Why Schools Need More Support Staff, Not Less

Continually lost in the news from Austin about draconian cuts to education, is a perspective of reality on the ground. I'll provide one example of how support staff works in an actual school district. By support staff, I mean the folks who some Republicans (aka Rick Perry and team) disparage as non-teaching and non-essential. Specifically, these are the support staff at the campus and district levels, as well as at the regional Education Service Centers (who are particularly important to small and rural school districts.)

The SBOE, in all of it's partisan glory, enacted new Science TEKS that we are implementing this school year for grades K-12. The new high school Science TEKS not only have creationist language injected into them (Biology, specifically), but are considerably more rigorous. In the case of Chemistry, we are teaching a lot of material that we have not previously been required to teach. We have a perfect storm brewing with many of our high school science teachers being composite certified, meaning they passed a test that had Bio, Chem and Physics content, but may not be specialists in any one of those subjects. A chemistry teacher in a typical Texas high school might only have a minimal amount of college chemistry. Another part of the perfect storm results from the infinite wisdom and expertise of Texas legislators who decided it was a great idea to require twelve end of course exams as a condition of high school graduation. And, we are implementing the new science TEKS without new instructional materials. How that particular piece is allowable by law, I do not know.

For Chemistry, the entirety of our assessed curriculum for the Science Exit TAKS has been this (7 concepts):

 (7) Science Concepts. The student knows relationships exist between properties of matter and its components. The student is expected to
(A) investigate and identify properties of fluids including density, viscosity, and buoyancy; and
(D) relate the chemical behavior of an element including bonding, to its placement on the periodic table. 

(8) Science Concepts. The student knows that changes in matter affect everyday life. The student is expected to
(A) distinguish between physical and chemical changes in matter such as oxidation, digestion, changes in states, and stages in the rock cycle; and
(C) investigate and identify the law of conservation of mass. 

(9) Science Concepts. The student knows how solution chemistry is a part of everyday life. The student is expected to
(A) relate the structure of water to its function [as the universal solvent];
(B) relate the concentration of ions in a solution to physical and chemical properties such as pH, electrolytic behavior, and reactivity; and
(D) demonstrate how various factors influence solubility including temperature, pressure, and nature of the solute and solvent.

Under the end of course exam program, this is the tested curriculum for Chemistry (24 concepts):

STAAR Chemistry Assessment
Reporting Category 1: Matter and the Periodic Table
The student will demonstrate an understanding of the properties of matter and the periodic table.

Science concepts. The student knows the characteristics of matter and can analyze the relationships between chemical and physical changes and properties. The student is expected to
(A) differentiate between physical and chemical changes and properties; Readiness Standard  

(B) identify extensive and intensive properties;Supporting Standard 

(C) compare solids, liquids, and gases in terms of compressibility, structure, shape, and volume; and Supporting Standard(D) classify matter as pure substances or mixtures through investigation of their properties. Readiness Standard 

Science concepts. The student understands the historical development of the Periodic Table and can apply its predictive power. The student is expected to
(A)explain the use of chemical and physical properties in the historical development of the Periodic Table; Supporting Standard 

(B)use the Periodic Table to identify and explain the properties of chemical families, including alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, noble gases, and transition metals; and Readiness Standard 

(C)use the Periodic Table to identify and explain periodic trends, including atomic and ionic radii, electronegativity, and ionization energy. Readiness Standard 

Atomic Structure and Nuclear Chemistry
The student will demonstrate an understanding of atomic theory and nuclear chemistry.
Science concepts. The student knows and understands the historical development of atomic theory. The student is expected to
(A) understand the experimental design and conclusions used in the development of modern atomic theory, including Dalton’s Postulates, Thomson’s discovery of electron properties, Rutherford’s nuclear atom, and Bohr’s nuclear atom; Supporting Standard 

(B) understand the electromagnetic spectrum and the mathematical relationships between energy, frequency, and wavelength of light; Supporting Standard 

(C) calculate the wavelength, frequency, and energy of light using Planck’s constant and the speed of light; Supporting Standard 

(D) use isotopic composition to calculate average atomic mass of an element; and Supporting Standard 

(E) express the arrangement of electrons in atoms through electron configurations and Lewis valence electron dot structures. Readiness Standard 

Science concepts. The student understands the basic processes of nuclear chemistry. The student is expected to
(A) describe the characteristics of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation;
Supporting Standard 

(B) describe radioactive decay process in terms of balanced nuclear equations; and Readiness Standard 

(C) compare fission and fusion reactions.
Supporting StandardTexas Education Agency Student Assessment Division Fall 2010
Reporting Category 3: Bonding and Chemical Reactions
The student will demonstrate an understanding of how atoms form bonds and can qualify the changes that occur during chemical reactions.

Science concepts. The student knows how atoms form ionic, metallic, and covalent bonds. The student is expected to
(A) name ionic compounds containing main group or transition metals, covalent compounds, acids, and bases, using International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) nomenclature rules; Readiness Standard 

(B) write the chemical formulas of common polyatomic ions, ionic compounds containing main group or transition metals, covalent compounds, acids, and bases; Readiness Standard 

(C) construct electron dot formulas to illustrate ionic and covalent bonds; Readiness Standard 

(D) describe the nature of metallic bonding and apply the theory to explain metallic properties such as thermal and electrical conductivity, malleability, and ductility; and Supporting Standard 

(E) predict molecular structure for molecules with linear, trigonal planar, or tetrahedral electron pair geometries using Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory. Supporting Standard 

Science concepts. The student can quantify the changes that occur during chemical reactions. The student is expected to
(A) define and use the concept of a mole;
Supporting Standard 

(B)use the mole concept to calculate the number of atoms, ions, or molecules in a sample of material; Readiness Standard 

(C)calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas; Supporting Standard 

(D)use the law of conservation of mass to write and balance chemical equations; and Readiness Standard 

(E)perform stoichiometric calculations, including determination of mass relationships between reactants and products, calculation of limiting reagents, and percent yield. Supporting Standard

Formerly our "formula chart" that students used as reference material when taking the Science Exit TAKS was:

Note that only one formula for Chemistry was on the chart - the formula for density.

This is the "formula chart" or reference material students will use when taking their Chemistry End of Course STAAR exam, beginning next school year with incoming 9th graders (most of whom will take Chemistry in the 2012-2013 school year):

It's impossible for anyone - including state legislators - to miss that our new high school Chemistry course increases the level of rigor considerably over our previous Chemistry course. 

So, here's my central point: Teachers are in the classroom doing what they do best - teaching students. They are supported by curriculum specialists and professional development staff at central office who are toiling away already - very long days and very long weekends - finding or creating instructional materials that align with these new TEKS (since the state has not provided new textbooks or any other instructional materials that support them), creating common assessments that are implemented frequently to figure out whether the new curriculum is actually being taught and if students are learning it, and creating and implementing training for teachers on the new content (see my above point on composite certified teachers not necessarily knowing their chemistry to the depth and breadth required by the new TEKS.) This effort goes into super high gear next year, as our 9th graders start taking their end of course exams in Biology, World Geography, Algebra 1 and English 1.

I've given the example of one subject in one content area at the high school level. The same is true for all grade levels and all content areas, since all are affected by the new STAAR testing system and all grade levels are affected by the new Science TEKS. The new Social Studies TEKS get implemented next school year, with new Math TEKS to follow in all grade levels in 2012-2013.

I will add one more need we have for more support staff - large high schools typically have one testing coordinator for the entire campus, and one counselor for each grade level implementing and monitoring student progress on TAKS test, district benchmark exams, AP tests, etc. With the significantly increased testing  burden on Texas high schools beginning next year, it's going to be impossible to implement STAAR and track student progress towards graduation without more support staff.

I can only guess that Republicans in the Texas Legislature expect teachers to pick up the load on creating their own new instructional materials, figuring out how to get their own professional development on the new Science TEKS in their spare time, tracking who passed and who failed each of the twelve new high school end of course exams, and designing and implementing remedial instruction for students who fail their high stakes tests required for graduation.

Basically, all of that cannot and should not be done by teachers. We cannot do with less support staff and meet the requirements put on us by the Texas Legislature and the State Board of Education.

The folks in Austin need to focus on reality and provide solutions that ensure student success with the new, more rigorous curriculum and testing that they imposed on Texas schools.