(NETWORK INDIANA) Indiana’s two big teachers’ unions brought thousands of reinforcements to the statehouse to push for changes in education policy:
Teachers dressed in red lined all four entrances to the statehouse as legislators arrived for their ceremonial opening day. They held not one but two rallies outside the statehouse, then fanned out inside the building to meet with lawmakers and Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch.
Ralliers in the hallway could be heard cheering, booing and chanting through the closed doors of the House chamber as Speaker Brian Bosma talked about what legislators plan to do.They applauded as Bosma pledged to work this session on uncoupling test scores from teacher pay. Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray say the first bill to be considered will be a one-year mulligan from any use of this year’s test scores to calculate teacher salaries or school accountability grades.
But the cheers turned to derision as Bosma insisted on the need for testing which measures student and school performance. He reminded teachers and legislators
that the new ILEARN test was adopted to address complaints about the old ISTEP test. He says the new version is shorter and easier to grade.
And Bosma defends budgeters’ work to fund education, declaring the current budget represents both a record in spending and a record increase in raw dollar terms.
Bloomington teacher Alissa Drewes says demographic changes mean teachers are dealing with larger numbers of students with behavioral or other issues, which require more effort and money.
And teachers say pay isn’t their only concern. They view the high-stakes testing as state micromanagement of the classroom. Retired Decatur Township teacher David Sexson blames the combination for the difficulty attracting new teachers and filling vacancies.
