HB 7019 and SB 736 '" Merit Pay for Teachers in Florida

For background, I am a professional meteorologist and my wife is a teacher in the Collier County Public School System. Together we run the highly effective Mathworks Tutoring Center in Naples, FL. While math is our forte, we tutor all subjects for which our clients have a need.

In a few months we will launch a new online web site where we will offer tutoring in all subjects, nationwide and around the world.

In all of our efforts, we key on basic understanding rather than teaching to the test. And our results offer testimony that within a one-on-one setting, and with kids who want to learn, we know how to reach kids.

During the 4 to 5 years in which we have been in business, we have discovered that while many teachers are in the good to great category, some are not. And culling those educators who are not good at their job is a good idea (re Senate Bill 736 and House Bill 7016).

However, by once again using test scores and "student performance" as criteria for this borders on lunacy. Please let me explain.

Teachers are no longer in charge of their destiny. Local, state and Federal requirements (grade keeping, documentation, textbook usage, curriculum pacing, computer usage and more) all conspire AGAINST teachers exciting kids toward learning. And No Child Left Behind and its soon-to-be- "improved" system will only make it worse. Instead, the bureaucratic and administrative shackles limit innovation and remove "teachable moments" from the mix. Limited budgets and safety issues also curtail the ability of schools to get students out of doors and doing things that would excite learning. Simply stated, education has become boring to many students!

There is also the school setting, behavioral issues, principal and guidance counselor support and much more that affect what happens in a classroom. If everything were equal, except that if one teacher had two students with behavioral issues, I am sure teacher performance between the two would be quite different.

Consider the scenario of an airplane pilot whose performance plan was based on whether or not luggage arrived at its intended destination. The pilot is in charge of the plane, its actual flight and the safety of its passengers and contents. But baggage staff is responsible for putting the bags on the correct flight in time. Is the teacher scenario much different? Just imagine that the teachers are the pilots and the kids are the handlers of their own luggage.

Also, education is a growth process. Whether the student becomes successful in 7th grade or is an abysmal failure, is the result of far more than the performance of the 7th grade teachers. All of the teachers in grades pre-K to 6 have contributed to that success or failure in one way or another!

Even worse are external factors (family situations including divorce, spousal abuse, financial situation, ability of parents to help the child and more). And, let's not forget language issues and learning disabilities.

Finally, our tutoring center reaches scores of students each year. And every community has many tutors that service students in need. All of our collective efforts obviously contribute to how a teacher "seems" to perform. Will we be considered as part of the merit pay performance plan? I hope so; we would earn lots of bonuses!

Those families that can afford us, and the schools and teachers that capitalize on our efforts, will have this resource to help them "look better" than teachers alone may actually be.

Finally, there really are ways to write realistic performance plans that reflect the actions of the teachers, not the outcomes for which they have no control. I had to do this as a manager in NOAA when the Federal government instituted a merit pay plan. Although it involved a lengthy process, the system allowed for documented removal of poorly performing employees. Why can't the school systems in the state do the same?

So, given all of these factors and more, I cannot in good conscience agree to the "as yet undefined details" of the merit pay push.

I urge you and the entire Florida House to put HB 7016 on hold and rethink the concept through fully before rushing to implementation. I urge Governor Scott to do the same.

In making this request, I am offering the services of both my wife and myself to help the state develop a real educational reform framework, one that works to remove poor teachers, but within a system that considers ALL aspects of the educational process.

On the other hand, now that HB 7016 has passed, I am sure that tutors statewide will be very, very busy. That's because teachers and parents alike will want outside support to save the educational system.

Thank you for listening. I am available to discuss any and all aspects of this letter and education, in general.