In Camden, NEA leader criticizes charter schools, testing

The newly elected head of the National Education Association - the largest professional employee union in the country - visited Camden on Friday, and criticized standardized testing and the financial drain charter schools can put on traditional public schools.

Lily Eskelsen Garcia was elected Sept. 1 to head the union, which represents 3.2 million members nationally. She is a former Utah teacher of the year, the first Latina to hold the post, and the first woman elected in 25 years.

Garcia came to Camden's Pyne Poynt Middle School at the suggestion of New Jersey Education Association president Wendell Steinhauer. The two touted successes of an NJEA mentoring program at Pyne Poynt in which retired teachers help with professional development and lesson plans.

"We're going to make this school a showpiece," Garcia told reporters in Pyne Poynt's library during her visit. "A pride and joy showcase of what happens when the union works with the administration to say, 'How do we make sure the people in this building, no matter what they're given or they're not given . . . understand how they can improve the lives of these students?"

The union representatives did not mention that Pyne Poynt - one of the lowest-performing schools in the district, based on test scores - will close in two years. It currently shares its building with Mastery Charter Schools' North Camden Elementary School, a charter-district hybrid "Renaissance" school. Mastery has expressed interest in staying in Pyne Poynt's building after it closes.

Garcia, who has visited California, Florida, Alaska, and Texas, said the charter movement needs to be reevaluated. She said the original purpose of a charter school - to be an "incubator for ideas to inform the bigger system" - had shifted toward corporate takeover.

"When you say we want almost a private school system that's publicly funded, and we have no connection with the public school system, I think we've lost the ideals of what that incubation system is supposed to be," she said.

Garcia spent the morning with Pyne Poynt teachers and met with Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard. She visited classrooms and then addressed reporters and community members in separate roundtable meetings.

Pyne Poynt is one of four schools in Camden where the NJEA runs a "Priority Initiative" mentorship program. In its third year, the program sends 15 consultants into schools across the state including in Camden at Yorkship Family School, Henry L. Bonsall Elementary School, Cooper's Poynt School, and Camden High School's school-to-work program.

Garcia was a cafeteria worker and a kindergarten aide before getting her teaching degree in 1980. In 1989, while teaching sixth grade, she was named Utah teacher of the year. She has held various union leadership positions and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1998. Garcia was the NEA secretary-treasurer before being elected president. She replaces Dennis Van Roekel.

During her Camden visit, Garcia also criticized the emphasis on standardized testing and its uses in evaluating teachers.

"All they want to see is did you move the needle on a test score? People are just fed up, and they're all saying, 'Enough is enough,' as loudly as they can and they're saying . . . we're actually going to do what's right for the kids regardless of what you want to obsess about on the test. We will proceed until apprehended."

Garcia was joined by Camden Education Association president Robert Farmer and the NJEA's Steinhauer.

A recent report found that the NJEA has spent nearly $60 million on political campaigns and lobbying over the last 15 years, including a large chunk during the last governor's race to try to defeat Gov. Christie. Steinhauer defended the spending.

"There are 566 municipalities in New Jersey. You need a lot of money to take care of every elected position," he said. "Do I think I got the bang for my buck? Absolutely. Take a look at your legislature now and the bills they're passing and the budget that they passed."

Asked about Christie and disparaging statements he had made about the teachers' union, Garcia said she had heard similar sound bites nationwide.

"We're always disheartened when there's someone who wants to demonize the representatives of teachers and our association, but we never let that stop us. That's almost become routine now to see someone who doesn't want to be held accountable for schools and the resources we need," she said. "Honestly, we become a very convenient scapegoat."

Source: Philly.com