It is unfortunate that Gov. Paul LePage continues to blast Maine’s hardworking educators and call Maine’s school system a failure. It is also unfortunate that he manipulates the facts and data to suit his own agenda in trying to “prove” his point. He should be helping public education and educators, not demonizing us. Those of us in the Maine Education Association, the educators’ professional organization, know there is always room for improvement, but we also know that schools across Maine are succeeding in leading student learning during these very difficult times.
The governor pointed to a recent Harvard study that said Maine schools are not improving as fast as other states. What he fails to explain is that Maine’s students have performed in the top 25 percent of states for over two decades. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, was designed to give a broad view of how students are performing across the nation. Maine students have scored in the top tier of states on the NAEP since 1992. The states that have shown the most dramatic improvement in the past two decades were states that started at the bottom, like Florida and Louisiana. As any student knows, it is harder to go from an A to an A+ than it is to go from an F to a D. The small allowance for improvement is much harder for those who are already highly successful.
Maine’s schools have other measures of success beyond the NAEP tests. For instance, our high school graduation rate was about 74 percent in 1996, compared with nearly 84 percent in 2011. We’ve made significant strides during this time. We know we still have a way to go — every educator would like to see a 100 percent graduation rate. But we are moving in the right direction.
Maine educators are working hard to improve student learning through increased professional development. MEA members believe that every classroom should have a great teacher, and we have been putting our efforts into helping Maine’s schools improve through our Great Public Schools initiative. Another example is MEA’s collaboration with business, education and community leaders on the Maine Educator Effectiveness Council to improve evaluation systems for teachers and principals. A third example is MEA’s sponsorship of legislation to improve access to, and incentives for, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification for Maine teachers — something the governor vetoed. The override of the veto by levelheaded legislators from both sides of the aisle allows a provision of increased support to teachers seeking to improve their skills through the NBPTS process.
Studies show student achievement is affected by many factors: family involvement, economic circumstances, preschool opportunities, nutrition, availability of quality health care and, of course, educational opportunities. These all contribute to and impact a child’s ability to learn. Governor LePage’s budget cuts to important social supports for poor families will have devastating effects on Maine’s children in the short- and long-term.
Maine’s public schools are at the heart of our communities throughout the state. Parents value their schools and the educators who teach their children. The MEA, as representatives of Maine’s educators, encourages Governor LePage to support and collaborate with us to do the best for Maine’s public school students. Name-calling and condemnation won’t help. We need to have the governor behind our efforts to lead our students into the future through improved student opportunities in public schools.
Lois Kilby-Chesley is a NBPTS certified third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teacher presently serving as MEA president.
Please avoid the truth. GrandeBouche can’t play to the crowd with information like this. What if Maine schools were actually doing a well-better-than-average job and Maine kids were actually being educated? Naw….. LeBeef says it ain’t so, and he and CVharlie webster know about these things. (And nobody else knows anything)
Yea more welfare is the answer..It always is to this bunch…They do everything they can to kill jobs and stop developement then whine for more handouts to the layabouts..They sicken me…
What the bloody heck are YOU whining about? Clearly, you didn’t read the article, or you’re just a one-man whine machine.
I guess you didn’t see this..
Governor LePage’s budget cuts to important social supports for poor families will have devastating effects on Maine’s children in the short- and long-term.
This is happening because more money is going OUT than being put back IN. Almost everyone up here is on some form of assistance and/or not working. It’s disgusting!
The point is that Governor LePage thinks that teachers are nothing more than unskilled workers who should be paid minimum wage and be glad to get it. Clearly, he believes that teachers, except those in Catholic schools, don’t work as hard as say, for example, as King of Mardens. Never mind that thos exemplary teachers that LePage had in the Lewiston Catholic Schools didn’t teach him enough to pass the entrance exam to a for profit college. Don’t get me wrong, I have just as much respect for the teaching nuns as I do any teacher; LePage’s experience as a student further exemplifies that it is THE RESPONSIBILITYT OF THE PARENTS AND STUDENTS to make the best of their educational opportunities. LePage didn’t and had to rely on Peter Snowe to pull strings to get him in.
Well they wouldn’t be if the system was up-to-par and they COULD actually teach. At this rate, you really don’t have to be skilled to be a teacher here…not trying to put the teachers down, it’s just the way your school system is set up. Pretty soon there won’t be any teachers and they’ll just solely rely on the internet. Unfortunately, that’s where it’s headed. Doesn’t matter that over half of the country don’t know how to even SPELL or READ. It’s disgusting! Speaking of the internet, it’s pretty pathetic when a school system ONLY relies on the internet to *correspond* with parents…and that is with a lousy *newsletter* or email from the school in general. As for communication…that’s as far as it goes! Pretty sad!
Took a while, but I’m pleased to see MEA speaking out on behalf of its members.
The school system here is not up-to-par. I do agree with Gov LePage on that one. Coming from Florida to here (I’m originally from here, but lived most of my life in FL) I have seen a big difference and not for the better. I expected more and what I see is a school system that is FAR behind in its grade level compared to where I came from. It shows now since my youngest has been here. (I had two older children that went here briefly in the past as well and it hasn’t changed) Not only is your grading system ridiculous (no Letter grades, only numbers), but they are as I said way far behind what my child had already learned in FL…at least 3 yrs. It is not strict up here in regards to how these teachers are teaching and how the school is doing in general grade-wise. We had the FCAT’s and most everything came down to that one test. If the student didn’t pass it, they didn’t go on to the next grade and if the school’s grade overall wasn’t to par, then that school wouldn’t get the funding that other schools did. Kids learned much more there and there are far more kids there to teach. If you didn’t do well, again, you didn’t pass…here, they just pass you. They don’t even list THAT on the report card at the end of the year either! There are no grade point averages either. Also, they do not give HOMEWORK to the students either. I was told even by a teacher that they aren’t allowed to, cause *the students wont’ do it and don’t want to*. Who DOES that?! How is it that the KIDS rule the schools???! Heck, my child was getting masses of homework in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. It is also a faster paced environment by FAR than here, where most everyone works and needs daycare services…so there is much more stress than here overall. There is no excuse for any of this. In the district where my child goes I was told was *the best* for *funding* and so therefore they incorporate that with that the schools are better as well. That doesn’t mean the schools are better. Boy, have I found THAT out! Not only that, but since there are no letter grades, there are no incentives to do better either. No honor rolls, awards for doing good or better…NOTHING! There are also no progress reports to show how your child is doing BEFORE that *report card* comes home. There is no communication with anyone whatsoever and everything is kept between the student and teachers. That is NOT how schools are supposed to work! We had communication. We had progress reports every 9 wks. We had homework to check over. Notes were sent home. WE were made part of what was going on. Here, they just focus on extra curricular activities versus education. They have what they call *homework clubs* after school, but there is no homework and we have no idea what is going on and when you ask, they look at you like you have 3 eyes! They say that the kids need to be *independent*. WTF?! There is a limit to that! I take care of my child…I am responsible for my child and it is MY business what is going on with my child in her learning! These kids walk in and out of campus as if they were in college. No one is paying attention to anything. No child is allowed to just come and go as THEY please where I lived. No one could just walk onto campus and into the school EITHER. We didn’t have laptops going home with students either. There were things called BOOKS and homework to do! The priorities are ALL WRONG in the system in Maine (and New England). No one notices cause that is what they are used to and all they know. This is NOT what the norm does. This is not how things are run in other states and this state needs to step up and do some research. They are passing all these kids and there are no standards that they have to go by…hence why it LOOKS like the kids are doing better than other states when in fact they are not. Everything is handed to them. No wonder why you have so much of a drug problem here for such a small population compared to other states…because there are no goals for kids to reach. Nothing to work for. No one is making them strive to do better and really nothing to look forward to…not only that, but because they are left free to roam wherever and whenever they so choose like they are *adults*, this is WHY kids end up on drugs and pregnant. (there are 7th graders here pregnant!) No one is watching them cause *they grew up here all their lives* and *they know everyone*. That’s BS! Again, the mentality is that they need to be *independent* as if they were adults. They are NOT! In FL if a child is absent, you need to bring in a NOTE. They don’t do that either. If a child goes in late, they don’t want the parent to even come in like we had to in the south…they just want the child coming in. No note…just call, but then they don’t even notice if they’re absent anyways. In FL, you get a phone call. There are only like 10,000 people in this community, compared to our almost 200,000 in my old *small town*. What is the excuse for this??! If a child had a doctor appt and had to leave early, they had to bring in a doctor’s note signed by the doctor. NOthing here! Maybe that is what YOU people are used to and settle for, but this is NOT what I see fit! This is not a school system…it is a disaster and there needs to be BIG changes made…but then again, you all don’t LIKE change or *stress* and dealing with problems. Sorry, but this IS a problem that needs addressed. I thought the school system there was flawed and the worst…boy was I wrong! Can’t wait to leave and get back to civilization again! Oh, and by the way, I am not the only one that feels this way. I’ve spoken with other teachers within this state AND in other parts of New England and they say the same things. The one’s here are just STUCK with the flawed system unfortunately. I guess if you keep your kids uneducated in these parts that will make them stay in Maine, which is the case…but it’s not doing them any good in surviving the real world and want to do better for themselves…and know that they CAN do better than just settle, get married and have a ton of kids… and be on welfare. There is more out there than that. You should want more than that for your children!
True..It was the same back in the 70’s too..We moved to Conn. when I was in 1st grade so my dad could take a job at Pratt&Whitney Aircraft..When we moved back I was in the 5th grade and I was so far ahead I was told to bring a book to read and told not to raise my hand to answer questions…I was atleast a year ahead of my classmates…
What you fail to report is that Maine schools have fallen from fourth to twelfth in addition to making little gain. Any way you slice it we are not getting the job done across the state. We need to get on top of the best programs available, especially in reading and math. We need to have a task analysis approach to teaching math, Take a look at what the best schools are doing to evaluate their programs. Perhaps we need to look at some of the best computer generated programs available in math. Bring back a strong phonics program to complement whole word strategies. and stop making excuses. Parents cannot even tell on what level their children are reading with the reporting strategies used in many schools, very much a confusion for parents. Reporting levels of the child’s reading achievement does not educate the parents as to how their children are doing overall. Make the testing reports understandable to parents so they know how they can help. We have a long way to go and good for the governor for pushing this agenda. This is not the teacher’s fault. They are working with what they are given.