Randi says bonus program meant to encourage collaboration....

.... between teachers and administrators, not to improve teacher quality

This one has to go on Letterman's Top Ten funniest list of Randiisms.

Elizabeth Green's piece in the NY Sun today about the expansion of the bonus program by 20% in the midst of budget cuts nails what BloomKlein is all about: right wing anti-teacher ideology ("see, we got the mighty UFT to buy into this.")

The expansion would cost taxpayers $25 million and would expand the program to include 270 schools from 230 this school year


Green writes that Weingarten
...was a partner to the city in conceiving the program last year. Yesterday, she said that, given the proposed budget cuts, the bonus-pay program falls into the category of an extra that should not be expanded if it means less money will go to core services. "I like this program. I wanted it. I like it," Ms. Weingarten said. "But not at the expense of cutting schools."

Well, Randi, if it is at the expense of the schools now, why wasn't it at the expense of the schools before?

Under the city's proposal, a large portion of the funds, $20 million, would be paid for with state money granted through the Contracts for Excellence program, which sets aside a certain pot of funds to be targeted only to a specific set of programs at the city's neediest schools.

One of the thousands of DOE spokespersons said:

...the program was a clear example of one of the Contracts for Excellence categories: improving teacher performance.

Can't you see the thought flashing through teachers' minds: Gee! For the extra 3 grand, I'll REALLY teach. The real code words are "improve teacher performance in raising test scores by hook or crook so we can claim we had a major impact on closing the achievement gap."

Schools use four-person "compensation committees" that include two administrators and two UFT members to make that decision. Chancellor Joel Klein last year voiced hope that the committees would choose to draft the size of the bonuses according to the size of test-score gains made by each teacher's students.

[Teacher] Gregory Schmidt...said one problem is that only three of the school's six grades are tested by the state, and many other UFT members do not see their performance judged by student tests: the art teacher, the gym teacher, and people who work in the main office, for instance. "You don't want to come back next fall and be sitting in the teachers' lounge with somebody who got less money than you did because of an arrangement you agreed to," Mr. Schmidt said. "If the whole thing becomes a battle amongst teachers for money, it would be crippling for school morale."

What should Randi Weingarten's response be:

Dear Joel,
Since you insist on playing games with the budget, we are joining ICE, TJC, Teachers Unite, Justice Not Just Tests, NYCORE, Time Out for Testing and other educational groups around the city in urging UFT members on the compensation committees in all 270 schools to reject the bonus pay plan in the future and use the money saved towards reducing the cuts you are imposing on the schools despite a large budget surplus.

Your (ex) pal
Randi

Ahhh! Just a dream on a hot summer day!

On Campbell's law --how attaching high stakes to test scores make the results highly suspect -- see posting by Steve Koss at http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2007/12/campbells-law-no-its-not-soup.html

Green's full piece at:
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bonus-pay-for-teachers-may-be-expanded-amid/79578/