they’re on board with the E4E ideology. If they moderated this, it was probably more of the same: Cardstacking survey questions with100 E4E teachers who will answer mostly the same way on every question.
    Makes the 85% number look a little false, no?

  • Anonymous

    Tina, 

    Yes, good point. That needed clarification. The point was that Wakelyn cited those results to make his case about student growth on test scores. Thanks for the comment. 
    Geoff

  • michael

    Sorry, that was wet behind their ears.:)

  • Vote NO!

    “What is your greatest concern about a new evaluation system?

    Principals won’t be adequately trained – 38%

    Teachers’ ideas aren’t included in the development – 11%

    One component will outweigh the others – 13%

    Will be punitive and not supportive – 38% WOW!  76%  of  “E4E”  teachers  worry ” principals  wont  not  be  adequately  trained,  or  the  evaluations  will  be  punitive  and  not  supportive”.  They  must  have  spoken  to  some  teachers  from  the  33  PLA  schools  who  have  first  hand  experience  with  the  punitive  nature  of  the  new  observations  under  the  Danielson  framework. 

  • Vote NO!

    Should  be  “wont  be  adequately  trained”

  • bee

    This is theater of the absurd. The E4E is just an irritating yet useless grain of sand  that will never ever facilitate the making of any pearls.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Leonie-Haimson/1094324158 Leonie Haimson

    Hmmm…he cited the results of a poll of 100 teachers selected by a Gates-funded astroturf organization over the views of 1/3 of NYS principals.  Seems right.

  • http://nyceducator.com/ NYC Educator

    Naturally, I am as amazed as you are to learn that a group of 100 E4E members tends to support E4E positions. Thank you so much, Gotham Schools, for filling us in on this vital and breaking story. Perhaps you could follow up by going to Tweed and surveying its employees on the Mike Bloomberg approval rating.

  • Guest

    Some of the people at tweed HATE Bloomberg and are waiting him out.  I actually would love to see that survey.

  • http://twitter.com/SoBronxSchool Bronx Teacher
  • Transformation Teacher

    So in the midst of very important issues, a new evaluation system, all that race to the top money, the top education aid came down to nyc to spend a day talking to 100 teachers from a group that in no way represents the majority of educators in NYC? It is amazing what Bill and Melinda’s money can do for you…

  • Julia Alvarez

    these comments do everything they can to degrade other teachers – why are we attacking each other?   I have attended E4E and never once have they claimed to represent all teacher, just those who sign the declaration and who are looking for a way to be heard.  There are lots of minority groups and they should all have a chance to speak up.  These are real teachers who care about kids and their profession.  It is sad and disgusting that your tactic is to try to silence any disagreement.  I feel like most you are from another minority party and instead of also finding ways to speak-up you are only further dividing teachers.

  • Julia Alvarez

    sorry about the typos, but your comments make me furious. 

  • Julia Alvarez

    This site is horrible and should not be allowed on a message board like this.  I am not a lawyer, but this is very close to libel to me.  I hope that you are no longer in a classroom because it is my professional opinion as a teacher that you need serious help…

    libel:

    1) n. to publish in print (including
    pictures), writing or broadcast through radio, television or film, an
    untruth about another which will do harm to that person or his/her
    reputation, by tending to bring the target into ridicule, hatred, scorn
    or contempt of others. Libel is the written or broadcast form of
    defamation, distinguished from slander, which is oral defamation. It is a
    tort (civil wrong) making the person or entity (like a newspaper,
    magazine or political organization) open to a lawsuit for damages by the
    person who can prove the statement about him/her was a lie. Publication
    need only be to one person, but it must be a statement which claims to
    be fact and is not clearly identified as an opinion. While it is
    sometimes said that the person making the libelous statement must have
    been intentional and malicious, actually it need only be obvious that
    the statement would do harm and is untrue.

  • http://twitter.com/SoBronxSchool Bronx Teacher

     Libel? You claim you are not a lawyer, but feel free to make a claim that the link I added here is libelous. Obviously you are not a medical doctor, are you able to diagnosis cardiac issues as well?

    I put to you directly, what is libelous? And if it is libelous, what facts do you have that prove what I have is?

    As far as me being in the classroom, please stop looking down the end of your nose. My role as a teacher begins at 8 30 AM and ENDS when I walk out the door M-F from September through June. Once I am out that door I become Joe Q Public. I watch South Park and laugh my tushy off, I love the Three Stooges, I am somewhat of a Trekker, I am a major Rush fan and in fact have gone to a Rush convention once. I am also partial to the music of Captain and Tennille. I coach basketball, have coached baseball, and my son, my wife, and my cat are my first priorities. My job comes in a distant 5th behind my God, my religion, and my country.

    I am a regular person. My wife complains I don’t put in a new roll of toilet paper, instead of throwing the milk carton out, I just put it back in the fridge, and I forget to leave the seat down. So please, know of what you speak.

  • http://twitter.com/SoBronxSchool Bronx Teacher

    Wakelyn would have had more fun with me and some friends in a bar with a few cold pitchers of Coors, Potato Skins, and Buffalo Wings.

  • Chalkdust

    “These are real teachers”. Umm, from what I hear, Evan and Sydney are NOT teachers anymore. (In fact, some have claimed that they never even earned tenure). As for attacking, it was E4E who started this mess by pitting old school teachers against newbie TFA’ers. E4E have every right in the world to speak their agenda. However, the other 99.9% of NYC public school teachers who do not agree with E4E also have the right to speak our minds about how we feel. The simple fact is that E4E is a union busting group financed by big business who want to create a cheap, at will labor force of temporary teachers. Veteran teachers have a big target on their backs right now and the last thing they need is for E4E to load the guns for Tweed. Veteran teachers view E4E as hostile to making teaching a life-long career. As one old school teacher once said: “Don’t ever get in the way of my direct deposit and pension”.

  • Jot

    So let me get this straight, some real teachers are following unreal teachers who are being paid to destroy the uft who is there for all real teachers.
    Some teachers with tenue are following unreal teachers without tenue helping them destroy tenure.
    Am I missing something?

  • Tiredofyou

    Could this be mind control? Very scary

  • http://twitter.com/SoBronxSchool Bronx Teacher

    I hear crickets coming from “Julia Alvarez.”

  • Tiredofyou

    You have to belong to e4e it is so obvious that you are caught up in something that you have no clue what you are talking about. I know a good ( maybe not so good) lawyer who posts here who could confuse you more then you are already. If you need his number we can get it for you”.

  • nuff said

    e4e has only been effective in getting 57% of eligable new teachers tenure compared to 97% before e4e started the attacks–they claim thousands of members but only a handful showed up because the rest were either fired or denied/delayed tenure thanks to e4e.

  • bee

    ha ha ha. its EST E4E.

  • Tiredofyou

    More like sesame street.
    Wow Est how many people remember that

  • Matthew Levey

    Prof,

    I expect I will get attached for this, but here goes.  

    I’ve invested the time to learn about value added measures. Like reading Doug Harris’ book that was endorsed by Randi W, among others (I know, cue the chorus about what a corporate lickspittle she really is). Doug is at U Wisc – not a right wing hotbed, last I checked. His wife taught middle school science.

    Last week I spent an hour on the phone with researchers at one of the largest national testing organizations. No Gates money, no contracts with New York State, and they confirmed that VAMs can work. 

    There are always issues that arise from how we interpret test results. The NYS exams are not without blemish.  But calling VAMs “pseudo science” suggests a closed mindedness that is inconsistent with someone using the handle ‘Prof’ to post on this site.  There’s real science there. 

    It is a fair question about how VAMs are used to judge teacher effectiveness. As the spouse of a teacher, I understand the concerns that a principal may not be fair.  

    As a parent, however, I don’t undersand what I am expect to do, apart from trust that my teacher has my child’s best interests at heart, if I can’t look at test results, and I can’t trust the principal’s judgement.

    I do my bit; supportive home environment, read to the kids, make sure they do their homework and eat a good breakfast. No TV, manage their use of computers. Get lots of exercise.

    How then do I judge if the school, or my child’s teachers, are doing their part?  

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