The Elizabethton Board of Education passed a series of resolutions which will go before the Tennessee General Assembly voicing its support of funding for pre-kindergarten education, and taking a stance against the use of TNREADY data for teacher evaluations as well as opposing school voucher legislation.
Based on a series of data that support the importance of education before the age of five, especially for students coming from low-income families, the Board voted on a resolution supporting the continued funding and support of education for four-year-old children of poverty.
“There is a big push to defund pre-k education, but statistics show that kids who have preschool are the ones that need it the most and are disadvantaged, and when they get pre-k education, it brings them up to the level of other kids,” said board member Susan Peters.
Director of Elizabethton City Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour said a study by Vanderbilt University found no significant difference in students in preschool programs and students who began school in kindergarten.
“But our thought is if a child was in a deficit and caught up, that is the job of pre-k: to allow income-eligible children to be able to attend and be on an equal playing field when they get to kindergarten,” said Gardenhour. “To say it’s not doing its job is a farce.”
The resolution cited research which shows that students who are not reading on level by third grade are four times more likely not to graduate high school. It also stated 40 percent of public school students in Elizabethton are eligible for free or reduced lunches based on family income and it is estimated that 81 percent of Elizabethton four-year-olds who enroll in the preschool program are currently at risk of not having the skills necessary to be ready for school.
Additionally, a resolution was approved that recommends that TNREADY test scores not be used as part of teacher evaluation in the 2015-16 school year.
Peters cited variance in testing standards and technology gaps as reasons why using this new testing method may not prove an accurate resource for teacher evaluation.
“I don’t believe its fair to teachers to use these numbers to evaluate them when there are there are so many unknowns with tests and standards,” said Peters.
Gardenhour said last year the state considered student test performance for 35 percent of teacher evaluation scores, but that this year, due to the implementation of TNREADY, scores will count for only 10 percent of teacher evaluations. This resolution asks the General Assembly to waive the use of TNREADY data for teacher evaluation for the 2015-16 school year.
The third resolution to be sent to the General Assembly outlines Elizabethton City Schools’ stance against the use of vouchers to divert money from public education to private education, which is a pending piece of legislation before the Tennessee General Assembly this session. The idea of private school vouchers was originally proposed more than 50 years ago and continues to be a controversial issue.
“This would give parents the option of getting money to send their kids to other schools,” said Peters. “It’s a serious detriment to public schools. They abandon public schools and drain dollars, and private schools do not raise student achievement for everyone, but there’s a lot of support for it because public schools sometimes have negative connotations to them.”
Proponents of the school vouchers argue it is their tax money to be spent on their children’s educations, so they should be able to send their children to whichever school they choose.
However, the school board resolution references the state constitution, saying that the General Assembly is required to provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools, with no mention of the maintenance or support of private schools.
It also states that it eliminates public accountability by channeling tax dollars into private schools that do not face state-approved academic standards, do not make budgets public, do not adhere to open meetings or make student achievement public.
“I feel the legislature needs to support public education and focus on making our schools the best they can be,” said Gardenhour.
In other news, the Board also discussed the condition and possible renovation of the T.A. Dugger home grandstands.
Gardenhour said they have structural holes and will have to be taken down. Until then, the stands will be boarded up, and the press box will continue to be used.
“We feel there’s no way to patch it and have traffic on it, so we’re going to move everything to the visitor side and should have enough seating to accommodate people there,” said Gardenhour.