Rhode Island school fires every teacher

[bpwallace49]

Again . . how can the Superintendent have this kind of power? Arent unions designed to specifically PREVENT this kind of use of power?

 

This story sure doesnt smell right . . . . even with an "order" to work 25 minutes more per day doesnt seem like it can be a fireable offense for a state employee . . and the wages seem completely out of whack too . .

[tosberg34]

Again . . how can the Superintendent have this kind of power? Arent unions designed to specifically PREVENT this kind of use of power?

 

This story sure doesnt smell right . . . . even with an "order" to work 25 minutes more per day doesnt seem like it can be a fireable offense for a state employee . . and the wages seem completely out of whack too . .

 

Didn't the article say that the state has special powers for schools that are critically underperforming?

 

Yeah, here it is:

 

Gallo and Gist say they have the authority to make these changes, based on federal education regulations and on state law that allows the state to intervene in chronically failing schools and districts.

Edited February 18, 2010 by tosberg34

[bpwallace49]

http://www.projo.com/education/content/cen...61.3a65218.html

 

This link provides more in-depth analysis. When you look at how this school scored in

2008-2009: Test scores remain a problem at Central Falls High School as only 3 percent of 11th graders are proficient in math in 2008 and 7 percent in 2009.

 

Then you really question both the dedication of the parents and the administration . . . . sounds like they need to hire Morgan Freeman to turn that troubled school around . .

[Jimmy Neutron]

This is simply the state of RI making a power play for extra cash from SecEd Duncan. He has $5 billion in discretionary funds(from the stimulus package) to be awarded to schools/districts/states implementing progressive reforms - especially reforms Duncan himself supports. Closing poor performing schools is one of those things he supports.

 

There is a good article on Duncan in a recent New Yorker.

[irish]

 

I like it.

75k is a ridiculous amount for horrible teachers.

My hometown district's (Northern California) high school teacher salary is 40-65k.

 

Paging our resident teacher - Irish.

 

Very tough conversation to be had when addressing this issue. Obviously, 75K is a huge amount to pay anyone who is not performing the duties up to the very best standards that they should be. I am in my 10th year as a Special Education Teacher in one of the highest paying districts, in one of the best paying states for teachers. I'm at 77K and still have one more big raise coming to me in my 11th year. In regard to the job that I do and what I get paid to do it, my students, their parents and the taxpayers in the town are getting a huge bang for their buck. On a yearly basis, I end up declassifying students because of the efforts put in by me based on the precision used to not only assess areas of deficiency but then in the strategies I use to attack those problem areas and bring them up to par. My plans, teaching methods, presentation and prep/writing efforts when constructing each students' I.E.P are top notch and are used district-wide as a model of how to construct a decisive teaching plan to address the learning/behavioral needs of every student. In my case, I do feel that I do a great job and at this point in my career, I feel that I am making good money for my efforts. However, I know that's not the case in other cities/states.

 

However, I do see bad teachers and bad teaching going on and cringe at the thought of how much money is wasted on those people (most are stuck in the mud older teachers who don't want to change with the times or use new technology and in general don't want to give any effort) and how much time is lost on those poor kids not getting the best education.

 

Not at all what I was saying.

 

My point was I think 75k for bad teachers (A school that graduates less than 50%) is ridiculous. I know fantastic teachers that work in a district where they get capped at 60k WITH a masters, and it's not nearly enough. Teaching is one of the most underpaid and unappreciated jobs in our society.

 

I'm going into teaching in the fall, btw.

 

Good luck in joining the teaching ranks. It would be very difficult to fix the issues with bad teaching and teachers. Paying someone more money (merit pay) based solely on their childrens' ability to score well on standardized testing is absolutely bogus. Someone like me who does a great job and makes a hugh difference in kids' lives/education, wouldn't sniff an extra cent because it'll always be very difficult for my kids to pass being they're so far behind where they should be (age-wise). Another problem with a merit pay system is being that only certain teachers would be getting a boost in salary based on their kids' production, why would any teacher want to help out/work collaborately with their collegues (for the childrens' good) knowing that they're competing with those same people for extra money. Therefore, children lose out and a great deal of teaching success, especially with new teachers, is the sharing of ideas (best practices) to help out fellow educators as we all continue to develop our techniques and strategies.

 

 

Off my soap box for now...

[Big John]

Teachers rehired after agreeing to terms.