TERRE HAUTE —
At Deming Elementary on Thursday, state Schools Superintendent Tony Bennett apologized to all the “good teachers” whose hard work has gone unrecognized in the push for educational reform and accompanying rhetoric.
“I am sorry to our good teachers who feel like they have been lumped in with bad teachers,” he said. To those who believe they’ve been unfairly criticized, “I apologize from the bottom of my heart.”
About 200 people, including teachers, school administrators and some community members, attended a session with Bennett titled “After School with Dr. Bennett.” Those attending came from several school districts.
Deming was selected as a host for demonstrating outstanding academic growth, and Bennett praised the school staff for its work. He has conducted similar visits at other schools around the state.
State Department of Education staff discussed several areas related to school reform, and Bennett then opened it up for questions and answers.
Near the end, Vigo schools superintendent Dan Tanoos told Bennett he believes the state superintendent of public schools should be an advocate for public schools.
“We need you to step up and make us feel like you are advocating on our behalf instead of against us,” said Tanoos, who received a standing ovation for this comments.
He talked about how hard teachers are working in inner city schools with children who have many challenges that are out of the teacher’s control. Last year, Deming did not make Adequate Yearly Progress. This year, it did.
Year in and year out, teachers there continue to do what is best for kids to help them improve in educational achievement, Tanoos said.
But under the current state administration, public school teachers are being criticized and placed under intense pressure that they don’t deserve, he said.
“We have to feel that you’re our advocate. And I don’t feel that,” Tanoos said.
Bennett said he views his role differently. He believes his job is to advocate for excellence, challenge the educational system to improve and to “go at those who are not performing.”
He further believes “we are in an era of education where good enough isn’t good enough anymore.”
He praised the accomplishments of the Vigo County School Corp. and Tanoos’ leadership, but he also said, “That’s not everywhere” and not all school districts are as successful.
He told Tanoos, “Our styles may be different, but you know what, I believe in our hearts we have the same desire — what’s best for our kids.”
Bennett also acknowledged, “I’m just not a real warm and fuzzy guy.” He said he has a sign on his nightstand that says, “Gentle pressure, relentlessly applied, yields results.” That is his guiding philosophy, he said.
Patty Curley, who’s taught in Vigo County schools since 1984, also addressed Bennett. She addressed the dilemma of tying teacher evaluation and pay to student performance.
She spent several years at a school that had consistently low test scores. Teachers there worked hard and did everything the state suggested, but scores continued to stay low.
Later, she went to another school that had different socio-economic circumstances and better test scores. Students didn’t face the same challenges.
If the public looked at test data from the first school, they’d label her an “ineffective teacher.” But at the second school, “Now all of a sudden it’s a miracle. I’m a very highly effective teacher,” Curley said.
She said she loved teaching at the first school, but if her paycheck depended on student growth in standardized testing, she probably wouldn’t have stayed as long as she did.
“What incentive are we going to have for good teachers to stay at a challenging school” if their pay is tied to student testing data, she said.
Curley said “there are schools obviously where because of cognitive ability, and family situations, the likelihood that those kids are going to make a year’s growth in a year is much less than in other schools.”
Bennett said that when it comes to teacher evaluations and pay, he believes student academic achievement should be one of several factors.
“I don’t think we should say to you that your entire paycheck should be based on classroom performance. That’s not what I advocate,” Bennett said.
There are multiple ways to measure educator effectiveness, and student performance should be one of them, he said.
Also during the meeting, Theresa Bynum asked Bennett where he stood on public funds going to private schools.
He responded, “I support school choice. I do support that we should fund our children’s education wherever they go, whether that is a government or non- government school.”
West Vigo High School Principal Tom Balitewicz told Bennett that the school district has a healthy cash balance and it made Adequate Yearly Progress this year. “We do a lot of things well here,” he said. He challenged Bennett to visit the school district and “we’ll show you how it’s done.”
Bennett answered, “I got you.”
In visiting different schools to talk about reform initiatives, Bennett said state education officials chose to visit schools with strong academic growth as a way to recognize “islands of excellence,” and “there is no question, you have one here,” he said.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
News
Schools chief apologizes to ‘good teachers’
Tanoos calls for state superintendent to advocate for public schools not ‘against’
- News
-
-
Rockville correctional facility program teaches life skills
It’s hard to know who benefits the most: the inmates or the dogs.
-
AAA mag recognizes city for arts works
The nonprofit organization that uses outdoor sculpture to draw attention to Terre Haute is getting some notice of its own.
-
State pushing for convenience stores to make safety a higher priority
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent. Assaults, murders and other crimes at convenience stores also dropped dramatically.
Now Indiana officials are hoping voluntary compliance with similar safety standards will bring about similar results.
-
Patriotism & Honor
From his vantage point, Sonner Faught could see almost every volunteer in the cemetery.
-
Graduation turns to mourning in Clinton
Jeana Lunsford’s graduation from South Vermillion High School Saturday should have been a time of celebration.
-
School choice proponents foresee growth of vouchers
Twenty-seven Vigo County students benefited from tax-supported vouchers during the first year of the Choice Scholarship Program, and that number is expected to grow for 2012-13, say Indiana school choice leaders who visited Terre Haute Thursday.
-
Tales of obstruction meet first takeover attempts
A decade after Indiana legislators gave the state the power to take over chronically failing schools, the first implementation of the law is meeting with resistance, skepticism and questions about its costs.
-
MIKE LUNSFORD: Raising a flag for my father, veteran or not
My daughter, Ellen, and I stood at my parents’ graves on Mother’s Day a few weeks back and talked about how it couldn’t possibly have been so long since we lost them. My dad, for instance, has been gone for 16 years, and that is nearly unimaginable
-
3 rescued from burning residence
Quick action on the part of some first-responders is credited with saving the lives of three people in a Vermillion County fire early Saturday morning, according to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department.
-
He never forgot a name: Friends remember victim of fire at Garfield Towers
When Freddie Poore met you, he never forgot you.
-
Hometown boy embraces ‘Promise I Made’: Clinton native Ken Kercheval takes role in Dreams Come True production
Thanks to some help from a hometown boy in Hollywood, “This Promise I Made” is still on track to be kept in Clinton.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Many say they don’t vote in primary because of tag that comes with it
A couple of columns ago, I posed a question about why most Indiana polling places on primary election day had so few customers.
-
Police looking for convenience store robber
Police are seeking a robbery suspect following a Saturday morning armed robbery at the Jiffy MiniMart at 25th Street and Eighth Avenue.
-
Graduation ‘responsibility’: Rose-Hulman stages 134th commencement exercises
Inventor Dean Kamen gave a first-hand demonstration Saturday of how to be an innovator.
-
THE OFF SEASON: To the seniors, one last lecture before you go …
It dawned on me one day last week, as I sat at my desk in my teacher clothes and shoes, a stack of ungraded essays calling to me from a rather tall and depressing pile, that I hadn’t missed a high school graduation in 33 years.
-
HOT MEMORIAL DAY weekend ahead for workers, campers, garage salers
The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff of summer, and this weekend is expected to be a scorcher with consecutive days of temperatures in the low to mid-90s.
-
Water rescuers
Emergency personnel wheel a man who was removed from a vehicle that had been driven into the water at Crystal Lake on Boston Avenue near 14th Street at about 9 p.m. Friday.
-
For many, camping outdoors is the way to beat the heat, enjoy nature
Stringing up fishing poles in the shade of American flags, households full of Hoosiers are packing into parks across the state this weekend.
-
Towns along National Road readying for next week’s miles-long yard sale
Stretching 824 miles from Baltimore to St. Louis, the National Road — known as U.S. 40 through Indiana — will soon be the host site for perhaps the longest bargain market in the country.
-
Rose grads honoring late president Branam at commencement today
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Class of 2012 will honor the memory of Matt Branam during today’s commencement ceremony by wearing special pins with the phrase “Make It Happen; Make It Fun,” a favorite saying of the former Rose-Hulman president, who died unexpectedly on April 20.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 26, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday and Friday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Quiz King
Matt Aselage doesn’t usually watch TV game shows, but he is certainly up-to-date on current events.
-
A fallen soldier returns home
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Spc. Arronn D. Fields early Thursday morning at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
-
Official touts trade with northern neighbor
A top Canadian diplomat told a Terre Haute audience Thursday his country was “disappointed” when President Obama at least temporarily rejected a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas.
-
Caution urged for summer’s kickoff
Lane restrictions in construction zones on Interstate 70 and other highways around the state will be lifted to accommodate holiday travel for the Memorial Day Weekend.
-
Letters delivered
Several positions will be eliminated this summer at the Terre Haute mail processing facility as the U.S. Postal Service begins moving the operation to Indianapolis, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman has confirmed.
-
Companies seek Vigo tax abatements
Two Vigo County companies are seeking tax abatements for expansion projects, one of which is included as part of a county incentive package.
-
High-speed chase suspect caught in West Virginia
The suspect in a cross-country, high-speed chase originating in Terre Haute last week was reportedly in federal custody Thursday evening.
-
Second victim of deadly I-70 semi-trailer crash identified
The Vigo County Coroner’s Office has identified the passenger of a semi-tractor crash on May 16 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 12-mile marker.
-
Brazil remembers a Fallen Son
A small town seemed sadly quiet Wednesday, waiting to honor a local fallen warrior.
- More News Headlines
-
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
