March 1 - Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools

Back to web versionPosted on Tue, Mar. 10, 2009Obama backs teacher merit pay, charter schoolsBy LIBBY QUAIDAP Education WriterPresident Barack Obama called for tying teachers' pay to student performance and expanding innovative charter schoolsTuesday, embracing ideas that have provoked hostility from members of teachers unions.Wednesday, Mar 11, 2He also suggested longer school days - and years - to help American children compete in the world.In his first major speech on education, Obama said the United States must drastically improve student achievement to regain lostinternational standing."The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens," he said. "We have everything we need to be that nation ... andyet, despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacherquality fall short and other nations outpace us."His solutions include teacher pay and charter school proposals that have met resistance among members of teachers unions,which constitute an important segment of the Democratic Party.Obama acknowledged that conflict, saying, "Too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence inteaching with extra pay, even though we know it can make a difference in the classroom."Despite their history on the issues, union leaders publicly welcomed Obama's words, saying it seems clear he wants to includethem in his decisions in a way President George W. Bush did not."We finally have an education president," said Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation ofTeachers. "We really embrace the fact that he's talked about both shared responsibility and making sure there is a voice forteachers, something that was totally lacking in the last eight years."The president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association, Dennis Van Roekel said, "President Obama always sayshe will do it with educators, not to them.""That is a wonderful feeling, for the president of the United States to acknowledge and respect the professional knowledge andskills that those educators bring to every job in the school," van Roekel said.Van Roekel insisted that Obama's call for teacher performance pay does not necessarily mean raises or bonuses would be tied tostudent test scores. It could mean more pay for board-certified teachers or for those who work in high-poverty, hard-to-staffschools, he said.However, administration officials said later they do mean higher pay based on student achievement, among other things."What you want to do is really identify the best and brightest by a range of metrics, including student achievement," EducationSecretary Arne Duncan told The Associated Press in a brief interview.White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said certification is part of the mix. "But the president believes that school systems canwork with teachers and parents to come up with a system that rewards our best teachers with more pay for their excellence in theclassroom."The union leaders also liked that Obama took on Republicans in his speech, saying the GOP has refused to spend more moneyon early childhood programs despite evidence they make a difference.There also has been considerable friction over charter schools, which are publicly funded but operate independently, free fromsome of the rules that constrain regular schools. Many teachers are concerned that such schools drain money and talent fromregular schools.However, Obama said state limits on numbers of charter schools aren't "good for our children, our economy or our country." Hesaid many of the innovations in education today are happening in charter schools.Obama addressed the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a setting intended to underscore the need to boost academicperformance, especially among Latino and black children who sometimes lag behind their white counterparts.President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law aimed to close that achievement gap, but progress has been slow, andObama says his administration can do better. None of what he outlined Tuesday was new; his education agenda reflects Obama'scampaign platform.Broadly speaking, Obama wants changes at every level from before kindergarten through college. He is putting special focus onsolving the high school dropout crisis and pushing states to adopt more rigorous academic standards.