Hey Steve--

I am so glad you put your name out there. Now, put your name out there when you criticize Dr. Hinojosa. Go ahead. Lead by example. You have 33 years in and you can retire at any time. It isn't too brave to do that now. Many of us do not have that luxury. So your cheap shot about anonymous comments are just that--cheap itself. Naming yourself does not make you any braver than us.

Several of us blog under anonymous because we aren't stupid. Maybe we won't get nailed for our comments, but oh boy, they could sure set us up some other way. And what is even better, the DISD has no idea how MANY of us blog as "anonymous." Some of us are well-known, and some of us are not. Some of us blog constantly, some only on occasion. Some of us are given credit for things we didn't write, which amuses us greatly!

It serves our purpose to keep the DISD guessing. They can't figure out where or how many, many people of conscience there are when they write.

As for being afraid of Aimee or the administration? Frankly, I sometimes have a hard time telling them apart. The many professions via emails about standing up to the DISD, then when it matters, letting things ride. AFT has been the leader now for years, as they keep claiming...are things BETTER now? Really?

Or, how about the promise the AFT makes the candidates for School Board agree to so they can keep their hollow "CTO" title. I still have--funny enough--- never actually seen a written denial of that.

So go ahead, Steve, write under your own name. Maybe I do sometimes, and you just don't know it. If a person is simple enough to equate whether a person puts their name out there in regards to this DISD, well, it shows how much you care for the security of your fellow teachers. You should be proud that they comment, and judge what they say by its own merit.

The entry about there having been only 3 Alliance presidents and we need some new blood was wrong. Harley Hiskok was 1st then his wife Maureen Peters replaced him until he divorced her and married Aimee. Maureen is still being paid a handsome Alliance salary as is Harley and his current wife Aimee. Talk about inbreeding. We not only need some new blood but some different blood and some fresh air.

[Ed Note: If they do such a bad job, why do they keep getting elected? From what I have seen, Aimee is fairly active and maintains a rather full schedule. Certainly it would be reasonable to expect someone to maintain the same level of involvement for the salaries, no?]

Alliance/AFT has sent out every single presentation we have made regarding the TIF/Performance Pay Grant.

I think we have been open and honest about our position on CEI's. It has not changed.

Alliance/AFT strongly opposes the use of student test scores for high stakes decisions--but the Federal grant required that CEI’s be a part of the $22 million grant.

We did not want to rely on administration to make decisions in a vacuum, without the wisdom and insight of school employees. Alliance/AFT brought these vital elements to the table during the 1.5 years of discussions.

We made sure teachers could opt out of the grant. Other examples of our influence: the entire school team can receive awards; CEI’s can be appealed, etc.

I get emails on both sides of this issue. Most teachers do not favor merit pay, but there are some teachers who support it--strongly. These teachers believe we are standing in the way of teachers making more money.

Alliance/AFT has a saying which I think is most apropos:

If you are not represented at the negotiations table, you may be on the menu.

This was never truer than with this issue of performance pay. Performance pay is sweeping the national and will probably be a part of the NCLB reauthorization.

Alliance/AFT does not have the luxury of just saying "no." We must be a responsible, strong voice for teachers and employees.

--
Regarding "new blood"--Just a thought: If a teacher is doing a great job in 3rd grade, should the principal just arbitrarily move that teacher to 5th grade, just to add new blood? One of the strongest assets Alliance/AFT has is strong, proven, experienced, respected leadership. It takes years to develop this. Who benefits? School employees.

Every three years I, along with our board, run, democratically for election.

I'll admit right off the bat to not knowing all the details on this, but didn't a court ruling last week keep CEI's in DISD confidential because they were deemed part of the evaluative process? (And you can't make employee evaluations public.) So my CEI is a part of my evaluation after all? How does this affect the incentive pay idea?

(Of course, as a teacher who does not teach a subject that is tested at my students' grade level, I currently have no CEI, I'm a "teacher without indices".)

I ask because I want someone to enlighten me.

[Ed Note: The incentive pay piece is voluntary. The CEI methodology is quite complex and difficult to model. However, my understanding is that it is only one piece of the equation used to discipline or terminate a teacher (it isn't the only thing relied on). I'm going to give the program a year and watch which way things are trending. I'm not (like some of our commenters) willing to pre-declare it bad.]

While the incentive pay piece is voluntary, at Woodrow Wilson High School, CEIs are being used as the ONLY performance measurement for discipline or termination. Last week, administrators began pulling teachers out of class, unannounced and with armed DISD police escorts, for hastily planned performance reviews. This is continuing this week - teachers are being put under a generic performance improvement plan or terminated during these sessions. CEIs are clearly driving this process, even though for the teachers being put through this wringer it is the FIRST time that they have been told that their CEIs were impacting their careers - improve your CEI by May or get out is the message.

In years past, the performance appraisal system (PDAS) was based on many factors over which the teacher had some control and could make improvement. With the CEI-only evaluation system, teacher employment is now at the mercy of the types of classes and students which are assigned to them in any given year. Adding to the unfairness at Woodrow is the insistence that CEIs be better by May or else - and finals / testing that might impact CEIs do not occur until June!

It is important to understand that CEIs are being used for discipline and termination. If the objective is to drive out teachers who have the misfortune of teaching core courses to non-AP students, then CEIs are the way to go.

I am a parent of a Woodrow student. I am all in favor of terminating teachers who are not doing their best jobs to educate students. When my child was in middle school, she was making "B"s and "C"s and one "F" which she had to spent summer in middle school. We did not understand why her Taks scores were high passing yet her grades were really low. We tried so hard to motivate her to be interested in school. She complained a lot that her teachers were uncaring and not concerned about her education.

We made the right decision to enroll her at Woodrow two years ago. Her teachers show a lot of interest in her learning. I get phone calls from her teachers when she is slacking with homework and projects. Teachers offer tutorial classes so that she can catch up with missing work. This year has been a pivotal year for her because she's in the list of honor students two grade periods in a row - the last time she was an honor student was in 5th grade. The dean called me if I'm willing to transfer her to a pre-honors class because of her high grades and also from recommendation of her math teacher. Who shall I credit for her complete turnaround? Of course her teachers and administrators at Woodrow Wilson High School. It is unfortunate that Woodrow will undergo reconstitution - it doesn't have to come this far if all students were assigned to the kind of teachers my child has right now.

To AngryParent who wrote the above comment, you definitely don't know what you are talking about. When was the last time you attended a PTA or SBDM meeting? The issue about CEI was mentioned several times. Did you even read the letter that was sent out to parents this week about the purpose of reconstitution? Do you read Lakewood newspapers and blogs? I bet you this is not the first time teachers hear about CEI's impacting their careers or they are just in denial. By the way, how do you know about DISD Police escorting teachers for performance reviews? Were you there to witness this or somebody told you from the grapevine? I'm thinking you're not really a parent. You are one of those disgruntled teachers who was called for performance review or terminated. In that case, I don't want you to teach my child. She's doing great at Woodrow right now.

An honor student is an honor student. It appears to me that you could use a little assistance on your writing skills. I have a suggestion.

Why don't you call the teachers from Woodrow,who were fired from their jobs; because of their CEIS.

It definitely appears to me that you could use their help. They may be able to help you improve your writing skills through their tutorial programs,for a small fee,since they are out of job.

I don't know what the post of Anonymous was all about. Here's a parent who has something good to say about public education and you make corrections on his/her writing skills? I know there are hundred of parents out there who want to voice their impression about how schools made a difference in the lives of their children but don't feel appreciated nor welcomed to do so by schools or by the media. Thank you Allen for posting good comments from parents and the public! I understand DMN can't sell enough quota if DISD looks good, the reason why there is a special column "DISD Trash Blog". Being bad is good to sell fish-wrap, err, newspaper I mean.

Anything good about DISD is worth a celebration, one child at a time.

Dale Kaiser, other NEA-Dallas members and I all warned the DISD Board of Trustees about this when they voted in favor of the bonus pay pilot program last fall. At the time--and after the meeting was adjourned, I was very emotional when I confronted several trustees and told them that they just validated the use of CEI's in a teacher's standing at her/his school. To a man (woman) they replied the company line, "This program is VOLUNTARY, don't worry... If you don't want to do it, Diane, then DON'T."

Well, Trustee Blackburn spoke prophetically when he said that night that he had already seen the DISD use CEI's as part of termination hearings. Now, he didn't say that CEI's were the SOLE basis, but they were included. Drip, drip, drip. Little by little, the CEI's have become a major driving force in the evaluation of teachers.

When I ask people why they don't belong to a union like NEA, I often hear, "Well, I can't afford it." ---Or, "What exactly can you do for me in a right-to-work state?" Good questions.

I tell them that NEA, TSTA and NEA-Dallas give the "rest of the story," the part you don't always hear from "your CTO" or the DISD. We represent teachers before DISD committees, hearings and meetings. We educate our members on their rights and give ideas on how to be a better teacher--as well as a more informed one.

Finally, we urge them to VOTE, and get others to vote. The ones who make these decisions --or hired the ones who do--work in the State Legislature, US Congress and are on the DISD Board of Trustees.

It is time for all DISD employees to get off their butts and get active! It is time for all of their neighbors, friends and families to get informed on educational issues!

We have the power to really get our students on the right track towards successful lives. If you like what you see, fine. If you don't, then DO SOMETHING. Join us. Join another group, if you prefer, but JOIN!

Remember, they count on you not knowing, not understanding, not voting, not caring enough to do something.

Anyone can now see and hear the speeches given at the November 29, 2007 school board meeting regarding the pilot pay-for-performance plan and CEI's. You can see other meetings as well. Maureen Peters actually gives the speech on behalf of Alliance-AFT in support of the pilot program. There were also speakers from NEA-Dallas and the Texas State Teachers Association. Here is the link:

http://dallasisd.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

I am glad that these are now online. We will all be accountable for what we say at these board meetings.

[Ed Note: Ironically, most of the teachers who choose to remain anonymous, would be better protected by speaking out at board meetings. There are plenty of media organizations who will aggressively follow up on anyone who is disciplined for stating a reasonable position at a board meeting.

Don't fear DISD's administration when you speak your mind at board meetings. The administration doesn't want to end up being a story here or anywhere else.]

Oh, Allen, you just kill me.

You STILL believe that going public before a board protects a teacher? Well, yea, if they list the reason why they fire you as:

THEY SPOKE TO THE BOARD.

But they can get you with a CEI, take away extra $$ earning opportunities, respond slowly or not at all when you need help with a fight.

Or, under the Moses regime, send you the Purple Letter of Death.

He used to send out letters to teachers he was unhappy with--me especially-- with envelopes of a pleasant lavender hue.

And then you read the letter.

Why purple? So that the school's office staff see it and blab to everyone that you are on the Big Cheese's naughty list. Just to have fun, I would stand there, open it and read it out loud. Saved time and dispelled rumors. After a while, they stopped coming.

Many of us choose to speak out anyway. Some of us blog anonymously. Whatever. But never estimate the lengths they will go to shut you down.

[Ed Note: See, I don't get it. There are plenty of people who can put 2 + 2 together. If you speak at a Board meeting, then someone retaliates a short time later, it's pretty easy to tell that this wasn't a random act. There are several news organizations that can make things like that very messy and embarrassing. Now, there's a caveat: what you say must be true (or at least it shouldn't come from Mars or Rio Linda).]