Comments for Bluff City Education

Comment on Four in Five Superintendents Support Common Core by Lisa Jorgensen

Lisa Jorgensen — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 03:34:38 +0000

Oh, dear. I do hope that you are being facetious. 114 superintendents requesting the Common Core Standards and the I-Ready test does not mean it is a good thing. Personally, as a kindergarten teacher who researched the New South Wales standards being implemented by the Department of Education in Abu Dabai last year, the Common Core standards ‘seemed’ to be equivalent and I don’t have a big problem with what I’ve experienced with them. The “test” is something else again. Not only does it cost quite a bit more, but the infrastructure and hardware are lacking here in many schools in Memphis. (Do you remember how the writing test on-line knocked out the state-wide server last year, messing up the testing for multiple schools for weeks?) Many of our students are only experiencing (practicing) with computers every week or two. And, I suspect most students will not expect to be believed when they inform the testing teacher that a keyboard has a glitch. (My honor student came home in tears after the space bar wouldn’t space…unless you touched it JUST SO! We called the principal. We called the State Board of Ed. All they could ask was, “Did she finish the test?” She did, but it was a good two paragraphs shorter than it should have been.) in Indiana, the Fed’s have indicated that scores should be EXPECTED to drop 30 %. I think we deserve a LOT of explanation as to how that is beneficial in any way…. http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2015/02/06/istep-requires-longer-testing-time/22992001/

Comment on Meeting SCS Expectations = Pay Raise Cut? by bluffcityeducation@gmail.com

bluffcityeducation@gmail.com — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 15:52:01 +0000

Email it to [email protected]. Thanks, I’ll look forward to taking a look and comparing it with TEM 3.0!

Comment on Meeting SCS Expectations = Pay Raise Cut? by April Jeffries

April Jeffries — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 05:00:39 +0000

I have a copy of the rubric. The Professionalism rubric you have only counts towards 5% of our evaluation! Let me know how to send you a copy. It”s a doozy!!!

Comment on Meeting SCS Expectations = Pay Raise Cut? by bluffcityeducation@gmail.com

bluffcityeducation@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 18:23:36 +0000

True, and on one hand thats probably the way it should be. On the other, it flies in the face of what the district is claiming that 73% of teachers will see no reduction in pay raises. Which is it? Will evaluation scores decline and raise levels along with them, or will things stay as they are?

Comment on Meeting SCS Expectations = Pay Raise Cut? by Teachercasie

Teachercasie — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 18:08:53 +0000

This is an informative deep-dive into the line up between pay scales and the teacher rubric. The TEM 4.0 language has altered from the previous year to where it is more challenging to receive a TEM 4 or TEM 5 which means that “meeting expectations” will become a more average score if observations are aligned to the rubric. That is why your information is critical to teachers who are just now looking into this. I can send you the TEM 4.0 rubric.

Comment on Meeting SCS Expectations = Pay Raise Cut? by bluffcityeducation@gmail.com

bluffcityeducation@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 17:03:11 +0000

BTW do you have a copy of the TEM 4.0? They only have TEM 3.0 online right now, I couldn’t find the 4.0 rubric

Comment on Meeting SCS Expectations = Pay Raise Cut? by bluffcityeducation@gmail.com

bluffcityeducation@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 17:02:32 +0000

Its been on my mind for a while, I just hadn’t had the time to break down all the numbers until the past few days and get a sense of how it would really impact the raises received yearly by educators.

Comment on Meeting SCS Expectations = Pay Raise Cut? by Aaron Fowles

Aaron Fowles — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 15:51:44 +0000

If you’re just now figuring this out, whoa.

We know the following things to be true.

1. Gov. Haslan wants to reconfigure the state teacher eval system.
2. The justification for the new pay scale comes from scores obtained through TEM 3.0, which is now dead and gone. The MCS/SCS eval system has been different each year for the past four years.
3. TN state standards are in flux, as are the tests our students will take.
4. The new compensation plan isn’t complete yet.
5. TVAAS is being overhauled.

If these five indicators are not enough to convince you that the time is not ripe for this change, I don’t know what will convince you.

Comment on Teachers Are the Key: JC Bowman’s Education Leadership Story by David Henry

David Henry — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:30:47 +0000

Rebecca – I’m guessing that if you ask a straight question, you’d get a straight anser. JC taught in both the Meigs County, TN and Bradley County, TN school systems. He was in the classroom for 10 years (according to LinkedIn). I was one of his students during the two years he taught in Meigs County. He was fantastic then and has served as a mentor to me long after he taught me in the classroom.

Comment on Living and Breathing Education: Candice McQueen’s Education Leadership Story by JC Bowman

JC Bowman — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:37:15 +0000

Commissioner McQueen has started off on a good foot, reaching out to all stakeholders. We look forward to continuing the dialogue.