Current Issues

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February 11, 2010
Following are comments concerning EVAAS made by CHT Executive Director Chuck
Robinson to the HISD School Board at the February 11 meeting:

Good evening. I signed up to speak to the Board today about an article which was published by Dr. Audrey Amrein-Beardsley of Arizona State University in Educational Researcher 2008, titled “Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System.” While this academic study does raise questions about many of the statistical assumptions behind EVAAS, what I believe lends the study particular credibility is the fact that it does not simply excoriate EVAAS.

On the contrary, the author of this journal article believes that Dr. William Sanders’s EVAAS system is “the most sophisticated value-added model” available for measuring student progress from one school year to the next. Nevertheless, EVAAS also has “flaws that must be addressed before widespread adoption.” Among the shortcomings Dr. Beardsley cites are a dearth of external reviews and validity studies of EVAAS, its lack of transparency and user-friendliness, and a host of methodological issues which the article describes in detail.

There are clearly enough problems cited in this research to raise serious questions about EVAAS’s efficacy in driving high-stakes decisions such as campus accountability and, of course, the subject of this important agenda item: the non-renewal of teacher contracts.

And while there is often talk in this boardroom about not wanting the perfect to be the enemy of the good, any reasonable person must concede that the overzealous misuse of EVAAS could engender a wide range of unintended consequences that could prove highly detrimental to the Houston Independent School District.

At the conclusion of this research study, Dr. Beardsley draws a compelling analogy between the high-stakes application of EVAAS and the role of the Food and Drug Administration. The mission of the FDA is to ensure that food and drugs are safe and healthy for consumers. But when it comes to the public education system, as the professor convincingly argues, shouldn’t we be concerned about protecting students and teachers from assessment models that could do as much harm as good? Who guarantees that assessment models honestly and accurately inform the public about student progress and teacher effectiveness? And, perhaps most importantly, who regulates the assessment industry?

These are important questions you should ponder before approving the unprecedented employment of a value-added assessment model that has not been shown to meet the scientifically rigorous standards every public school stakeholder should be demanding.

August 10, 2009
HISD Board to Vote on Revised Salary Schedule

This past spring the state legislature approved a teacher pay raise using federal stimulus funds that provided a $960 raise for all HISD teachers in addition to any step increase according to years of experience. In June, Dr. Saavedra's administration proposed a teacher salary schedule that reflected these increases. For some teachers who had waited two years for a step increase, the step plus $960 was more than a 7% increase. However, the HISD Board wanted to limit the increases to no more than 5%. This limit was imposed by adding steps to the teacher salary schedule causing the teachers with the largest increases to wait another year to receive all of the dollars for their step.

CHT and HFT both opposed the changes to the salary schedule proposed by the board and supported the step increase and $960 raise in the state plan originally proposed by the administration. The board passed the budget in June with the revised salary schedule thinking that the state stimulus spending plan might not be approved by the federal government and the district would be able to ignore the legislature's intent. In July, CHT had this salary schedule printed on the back of its 2009-2010 color-coded calendars.

Recently, the federal government did approve the state stimulus spending plan so the board will vote Thursday, August 13, on the original step increase plus $960 raise salary schedule. The new schedule for 2009-2010 will look the same as last year's in the step and experience columns with $960 added to the pay rate column. If the new salary schedule is approved by the board on Thursday as expected, CHT will post that schedule on its website shortly thereafter.

August 1, 2009
Change in CHT Membership Applications

To simplify the collection of membership applications, this year CHT building representatives will distribute pre-printed and personalized applications to all renewing members. After reviewing pre-printed information, make necessary changes, and sign the application. Our professional liability insurance carrier will not process a claim from any member whose membership application is unsigned; an original signature for every member must be on file in the CHT office.

February 10, 2009
CHT MEMBER ALERT! CHT needs your help NOW!

Attention CHT Members:

Four HISD board members (Carol Galloway, Diana Davila, Manuel Rodriguez and Paula Harris) have submitted a proposal that could end CHT's ability to represent teachers in consultation with the HISD administration. Current board policy protects your right to representation by CHT.

The proposal calls for a change to "elected consultation" that would result in only one organization representing all teachers. Current board policy already provides for an elected consultation group, but positions are awarded proportionally based on the number of votes for each organization. HFT currently has three seats; CHT and HEA have one seat each.

Due to its larger membership, HFT would, of course, be able to win any election that seeks to change the consultation election format to a "winner-take-all" system or to select a single consultation group.

Please contact the HISD board members at the e-mail addresses provided below and ask them not to change the current instructional consultation election policy. CLICK HERE for points to consider when contacting board members.

Thank you for your support.

Steve Antley, President
CONGRESS OF HOUSTON TEACHERS

Diana Davila ddavila@houstonisd.org Carol Mims Galloway cgallowa@houstonisd.org Paula M. Harris pharris3@houstonisd.org

Dianne Johnson djohns18@houstonisd.org Natasha M. Kamrani nkamrani@houstonisd.org Lawrence Marshall lmarsha1@houstonisd.org

Greg Meyers gmeyers@houstonisd.org Harvin C. Moore hmoore1@houstonisd.org Manuel Rodriguez Jr. mrmrodjr@yahoo.com

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October 23, 2008
Important 403(b) Changes

The IRS is requiring school districts to make important changes affecting 403(b) accounts on January 1, 2009. The HISD Benefits Department is providing information to employees as it becomes available. Click the links provided here for more information from the Houston Chronicle and Dearborn & Creggs.

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October 1, 2008
No Ike Make-up Planned

The HISD administration will recommend to the Board of Education that the district submit waivers to TEA for all instructional days missed due to Hurricane Ike. As a result, there are currently no plans for any make-up or extended days. Principals, with the approval of the SDMC, may make adjustments within the regular school day to provide more instructional time. Teachers will not be required to work beyond the regular school day or on Saturdays to make-up time. Teachers who agree to work in any after school or Saturday programs must be paid according to the HISD compensation manual.

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January 17, 2008
The following is a summary of comments CHT Executive Director Chuck Robinson made to the HISD School Board at the January 17 meeting regarding the ASPIRE program:

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share some of the input I have received in recent days from CHT members regarding ASPIRE.

On a positive note, I want to commend the administration for the efforts they have made to address some of the obvious deficiencies in last year’s incentive pay program: the establishment of a district teacher committee, the refinements made to the program’s methodological components, the addition of this new data review period, and especially, the willingness on the part of central office staff to engage in dialogue with our membership at two different CHT organizational meetings. Unfortunately, while those actions did substantively address various technical and procedural matters, they do not compensate for other important fundamental problems which characterize this program.

Rather than cite a laundry list of specific objections, please allow me to share with you one example at an elementary campus where you have two close colleagues in adjacent classrooms who have taught second and third grades together for five or six years. The third-grade teacher has learned that under Strand IIB of ASPIRE her students' test scores may help her to receive a $5,000 bonus. In contrast, her second-grade colleague has discovered that she is only eligible for a maximum Strand IID bonus of $2,500; more importantly, the excellent test scores of her second graders are not counted at all under the separate methodology used to calculate the K-2 strand.

This obvious inequity that makes a Grade 3 teacher appear to be more important than a Grade 2 teacher next door is divisive, and interferes with the efforts of the principal to build the kind of collegial synergy that is absolutely critical to the building of an exemplary campus. And while I have shared in the joy of several CHT members who have called the office to expressive their pleasant surprise regarding the $6300 check they are slated to receive, I feel equally sad for that superb Grade 2 teacher who was not even allowed to participate in the game.

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December 11, 2007
CHT mourns the loss of founding member Renee Feeney

The Congress of Houston Teachers would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family of retired HISD educator Renee Feeney on her passing. Renee was one of the founding members of CHT, and is designated as our organization’s first “spokesman” in a handwritten charter document—dated May 1954—that hangs prominently on a wall in our Bellaire office.

We were honored to learn that one of Renee’s last requests to her family was that a monetary donation be made to CHT in her memory. As you will notice in the obituary from the Houston Chronicle, the family also listed CHT as one of the suggested recipients of memorial contributions.

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November 1, 2007
CHT helps HISD develop two new SPMs

CHT has worked with the HISD administration over the past year to develop written guidelines for teacher duty-free lunch and planning period. Links to the text of the two new SPMs can be found below or on our website's menu under HISD Sites & Links (left side of this page).

SPM 4550 Duty-Free Lunch
SPM 4551 Teacher Planning Period

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October 30, 2007
New Web-Based Parental Access to Teacher Records Raises Questions

HISD’s Technology & Information Systems has designed a new web portal application which provides parents and students with online access to students’ academic progress. “The Source, Student Portal with Parent Zone,” while still under development and in a test phase, is currently available at 17 secondary campuses. The portal components in its current release include a student’s class schedule, daily and period attendance, progress report information, report card grades, and an HISD email account for students. 

At first glance, a program of this kind would seem to be a valuable tool for supporting the classroom teacher’s efforts to stay in close communication with parents. On the other hand, given the kinds of problems teachers have recently experienced with other forms of digital student-related information, it may also seem reasonable to raise concerns about some of the other intended uses of “The Source.” Could the district be charting a future course in which parents gain “real-time” access to student grades on a daily basis? 

CHT would like to know if any of its members have experience with “The Source” and, if so, what they think about it. In addition, we would like to learn more about any student-parent portal programs used by other districts. Members can contact the CHT office by e-mail (office@CHT.org) or phone (713-661-2150) with any information.

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October 3, 2007
Legislature Limits Teacher Financial Responsibility

An important bill affecting teachers, SB 370, is a product of last spring’s 80th Texas Legislature. By adding Section 22.0511(d) and amending 31.104(e) of the Education Code, SB 370 strengthens an existing law that already protected public school employees from financial responsibility for textbooks not returned by the student. The new law now includes electronic textbooks and technological equipment issued to students that are not returned, and adds liability protection for the teacher who takes up items like cell phones and iPods from a student because of inappropriate use in the classroom. Finally, the law provides for the use of electronic textbooks or technological equipment taken off campus by teachers. A school district may enter into a written agreement with the teacher whereby the employee assumes financial responsibility for the items; however, it is the employee’s decision whether or not to enter into the agreement.

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August 8, 2007
IRS 20% Tax Rumors Largely Unfounded

There has been a great deal of discussion in recent days across Texas among school district employees about a new IRS rule that could subject them to a 20% excise tax on their payroll earnings.  The tax would affect those who delay compensation from one year to the next (e.g. a teacher on a ten-month contract whose salary is paid out over twelve months). In order to exempt its employees from the new tax while complying with the new regulations, HISD must either distribute deferred compensation election forms to all persons affected by the new IRS rule or provide employees with written notification of the district’s policy regarding deferred compensation. In a press release dated 08/07/2007, the IRS stated that the new regulations will not go into effect before 2008. This implementation schedule will give HISD plenty of time to take the steps necessary to address the matter.

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