Union backs contract for Seattle teachers

Seattle Public Schools and its teachers union reached a tentative agreement Wednesday on a contract that allows student test scores to be used as a trigger to more closely evaluate teachers when their students score poorly.

Union leaders called it a "historic" agreement, one that recognizes the need for a better system to evaluate the quality of the work teachers do in the classroom, and to provide them help if they are struggling.

But despite the agreement, the union has raised growing concerns about Seattle Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson's ability to lead. The Seattle Education Association (SEA) leadership is not only recommending approval of the contract, but a vote of no confidence on Goodloe-Johnson. Both votes are set for Thursday afternoon. Classes are scheduled to start next Wednesday.

The contract came about "despite her, not because of her," said SEA President Olga Addae.

School Board member Steve Sundquist, however, characterized the talks as "a very effective negotiation, and I think both parties see their ideas reflected in this tentative agreement."

Some important parts of the contract, however, hinge on voter passage of a $48 million school levy Nov. 2.

About $19 million will be needed during the three years of the contract to implement parts of the new evaluation system, offer new stipends to teachers, create a career ladder and give teachers 1 percent raises in 2011 and 2012. In addition to the levy, the district is also trying to win federal grants to pay for the new evaluation system.

If voters pass that levy, and if the district wins federal grants, the money would fund more planning time for staff, provide raises and offer stipends to high-performing teachers. But if the levy should fail, and if grants don't come through, only some parts of the new contract would be implemented.

Goodloe-Johnson emphasized that the contract will strengthen collaboration between teachers and administrators, providing tools that will help both.

Asked Wednesday about the no-confidence vote, Goodloe-Johnson said: "I would say we have taken on a lot of change in three years, and change is difficult, and change is needed and how we get there is not always agreed upon."

Addae, the SEA president, said union leaders were "disappointed" by a contract proposal Goodloe-Johnson put forth earlier that made student academic growth, as measured by test scores, a much larger part of a teacher's evaluation. The proposal "nearly derailed talks," which have been going on since spring, she said.

Under that proposal, Addae said, as much as 40 percent of a teacher's overall evaluation would have been based on how well his or her students did on standardized tests. She called such a system "a way to automate teacher firing."

Addae said the SEA decided to put the no-confidence vote on the ballot Thursday because it's one of the few times during the year that all 5,000 of the district's educators will be gathered in one place for a vote. The no-confidence vote became an issue at the end of the last school year, when teachers at 12 schools took votes of no confidence in Goodloe-Johnson's leadership. Addae called the Thursday no-confidence vote "a symbolic gesture." In June, the Seattle School Board gave Goodloe-Johnson a largely positive annual evaluation.

Despite SEA leaders' call for a no-confidence vote on the same day as a contract vote, both the district and the union described the tentative agreement as a strong step toward better evaluations of teachers. Late Wednesday night, both the SEA board and its representative assembly voted to recommend that teachers approve the contract and the no-confidence vote.

Under the new system, all employees would be evaluated on a four-level scale: unsatisfactory, basic, proficient and innovative. Currently, teachers are rated on a two-level scale: satisfactory and unsatisfactory. Addae said the move to a more sophisticated system, with different levels, was a "historic change" and one the union welcomes.

By their fourth year, all certificated employees would have to show proficiency in four areas: planning and preparation, instruction, classroom environment and professional practice.

Sundquist said the district is "trying to build an integrated evaluation system, so teachers, from a variety of points of view, using multiple levels, have a sense of how they're doing."

He said the contract "includes additional career opportunities for teachers, with additional stipends, and a chance for us as a district to take the work of our most effective teachers who want to spread their good practice beyond just their own students and make that available to a wider population of teachers."

Addae echoed the importance of providing opportunities for professional growth for teachers.

If the levy passes, or other funds are received, the contract calls for all elementary and K-8 teachers to have an additional hour of weekly paid collaborative time.

More mentors would be hired to support teachers during their first three years, and the district would provide up to $500 to support training for struggling educators.

The tentative agreement calls for up to 360 school-based career ladder positions, spread across all the schools, for teacher leaders who model best practices and support their colleagues' professional growth. It offers stipends for the district's highest-performing teachers, and for those who work in the lowest-performing schools.

The vote is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Seattle Pacific University's Royal Brougham Pavilion.

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219 or klong@seattletimes.com