Lyddy Cites Misunderstandings, Confusion Over Education Reform Bill

By John Voket

As a member of the Legislature’s Education Committee, Newtown Representative Chris Lyddy has been in attendance as Governor Dannel Malloy has attempted to clarify some of the most controversial and misunderstood aspects of his proposed Education Reform bill. On March 19, Rep Lyddy spoke with The Bee about issues tied to that proposal, as well as a few other issues playing out in Hartford during the 2012 “short session.”

“I’m hearing a lot about this not only from people in Newtown, but from across the state,” Rep Lyddy said. “And to be honest, it’s a little frustrating because a lot of those people don’t know what the bill says. It’s 163 pages, though, so I can understand why.”

Rep Lyddy said among the most frequently misstated points of information is that the bill would eliminate teacher tenure.

“That’s absolutely incorrect. The proposal allows for teacher tenure to be earned two years sooner than state law allows,” he said. The Newtown lawmaker said he is having a hard time discerning where those who are misstating the bill’s content are going off track, or why.

“I’m meeting almost daily with educational stakeholders from all over the state, as well as with the [state] leadership of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents the Newtown teachers,” he said. “But no matter which side of the issue they are on, I need to make sure everyone has accurate information.”

He said the AFT reps are generally supportive of the bill, but that is the polar opposite of what he is hearing from the front line AFT membership.

“I hear them saying ‘don’t eliminate tenure, or kill the bill.’ All this loud stuff — a real disconnect between members and their leadership at the capital,” he said.

Another point of misinformation is that the proposal is basing the entire teacher evaluation system on test score outcomes.

“That is absolutely and entirely incorrect,” Rep Lyddy said. “The unions who are at the meetings with key legislators working on the bill have signed off on an evaluation system that is all encompassing of teacher evaluations in the classroom, peer and parent feedback, student outcomes, and test scores.”

Rep Lyddy believes that each of those components should be weighed appropriately as contributing to a final evaluation.

“The performance evaluation advisory council sent these recommendations through to be applied to the bill. So when reviewing those guidelines, and overlapping those with the proposed teacher evaluation proposals in Newtown, I have to say that I’m quite impressed with the direction Newtown is moving on evaluating its teachers,” Rep Lyddy said.

“It’s not just about getting poor teachers out of the classroom, but evaluating, supporting, and promoting great teachers. That and getting those good teachers tenure as soon as possible, when they prove themselves to be effective in the classroom,” he added.

Still Many Questions

The more he studies the fine points of the bill, the more questions Rep Lyddy said he is developing. But in the end, he views it as a progressive “growth model that all teachers should be glad to have.”

With that in mind, and considering the Newtown district’s argument about maintaining or even adding administrators while student population plummets, Rep Lyddy admitted that adding more administrators is “not the silver bullet here, but in this bill we offer master’s level teachers to take on more responsibilities, and to be compensated for that.”

“When we look at student-to-administrator ratios, we also have to look at the tools in place to support and to evaluate those administrators and their performance,” Rep Lyddy said. “I don’t know if more administrators will equal better results. I think we need more qualified and effective teachers in the classroom.”

Rep Lyddy said the situation is more dire in urban and underperforming districts where the financial resources might better serve students if they are targeted at recruiting, retaining, and developing better educators in the classroom, versus administrators.

“I think I’ve been saying that all along,” he added.