It Seems That CSCOPE is the Root of All Evil (Part 4 of 4)

Note: CSCOPE is a vertically aligned scope and sequence used by hundreds of school districts.

Today, we conclude our examination of the illogical critiques of CSCOPE.  This doesn’t mean that I believe that CSCOPE is above reproach. Far from the case.  It is a useful product that can and should be subject to revision and improvements. But that is a conversation that is best addressed by rational parties and professional educators.

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 10: Some of the lessons in CSCOPE are bad, so obviously CSCOPE, as a whole, is bad.

Response: This argument holds little weight.  Yes, the lessons available in CSCOPE vary in quality.  So do lessons created by individual teachers. It’s a fact of instructional life. However, there is a solution to this and CSCOPE implements this.  CSCOPE reviews lessons constantly and culls weaker lessons (identified by both users and CSCOPE staff) on a regular basis. And CSCOPE itself advises teachers to modify or replace any lessons that do not meet the needs of a teacher’s class.  I have yet to find the perfect instructional resource.  All I need is a good to above average resource that teachers can leverage to improve the day-to-day quality of delivered instruction.  Implemented correctly, CSCOPE is such a resource.  

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 11: Wade LaBay (Director of the CSCOPE project) is an evil genius / incompetent bureaucrat who has hood winked an entire state.

Response: This one is easy. Dr. Labay is a brilliant, hard-working public educator who has dedicated himself to supporting teachers and students.  His parents were teachers, his in-laws were teachers and his wife a teacher. Under his leadership, where less than six years ago there was nothing available, Texas teachers now have on-demand access to TEKS aligned instructional resources. And considering the scale of the project, development costs have been negligible.  The problem facing Dr. Labay and his team is that they made the mistake of believing that if you do the right thing for the right reason, the idiots in the world will appreciate it.  What they are learning is that the World doesn’t really want a better mouse trap, the World just wants to be left alone.  For being so smart, how could they be so naive?    

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number...   And the list keeps going on and get crazier as it does so. For example, "Have you heard that CSCOPE is a Marxist indoctrination plot?" I wish I were making this up.  At this point, I hope I have given you something to reflect on and ammunition if you are called on to defend your decision to provide teachers with the most critical of all instructional tools (a common scope and sequence) for ensuring sustained student performance improvement and teacher success.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations:  TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

It Seems That CSCOPE is the Root of All Evil (Part 3 of 4)

Note: CSCOPE is a vertically aligned scope and sequence used by hundreds of school districts.

Today is Part 3 of our rational response to the irrational critiques of CSCOPE. For the record, I am not an agent for CSCOPE nor do I have any financial connection to CSCOPE.  However, I am an advocate for providing teachers with the resources necessary to be successful in their endeavors.  CSCOPE is one of those resources.  I recognize it for what it is, a screw gun in a world of screwdrivers. Now back to the debate.

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 7: CSCOPE doesn’t give unlimited access to anyone who requests it. What are they hiding?

Response: Yes, CSCOPE has limited access to its resources.  And yes, it is hiding something... its intellectual property.  Open access would allow its competitors to steal and then profit from its work.  We can argue the legal merits of this; there are precedents on both sides.  And honestly, I have argued both sides.  But ultimately, in the current financial environment (created by Perry and our Republican legislators) I see CSCOPE access as a toll road issue. You pay for access, you get access.  You don’t pay, for whatever reason, your access is severely limited.  P.S. - One of the original and primary anti-CSCOPE Loonies, got mad and began her crusade when a district chose CSCOPE over the product she was trying to sell.  Interesting.

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 8: School leaders across the state praise the value of CSCOPE, so obviously there must be a greater conspiracy/agenda at work.  Otherwise, why would they keep harping on cost-savings, collaboration, ESC/school district partnerships, teacher support and student performance, if they weren’t trying to cover something up?

Response:  The reason why an ever-growing majority of school leaders (at all levels) praise CSCOPE is because it actually delivers what it promises.  A vertically aligned, TEKS correlated scope and sequence, with extensive instructional resources at an affordable (essentially free) cost.  The product has improved every year and CSCOPE personnel have been responsive to the needs of districts, campuses and teachers.  If there is a bad guy in this equation, it is the state (see Bush, Perry, et. al.). It has held a gun to the head of schools in the form of accountability driven sanctions while simultaneously reducing per pupil school funding.  In this environment, the only viable curriculum solution has been to adopt CSCOPE as a survival tool.

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 9: Some parents and teachers don’t like CSCOPE. So, obviously it is bad.

Response: I must admit that I don’t know how to counter this argument with a group of people who believe that CSCOPE is the precursor to the U.N. Black Helicopters showing up to take over the country.  Yes, there are parents who don’t like CSCOPE. So what?  CSCOPE follows the prescribed state curricular standards (TEKS).  Public schools can’t opt out of teaching the TEKS. If they do, sanctions soon follow. For parents who don't understand this, home school remains a viable option. As for the teacher half of the argument, it depends on the teacher.  CSCOPE is simply a tool.  A tool that is better than any individual teacher can create on his or her own.  The teacher who has concerns about the sequence of presented content has avenues to address these concern. The teacher who has concerns about the pacing of CSCOPE (of which there are many) doesn’t actually have a CSCOPE issue: that teacher has an accountability issue (see Bush, Perry, et. al.).  And the teacher who just doesn’t want to be told what to teach, sorry, but that teacher needs to quit or move to a different state.  The simple and brutal truth is, like it or not, the rules of the game have been changed.

Tomorrow, we’ll conclude the initial salvos of this discussion.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations:  TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

It Seems That CSCOPE is the Root of All Evil (Part 2 of 4)

Note: CSCOPE is a vertically aligned scope and sequence used by hundreds of school districts.

Today is Part 2 of our examination of the arguments of the Anti-CSCOPE loonies.  To be clear, I would like to point out that I do not confuse the Loonies with reflective professionals who work with and around a useful but admittedly imperfect curriculum tool, of which I count myself a member. But I digress. On with the continuing dissection of the CSCOPE is Evil Manifesto.

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 4: CSCOPE was secretly created without permission from any legislative or executive authority.

Response: First, CSCOPE was not created in secret.  It is the product of a curriculum support collaborative that began in the early 2000s. Early development and use was in East Texas and the Valley.  Then accountability sanctions began to be enforced, which created an overriding and compelling need for improved instructional resources for teachers.  TEA was not in a position to create or produce anything of quality due to its budget and personnel being slashed to the bone (again, Bush and Perry).  As a result, the only entity with infrastructure and expertise was the ESC network.  With both direct and indirect prodding from Commissioners Neeley and Scott, their executive staff, the funding giants (Gates and Dell Foundations) and the legislature, the ESCs reluctantly mobilized.  So the creating of CSCOPE was never a case of the ESCs overstepping their bounds and/or not asking permission.  Instead CSCOPE is a prominent case of a government agency successfully fulfilling a directive and meeting customer demand at the same time. 

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 5: CSCOPE charges for the use of its product and the funds are passed onto a fiscal agent, known only as ESC 13. And the number 13 is central to voodoo, witchcraft and other forms of paganism.

Response: Yes, CSCOPE is a service/product that districts purchase. Do I wish that this wasn’t the case? Yes, but there is nothing wrong and improper about this. It’s just the result of willfully underfunding essential infrastructure (again, see Bush, Perry, the Right). Just as there are publicly owned toll roads (pay for use), contracted law enforcement support (pay for use) and city water and trash pick-up fees (pay for use), the districts that use CSCOPE pay for that right.  And yes, ESC 13 is the fiscal agent for CSCOPE. It is one of twenty Educational Service Centers in the state.  They are creatively named ESC 1, ESC 2, and so on.  ESC 13 serves as the fiscal agent for CSCOPE for two primary reasons. First, ESC 13 already had the necessary staff on hand to manage and perpetuate a large project, for example, a statewide curriculum collaborative. Second, and most importantly, ESC 13 is based in Austin.  So due to simple geography, it was and is in the best position to quickly respond to the every changing demands of TEA, the Legislature and the Governor.     

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 6: School districts have spent millions of dollars on CSCOPE.

Response: Yes, at an annual cost of $7.00 per student, districts have paid millions for the development, delivery and evolution of CSCOPE.  But just like when my wife and nieces buy shoes on sale, this expenditure actually represents a significant cost savings.  Understand that a responsible district is going to spend money to provide a curriculum and resources to teachers. At minimum, this requires four content specialists, a part-time supervisor and one clerical person. The annual salary cost of this department will be at least $315,000.00. These people will work their tails off and deliver a substandard product.  Why? Because the scale of the work is too grand for such a small team.  But for that same $315,000.00 a district can purchase CSCOPE for up to 45,000 students. So let’s do the math.  Take a mid-size district of 10,000 students. An annual per pupil cost of an ineffective curriculum department would start at $31.50 per student. If you want to hire enough staff to ensure decent quality and a usable product, just back up the money truck.

But with CSCOPE as a resource, now that small curriculum department can be eliminated (a horrible idea), or that small curriculum staff can now work directly with teachers on improving the delivery of instruction (a great idea).  The bottom line is this, you can’t not spend money on schools (contrary to current political intent) but you can spend money in an efficient manner that is also beneficial to teachers and students. 

Tomorrow, we’ll address arguments 7 thru 9.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Upcoming Presentations:  TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

It Seems That CSCOPE is the Root of All Evil (Part 1 of 4)

Note: CSCOPE is a vertically aligned scope and sequence used by hundreds of school districts.

I’ve been informally following the anti CSCOPE loonies for a while, mostly for entertainment purposes.  I find the anti-CSCOPE’rs to be a lot like the anti-children vaccination parents who seemingly believe, “Science, research and significant benefits aside, my opinions matter and everyone else should suffer and be put at risk to make me happy.”

Try as I might, I have a difficult time emphathizing with that mindset.  Sadly, like a mongrel dog that won’t give up a bone, these people aren’t giving up anytime soon, so over the next four posts, I’m going to summarize their arguments and provide a response.  Before reading these arguments, it might be helpful to first bang your head against the wall 8 or 9 times to suspend critical thought.

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 1: Smart people and professionals I don’t agree with helped design CSCOPE.  So obviously it is an evil, brainwashing propaganda tool.

Response: Yes, smart people and professionals were and continue to be instrumental in the design of CSCOPE. The resulting tool is the result of this original and subsequently on-going collaboration.  And yes, the tool created by this collaboration of experts (with representatives from the classroom to university hall) is different than what teachers used previously.  That is a good thing. Just like Lipitor, smart phones, and hybrid engines are good things that weren’t available 20 years ago.

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 2: Some of the smart people and professionals who designed CSCOPE can be connected to supporting Pretender Obama, a known Muslim, foreigner and anti-American.  So obviously CSCOPE is an evil, brainwashing, socialist propaganda tool.

Response: Yes, some of the smart people and professionals connected to CSCOPE openly support President Obama.  As did 51% of the country and even 41% of Texans.  And no, the President is not a Muslim (which wouldn’t matter), foreigner nor anti-American. Additionally, the most blatant attempts to politicize curriculum are coming from YOU, so please take a deep breath and slow your roll.  

Anti-CSCOPE Argument Number 3: CSCOPE is tied to the Common Core, which is an overt and obvious attempt to federalize all public schools.

Response: Sadly, for the purposes of your conspiracy theory, CSCOPE predates the Common Core.  CSCOPE is a resource that has been built to better help teachers meet the instructional requirements of TAKS and STAAR and avoid the sanctions of not meeting those requirements. Now here are the juicy ironies.

A. The Common Core is modeled on instructional concepts that were pioneered by the TEKS.  Texas Republicans, Bush and Perry put this into place.

B. The sanctions attached to not meeting accountability standards were put into place, again, by Bush, Perry and the Right.  The tool you hate has been designed to meet the requirements demanded by, enacted for, and supported by YOU.

If there ever was a proof point for the Law of Unintended Consequences (for you), this is it. On the other hand, not only is the tool useful for educators, every year it improves.

Is your head hurting yet? Tomorrow, we’ll address arguments 4 thru 6.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Upcoming Presentations:  TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation and like LYS on Facebook

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of February 3, 2013

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now Twitter users.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of February 3, 2013.

1. Education should not be the place to cut corners if the state wants to achieve its ambitious economic goals. (By @RYHTexas)

2. Inadequate. Inequitable. Unconstitutional. That about says it. (By @Snowmanlearning)

3. I don't mind paying taxes even though I have no kids in school. Keeps me from having to live in a country full of dummies. (By @BKPRADIO)

4. Visited Motley Elem this morning. Lesson frames in every classroom. Also small group purposeful talk. Way to go! (By @LindaHenrie1)

5. Teachers must be experts in the HOW of instruction not the WHAT and WHEN. Frame it and teach! (By @hjgrubbs)

6. Coach S is taking attendance on her phone while monitoring her student's warm-up... in the Power Zone. (By @brandyjbaker)

7. Had a great day with 300 school leaders from Mesquite ISD! Welcome to the LYS Nation!

8. Privatizers try to scare parents into private/parochial schools. Real danger is not supporting public schools for all. (By @TXKidsCantWait)

9. Note how privatizers try to de-professionalize teaching—to justify much lower salaries & no retirement annuities. (By @TXKidsCantWait)

10. For the people who say it's not the gun, it's the person... What if it is both?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations:  TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation and like LYS on Facebook