Remarks from Dr. Sid Chapman,
President, Georgia Association of Educators
OSD/ERC Alternatives Press Conference
Thursday, December 17, 2015
State Capitol
Good afternoon everyone and thank you for taking time out to join us today. My name is Dr. Sid Chapman and I am president of the Georgia Association of Educators, but first and foremost, I am a teacher!
GAE is not alone in being extremely concerned over Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed Constitutional Amendment to create his so-called “Opportunity” School District and some of the recommendations coming from his Education Reform Commission, which for the record, included no currently practicing teachers. We strongly feel that creating another state takeover bureaucracy, headed by yet another bureaucrat,will only serve to alienate the local communities and is not the way to turn around Georgia’s academically-challenged schools.
So together with other concerned organizations, some which have joined us here today, such as the Southern Education Fund and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, we are presenting an alternative vision for Georgia’s citizens and lawmakers that includes input from actual classroom practitioners and proven research-based alternatives. As such, we feel these options would be more successful in addressing and influencing the actual underlying causes of low academic achievement.
First, we concede that there is no magic bullet to address what are generational problems. It took time for these problems to develop and it will take time to turn things around. The state-identified academically-challenged schools and students are a consequence of their respective communities, and as such, the communities must be engaged as a large part of the solution. As you will see and hear from our partners and our report, any option that ignores the community, and those that the community has elected and engaged to address their concerns, is destined for failure. Local communities must be involved and they must receive the assistance, resources and programs needed to actualize positivechange that translates to greater student achievement.
As this report will point out, state takeover models have not proven effective in addressing the root causes of poverty, race, hunger, violence, lack of sleep, lack of parental engagement, both in and out of school, and other issues that impact a student’s ability to engage, grasp, learn and grow.
Research showsthat these are the root causes ingrained within these communities that filter into the classrooms. They will not be alleviated by an OSD bureaucrat miles away espousing edicts to “improve or else”we will close your school.
Yes, we need to help and strengthen our academically-challenged schools, but this amendment takes the wrong approach. Successful schools become anchors of their communities and they do this by providing the resources their students need to attain success. This includes quality teachers, small class sizes, afterschool programs, health services and other resources as deemed necessary. They need help in attaining these resources, not a state-takeover and demonization.
And on the point of quality teachers, a recent GAE analysis of the Gov.’s Education Reform Commission’s recommendations, shows that proposed changes such as those on the teacher compensation formula and eliminating the state salary schedule will make already low teacher morale even worse. The new proposed formula will lock in the deep cuts that have been made to the budgets of our Georgia Public Schools over the last few years under the current formula. While these cuts have occurred, more responsibilities have been placed on the plates of teachers. And while we hold out hope that things will get better now that the economy is improving, the proposed funding formula takes away that hope. The children and educators of this state will bear the burden of this decision for years to come unless we make adjustments now to fully fund our schools. This is not how you attract and retain quality teachers.
Gov. Deal’s proposed OSD constitutional amendment is based on similar programs that were instituted in Louisiana, Tennessee and Michigan. As our report[T1]clearly presents, neither of these has a stellar record of success primarily because they all ignore the key ingredient of helping local communities help themselves rather than demeaning, isolating and separating communities by labeling them “chronic failures.”
The Governor’s OSD amendment would also likely increase the use of one-size-fits-all standardized testing just when public opinion is realizing the negative consequences of such a strategy. Even our normally highly-divided Congress took heed in their recent passage of the new Every Student Succeeds Act that replaced the old No Child Left Untested law. In it the standardized testing requirement was significantly reduced.
What we are proposing today are proven educational strategies that actually help to make a difference locally such as impacting early childhood education; helping to identify and establish stable local leadership; of course providing quality teaching and creating a student-centered learning environment; ensuring a rigorous and culturally-relevant curriculum; providing complete community support including developing stronger ties between parents, communities and schools; and making all of these a long-term investment, for this will not be solved overnight or fit neatly into an attempt to create a political legacy[T2] of some sort. This will entail a get-your-hands-dirty frontline commitment that cannot be done with calls, emails, and decrees from apolitically-appointed bureaucrat[T3] miles away or simply handing over communities to for-profit entities to deepen the divide between the haves and have-nots.
We are facing a critical period in the lives of Georgia’s students and the future of public education in Georgia. What we want Georgia’s citizens to understand is that what Gov. Deal is proposing is a change that would cast the indifferent shadow of state intervention over local citizens and decision makers formany generations to come. It would render meaningless what local citizens have voted to do for themselves.
Instead, in those instances where schools and communities are struggling, the state should be doing everything under its control to empower them to help right their own ships. Just as Georgia doesn’t like the federal government telling it what to do, but is still accepting of assistance when needed, likewise the relationship between local communities and state government is similar. Local communities and their schools want the state to help them help themselves and that’s what we are here for today;to present strategies where that relationship can prosper and grow.
I would now like to bring up Dr. Kent Maguire, president and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation, who will be followed by Dr. Warren Simmons, executive director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, Dr. Philip Lanoue, superintendent of Clarke County Public Schools and National Superintendent of the Year and ? (parent).
After our speakers(parent) we will open things up for questions. We will also be delivering the report to Governor Deal’s office immediately following questions.
Thank you.
AFTER FINAL SPEAKER:
We want to thank everyone here who has helped developed this alternative vison for our children. It is important to note that this report is a starting point. We invite the public, educators and lawmakers to debate and build on what we have presented here today. We don’t feel the way to address our children’s concerns is to “pick a fight.” We believe in involving all stakeholders in a collaborative process to come up with what’s best for our children where they live and go to school.
I’d now like to open things up forrom questions for any of our organizations. And a reminder that afterwards we will be walking our report over to the governor’s office to present to him as anothernote alternative to consider.
1
[T1]Clearly presents/demonstrates
[T2]Maybe add the word political in front of legacy?
[T3]Political bureaucrat?