Kansas Schools Face Major Changes Next Year
Associated Press - Wed 06:59 PM 10/17/2012
Commissioner Diane DeBacker told the State Board of Education Tuesday that 2013 could be the busiest year since the No Child Left Behind law was enacted in 2001.
The state's education commissioner says possible policy changes will make next year one of the busiest years in a decade for Kansas educators.
Commissioner Diane DeBacker told the State Board of Education Tuesday that 2013 could be the busiest year since the No Child Left Behind law was enacted in 2001.
DeBacker said the board will consider changes such as adopting new science standards, new history and government standards and deciding how to tie teacher evaluations to student achievement. Educators also will be implementing Common Core State Standards and deciding what type of assessments will be used.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports at least four of the 10 state board members will be newly elected, and they'll be working with a Legislature where several members will also be new.
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(Information in the following story is from: The Topeka Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com)
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Imgonnagetu
Wednesday 17 October 2012 22:29 Report this comment
Poor parenting and playing politics with standards are the two biggest reasons are education system is not working. Take a look at the standards for a seventh grader sometime. Do we really expect that much from a twelve year old?
DamiStac
Thursday 18 October 2012 00:25 Report this comment
Imgonnagetu, exactly. Though, it seems the consensus from everyone I work with, including special education seems to think the new "Common Core" will be better. It will no longer track students against other students. Instead it will track a student against themselves, and require that student as well as teachers to improve his rate of improvement. So if a 7th grader reads at a 6th grade level, they expect him to be reading at a 6.6 by the middle of 7th grade, and a 7.2 by 8th grade. Where as now, they expect a 7th grader reading at a 6th grade level to immediately jump to an 8th grade level otherwise it's the "teacher's fault". As long as a student is making good continual process then they will view it as succeeding.
Iamgonnagetyou
Thursday 18 October 2012 08:15 Report this comment
First off I do not need an imposter to speak for me. victory/redneckwatch/carlos is trying to disrupt this site by tampering with id's. My response to this article is that focus needs to be put on all the positions schools are paying salaries to that has no direct contact with the individual student. I also feel that students with special needs and all those involved with these students need to either be sent to the private sector or special needs schools set up for these students. Plus I strongly believe parents of special needs students need to pay for any additional costs incurred by the state for the teaching of these students.
Iamgonnagetyou
Thursday 18 October 2012 08:25 Report this comment
The state alots schools so much per student for their education. The bigger school boards take advantage of this in creating positions within their schools that never touch the life of an ordinary student. These large districts pay big monies for superintendents who in many cases do not earn those salaries. Plus then these people wanting to be superintendents in smaller districts believe they should be paid the same as their counterparts in the large districts. Here in lies a big problem. Superintendents along with principles and vice principles salaries should be figured on the basis of the number of students enrolled it the district they work with. For the most part teacher salaries are low but teachers need to be judged on their teaching abilities and what their students are learning. A good teacher needs to make a decent salary but a poor teacher or a teacher that no longer has that fire to teach needs to be shown the door. The whole matter of tenure needs to be examined also and changes made.
Iamgonnagetyou
Thursday 18 October 2012 08:31 Report this comment
DamiStac There are a whole bunch of teachers that should be in another profession. Also there are many older teachers that have lost the fire to teach as they once did and are protected by tenure which is wrong. Noted not all tenured teachers are old as to become tenured takes a few years. Alot of these tenured teachers feel that they can coast once they are protected by being tenured and they know that in many cases if not all there is very little a school district can or will do. The system is flawed in this area.
Victory.2012
Thursday 18 October 2012 08:48 Report this comment
Ha Ha iamgonna I got you now.
Victory.2012
Thursday 18 October 2012 08:51 Report this comment
DamiStac you are so full of yourself with your comments while you are raking money in off the school system. Your position should be eliminated and maybe your wife who is not earning what you believe she should ought to become a better teacher. This is what really is wrong with the system.
bizworldusa
Thursday 18 October 2012 09:08 Report this comment
The bigger school boards take advantage of this in creating positions within their schools that never touch the life of an ordinary student. These large districts pay big monies for superintendents who in many cases do not earn those salaries...... Regards, Bizworldusa
trashpasser
Thursday 18 October 2012 09:20 Report this comment
really you sound as educated as the teacher above does.
Victory.2012
Thursday 18 October 2012 09:53 Report this comment
I just love screwing around on here talking to my other id's changing other peoples names. I guess my anger treatment is not going to well but who cares.
DamiStac
Thursday 18 October 2012 13:27 Report this comment
LOL I guess he missed in the previous topic where I said positions like mine shouldn't be as common and where I think the job should be revamped and cut down. Though my wife and I are both very good at our jobs. We actually stay in the district we are in because we feel the district does their best to run things properly. For example when they recently consolidated they released about 70% of the staff between the two consolidating schools in hopes to remove bad teachers who were tenured. It is amusing though that the people on this site who like to run their mouths the most tend to be the ones who read the least.
DamiStac
Thursday 18 October 2012 13:33 Report this comment
Now addressing Iamgonnagetyou, I agree there are teachers like that, but you obviously don't spend much time in schools if you feel it is a huge problem. I would say looking back on my personal experiences growing up in Salina and spending K-12 in the district, I only had one burnt out/lazy teacher and Roosevelt-Lincoln forced him into early retirement. The rest of the teachers still seemed invested and interested in doing a good job. Now let me share an story. When my wife and I first moved here we were against the idea of tenure then her boss told us a story of a young teacher.
DamiStac
Thursday 18 October 2012 13:43 Report this comment
The young teacher was in her first year with the previous district before consolidation, during her first year she had a student who had a list of disciplinary issues going from kindergarten all the way to his sophomore year. The teacher like many others had issues with the student his parents were brought in but nothing changed. At the end of the year the teacher's contract was not renewed she was not given a reason just let go. We found out the reason she was let go was because that student had an aunt on the school board. The aunt complained in a meeting and because the teacher was not tenured they released a perfectly good teacher. This isn't as big of an issue in large cities but given the size of many of our districts doing away with tenure would ruin lives. The principal told us in his 25 years in education this was not the first time he had seen this.
Iamgonnagetyou
Friday 19 October 2012 01:18 Report this comment
Personnel issues are kept private so how do you expect me to believe you are putting out factual information about an aunt. Come on also on the comment about 70% of the staff between 2 schools were tenured and released because of consolidation. That is illegal and if the case a lawsuit surely would have been filed against the district. The district wants to run as a business then they should also be able to remove any teacher at anytime they feel they are not doing the job they were hired to do. Tenure should not be a safety net for any teacher as it is used right now. School boards should also be looking at the superintendents and principals and removing them also when they are not doing their jobs. Its time to clean up the school systems in Kansas and Salina is one that needs it. If they refuse to do anything then their budgets should be cut back and they should not be able to then tax the citizens of the district to recoup lost monies.
equineman7
Friday 19 October 2012 09:17 Report this comment
I was awaiting an answer to the question you posed to DamiStac on the privacy issue but evidently he has been posting mis-information on here.
DamiStac
Friday 19 October 2012 18:37 Report this comment
As long as someone doesn't give names/dates/etc and as long as they use phrases like "hypothetically" they cover their own butt. You can chose to not believe me, I really don't care.
DamiStac
Friday 19 October 2012 18:37 Report this comment
They were released LEGALLY because that's how consolidation works. The OLD districts no longer exist, therefore it'd be the same as a school shutting down. They also let go one of the principals, and demoted another to vice principal. The other employees including the principal who remained, and the superintendent had to re-apply for their jobs. Each individual job was re-considered prior to getting a new contract. ALSO, all pay levels were decreased in the new district. Again, this wasn't a consolidation of two schools like when Whittier and Bartlet in Salina consolidated. This would be the same as if South East of Saline, (USD306) and Ell-Saline (USD307) consolidated and became USD955. They would no longer hold ANY obligation to ANY former staff.