Representative Jehan Gordon has earned a reputation for listening to her constituents. In April of 2009, Rep. Gordon invited several people (teachers, parents, etc...) who are involved in the Peoria educational community to become part of her Education Advisory Committee.The group had an opportunity to meet with Rep. Gordon for an update on legislative developments in Springfield and share their thoughts about issues affecting the education community.
In the coming weeks, Rep. Gordon, who is a member of the Senate's Special Committee on Education Reform, will be taking part in hearings on the Peformance Counts Act.
The Performance Counts Act of 2010 (PCA) is a draft of proposed legislation, commissioned by Stand for Children Illinois (based in Oregon) and Advance Illinois. On December 16th and 17th, it was the central point of discussion at Education Reform Hearings at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. The PCA appears to be extremely fast moving legislation that many believe will be voted on by the General Assembly in very early January 2011. It is a sweeping proposal addressing tenure, evaluations, dismissal, collective bargaining, and strikes.
Reportedly, Rep. Gordon received some campaign contributions from Stand for Children and on their website, she is vaguely referred to as one of nine "champions of education". Rep. Gordon, is in position to play an integral part in moving Stand for Children's agenda through the legislature.
Editorial: Illinois school reform proposals
The best way to improve education in Illinois dramatically is to attract and keep the best teachers in the classroom and more quickly and efficiently fire the worst.
That's the aim of a draft proposal — dubbed the Performance Counts Act — introduced to a special Illinois House committee last week.
The reforms would:
•Make teacher performance the main factor in layoff decisions. In many districts, teachers are laid off by seniority — last in, first out. That means good young teachers are fired instead of less effective teachers who are protected by seniority.
•Make it easier to fire ineffective teachers. Right now, the process to fire a teacher is so cumbersome that many principals don't try. This would streamline the process significantly and spare kids from the worst teachers.
•Ensure that only the best-performing teachers earn tenure. Instead of a virtually automatic tenure award after four years of service, teachers would be granted tenure only if they've been rated "proficient" or "excellent" in evaluations. That's a smart step. But it also depends on far more honest teacher evaluations, tied strongly to student performance and classroom observation.
The most controversial part of this package: curbing teachers' right to strike. The proposal would hand more power to school boards to resolve contract disputes.
Right now, teachers can strike after negotiations and mediation fail. This proposal would create a new step. If mediation fails, a three-member panel would be created — one member picked by the school board, one by the union and one by the other two members. The panel would hammer out a settlement. If either side rejected that settlement, the details of it would be made public.
But the final decision would rest with the school board. It could accept the panel's settlement or the union's offer, or impose its own settlement. The union could strike only if the school board failed to act.
That's a powerful proposal. It would invite public scrutiny of negotiations and protect teachers from dysfunctional school boards. But it would, essentially, end teacher strikes.
The House committee wrapped up hearings on these ideas last week. An Illinois Senate committee will consider them early next year. Read entire editorial here.
Editorial: Illinois school reform proposals
The best way to improve education in Illinois dramatically is to attract and keep the best teachers in the classroom and more quickly and efficiently fire the worst.
That's the aim of a draft proposal — dubbed the Performance Counts Act — introduced to a special Illinois House committee last week.
The reforms would:
•Make teacher performance the main factor in layoff decisions. In many districts, teachers are laid off by seniority — last in, first out. That means good young teachers are fired instead of less effective teachers who are protected by seniority.
•Make it easier to fire ineffective teachers. Right now, the process to fire a teacher is so cumbersome that many principals don't try. This would streamline the process significantly and spare kids from the worst teachers.
•Ensure that only the best-performing teachers earn tenure. Instead of a virtually automatic tenure award after four years of service, teachers would be granted tenure only if they've been rated "proficient" or "excellent" in evaluations. That's a smart step. But it also depends on far more honest teacher evaluations, tied strongly to student performance and classroom observation.
The most controversial part of this package: curbing teachers' right to strike. The proposal would hand more power to school boards to resolve contract disputes.
Right now, teachers can strike after negotiations and mediation fail. This proposal would create a new step. If mediation fails, a three-member panel would be created — one member picked by the school board, one by the union and one by the other two members. The panel would hammer out a settlement. If either side rejected that settlement, the details of it would be made public.
But the final decision would rest with the school board. It could accept the panel's settlement or the union's offer, or impose its own settlement. The union could strike only if the school board failed to act.
That's a powerful proposal. It would invite public scrutiny of negotiations and protect teachers from dysfunctional school boards. But it would, essentially, end teacher strikes.
The House committee wrapped up hearings on these ideas last week. An Illinois Senate committee will consider them early next year. Read entire editorial here.