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July 8, 2013

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AZ Legislature, Education

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Fantasy Island

Senator Melvin was on the Buckmaster[i] show recently where he once again implied the state funds public education at $9K per pupil. This despite AZ Fact Check[ii] proving it false during his 2012 campaign and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s report that state-only funding per student has been less than $5K every year since FY04.[iii]  In fact, Arizona leads the nation in cuts to per pupil funding since 2008 – almost 22%.[iv]

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These facts are important because one of Melvin’s key issues is “universal school choice where every child in the state has $9K, which is roughly what we are spending now…”[v]  Forget that a state appeals court ruled vouchers for private schools unconstitutional in 2009.[vi] With over $1 million students in the state, the total bill is over $9 billion, more than the state’s entire budget for 2013. This isn’t a bold new idea, it is fantasy.

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July 4, 2013

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Invest Early to Shape Our Destiny

The New York Times recently reported that the problem with education performance in America today is one of inequity of opportunity more than a failure of our educational institutions.

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The problem though, begins much earlier than college. It starts even before a child attends their first day of school. Children start kindergarten at different levels of preparedness. Children from wealthier families have numerous advantages in their environment that poorer children never experience. That’s one of the reasons preschool is important. It helps ensure all children are more ready to excel in kindergarten and beyond.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book, “two out of three children don’t attend preschool, 27 percent live in poverty and three-quarters of fourth-graders aren’t proficient in reading. In fact, Arizona ranks 47th overall in the annual survey, moving down a notch from last year. Bruce Liggett, executive director of the Arizona Child Care Association and a former state child-care program administrator said: “People think about day care as just someplace where a child goes. They don’t understand that a child is learning every waking moment and that the quality of those experiences affects their development.”

 

Although 39 other states do, Arizona no longer funds any kind of early-childhood education and four years ago, lawmakers imposed a waiting list for the state’s child-care subsidy program. Since that time, an estimated 33,000 eligible children have been denied subsidies and in 2010, legislators eliminated a $20 million early-childhood block grant in order to balance the state budget. The following year, they eliminated funding for a subsidy program for low-income working parents.[i]

This is important because it’s not just the children who sometimes need help catching up. Arizona’s First Things First program is one of those programs designed to serve not only the child, but the entire family, and their communities as well. Passed by a landslide in November 2006, and funded through a tobacco tax, Proposition 203 was a citizen’s initiative designed to fund quality early childhood development and health. It provided $10 million in matching funds so Arizona could continue to get federal child care dollars which provided a head start seat for 40% of those eligible. First Things First ensued and has been a critical partner in creating a family-centered, comprehensive, collaborative and high-quality early childhood system that supports the development, health and early education of all Arizona’s children birth through age five. Unfortunately, the recent sequester cut $9.5 million from Arizona child-care and preschools.[ii]

Investment in early education for disadvantaged children from birth to age 5 is especially helpful in reducing the achievement gap, the need for special education, increases the likelihood of healthier lifestyles, lowers the crime rate, and reduces overall social costs. In fact, every dollar invested in high-quality early childhood education produces a 7 to 10 percent per annum return on investment. Policies that provide early childhood educational resources to the most disadvantaged children produce greater social and economic equity. We can create a more level and playing field by smart investments in effective education. “Historically, broad educational gains have been the biggest driver of American economic success; hence the economist’s rule of thumb that an increase of one year in a country’s average schooling level corresponds to an increase of 3 to 4 percent in long-term economic growth.”[iii]

It all boils down to this – we can pay now or we can pay later. We can invest early to prevent achievement gaps, or we can fix disparities later when it is harder to do and costs us more. It’s not just about cost though. Investing early lets us be proactive to shape our destiny. Investing later makes us react to missed opportunities. I know I’d rather be “in control” than “be controlled”.

[i] AZ Child Welfare Still Lags, AZCentral.com, June 24, 2013

[iii] NY Times June 16, 2013 The Great Divide

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June 14, 2013

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Senator McGuire Votes Against Public Education

Senator McGuire, AZ LD8, did not prove herself a friend of public education at the end of 51st Legislative Session.

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Although the Senate had initially defeated SB1363 [empowerment scholarship accounts (ESAs)], in the final hours of session on June 14, 2013, she alone brought the bill back to life by moving to reconsider the bill.  This “private school voucher expansion bill” then passed the Senate by a vote of 16 ayes – 13 nays.  Senator McGuire was the only Democrat to vote for this bill with the other 12 Democrats in  the Senate and Republican Senator Rich Crandall voting against it for the second time.

As a school board member and locally elected guardian of public education, I am concerned this bill will siphon off even more funding from our public schools.  It further expands the Arizona ESAs Program to kindergarteners and increases the amount available.[i]  Currently ESA funding per pupil is the same regardless of whether a pupil previously attended a school district or charter school.  SB1363 will increase ESA per pupil funding for former charter school pupils by adding charter school “Additional Assistance” to the ESA formula increasing ESA funding to former charter school pupils by approximately $1,600 per pupil (90% of the average “Additional Assistance” amounts defined in A.R.S. § 15-185B3) and increase total ESA costs by an estimated $100,000.[ii]

Both the Arizona Education Association (AEA) and Arizona School Board Association (ASBA) opposed the bill and are appealing a Maricopa District Judge ruling that taxpayer dollars may fund private schools.  This, after the Arizona Supreme Court found in 2009 that two similar school voucher programs violated the Arizona Constitution’s ban on aid for religious or private schools.[iii]

The 2011 law gave parents of special needs children access to public education monies and was further expanded for this school year, essentially doubling eligibility to 200,000.[iv]  Funds can be used for curriculum, testing, private school tuition, tutors, special needs services or therapies, or even seed money for college.  The program however, requires parents to waive their child’s right to a public education…a right that is guaranteed under the state constitution, in order to receive the benefits.[v]

Only 362 students in Arizona had ESAs last year, but 92 percent of ESA funds went to private schools, in many cases for children whose parents could afford the schools without the assistance. For students without special needs, the program provides from $3,000 to $3,500 a year. As this is not nearly sufficient to cover the cost of tuition to a private school (which can be as much as $10,000), the program is unlikely to benefit students from low-income families.[vi]  Last year, this voucher program took $5.2 million from public education funding. With Senator McGuire ensuring passage of SB1363, the amount could potentially increase to over $20 million and public school funding tied to enrollment will likely be reduced.[vii]

Barbara McGuire identifies herself as a “moderate Democrat who promised to work to improve state and local economies, create jobs, improve our kids’ education, address real estate recovery, growth, and quality-of-life issues.”  Her responses to an election questionnaire for State Legislature posted on AZCentral.com also bill her as a supporter of education.  When asked: “how would you change the state’s approach to spending”, she said she would “focus on making Arizona competitive by investing in education.”  When asked, “to name one state agency or program you believe gets too little money and why”, she responded: “Education. Our children are our future. Investment in that future will enable them to be competitive and successful in the global market. Without a good educated work force we risk becoming subservient to other nations.”  Finally, when asked, “would spending more money on public schools increase the quality of education in Arizona, why or why not?” she responded with “Absolutely. It must be spent in ways that create the best outcomes. Such as smaller class size, classroom resources, and dedicated well-paid teachers. Quality education is necessary to build a competitive future workforce.”[viii]

Today I am left feeling as though Senator McGuire threw public education under the bus for political expediency.  She has told me before that sometimes you have to give a little, to get a little.  This however, isn’t giving a little.  It is a fundamental move against public education in our state and against the commitment to public education she originally espoused.  I encourage the voters of LD8 to hold her accountable.

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June 13, 2013

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The Truth About Common Core

First of all, let’s set the record straight.  The Common Core Standards are not a curriculum.  They are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. The workplace is very different than it was even ten years ago and teachers today must prepare students for a world of possibilities that may not yet exist. The ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and adapt to situations will be critical to ensuring we remain competitive in a highly globalized market.[i]  Local teachers, principals, superintendents and others are critical to making this happen and will decide how the standards are to be met. Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms.

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Secondly, they were not developed by the Federal government or the current administration, but by the nation’s governors and education commissioners, through their representative organizations the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).  The education reform movement began in 1996 when the nation’s governors and corporate leaders founded Achieve, Inc. as a bi-partisan organization to raise academic standards, graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability in all 50 states.  This led to the launch of the American Diploma Project (ADP) in 2005, the initial motivation for development of the Common Core Standards.[ii]  Teachers, parents, school administrators and experts from across the country together with state leaders provided input into the development of the standards.[iii]  In fact, our very own Dr. McCallum, head of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Arizona, was a lead author of the Common Core Math Standards.[iv]

There can be no doubt that one of the reasons the United States rose quickly to its super power status is our commitment to providing every citizen a public education.  This was a new concept that helped us make the most of our most valuable resource…our people.  It is also what helped make the American Dream a reality for so many.  Unfortunately, that dream is now no longer a given – studying and working hard no longer guarantee that you’ll be better off than your parents were.

Fear mongering over “the Obama administration federal take-over of education” is simply that, and diverts focus away from the real threats to our public education system.  Instead, we should be concerned about the corporate influence in the form of venture philanthropy as opposed to the more traditional philanthropy.  The difference of course being that the traditional philanthropists supported the work of others and the venture philanthropists view their giving as entryways into that work.  The 1983 report by the Reagan administration, A Nation at Risk, set the stage for the business elite to look at public education as a profit center.  The leading venture philanthropies are now pushing charter-school growth, school choice, and education privatization in general; alternative routes of teacher and administrator certification; and curriculum and test development.  Unfortunately, all this drives a transition from public deliberation by elected officials to decisions of individuals with no accountability to the public.[v]

Opportunity, that most fundamental American value, is now at risk for so many.  It is at risk, not because of some imagined plot to nationalize education, but because we are refusing to deal with the real threats – poverty and a lack of respect for our teaching professionals whom I believe can fix what’s wrong if we’ll just give them what they need and get out of their way.  Learn more at www.azed.gov/azcommoncore.

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June 11, 2013

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Opportunity is a fundamental American value

ImageOur country was founded and developed on the idea that if one got an education and worked hard, they could achieve great things.  In fact, our social contract established that income inequality was okay as long a parent and his/her children could advance to a better position. It is no longer true in America that one can advance through education and hard work and that, is the major threat we face as a country.[i]

The changing demographics of Arizona and our Nation along with the impact that the circumstances of your birth can have on the opportunities for one’s life, are creating a real challenge we must address. In Arizona, Latinos currently represent almost one-third of Arizona’s total population and 43% of our K-12 students.  In fact, Arizona is now home to more Latinos under the age of 18 than any other ethnic population group.[ii]  This is important because it is projected that 62% of Arizona’s jobs will require more than a secondary education by 2018. According to the Census Bureau however, only 35% of adults 25- years and older had a college degree in 2010. Among Latinos, the fastest growing population in this majority-minority state, that number is twice as few, at 17%.[iii]

The Center for the Future of Arizona published a report in 2013 titled “The Arizona We Want 2.0”.  As the name indicates, they looked at what Arizonan’s indicated they wanted in a 2009 Gallop Poll.  In the education area, the citizens polled indicated they wanted “to 1) Graduate high school students who are “college-career” ready, 2) Align graduation requirements to national and international standards, and 3) Customize education to meet student goals”.  What has happened in the state since then though, does not align with the people’s priorities.  Rather,

–       “Per student K-12 spending decreases by 21.8% ($783) per student) between FY08 and FY12, the largest percentage decrease among the 50 states.

–       Arizona’s state university budgets are cut $400 million with an additional cut of 20% ($198 million) made in FY13.

–       Joint Technical Education Districts experience 40% budget cuts ($29 million) in FY11.

–       Prop 100 passes in 2010, temporarily raising sales tax by 1 percent to benefit education and other services; Prop 204 fails to make the sales tax increase permanent in 2012.[iv]”

 

The Arizona Legislature prides itself on balancing the budget, but doesn’t tell you that they did it on the backs of our public education system.  They love to tout how Arizona offers so much school choice to parents but the truth is that choice is only an option for those who can take advantage of it.  Choice does not guarantee opportunity just as a job does not guarantee wealth.  There are numerous factors that come into play to help determine whether or not parents really have choice in where they send their children.  For example, can the parents complete the sometimes extensive application process, can they transport their children to the school of choice, can they pay for their child’s meals, and do they have time they can take from work to participate in the required volunteer activities.

Yes, Arizona has school choice, but it has become more about choice for the schools, than choice for the parents.  Charter and private schools do not take their “fare share” of special needs and English Learner students, nor are an equitable number of their students from homes in poverty.  In fact, a majority of the school tuition organization scholarships awarded in 2012 went to families with a socio-economic status that should have enabled them to send their children to the private school without help.[v]

So, let’s recap.  A well-educated populace is critical to Arizona’s ability to compete in the near future – 62% of our jobs will require more than a secondary education by 2018.  Currently, over a third of our adult population would not be eligible for these jobs.  As for the remaining 38% of jobs that these people could obtain, they will most likely not pay a living wage.[vi]  Of course, this presupposes that we have enough sufficiently trained people to attract companies with the well-paying jobs and that this in-turn provides enough of a demand in the service industry for those without the prerequisite training.  Poverty in Arizona at 19%, was already 3.1% higher than the US average according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

The bottom line is that the only way Arizona will succeed is if we realize we are all in this together and we work together to solve our systemic problems.  Poverty matters more than any single factor in the success of our school children and having an educated workforce is critical to our economic success.   

[i] Uri Tresiman on poverty’s role in education

[ii] US Dept of Education 2011

[iv] The Arizona We Want 2.0

[vi] Lumina Foundation – Arizona We Want 2.0

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June 6, 2013

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In the Public Interest

As a school board member and locally elected guardian of public education, I am concernedThomas photo med_2 that those who would dismantle it are making headway.  Senate Bill 1363 [empowerment scholarship accounts (ESAs)] currently working its way through the Arizona Legislature will siphon off even more funding from our public schools.  It further expands the Arizona ESAs Program to kindergarteners and increases the amount available.[i]  Both the Arizona Education Association (AEA) and Arizona School Board Association (ASBA) oppose the bill and are appealing a Maricopa District Judge ruling that taxpayer dollars may fund private schools.  This, after the Arizona Supreme Court found in 2009 that two similar school voucher programs violated the Arizona Constitution’s ban on aid for religious or private schools.[ii]


The 2011 law gave parents of special needs children access to public education monies and was further expanded for this school year, essentially doubling eligibility to 200,000.[iii]  Funds can be used for curriculum, testing, private school tuition, tutors, special needs services or therapies, or even seed money for college.  The program however, requires parents to waive their child’s right to a public education…a right that is guaranteed under the state constitution, in order to receive the benefits.[iv]


Only 362 students in Arizona had ESAs last year, but 92 percent of ESA funds went to private schools, in many cases for children whose parents could afford the schools without the assistance. For students without special needs, the program provides from $3,000 to $3,500 a year. As this is not nearly sufficient to cover the cost of tuition to a private school (which can be as much as $10,000), the program is unlikely to benefit students from low-income families.[v]  Last year, this voucher program took $5.2 million from public education funding. If SB1363 is passed, amount could potentially increase to over $20 million and public school funding tied to enrollment will likely be reduced.[vi]


Senator Melvin and Representatives Smith and Kwasman continue their campaign against public education by sponsoring this bill.  Senator Melvin has voted against public education at every turn, and he and his fellow legislators have worked to ensure a lack of accountability and transparency in the law includes assurances that no government agency is empowered to “exercise control or supervision over any nonpublic school or home school.” I’m not sure how any reasonable person thinks this is in the best interest of the public, but then, maybe that’s not their intent.


The right answer, whenever public funding is involved, is more accountability and transparency, not less.  It is why we have school boards elected by the public and it is why those school boards must abide by the Open Meeting Law. While empowerment accounts appear to place choice in the hands of parents, the choice is actually in the hands of private schools, which can pick and choose that they admit.[vii]  Taxpayers have the right to know how their money is being used, and what results it produces.  That is in the public’s best interest.

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April 28, 2013

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AZ Legislature, Education

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Time to Face the Facts!

Thomas photo med_2A Casa Grande Dispatch article dated April 26, 2013 and titled “Gubernatorial race: Melvin’s bid shuffles the deck in District 11” contained a misleading statement.  The sentence started with “Melvin’s education plan is built around giving every parent a voucher for $9,000…”

It is not true that the state provides close to $9K per pupil to public schools.  Per the Joint Legislative Budget Committee[i], K-12 (M&O, Capital and All Other) funding per student (not adjusted for inflation) has been less than $5K every year since FY04.  In FY11, the amount was $3,897 and the estimated amounts for FY12 and FY13 were even less that that.  In fact, Arizona leads the nation in cuts to per pupil funding since 2008 – almost 22%.

Senator Melvin has oft lauded the Arizona legislature (himself included) for protecting total education funding at over $9K per student.[ii]  Only half the funding however has come from the state.  The rest of it has been federal (some of it stimulus funds which have now gone away) or local funding.

Funding alone won’t guarantee quality schools, but neither will starving our public schools of the basic funds they need to operate, let alone excel.  In addition, our legislature hasn’t even begun to address (although the Governor has proposed $61M in her budget) the unfunded mandate to implement Common Core Standards ($156M for FY14 plus another $225M one-time cost statewide.) It is beyond time to face the real facts and take real action before it is too late.

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April 11, 2013

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AZ Legislature, LGBT Equality

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AZ Legislature Continues to Discriminate

Thomas photo med_2April 9, 2013, the AZ Legislature unanimously adopted House Concurrent Resolution 2036[i] titled “Boy Scouts of America.”  Eighty legislators sponsored this bi-partisan bill[ii] whose intent was allegedly to “honor the Boy Scouts of America for its contributions to the lives of our nation’s boys and young men.”  I believe there is another intended message.

The resolution states the Boy Scouts “teaches respect for the beliefs of others” and “is a model for inclusiveness.” Excluding gay boys from membership is hardly “a model of inclusiveness” as it: 1) proudly excludes gay boys, thereby teaching boys that gays are lesser, unworthy people; 2) keeps gay boys ensconced in the closet damaging their self-worth; and 3) likely contributed to the methodical cover up of suspected child molesters.[iii]

The Boy Scouts recently reported its unanimous consensus for its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.  They are way behind the power curve.  The Supreme Court is currently considering the status of the Defense of Marriage Act and the Department of Defense has already ended its discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. As a retired Air Force Colonel who served 22 years and realized late in my career I was a lesbian, I can personally attest to the wasted energy expended by gay and lesbian service members to keep their true selves a secret.  I know a retired Naval Captain who was assigned to the Pentagon in 2001.  Having left her office for a meeting just seven minutes prior to the airplane impact, it was on this day she decided to retire from her 28-year career.  She realized if she’d been killed, her partner of 11 years would have been the last to know about her death, as she had not listed her as “next of kin” for fear of being “outed”.[iv]

As a former Program Director of Wingspan, Southern Arizona’s LGBT Community Center, I learned 20 to 40% of homeless youth on the streets are LGBT[v] and about the pervasive bullying of gay children that still goes on in our schools by children and the adults they are entrusted to.  LGBT youth are four times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual counterparts and nearly twice as likely to have been verbally harassed and/or physically assaulted as school while believing they have no adult they can talk to about personal problems.  More than 45% of LGBT youth report that their state government is not accepting of LGBT people.[vi]

The Arizona Legislature has once again proven they do not represent all the people of Arizona.  This resolution was an unnecessary piece of legislation intended to send a message of support to a discriminatory organization.  After all, where is the concurrent resolution in support of the Girl Scouts who by the way don’t feel the need to exclude lesbian girls?  I was a Girl Scout and am grateful for the experience it afforded me and wish for every child that same opportunity – to be the very best of who they are.

Diversity has always been one of our nation’s strengths.  It is one of the reasons I am proud to be a citizen of these United States.  Today however, I am not proud to be an Arizonan.

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March 19, 2013

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Tough Love Solves Problems

RMM7259I moved to Arizona almost five years ago, after visiting family here for over 30 years because I love it here!  But, after five years, I also understand we have our share of problems.  One is legislators who are big on ideology and rhetoric, but low on facing facts and finding solutions.

Clearly from his guest opinion in the March 6th Explorer, LD11’s Senator Melvin either doesn’t know Arizona has problems, or believes they only exist because the “left-wingers” aren’t on board.  Here’s some facts that help describe the “wellness” of our State with regard to business climate and education.

FACT:  Arizona was recently ranked the 47th worst run state in America[i]

FACT:  Arizona’s business startup rate has been relatively high, but, many of these were sole proprietors (no other employees) who started a business because they lost their jobs. This ‘jobless entrepreneurship’ trend negatively affects job creation and the larger economic recovery.”[ii]

FACT:  In terms of job gains, Senator Melvin is correct, in the decade preceding 2012, Arizona ranked fourth in private sector job creation, while our population rose at the second highest rate in the country.  Keep in mind, that he didn’t take office until 2009 and any legislative impact he had on jobs, most likely didn’t take affect until at least 2010.[iii]

FACT:  Arizona’s most plentiful future jobs aren’t going to be “living wage” jobs unless something changes.  Most of them between 2012 and 2016 are predicted to be low paying:  retail sales, customer service, cashiers, waitresses and waiters, janitors and housekeepers, food prep and service.[iv]  Only one of these jobs (customer service) result in a living wage for a family of three if combined with another of these jobs. In other words, someone working two of these jobs still doesn’t earn a living wage.[v]

FACT:  Arizona’s Legislature’s “Balanced Budget” has impacted our wallets.  For example, Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) from fuel tax, vehicle registration and licensing, etc., is supposed to pay for roads and road repairs.  The state legislature has taken over $200 million of these funds from cities and towns, using money meant for fixing potholes to shore up budget holes instead.[vi]   Another is the $50M that was taken from the national mortgage assistance settlement in 2010.  It should have gone directly to families suffering because banks gambled with their mortgages, and the families lost – thanks to our legislators, Arizona families lost twice.[vii]

There is a strong correlation between well-educated populations and generally well-managed states, as cited by at least one rating source, so let’s look at education.

FACT:  State-appropriated funding for education declined to an estimated $3,780 per student in fiscal 2012 from $4,901 in fiscal 2008. This was a decline of $1,121 per student — or about 23 percent.[viii]

FACT:  Mortgaging the state buildings raised $735 million in immediate revenue, but cost us more than 63% ($465 million) that much in interest.[ix]

FACT:  In 2011, ALEC’s 17th Report Card, ranked Arizona at #36 on National Association of Educational Performance (NAEP).[x]  The 2013 Quality Counts Report ranked Arizona 43rd with a C- grade in the nation in educational policy and performance.[xi]

FACT:  Of the four school districts Senator Melvin cited as “outstanding”, only the Catalina Foothills United District was awarded an “A” grade by the Arizona Department of Education, under the state’s new A-F accountability system.[xii]

FACT:  There is no requirement to measure Arizona’s home school program and in fact, state law prohibits the state Department of Education from requiring testing or reporting of test results.[xiii] It’s anyone’s guess how well home schooling works in Arizona, and my guess is that not all of it is “great”.

FACT:  The Individual Tax Credit program favors private schools by a factor of five to one and the Corporate Income Tax Credit contributions have grown to over $55M in 2010, all monies not available to the State general fund.[xiv]

FACT:  Of the tax credit money given to School Tuition Organizations (STOs) for private schools in 2012, 63.2% of the scholarships went to children in families with incomes from 185% of poverty level ($41,348 for a family of four) to greater than 342.25% of poverty level ($76,494 for a family of four).  Keep in mind the law also allows these STOs to keep 10% of the tax credits themselves.[xv]

In his guest opinion last week, Senator Melvin said:  “we need to pull together and not engage in class warfare, including the left’s fixation of soaking the so-called rich.  By pulling together we can all succeed.”

With this accusation, he continues to be archaic and divisive.  Arizona is better than that.  We can all come together, but we need straight talk and inclusive action from our politicians.

A politician thinks about the next election, a leader things about the next generation.  Melvin says a leader shouldn’t mortgage the next generation.  We agree, but isn’t that exactly what he did with the state capitol buildings?

[xiii] AZleg.gov

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February 24, 2013

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If it sounds too good to be true…

 

ImageThe Senate Education Committee recently gave a due pass to SB1451 which seeks $5 million from the general fund for Arizona’s Alternative Teacher Development Program to be awarded to a qualifying service provider, i.e. Teach for America (TFA).  If signed into law, Arizona’s TFA corps will grow from the current 300 to about 500.  Proponents point to the success of the program and say the uncredentialed teachers from TFA have a great track record and can help with teacher shortfalls.

Not so fast. Several studies show that TFA teachers initially perform significantly less well than their credentialed, non-TFA counterparts.  A 2002 study in Arizona found students with certified teachers performed about 20 percent better on the tests than students with noncertified teachers (including TFA recruits.)  Another study in Houston, of 4,400 teachers and 132,000 students concluded that certified teachers consistently produced significantly higher achievement than uncertified teachers.”[1]

TFA placements are also no longer just being placed in high-need districts.  According to U.S. Department of Education records in 2010-2011, 13 of 15 counties in Arizona report shortages, yet the vast majority of TFA teachers are placed in one of only two counties that do not report teacher shortages—Maricopa County.[2]   In fact, the organization now sends as many as a third of its recruits to privately run charter schools and sends many of their recruits, who typically have just 15 to 20 hours of teaching experience, to districts that have recently laid off numerous seasoned teachers.[3]

Not only are TFA teachers at times used to displace traditional teachers, they also have higher attrition rates.  More than 50 percent leave after two years and more than 80 percent leave after three.[4]  This creates a significant amount of turnover and creates additional expense, much of it born by taxpayers.  In 2006, the total cost of a two-year commitment from a TFA recruit was $70,000.[5]

Mark Naison, a professor of African American Studies and History at Fordham University and director of Fordham’s Urban Studies Program says Teach for America is not welcome to recruit in his classroom.  “The organization’s facile circumvention of the grinding, difficult, but profoundly empowering work of teaching and administering schools has created the illusion that there are quick fixes, not only for failing schools but for deeply entrenched patterns of poverty and inequality.  No organization has been more complicit than TFA in the demonization of teachers and teachers’ unions, and no organization has provided more “shock troops” for education reform strategies which emphasize privatization and high-stakes standardized testing.[6]

I was on a radio talk show a couple of weeks ago discussing education issues.  More than one person who called in blamed “teachers’ unions” and bad teachers for the problems they perceive with our education system.  Really?  In a state that has the highest cuts in per pupil spending since 2008 and is a right to work state, teachers’ unions are our biggest problem?

TFA critics see the solution in focusing on the improvement of the current teaching pool through better education and professional development. They urge educational reforms focused on improved in-service training, mentoring, and professionalization of teaching.  Of course, those reforms, along with proven solutions such as universal pre-school, reducing class sizes in early grades, and mentoring programs that pair new and experienced teachers, take time, money and a commitment to hold the course.

John Dewey said over a century ago:  “What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.”  TFA originally had good intentions.  It appears now though, that it is not necessarily in the best interest of “all our children of the community.”  Like so many current reforms, it needs a second look.