WHERE DID TESTING GO WRONG? RATLIFF REFLECTS ON EDUCATION AdvocateTexas State Teachers Association/National Education Association FALL 2007 High Cost of Dropping Out TSTA/NEA parental involvement campaign targets border areas PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Be a Part of Our Schools’ Success In August, several Texas newspapers ran my op-ed column on parental involvement. It’s part of the multimedia campaign we’re running this fall in several school districts on the border (see pages 14-17), and it includes some good information that I thought you might want to share with parents. Here’s an excerpt: We need your help. If you’re a parent with a child or children in Texas public schools, professional educators need your help as the 2007-08 academic year begins. Parental involvement in their chil- dren’s education matters—a lot. Every parent’s involvement in a child’s education helps that young person’s likeli- hood of succeeding in school. The more time a parent can invest, the greater the payoff for the child. In “A Parent’s Guide to Supporting School Success,” the National Education Asso- ciation suggests what parents can do: • Talk to your child’s teachers regularly. • Support your child’s teachers and encourage your child to respect teachers and behave appropriately at school. • Be clear and direct in your expectations of your child’s teachers. Let them know you are looking for teachers who listen and recognize what you have to offer to support your child’s education. • Let teachers know about any situations or conditions at home that may affect your child’s performance. Matters ranging from a family health crisis to lan- guage differences can interfere with a child’s school success. • Regularly express confidence in your child’s ability to succeed in school, emphasize the importance of education and set high expectations for success. • Attend parent-teacher conferences at least once a year. You can become involved in other ways through a Parent-Teacher Association or similar group. If one doesn’t exist at your child’s school, organize one. In the 25 years that I was an English and language arts classroom teacher, I saw just how important these parent-teacher groups are and what they can accomplish. Traveling around the state, I see that happen again and again. In one district, I saw parents substituting in classes so the teachers could conduct parent conferences during the school day instead of at night and on Saturdays. I also have seen PTA fundraisers that provided classroom supplies, library books and materials. The help you give us as we work with your children will benefit them immensely. No mat- ter how you provide that help, it matters greatly — to your kids, to their success in school, to their future. 2 TSTA ADVOCATE TABLE OF CONTENTS Advocate Vol. 27, No. 1 Fall 2007 TSTA Advocate is an official quar- terly publication of the Texas State Teachers Association, affiliate of the National Education Association. How to Contact Us: Call 877-ASK- TSTA, visit www.tsta.org, or write to TSTA, 316 West 12th Street, Austin, TX 78701. Please send address changes to the attention of Membership Records or [email protected]. Advertising: If you would like to advertise, contact Lori Buckner at 512-476-5355, ext. 1292. TSTA makes no representations re- garding advertised products or ser- vices that are not endorsed. RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS: Their mission is simply to support public schools--by defending them from Postmaster: Send address changes unfounded criticism, talking about the good things that are happening in them, and suggesting ways (such to TSTA Membership Records, 316 as smaller class sizes and full-day kindergarten) to make them even better. Read more on page 8. West 12th Street, Austin, TX 78701. PRESIDENT FEATURES Donna New Haschke 8 Bill Ratliff Raises His Hand for Education VICE PRESIDENT The former lieutenant governor talks about the legislature, education, and Raise Your Ann Heuberger Hand Texas, a group of business leaders advocating for public schools. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR E.C. Walker 14 High Cost of Dropping Out Texas ranks 38th among the states in high school completion. Recognizing that parental DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS involvement is crucial to changing that statistic, TSTA/NEA has launched a campaign to Richard Kouri target parents in four cities along the border. EDITOR Debbie Mohondro IN EVERY ISSUE PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST 4 Education News Joe Bean Who will pay for fingerprinting; TSTA action keeps most teacher test scores confidential; PRODUCTION TECHNICIAN information about the new incentives; TOPS update; TSTA helps soldier get his school job Susan Martin back; mark calendars now for Celebration of Great Teaching; Connie Roccato retires after ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER 33 years; Texans win NEA posts; and reminders for state and national delegates. Leann Kloesel 18 Classroom Tips ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY Four main instructional ideas for school dropout prevention. Adriana Montoya 20 Ask Our Legal Team SECRETARY/ADVERTISING A quick recap of some new laws that affect school employees. Lori Buckner 22 Around Texas Copyright 2007 by Ambassador Academy rocks; NEA Republican leaders meet; TSTA delivers staff develop- ment; Waco local ups starting pay to $37,000; Ysleta local advises a television show; a member sits on stage with Presidential hopefuls; Dallas raises $50K for math; and news from TSTA-Student Program and TSTA-Retired. 26 Upcoming Events Nominate someone for an award from TSTA! TEXAS STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 28 Governance 316 West 12th St., Austin, TX 78701 National delegate elections and state House of Delegates delegate elections. www.tsta.org • 877-ASK-TSTA FALL 2007 3 EDUCATION NEWS Who Will Pay for Fingerprinting? SB 9, which passed in the 2007 legislative session, requires that all active certified person- nel and other staff be fingerprinted for criminal history background checks by 2011. We knew that. You knew that. But now there’s a new twist. The fee for each individual to be fingerprinted is estimated to be $47 to $52. And you may have to pay it! The fee for each Funds to cover existing certified personnel were appropriated by the legislature, but Texas Education Agency (TEA) is now saying the funds might not be available. It is possible that individual to be school districts will have to decide whether to pay the fee or pass it on to their employees. fingerprinted is Another concern: TEA will decide when a district must start an 80-day timeline for making estimated to be sure that all of its active certified employees get fingerprinted. Notices will go to every certi- fied employee explaining how to get fingerprinted; employees will have 80 days to com- $47 to $52. And plete the process, with a one-time, 10-day extension for good cause. If employees fail to comply within the timeline, their certification will go on inactive status, making them ineli- you may have gible to teach. to pay it! TSTA is concerned that, due to the number of uncontrollable factors in the process, the timeline might not be long enough in certain circumstances. As there are a number of third parties involved in this process—such as the Department of Public Safety, its vendor for fin- gerprinting, and the school districts—unforeseen circumstances might arise which are to- tally out of the control of the educator. TSTA is working on these issues. The proposed rules must still go before the State Board for Educator Certification and State Board of Education prior to going into effect sometime in November. Please check www.tsta.org for updates. 4 TSTA ADVOCATE NEW INCENTIVE PLAN DETAILS the entire process illegally. The Com- lowed new legislation that makes District Awards for Teacher Excellence, missioner had not followed proper teachers’ certification scores confiden- or DATE, is the state’s newest incentive rule-making regulations in issuing this tial unless the teacher has failed an program. DATE was enacted during the directive. Because of these issues, TSTA exam more than five times. third special session of the 79th Legis- filed suit against the Commissioner of Here’s TEA’s response to the Attorney lature and funded during the 80th Leg- Education in January 2007. islature at $147.5 million for FY 2009. General’s ruling: “For an educator who At the hearing, rather than face a court All districts are eligible to apply for has taken a certification exam only order to immediately cease all testing grant money, with amounts based on once, TEA will withhold the test result and certification requirements, the the district’s average daily attendance (pass/fail) and the test score. We will Commissioner agreed to modify the di- during the 2007-2008 school year. release the fact that an educator has rective. As a result, the Commissioner taken an exam once because taking the It will be up to the district-level plan- issued a new directive stating that exam once is not an indication of ning and decision-making committee teachers who did not pass the certifica- whether an educator has passed or to develop a district awards plan and to tion test would not be required to have failed. For an educator who has taken determine which campuses are eligible another teacher review their ratings. an exam more than once, but has not to participate. In response to TSTA’s lawsuit, the failed the exam more than five times, Read more about DATE at www.tsta.org. Commissioner also took steps to cor- TEA will withhold the educator’s name rectly institute the TOPs training and for each time the educator took the TOPS: WE SENT A MESSAGE testing requirements.