Of Clear Eyes and Pure Hearts
“Prohibitions, trust me, only encourage bad behaviour.”
― Tom Holland, Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar
"This cataract has gotten rather large," the eye doctor said while examining my right eye, "How'd it get so big?"
I shrugged, "If I knew that doc, I'd be cashing checks instead of writing them."
"Well, I'll go ahead and take that out for you this week if you have time?'
Huh?
Just like that a whirlwind week kicked off. Five days later I was in an operating room getting a cataract removed. I'd had the other eye done last year, but this year was a completely different process.
A successful one, I'm happy to say. My vision is now better than it's been in years.
Now it's time to pick the reins back up and take a look at what's been transpiring while I've been healing.
- - -
Of all the things in need of attention in the Tennessee education world, new education commissioner Lizzette Reynolds has chosen to modify the state's school accountability model as her first priority. Why, is anybody's guess, but it's where we are going and what we are doing at an accelerated clip.
This week she provided a little update to the TDOE update to the State Board of Education. Notably, it wasn't the commissioner doing the heavy lifting, but rather Chief of Staff Chelsea Crawford who presented to the board.
The update was more of a courtesy than a requirement. As Board Chair Bob Eby made clear, "This is a TDOE initiative and not a board undertaking."
Purportedly the reason for the initiative is that the Tennessee Department of Education was looking at models using existing data, and noticed an overlap in the required areas of “growth” and “achievement.”
As TDOE chief of staff Chelsea Crawford told the SBE, “We saw large discrepancies. Schools that scored a ‘B’ could have a TVAAS score in growth of 1, 2, or 3.”
She added, “A ‘B’ school could also have an achievement rate anywhere between 8% and 98%.”
As a result, it was deemed that the formula did not provide a meaningful rating system for parents.
Crawford said, “There was that reality check moment and that this system needs to be clear and meaningful to parents.”
The new formula aims to provide greater differentiation to provide parents with more useful information and greater differentiation between grades.
Now keep in mind, that parents and districts have never seen the results of previous calculations using the formula that was developed and shared with districts back in 2017. The TDOE has technically been out of compliance for at least 5 years.
Despite this grave transgression, the world has kept turning and nobody has missed those grades being issued - save the politicians who never like their edicts being ignored.
I spend a lot of time, hanging around with other parents - when I say a lot of time, I mean a lot of time. Never in those conversations does the mention of school letter grades come up.
I promise you, not a single parent has ever said to me, "Hey, do you know if school grades are coming anytime soon? I'm really interested in whether our school Kanye West Middle is a "B" or a "C".
Never happens. Want to know why?
Because parents already have their own grading system, and they don't need a state-supplied report card in order to separate the good schools from the maybe not so good.
(Moment of irony here, lawmakers that argue the rights of the individual over the the role of government seemingly believe that parents can't discern good schools from bad without government assistance. Go figure.)
"Where does Ethan go to school?", one parent will say to another.
"He goes to Justin Jones Elementary."
"Does he like it?"
"Yeah, he does. Teachers are good and we love the principal," replies the first parent, "We were hesitant at first, but we've ended up liking it a lot. Like anywhere it's not perfect, but it works for us."
"We've got friends that go there and they say the same. Do you know Will Sexton?"
"We love the Sextons. Ethan and Will joke around all the time at school."
That's how the grading system works for parents. They talk to each other and compare the experiences of friends and friends of friends. Sometimes the reports aren't as positive, and sometimes the reviews are even more glowing.
Here's another secret, TCAP scores rarely enter the discussion. Nobody ever says, "Jimmy feels unwelcome at Welch Middle, he's having a hard time making friends and his teacher doesn't seem to support him. Discipline problems seem out of control, and the principal just yells at him. But 90% of the kids are scoring proficient or above on TCAP, so we are happy."
Yet, Commissioner Reynolds has decided that fixing a system that is largely ignored and has never been fully executed, is her top priority.
Ironically, it was also the first priority of her predecessor Penny Schwinn. At the time she expressed a desire to reexamine the state’s system for judging schools, which heavily weights “student growth” by measuring learning over time, regardless of whether those students are proficient in meeting a certain threshold on state tests. Sound familiar?
Equally worth noting is that the two share membership in the sister organizations founded by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush - Chiefs for Change, and ExcelinEd.
Both organizations are staunch supporters of School Choice. Which could explain why they are so adamant about grading schools.
Arguably the only parents interested in a school's grade, are the ones looking for a change.
But will they even take the time to navigate the TDOE website and discern one grade from another? Maybe we should pass legislation that requires schools to post their grade in a visible location at the front of the school, in the same manner restaurants post their health department scores.
But even with health code scores, if a bunch of friends tell you the food is really good, are you checking the establishment's inspection score before eating? If you do and it's less than perfect, are you still eating there while making excuses of why the score isn't really as bad as it looks?
But I digress.
Over the years I've come to the conclusion that there are three strategies to employ if you want to look like you are doing something, but you've already decided what you want to do.
First, you produce a survey, then you go on a listening tour, followed by the forming of a committee. Looks like Reynolds and I have read the same books.
After a month of town halls, Reynolds has now formed a working group to weigh in on how Tennessee's accountability model should look. The group is made up of familiar faces, with a couple extras thrown in for good measure. But nobody who is going to make too much of a ripple.
Take it for what it's worth, but according to the word on the street, there were suggestions made for certain people to be included, but the TDOE said, "Thanks, but no thanks."
In the category of "it'd be humorous if it wasn't so tragic", the working group, which has until October 20th to wrap up work, spent their first meeting, "getting to know each other." As if everybody included isn't well acquainted with each other.
This week, they dived into what tested subjects should be included in the school grade, and how much weight each should hold. Let me repeat it, 50 people are expected to come to a consensus about how much weight each tested subject should have in calculating a school's grade in a week's time. Color me unimpressed.
Next week they'll be taking a look at the plans for Commissioner Reynold's unicorn barn and how they can modify it in order to best house the unicorns.
But let's not jump to conclusions.
Let's take Tennessee's newest transplant at face value and assume that she really cares about Tennessee families - despite a lack of evidence that would indicate such an assumption - and her intentions are pure.
How do you fix something that took two years to develop with a month of town halls and a week of meetings by a 50-member working group?
When was the last time you've been a part of a 50-member working group that came to any kind of consensus? In a week's time?
That's what Commissioner Reynolds is proposing while maintaining that the final formula “must be valid, reliable, and comparable.”
To be fair, the commissioner did say that the department would be working closely with its research partners. She didn't name those partners, but it's not hard to guess who she's talking about.
Throw this into the mix, what the commissioner has hinted at is a report card that is substantially different than the accountability model submitted to the federal government. So, unless lawmakers follow through with plans to refuse federal money, district leaders will have two accountability systems to monitor.
One with cash attached, and one that...doesn't currently, but might in the future.
I always tell my kids, I don't need you to walk around with a sandwich board extolling your virtues. You don't have to tell me you are honest, brave, or transparent, just be honest, brave, and transparent. I'll figure it out.
Reynolds and her department don't live by the same tenet. Repeatedly throughout this process, they've stated their commitment to transparency. To the point that if I was playing "drink transparent", and took a drink every time they said transparent, I'd be in the middle of a six-week bender.
Maybe they are being transparent about the process, but I don't think there is any transparency when it comes to the ultimate agenda or the input of ExcelinEd or Chiefs for Change. Both organizations provide services to their members sans contracts that put them outside the purview of state transparency laws. So we'll never know the extent of their involvement.
A look at Commissioner Reynold's statement of disclosure of interests (ss-8004) provides a little more insight. Under positions held, she lists the following:
AUSTIN IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS ADVISORY BOARD from Sep 2016 to Dec 2021
KNOWLEDGE WORKS BOARD MEMBER, CHAIR from Jan 2013 to May 2023
IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS FLORIDA BOARD MEMBER, CHAIR from May 2019 to May 2023
PIG NETWORK BOARD MEMBER from Feb 2022 to May 2023
SENEVATION CITIZEN BOARD MEMBER from May 2015 to May 2023
GOODWILL EXCEL ADULT CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER from Sep 2019 to Feb 2023
SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY BOARD OF VISITORS MEMBER from Jun 2018 to current
UTEACH @ U TEXXAS AUSTIN ADV BOARD MEMBER from Jun 2018 to current
Let me offer one last observation as this process unfolds. Those of you who have been singularly focused on vouchers and charter schools, better expand your worldview. We are heading toward a whole different reality, and playing catch-up shouldn't be an option.
- - -
Former Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn may longer command center stage in Tennessee, but that doesn't mean that she is going quietly into the night either.
As you know, Commissioner Schwinn recently accepted a position with the University of Florida overseeing their newly created PreK-12 and pre-bachelor programs initiative. The gig comes with a $367K salary and the ability to work remotely. Not a bad gig for the former California native.
Unfortunately for Schwinn, there are those who think it might not be as good a deal for the citizens of Florida.
The Gainesville Sun published an article this week pointing out that the University failed to disclose Schwinn's intent to do much of her work part-time and from afar.
According to the paper,
UF officials have ignored or skirted around several questions throughout The Sun’s quest for clarification of Schwinn’s new role over a two-week period, including interview requests, where exactly she will reside during employment, and how often she is expected to come to Florida. The Sun later learned she intends to stay in Tennessee for the time being.
The defense is classic Schwinn,
“As a mom with school-aged children, Dr. Schwinn is spending about three-quarters of her time working on UF projects and is currently determining the best situation for her kids mid-school year,” wrote UF spokeswoman Cynthia Roldan in an email. “Her collaborative work with our partners across the state will have her regularly traveling to Gainesville and to school districts across Florida.”
Schwinn officially took the job in June, and I'm sure she knew her intent months earlier, Plenty of time to consider schooling for her children.
Maybe her time was tied up moving into the $1.8 million mansion she purchased in Nashville last March.
Speaking of things people forget to mention. It appears that Schwinn failed to mention on her ethics disclosure that she'd formed an LLC in January of this year, while still employed by the TNDOE. It's unclear what the company, Bexley Group LLC, does, as it has little internet presence. But there are rumors of an intent to start a GYO/CTE initiative with Chiefs for Change. Apparently, talks have recently taken place that included the Council of State School Officers (CCSSO).
Schwinn's former head of Human Resources, David Donaldson, made a similar move a couple years ago when he left the TDOE and formed the National Center for Grow Your Own. It's hard to envision the two working at cross purposes, so perhaps there is a merger in the works. Purely speculation at this juncture.
Making things even more interesting, Emma McCallie, TDOE Senior Director of Grow Your Own, has announced her imminent departure.
As always with Schwinn, it's difficult to separate fact from fiction, so it all could be true, or none of it.
- - -
This year was the first year for the implementation of Tennessee's third-grade retention law.
In 2021, Tennessee lawmakers passed the Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act. It set forth academic support for third-grade students who did not score proficient on their Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) assessment’s English language arts (ELA) portion. It further updated requirements for students to move to the next grade via multiple pathways for fourth-grade promotion.
The rollout came with some pain, but ultimately lawmakers were satisfied with the results.
This coming year, Tennessee lawmakers intend to turn their focus to mathematics.
A bill being crafted by State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) proposes that students who fail to achieve a “meets expectations” score on Tennessee’s Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) be required to enroll in either summer school or a state-recognized tutoring program.
Another difference between this bill and existing legislation is the lack of a retention component. The lawmaker’s bill would not be limited to third-graders but would apply to all K-8 students.
“This bill that we’re coming up with has nothing to do with retention,” Cepicky told The Tennessee Star. “It is simply an effort to guarantee support for the approximately 66% who did not test proficient in math last year.”
Cepicky added, “This bill will ensure that teachers also get the support and training needed to offer the best instruction to students possible.”
Critics remain unappeased. House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) told WKRN, “It’s as if they want our public schools to fail so that they can then take them over or channel more students into private schools, strengthen their voucher program, give them another reason to use vouchers or to create more charter schools, like Hillsdale College.”
It’s an argument that the State Rep from Culleoka rejects.
“We’re trying to make our public schools as competitive as possible with our private schools so that parents really have to decide if the education in the private sector is better?” countered the State Representative from Maury County.
- - -
The panel appointed to consider rejecting about $1.8 billion in annual federal funding for K-12 education in Tennessee is set to start meeting next month.
The Federal Education Funding Working Group will have its first of five meetings on Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Cordell Hull State Legislative Office Building. Further meetings are scheduled for the first two weeks of November.
The group has been charged with looking at how Federal Funding impacts TN Education policy, and if the state could possibly reject all or some of the funding.
State Senator Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) will lead the new group, along with State Representative Debra Moody (R-Covington). For Lundberg, the conversation can be boiled down to three questions, "What does the money do for us, what do we get for it, and, how much does it cost us?”
The Senator has unequivocally stated, "There is no predetermined outcome for this working group, or for what the information we gather is going to show."
"We want to look at what federal education money we get, where it goes, what we're required to do to get those funds, and ultimately, what's the return on the investment," the Bristol Republican told Chalkbeat. "I think this will give us a good overview."
The Tennessean asked Governor Lee this week how it is fiscally responsible for state leaders to block federal income for Tennesseans who pay federal taxes.
"I think what's responsible is that Tennesseans understand what comes with the federal money into our state," Lee said, remarking that Tennesseans "want to know what the federal government is requiring of me before I accept those dollars for my school system."
While some are opposed to this conversation taking place, I'm all on board. In fact, we should expand the conversation to include non-profits and education foundations.
I think it's fair to ask, how much are groups like SCORE, Chiefs for Change, EduTrust, ExcelinEd, Tennesseans for Student Success, TNCan, and the Gates Foundation spending in Tennessee and what's it costing us.
I suspect it would be an eye-opening experience
- - -
Time to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door. After all I've got eye surgery to pay for.
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