OLYMPIA — Kit Raney has considered Terry Bergeson a friend for 28 years.
They met through the Washington Education Association, and Raney was drawn to Bergeson’s energy and vision for the teachers union.
When Bergeson ran for vice president in 1981, Raney, then a Snohomish elementary teacher, volunteered to help with the campaign.
Raney helped Bergeson successfully campaign for WEA president and for the state superintendent of public instruction three times.
This year, things are different.
Like thousands of educators in the Puget Sound region, Raney is considering taking a no-confidence vote against Bergeson. Citing the superintendent’s continued support of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, several Snohomish County branches of the Washington Education Association are discussing a no-confidence vote for later this month.
Bergeson is up for re-election this fall.
“It’s hard for me not to support her, but I think we need new leadership at OSPI (the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction),” said Raney, president of the Snohomish Education Association. “The WASL is a symptom of the problems with Terry’s leadership. I think that she has blinders on as far as the WASL and has a stay-the-course mentality that isn’t working.”
Local branches of the teachers union in Marysville, Lake Stevens, Edmonds, Snohomish and Mukilteo are among those considering a no-confidence vote.
It’s difficult for Bergeson to consider losing the support of teachers and a union she once led.
“The kids and the teachers, to me, are what my whole life has been about for 44 years of work in education,” she said Friday. “I would feel very sad to get a vote of no confidence.”
This is the first year Washington students must pass the reading and writing portion of the WASL to graduate. In late March, lawmakers and Gov. Chris Gregoire agreed to replace the math portion of the standardized test with tests on individual math courses.
Some teachers don’t want the WASL to be a graduation requirement. They believe the test devours too many resources and puts too much pressure on students and teachers.
“There’s a high level of concern about the amount of money and time it takes,” said Catherine Kernan, president of the Mukilteo Education Association. “It doesn’t really inform your teaching. When you get the WASL results back, the students have already gone on.”
Supporters of the test say it gives diplomas meaning by making sure kids know the basics before they graduate.
The WASL is part of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind plan, which aims to help all kids succeed by toughening standards and requiring more standardized testing.
“There’s no question it’s made our state a better state academically for children,” Bergeson said.
The Washington Association of School Administrators agrees that the WASL has improved student performance. The test has given teachers and students a benchmark to work toward, said Barbara Mertens, assistant executive director of the association.
The WASL is not perfect, Mertens said, but she supports Bergeson’s willingness to change the test over the years. Bergeson said she’s currently working on a plan to help teachers check their students’ WASL progress earlier. She also wants to strike more of a balance between testing and professional development for teachers.
“When you take an individual like Terry Bergeson who’s been the superintendant of public instruction through all of those changes, I don’t think that you can just focus on one thing like the WASL test,” Mertens said. “You have to take her entire leadership contributions over the last 12 years into account.”
Several local Washington Education Association chapters are surveying members now about the possibility of a no-confidence vote. They plan to make a decision in late April.
If the WEA were to decide to issue an organization-wide no-confidence vote, it would likely happen at a May meeting of union leaders from across the state. There currently isn’t a proposal on the agenda, said WEA spokesman Rich Wood.
A no-confidence vote would be a huge blow to Bergeson, but she said it wouldn’t stop her from campaigning.
“It certainly wouldn’t be good,” Bergeson said. “Some people would say it’s just the union, but most people who are out there care deeply about teachers and they’d be afraid that if the teachers don’t trust me, it would make a difference. There’s no question it would make me work three times as hard, but I will.”
The decision to oppose her longtime friend has been tough, said Raney, who has stayed in touch with Bergeson over the years and has had her over for dinner.
Raney is hopeful her stance will help end the state’s reliance on the WASL.
“I just hope it sends a message to the public and to Terry that things need to change,” she said.
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
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