Some of the pernicious legislation they are promoting includes:

1) Preventing teachers from ever working in Illinois again if they are

labeled unsatisfactory twice in a 5 year period: We think this could

greatly embolden principals to threaten, cajole and hold hostage good,

conscionable educators who will speak out against injustice. It also

attempts to make it easier to fire "ineffective teachers." Currently the

Illinois School Code gives unsatisfactory teachers 90 days to re-mediate

-- we think this is a reasonable amount of time and streamlining opens the

door to stripping all educational workers of due process rights on the

job.

2) Tie student performance to teacher evaluation: A new teacher evaluation

system has already been mandated by the federal legislation Race to the

Top. Chicago is required to roll it out in the Fall of 2012 in half the

schools. We need time and careful analysis to develop the best system

possible that objectively measures the quality of education a classroom

teacher delivers. This cannot be limited to test-scores, which are an

inadequate and superficial measure of learning and teaching when taken in

isolation of other factors. Value added is also problematic, many

statisticians claim that the kinks have not been worked out. How can you figure out the value added of a high school psychology teacher when there is no test that specifically measures that knowledge? Too many variables, too little

understanding of unforeseen consequences.

3) Teacher Strikes: The committee seeks to strip teachers of the right to

strike: Believe it or not the right to strike has actually reduced the

number of strikes since it was permitted. Since there is a legal process

of mediation and negotiation, prior to striking, teachers and school

districts have found ways to work out there differences. By jettisoning

these basic rights, teachers will have little choice other than to

with-hold their labor in the midst of draconian budget cuts, policies that

are antithetical to learning and teacher and attacks upon our ability to

deliver high quality instruction to our students. In addition, one of the

first teacher union strikes in Chicago was based on unsanitary drinking

water in the schools. If we are turned into captive employees it will have

a chilling effect on our ability to be good student advocates.

4) Firing people according to performance not seniority. See # 2 on

performance. If we rely upon a faulty model of measuring student growth,

then all terminations will be suspect and subject to abuse and

misapplication.

Let's instead promote a positive, social justice based agenda for

improving our schools. Below are some preliminary ideas. Let's build it

together.

1) Equitable per pupil funding throughout the state.

2) Quality collaborative, professional development and mentoring of

teachers to improve instruction.

3) Lower class sizes, peer mentoring, and more teacher assistants, mental

health professionals and wrap around services for our schools

4) Better teacher recruitment and training and higher education

opportunities for students in the Chicago Public Schools and communities

of student origin.

5) A representative / elected school board in Chicago.