Despite the lure of bonuses worth thousands of dollars, some members of the Southwest Teachers Association in San Diego plan to "just say no" to awards for meeting the state's Academic Performance Index growth targets.
Karen Ray urges other State Council members to follow the example set by the Southwest Teachers Association.
In an eloquent speech from the floor of CTA's February meeting of State Council, representative Karen Ray urged other associations to take similar actions.
"Reaching an API growth target does not mean that the school is doing any better, or that the students have learned any more. We all know that. So how can we justify accepting bonus money solely based on that factor? We can't."
To demonstrate that fact, Ray said, the Southwest Teachers Association's executive board has made a unanimous recommendation to its membership that they donate any and all bonus money to a charitable foundation for students in their district. "We feel this sends the right message. We are rejecting merit pay, but clear on the point that our students need more resources," she said.
In another area, teachers are rankled by the state's financial reward system in a different way. A group of teachers in the Sacramento City Unified School District has filed suit to temporarily block the awards program. The plaintiffs claim the state Board of Education illegally changed the rules, making them ineligible for bonuses. If successful, the suit could delay the awards scheduled to be distributed in April.
CTA's State Council, in the meantime, has taken a strong stand against the rewards. At its February meeting, Council went on record as opposing the financial reward system to individual staff members whose schools meet API target goals. The recommendation from the Council's Assessment and Testing Committee was supported unanimously and voted upon without debate.
The state rewards program was opposed by Council delegates because of its threat to teacher collegiality. Council also approved a major policy that states: "CTA believes instead of rewarding individual students, teachers, schools or districts based on the results of a test, state monies should be used towards resources that will help all students meet statewide standards."
Dale Martin