I sent this email to all my Oregonian friends today....
I typically don't get very political - but this year has certainly brought it out in me. I am not emailing regarding the presidential or congressional election. I figure you've probably made your mind up in that race anyway by now. If you haven't - call me - we'll talk :)
As many of you know my partner is an elementary school teacher in the Portland Public Schools. He specifically works in a lower income neighborhood/school because he sincerely wants to help those that need it most. These schools typically have larger populations of children where English is their second language. What this would do is penalize teachers who have more kids who struggle with English as they may not do as well on tests – and then the teacher is paid based on the overall scores of the children. This would cause good teachers to leave lower income area schools. Also, as with “no child left behind” teachers would basically be forced to “teach to the test” so that the kids obtain high scores. This is not beneficial to the kids or the teachers.
I've been reading a lot about these Oregon ballot measures and in talking with many people, I want to urge you to VOTE NO ON 58 & 60. Below is some information from the Oregon Education Assoc website I encourage you to read the information below, even Google and read more about it from other sources as well. There's also a great article on Oregonlive.com about measure 58: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2008/09/measure_58s_goal_of_englishonl.html
Read below and then put yourself in a teacher’s shoes who just want to help the kids learn. This isn’t the way to do it.
MEASURE 60
Why Should Oregonians Oppose Ballot Measure 60? http://www.oregoned.org/site/pp.asp?c=9dKKKYMDH&b=4419743
Measure 60 would take away local control from the principals, school districts, and teachers who know our schools best, and places it in the hands of government bureaucrats.
Measure 60 is vague, poorly worded, and full of unintended consequences. It does not define how teachers’ performance will be measured, even though their jobs and pay depend on it. It does not define who is judging teachers or how they are being judged, which could leave critical decisions about our local schools in the hands of Salem bureaucrats.
Measure 60 is unfair to students and teachers. Measure 60 will unfairly punish teachers who take on the most challenging assignments. Teachers who work in low-income areas or have a lot of special education students will be paid less because their students may not do as well on standardized tests.
Measure 60 will result in more testing. Just like Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, this measure relies on more standardized testing. It will impose a heavy burden on teachers, principals and students with little impact on student success. Measure 60 will force teachers to spend time preparing students for more standardized tests rather than necessary classroom instruction.
Measure 60 is being pushed by Bill Sizemore. A jury found that Bill Sizemore engaged in racketeering, forgery, and fraud in the signature gathering process (http://www.oregoned.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=9dKKKYMDH&b=3075493) Sizemore continues to abuse the initiative process and mislead Oregon voters. Sizemore has no background in education, but continues to promote unsuccessful initiatives that try to take away money and control from our local schools.
Measure 60 shortchanges our students. Instead of teaching kids to think, solve problems, and develop the skills they need to succeed, teachers will focus on preparing students to do better on standardized tests since their pay will be based on test scores. It does not define student performance, so we have no way of assessing teachers’ impact on their students.
Measure 60 takes money away from where our schools need it most – in the classroom. Measure 60 may cost millions of dollars a year to implement. This is money better spent reinvesting in smaller class sizes, adding back lost programs, hiring more teachers, fixing leaky roofs or buying new textbooks.
Measure 60 has been rejected by Oregon voters once before. In 2000, a similar ballot measure was rejected by Oregonians by an overwhelming majority of more than 60%. We’ve said no to this bad idea already.
For more about Measure 60 and its affects on Oregon public education visit: www.NoOn58and60.com.
MEASURE 58
Why Should Oregonians Oppose Ballot Measure 58? http://www.oregoned.org/site/pp.asp?c=9dKKKYMDH&b=4419733
Measure 58 is vague and full of unintended consequences, and would take away local control from the principals, school districts and teachers who know our schools best.
Measure 58 is a One-Size-Fits-All mandate. Measure 58 imposes a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching our kids. Not all students learn in the exactly the same way. The reality is that kids have a range of abilities that need to be judged on a case-by-case basis.
Measure 58 takes away local control. It takes away local control from teachers, parents, and school districts who know what works best for their local schools. What works best in Portland may not work well in Bend or Baker City . And parents and teachers know better than Salem government bureaucrats how best to teach our kids.
Measure 58 unfairly punishes students. Measure 58 does not make exceptions for students with learning disabilities, meaning they would be required to learn English in the same amount of time. That puts too much pressure on teachers and students.
Measure 58 creates obstacles to learning. Every child in America should learn English, because if you don’t learn English, you’ll never succeed in this country. But we don’t need to put unrealistic deadlines on how many years it takes to learn English. And we don’t need another unfunded mandate that makes it harder for our students to learn.
Measure 58 is another bad idea by Bill Sizemore. This is just another bad idea put on the ballot by racketeer Bill Sizemore. Sizemore has no background in education, but continues to promote unsuccessful initiatives that try to take away money and control from our local schools. This latest Sizemore scheme could end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars to implement.
Measure 58 is vague and full of unintended consequences. Measure 58 is so poorly written it doesn’t specify how the system would work, who qualifies for the program, or how it would be implemented. And because it’s so poorly written, some students would be limited to only one year of learning English.
For more about Measure 58 and its affects on Oregon public education visit: www.NoOn58and60.com.
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