Category Archives: MNPS

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Amanda Kail on the Next Director of MNPS

MNPS teacher Amanda Kail made the following remarks at tonight’s school board meeting in reference to the selection of the next Director of Schools.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the school board. My name is Amanda Kail, and I am an EL teacher at Margaret Allen Middle School. I am here to speak first of all to thank you for your patience and your commitment to hearing teachers who have come to several board meetings this year. And to tell you of the many conversations of hope I have had with teachers across the district who feel like they are finally being heard. Your actions on our behalf have not gone unnoticed.
Secondly, I am here to suggest crucial requirements for the next director of schools from a teacher’s perspective. As you work together towards finding our next leader, I hope my comments can be of some use.
First and foremost, it is imperative that we find a candidate with significant and recent teaching experience. So much has changed in just the eight years that I have taught in public schools. MNPS is in desperate need of leadership that understands what currently is, and what is not, working in the classroom.
Second, we need a leader who will reduce testing. I think you would be hard-pressed to find a teacher in this district who does not feel that testing has taken far too much time away from instruction this year. Additionally, as educational experts, we can tell you that the quality of the tests we have been forced to give are so poor that we have gotten little to no useful information from the results. MNPS needs a leader who understands that testing is not learning, and who will put protecting instructional time as the highest importance for our schools.
Third, we need a director who will make teacher retention a priority. Teaching, especially in as diverse and complex district such as ours, is exceedingly difficult. We need to invest in teacher evaluation systems that are not impossible to survive for new teachers. And we need to value the experience and talents of veteran teachers by bringing back step raises, and by offering them more opportunities for real leadership in the district. And we need a director who will be willing to collaboratively conference with teachers, so that we can work together to make our district a national leader.
Fourth, we must have a candidate who will be an advocate for all our students, regardless of race, gender, economic status, sexual or gender identity, religion, ability, nationality, or immigration status. MNPS is a bright star of diversity. Our leader must be ready to engage with state and national politics to protect all Nashville’s kids, especially those who are most vulnerable.
And finally, we need a leader who can think of our district as a whole. Currently, we are a district torn by conflict over school choice and charters. We have several schools, including zoned and charter schools, that are half-empty. And now, on top of after-school tutoring, clubs, extra-curricular activities, home visits, and after-school parent conferences, teachers are having to go out canvassing on weekends in order to protect their jobs and their schools. I have students who have bounced from charter to charter, and then back to their zoned school in a matter of weeks. How does this help anyone? Kids need consistency. All schools need to offer the kinds of options that parents want. We need to stop perpetuating a system where one school has to tear down another in order to survive, and replace it with a community support services and collaboration.
I know your responsibility of choosing the director of schools is a heavy one. I hope that these suggestions will be useful in your search.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
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Tyese Hunter: Let’s Accept The Facts

Nashville School Board Member Tyese Hunter is out with an editorial in the Tennessean where she discusses facts around Nashville’s charter schools.

Tyese Hunter breaks down some statistics on charter schools, including a recent report that showed that many Nashville charter schools are closing the achievement gap while MNPS schools are seeing the gap widen.

She compared this recent report to the data from the MNPS Academic Performance Framework, which showed that many charter schools were labeled as high performing.

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She also discusses a report that showed that charter schools are teaching more students of color, more economically disadvantaged students, and more students with disabilities than the typical public school. Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 8.09.32 AM

But more than just laying out the facts, Tyese Hunter calls out her fellow school board members who ignore any data or study that doesn’t fit their belief system.

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Read more of here editorial here.

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Mary Pierce: The Centralized vs. De-Centralized Debate

Nashville School Board Member Mary Pierce recently shared her opinions on the upcoming MNPS budget. The budget conversations have turned into a philosophical centralized vs. de-centralized debate. These conversations are much needed in Nashville. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, these conversations allow us to make our education system better for our students. Some budget items need to be centralized, like payroll, transportation, and maintenance. Others not so much.

I think Mary Pierce is saying that she is not against XYZ program, but she is in favor of the principal to make the decision what is best for their school.

So why the debate? As you saw, while $454M is sent directly to schools, some $356M is still managed at central office, but for much more than daily operations such as school buses, utilities or building maintenance  Roughly  $117M or almost $1,600 per pupil is managed by central office for academics in areas like Literacy, English Learners, Advanced Academics, Special Education, Family and Community Support, and more. It’s in this space where we see the philosophical divide. Does centralizing these services align with our strategic plan or should we allow our principals more flexibility in areas like these by giving them more dollars to drive outcomes for the students they serve?  My personal belief is that central office can best support our schools by making thoughtful and intentional hires of principals for each school community, and then allowing them the budgetary freedom to make staffing and academic decisions for their specific school communities.
While the 2016-17 proposed budget is still in draft form, we have had two meetings to walk through the overall budget and the proposed changes or expansions of programs. Of the requests totaling around $22M in new funding from departments within central office, roughly $6.4M will be sent directly to schools via student based budgeting for teachers supporting students learning English, but the remaining $16M will be managed by central office. This does not mean that the teachers or staff paid for by these initiatives won’t be out in schools directly working with students, but it does mean the principals will not have programmatic or budgetary discretion over the programs. While the programs are not mandated, schools will not receive funding for support unless principals agree to follow the central office plan.
To be clear, the questions raised by board members have not been about the merits of a particular program or service, but rather about who is in the best position to make the best decisions on the behalf of students and does this align with our strategic plan.
What do you think about this philosophical debate?


 

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MNPS Budget Invests in Salary, Literacy, and EL.

MNPS recently released their proposed budget for the next school year. The budget shows that MNPS is investing in some very important areas, including teaching pay.

Teacher Salary: All teachers will receive a pay raise, but it will not be the same across the board. The pay raises will be dependent on years of experience. This shows that MNPS is prioritizing experienced teachers in the system. We need to retain our experienced teachers.

The vast majority of funding for employee pay raises will go toward changes in the certificated salary schedule. It is being completely rewritten to correct issues where our teacher pay is below market levels, particularly for teachers with 5-10 years of experience.

All teachers will receive a pay increase, though amounts will not be the same across the board as they have been in years past. The pay increase teachers can expect will depend on their years of experience.

While we are competitive in starting teacher salaries, market data shows we’re not increasing teacher pay quickly enough during the first half of a teacher’s career to be competitive with how similar cities in our region pay more experienced teachers.

The revised certificated salary schedule has not been finalized. We’re in the process of seeking input from various stakeholders, including MNEA.

Literacy: Literacy scores have been stagnant across the state. We need more support for literacy intervention in Nashville. MNPS has heard the call for more resources and is proposing just that. The proposed budget includes:

  • 48 more Reading Recovery teachers plus 2 additional teacher leaders to assist with training Reading Recovery teachers.
  • 15 part time reading interventionists that will be trained in the Comprehensive Intervention Model and work with elementary students who are two grade levels behind in reading.
  • Expands the literacy coaching partnership with Lipscomb. This expanded partnership will include 14 more schools and allow 16 EL coaches to participate.
  • 4 more reading clinics.
  • 10 summer school sites to work with struggling readers.

Wow. I am so excited for the investment in literacy intervention by MNPS. This is awesome.

English Language: Those working in MNPS know the importance of our EL teachers. Fifteen percent of MNPS students receive direct EL services. This budget proposal includes:

  • 88 more teachers that will “bring EL teacher-student ratios to 1:35. Lowering ratios would help the district meet state compliance, under the allowed maximum of 1:40.”
  • 12 bilingual tutors will be hired for a new program that will focus on refugee students.
  • 2 registrars and 6 part time assessors to help with registering students.
  • Pay raises for parent outreach translators.
  • The addition of mentor teachers and model classrooms. (This is a great addition. My school will see this in our building, and we are very excited to have a teacher model for other schools while also mentoring teachers within the building.)

The budget proposal also adds more community achieves site locations and stipends for teacher leaders.

As a teacher, this is a very exciting budget proposal. Go here to find more information on the budget proposal. This is far from a done deal, but it’s a great start.

What do you think of the proposed budget?


 

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Frogge Announces Re-election Bid

MNPS School Board Member Amy Frogge today announced she will be running for re-election from her District 9 School Board seat.

Here’s the press release:

Amy Frogge, School Board Representative for District 9, today announced her campaign for re-election to the Metro Nashville School Board. First elected in 2012, Frogge represents the greater Bellevue area, Sylvan Park, Charlotte Park, West Meade, and Hillwood.

“Through all our successes and challenges, it’s been an honor
representing our district,” Frogge said. “Standing up for our schools is
demanding, but the tide is turning away from reckless experimentation
and toward implementing strategies that have been proven to help our
children learn and grow.”

Frogge has been an outspoken proponent of whole child education, early childhood intervention, and increased exposure to physical activity and the arts. At the same time, she has vehemently opposed excessive standardized testing; efforts to diminish our teachers’ ability to be effective; and educationally and fiscally dangerous tactics pushed by out-of-state special interest groups.

During her tenure on the School Board, Frogge has succeeded in
guaranteeing all students in pre-K through sixth grade have recess
daily, and she has worked with other board members and administrative leaders to decrease standardized testing. She has also helped ensure that every middle school child receives instruction in foreign language, supported expansion of MNPS’s model pre-K program, and advocated for adequate and equitable school funding.

In addition, Frogge has been instrumental in efforts to update the aging Hillwood High School and increase capacity at elementary schools and middle schools across District 9. Money has been allocated to pay for architectural plans for a new high school, and plans call for
renovations to various schools as well as a new elementary school in the Bellevue area.

Frogge was named a “Hero of Public Education” by former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, Best Public School Defender by the Nashville Scene, and School Board Member of the Year by the national blog Schools Matter.  She also received the Distinguished Service to Our Community honor from Delta Kappa Gamma, a teacher organization, and the Robert Chandler Ambassador Award from the Nashville Adult Literacy Council.

“With a new director of schools to be chosen soon, Nashville has a
unique opportunity to make our school system the best urban district in the nation,” Frogge noted. “With a singular focus on serving our
children, we can do great things for our city’s future.”

Frogge is backed by an impressive coalition of civic leaders, teachers,
involved parents, and community members from across the political
spectrum. (See list attached.) Her campaign kickoff is scheduled for
Monday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m. at Thistle Stop Café, 5128 Charlotte Pike.
To contribute to Amy’s campaign, visit https://amyfrogge.com. A complete website is in the works.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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Still Not Ready

The MNPS Board of Education last night passed a resolution calling on the State of Tennessee to delay the use of TVAAS scores in teacher evaluations during the first year of the new TNReady test. The resolution is similar to one passed in Knox County last month.

Here’s the MNPS version:

A RESOLUTION OF THE METROPOLITAN NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION IN OPPOSITION TO THE USE OF TNREADY DATA FOR TEACHER EVALUATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 2015-2016

PROPOSED BY ANNA SHEPHERD

WHEREAS, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is responsible for providing a local system of public education, and
WHEREAS, The State of Tennessee through the work of the Tennessee General Assembly, the Tennessee Department of Education, the Tennessee Board of Education, and local boards of education, has established nationally recognized standards and measures for accountability in public education, and
WHEREAS, all public school systems in Tennessee have been granted a one-time pass in the 2015-2016 school year to not integrate TNReady scores into each student’s final grades due to an anticipated delay in assessment results, and
WHEREAS, teachers with at least five years of experience are eligible for tenure only if they receive an overall evaluation score above expectations or significantly above expectations for the prior two years, and
WHEREAS, this school year is the first year that the TNReady assessment will be administered, and
WHEREAS, the TNReady assessment is not a compatible assessment with the TCAP assessment, and
WHEREAS, the TNReady assessment requires the extensive use of technology and the State of Tennessee BEP funding formula, already inadequate, does not meet these technology needs or the needs of MNPS schools as a whole, and
WHEREAS, the Tennessee General Assembly and Tennessee Board of Education have already adopted the “Tennessee Teaching Evaluation Act” to lessen the evaluation score impact of TNReady in English/language arts and math, and
WHEREAS, over 70% of MNPS teachers, counselors, librarians, instructional coaches, and others do not produce individual TVAAS data, and
WHEREAS, MNPS seeks to recruit and retain excellent teachers to serve our students.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY METROPOLITAN NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION AS FOLLOWS:
MNPS Board of Education strongly urges the Tennessee General Assembly and the Tennessee Board of Education to provide a waiver from utilizing the TNReady data for the use of teacher evaluations for the school year 2015-2016 or allow districts to only use observation data from evaluations to make decisions on hiring, placement, and compensation based strictly on the 2015-2016 TNReady data, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Tennessee General Assembly and the Tennessee Board of Education consider the impact of the 2015-2016 TNReady data upon future years of teacher evaluations, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Tennessee General Assembly and the Tennessee Board of Education consider allowing teachers to be eligible for tenure when they have received a composite score of four (4) or five (5) for two of any of the last five years, as opposed to the prior two years only.
ADOPTED BY THE MNPS BOARD OF EDUCATION AT ITS MEETING ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016.

 

The resolution includes a few interesting notes:

  • 70% of MNPS teachers don’t have individual TVAAS data
  • There’s mention of the inadequacy of the BEP formula
  • There’s a call for further review of TVAAS after this year

According to prepared remarks by MNPS teacher Amanda Kail prior to the vote, four other counties have passed similar resolutions.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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CAPE Flies into 2016

At the first MNPS Board meeting of 2016, advocacy group CAPE will again be encouraging teachers to raise their voices and speak out. CAPE member Amanda Kail previews the remarks she plans to make this evening:

Ladies and gentlemen of the school board — My name is Amanda Kail. I am an EL teacher at Margaret Allen Middle School.
First and foremost, I would like to wish all of you a happy new year. And in that vein, I would like all of us as a district to take a moment to reflect on what we have gotten right, and how we can improve in 2016.
First of all, you are to be commended in recognizing that over-testing has become a serious problem for our schools. Countless studies from leading experts in education, as well as the groundswell of parents around the country who are opting their children out of the tests, and even demands from students, such as the White Station High School students organizing in Shelby County point to the same conclusion — high-stakes testing has been a colossal mistake, regardless of the intentions. Many of you have made statements recognizing the need to reign in the testing as a priority. Thank you. Now let’s make 2016 the year that happens.
How can we do that? First, let’s end testing where we can. DISTRICT benchmarks take up SIGNIFICANT instructional time, and are often given so close to other tests as to be redundant. Getting rid of them would mean 3 less weeks of testing (and 3 weeks more of instruction).
Second, make instructional time THE FOCUS of school days again so teachers can teach and students can learn. Cap building-level testing to no more than once per semester. Remember that assessments are now given on-line, and that most schools at MNPS do not have enough computers to give these assessments in one day, meaning that a single whole-school assessment can drag on for one or two weeks in order to accommodate all students and grade levels.
Third, join Knox County, Blount County, Washington County and Anderson County schools by supporting Board Member Shepherd’s proposal to postpone using TN Ready scores on teacher evaluations this year. Tell Nashville teachers you respect our profession enough to not evaluate us on something that is so much beyond our control. Then tell the Tennessee legislature that it is time to reexamine the trust we have placed in high-stakes testing to tell us anything besides which schools are rich and which are poor.
Finally, lets find a director of schools who truly has ALL of our schools at heart. MNPS needs someone who will ask our legislature to end high-stakes testing and who will demand full funding for our district. Someone who will spend their time getting struggling schools more resources, like the wrap-around services from the Community Achieves program, and who will implement a fair and fully-supported discipline policy grounded in restorative justice. Someone who recognizes that threatening and punishing schools that are serving students with the highest needs is not nearly as useful as finding those schools the resources they need.
We have much work to do, but if we work together, this can be the year our system truly shines. Thank you.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
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Pinkston v. Miller

The race for School Board in MNPS is starting early, as current Board Member Will Pinkston announced his re-election plans this morning and saw Jackson Miller confirm within hours that he would challenge Pinkston.

Jason Gonzales and Joey Garrison have the story for the Tennessean.

Pinkston outlined goals for a second term in his morning news release:

“Working with a new mayor and a new Metro Council, we have a profound opportunity to get the entire community rowing in the same direction for the first time in nearly a decade,” Pinkston said. “I’m optimistic about the upcoming director search and I’m excited to continue working for our students, parents, teachers and taxpayers.”

Miller plans to make a formal announcement tomorrow.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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A Simple Wish

Amanda Kail, a teacher in MNPS and a member of CAPE, has released her prepared remarks ahead of tonight’s MNPS School Board meeting.

Here’s what she plans to say:

Dear ladies and gentlemen of the board. My name is Amanda Kail. I am an EL teacher at Margaret Allen Middle Prep. And I am here to talk about my wish list for this district.
So what do I wish? How would I make things different? I wish that this district would take teaching and learning seriously. I wish that instructional time was treated as the MOST important part of the school year. I wish that no one would even dream of asking teachers to shift their schedules and lesson plans constantly to make room for assessments that give us very little useful feedback.
Why don’t these assessments give us useful feedback? Because they are riddled with confusing formats, questions that are developmentally inappropriate, and require students to navigate unfamiliar technology. Because the internet connection is slow or the laptop malfunctions, or the test kicks them out for unknown reasons. Because they do not differentiate for our vastly diverse student population. Recently, one of my students, Z, told me that he has given up on school. Z is a bright, caring EL student with significant learning disabilities. When I asked him why, he told me that none of the work that he does in the classroom matters, because he is going to fail all the tests anyway. He said, “When my teachers give me work in the classroom, I understand it. But then the tests come and I just fail. I don’t understand anything. I give up.”
Z knows that he can learn. And so do his teachers. He can’t get there by the same path as everyone else, but he can get there. But the barrage of tests, which insist on assessing everyone the same way, tell him otherwise. We have got to stop putting so much trust in these tests that tell us our students are below basic, that our teachers are ineffective, and that our schools are failures. And on behalf of Z and every student like him, I am not giving up.
At some level, the state agrees with me. The TN Department of Education has given students a grace period of a year before TN Ready counts for them. However, this test will STILL count for teacher evaluations. So I am back to wishing that the district would take teaching and learning seriously. How many teachers do you think are going to continue to commit professional suicide by getting low evaluations due to test scores? Tests that they know, and even the state knows, our students have no hope in passing? Would you stay? Are we as a district weary of the teacher retention problem?
Luckily, dear board members, there is something you can do. The Knoxville school board recently passed a resolution asking the state to not count TN Ready scores in teacher evaluations. I am asking you to do the same. The state needs to hear from district leaders as a united front on this issue. It will go a long way to show that you do take teaching and learning seriously. That is my wish.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
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CAPE Flies Again

Newly-formed education advocacy group CAPE (Community Advocates for Public Education) will be in action at tonight’s MNPS School Board meeting, according to a press release:

The Coalition Advocating for Public Education (CAPE) will continue its “Use Your Teacher Voice” campaign at the MNPS school board meeting on Tuesday, December 8. The group attracted significant attention from both the media and board members when nine teachers spoke on the impact of high-stakes testing on their classrooms at the November board meeting.

Amanda Kail, one of the founders of CAPE and an EL teacher at Margaret Allen Middle Prep explains, “We are bringing the voices of professional educators back to the discussions about public education. There are so many big problems that need solving right now like over-testing, teacher retention, school closures, and the school-to-prison pipeline. These are all problems that teachers can help solve. We are the ones professionally grounded in the theory and practice of education. We are the ones that are doing the educating. We can help do what’s right for our kids.”

Kail notes that there are few professions that are so driven by policy makers who are not part of the profession. “A lot of people get involved in public education because they want to sell something. And there is nothing wrong with creating educational products and services, but it creates different goals. Earning a profit is not the same thing as educating a child. This is why CAPE encourages teachers to speak out, in order to create more balance when it comes to policy decisions.”

Board member Will Pinkston has pledged to make reducing testing a priority in the search for candidates for director of schools. Eleven teachers, nine of them who will be addressing the board for the first time, have signed up to speak at Tuesday’s meeting. Their theme will be “wish lists” for the district.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport