A Georgia School is Mass Firing

its staff in a "turnaround" model. In this case, the teachers not rehired are eligible for jobs in other schools.

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The 200 employees at Beach High School — including the principal — will work there through the end of the year but will not be rehired for that school, said Karla Redditte, spokeswoman for the Savannah-Chatham County school district.

The teachers can reapply for their jobs but only half can be rehired under federal education law, she said. Staff can also apply for other jobs in the school district.

"It is a sad day for us," Redditte said by phone as she stood outside the 950-student school in south Georgia.

The move is the most dramatic of four tactics allowed by the federal No Child Left Behind law for schools like Beach that consistently fail to meet benchmarks. The Obama administration is offering $3 billion in grants this year to coax struggling schools to undertake one of the four tactics, which also include firing only the principal, converting to a charter school or closing altogether.

Experts estimate the mass-firing tactic is used to turn around 20 to 30 schools in the U.S. annually.

Pretty soon, though, it'll be where staff won't be reassigned but shitcanned totally from their schools. That day is coming--count on it.

Newsweek Recently Posted the Most Anti-Teacher

bunch of crap imaginable and with all kinds of cliches about teachers having lifetime job security because of "tenure" and they can't be fired and all of that other bullshit, which, if the rag had interviewed ME, I would have told them what a joke the hearing process is.

Diane Ravitch also finds the magazine shameful, but magazines like Newsweek have no shame at all.

Shamus Cooke over at Counterpunch notes the coordinated onslaught against teachers and teachers' unions, although the unions really need to be true unions and represent teachers. They all too often collude with school districts, as I learned from bitter experience.

The Proposed Firings at Central Falls, Rhode Island,

happens to be part of a disturbing nationwide trend, which of course has been spearheaded by the White House and Department of Education, which in turn have been influenced by the billionaire boys who know nothing whatsoever about public schools, let alone their purpose.

The poor, with the least amount of resources, are being screwed over as it is; now their children will be relegated to the permanent underclass.

From the column:

What is happening in Central Falls is symbolic of the harm we are perpetuating on students all over the country as the “urban-reform” juggernaut leaves in its wake the closing of community schools, dramatic increases in the drop-out rate, and unprecedented teacher retirements.

Make no mistake, Central Falls is under siege. But its challenges lie not in recalcitrant teachers, poorly prepared students or inadequate parents.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced that 5,000 “underperforming” schools across the country would be closed, as if this draconian solution would cause others to straighten up and fly right.

We have a long history in this country of blaming the least powerful among us.

We tell ourselves that success is the result of intelligence and hard work, and yet we willfully ignore the widening differences in resources, teacher pay, and curricula increasingly found between our suburban and urban schools.

As if firing the teachers and hiring new ones will do one bit of good. Until the students are fired, the "test scores," which measure nothing as it is, won't get better.

Newsweek SHOULD Have Some Shame

over its shameful cover story this week trashing public school teachers, but of course they HAVE no shame.

The piece was nothing but talking points that could have been written by the Eli Broad bunch or the Business Roundtable.

The Education Wars: Another Crock os Shit Article

about the "need" to fire "shitty" teachers, since, as we all know teachers CAN'T be fired because of "tenure."

What a crock of shit, but I thought I'd put this outrage here.

The Education Wars: Boston Schools

Now noises are being made about wholesale firings and school closures in Boston. The difference is the staff wouldn't be fired from the district:

Boston school officials announced yesterday that staff at six schools will have to reapply for their jobs and five principals will be replaced after the schools were listed among nearly three dozen statewide that will probably be declared “underperforming’’ and subject to drastic change.


Overall, 12 Boston schools face being listed as underperforming, slightly more than a third of the 35 schools statewide. The list includes the Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester, long considered a barometer of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s effectiveness in improving the city’s schools over the past 16 years.

The state’s action was the first under a two-month-old law requiring dramatic changes to overhaul the state’s lowest-performing schools. Superintendents will have three years to turn around these schools or face a state takeover.

In announcing the shake-up, Superintendent Carol R. Johnson said the schools must have top-notch staffs to successfully turn them around. She emphasized that staff members are not being fired and that employees not rehired could find work at other district schools.

As at least one commenter on Susan Ohanian's site notes, if you switched the students to a high-performing school, that school would be put on the "list."

Reader Comment: Here's a lead-pipe cinch guarantee. Instead of replacing the teachers and principals, if the students who attend Weston High School or those who attend Acton-Boxboro Regional were moved into the Jeremiah Burke and vice-versa--with no changes in teachers--Burke would be a high-performing school and Weston or A-B would be on the defecate list. . . .

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The Education Wars: Central Falls

Apparently the bad publicity surrounding Superintendent Frances Gallo's union-busting attempt has made her change her mind a little bit.

As Susan Ohanian notes, Arne claims there is "evidence" of schools being "rejuvenated" (I love THAT term--replace older employees with younger ones) after wholesale firings, but he fails to name a single school.

The Education Wars: Central Falls, Rhode Island, Firings

The NEA and AFT have issued a joint statement condemning Superintendent Frances Gallo's actions:

Across the NEA and the AFT, we understand that we all have a role to play in improving the quality of education in our schools. And the teachers at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island—a school you may have heard about in the past few days—are no different:

They know there is more work to do to improve their school, and they have dedicated themselves to helping their students to achieve.

But they face a terrible situation created by a superintendent who has chosen mass firing of teachers rather than following a collaborative path to proven reforms that truly benefit students.

The Central Falls Teachers Union and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals are working hard to get the Central Falls administration to return to negotiations and find a resolution to this crisis. In the meantime, you can make a difference.

By signing the petition, you show that you are calling on the Central Falls superintendent to do what is right—work with the teachers instead of scapegoating them, and seek real reforms that help students achieve.

Thank you.

Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association

Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers

Gallo, as noted yesterday, has backed off a bit, but with her being an administrator, she can't be trusted as far as anybody can pick her up and throw her.

The Education Wars: The AFT Responds to Obama and Central Falls

I might as well put this here in its entirety:

President Obama’s comments today condoning the mass firing of the Central Falls High School teachers do not reflect the reality on the ground and completely ignore the teachers’ significant commitment to working with others to transform this school. We know it is tempting for people in Washington to score political points by scapegoating teachers, but it does nothing to give our students and teachers the tools they need to succeed.

What’s even sadder is that the firings and the President’s comments come in spite of a state report written last April that focused on the high school’s reading and writing proficiency, which have gone up 22 percent and 14 percent respectively over the past two years. Nowhere in the report is there any criticism of teachers’ efforts, skills or dedication to their job or their students. The report does, however, point to problems with constantly changing programs and the instability of school leadership. The report reinforces the fact that, today, teachers are being blamed unfairly for the schools’ problems.

“Because so many programs have been abruptly terminated, many teachers desire a formal program evaluation system to ensure that the strengths and weaknesses of programs are properly examined in the future before changes are made or new programs are implemented. Students share this concern,” the report said.

As for next steps, the report said, “Take the time to celebrate as a learning community the accomplishments, successes and positive changes that have taken place over the past few years.”

Students and teachers at Central Falls High School deserve the best and the fact is that they haven’t gotten it. It is incumbent upon all stakeholders to turn that around, not by mass firings but by focusing together on programs that work and on providing students and teachers with the tools they need to succeed. As Jane Sessums wrote in her Feb. 11 letter to Superintendent Frances Gallo, “We fully support the Central Falls School District adoption of the transformation model for school improvement and encourage your communication of that fact to the Commissioner of Education.”

We ask the Central Falls school district to reconsider the mass firings and attempt to work out a genuine reform plan through a mediator to achieve the best outcome for students and teachers.

Obama, of course, being the neoliberal he is, thought it was just hunky-dory Superintendent Frances Gallo decided to fire all of Central Falls' high school teachers and forcing them to reapply for their jobs.

The Education Wars: "Turnaround" at Chicago Public Schools

Central Falls, Rhode Island, isn't the only school district pushing mass firings of teachers:

"This is a sad day for public education," said Alderman Pat Dowell, who sponsored a one-year moratorium resolution in the City Council. "I don't think neighborhood schools should be punished." Although one school in Pat Dowell's third ward (Mollison Elementary) had been removed from what critics called the 'Hit List', two others, McCorkle Elementary School and Phillips High School were still on the agenda when the vote came in late afternoon.





Bradwell, Curtis, and Deneen Elementary schools and Phillips and Marshall High Schools will fire their entire staff under "turnaround." Although the original agenda called for all of the schools facing "turnaround" except Marshall High School to go to the controversial "Academy for Urban School Leadership" (AUSL), the Board deferred consideration of the Board Reports that would have given the schools to AUSL. All the turnaround schools except Marshall were supposed to be outsourced to the AUSL management company to run the schools.

CPS communications officials confirmed at the time of the vote that some of the AUSL turnarounds had been postponed but had no explanation. Not all of the schools are facing "turnaround." Schneider Elementary School will be phased out, and McCorkle Elementary School will be consolidated into Beethoven school. The De Las Casas Occupational High School will be closed and the students sent to private operators.

Seventh Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson (above) asked the Chicago Board of Education not to subject Bradwell Elementary School, in her ward, to "turnaround." Alderman Jackson had earlier joined teachers, parents, students and the principal of Bradwell in presenting a case that the school should not be subjected to "turnaround" based on the Board's own criteria. Nevertheless, the Board of Education ignored Alderman Jackson's plea and voted unanimously and without debate to approve Ron Huberman's "turnaround" proposal. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.

...

In January 2009, Huberman announced a list of 22 schools facing various kinds of termination. That list had been prepared by Huberman's predecessor, Arne Duncan, who had been selected by President Barack Obama to become U.S. Secretary of Education. After hearings, Huberman reduced the number of schools on the 2009 Hit List to 16. Schools that protested loudly and effectively last year include Holmes Elementary School, Peabody Elementary School, and Las Casas Occuptational High School. Holmes and Peabody were still off the 2010 list, but Las Casas was back on this list, this time with a different reason for being closed.

I don't see any reversal of this evil trend to destroy public education and thus democracy.

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The Education Wars: The Central Falls Teacher Firings

The union is going to try and appeal the decision by Frances Gallo to fire all of the high school teachers in this tiny Rhode Island district to the city's board of trustees, and of course they are going to fail.

Nobody goes up against school administrators, no matter how corrupt they are. And there is a so-called "Democratic" administration which is cheering on union busting.

I want Obama NOT to get the nomination in 2012. We cannot afford another neoliberal in this country.

Snip:

Jane Sessums, president of the Central Falls Teachers' Union, says union members will be appealing their dismissals to the city's board of trustees. She plans to meet with union representatives and attorneys in the coming days to consider taking other legal steps.

School officials say they will proceed with the firings. No more than half of the teachers fired could be hired back.

The Education Wars: Central Falls Wants Scabs for America

We might as well call it what it is: Teach for America is a scab organization, and public school are destined to be little more than daycare centers, with huge turnover, lousy pay, and few benefits.

Unless or until people wake up to what this administration is doing, in partnership with the "venture philanthropists," in destroying American public education. Students need to avoid teaching careers like the plague. The fact they are a dime a dozen is why rogue administrators like Frances Gallo pull the crap they do.

From deep inside the article:

“It makes you feel like all of your expertise, all that you know, any degree you might have, is worthless,” Ms. Evanoff said. “I’ve never been fired from anything, and to be fired, it’s devastating.”

The faculty members have been offered counseling by the district, according to one of the fired teachers.

The Central Falls Teachers Union plans to fight the plan, saying it comes in the middle of a three-year contract.

Dr. Gallo said the district was “looking for partners” like Teach for America to provide teachers for the school, which has also been receiving “résumés from all over the nation” as news of the plan spread.

Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican and a former math teacher, said he supported the board’s decision, calling it “courageous,” and he criticized the union as being an “obstacle” to change.

“We can no longer stand by as our schools underperform,” Mr. Carcieri said in a statement.

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The Education Wars: Hypocrisy by the Administration and the NYT

I hope there would be widespread outrage over what a rogue administrator is doing in Rhode Island, encouraged by an administration which openly despises teachers.

It's exactly like what Ronald Reagan did to the air traffic controllers.

Nonsense in NCLB does NOT overrule teacher contracts.

Snip:

It's crazy. There are about a hundred teachers at this poverty-ridden community school in Rhode Island and if you added their salaries together and multiplied by a hundred you would not be even close to Blankfein's bonus. And even after the school's parents and the teacher's families and loved ones turned out in huge numbers to plead for justice. And even after it has been established beyond all doubt that a perfect correlation exists between a child's economic station and academic achievement as it is measured by standardized tests, these teachers are going to be destroyed.

Destroyed is a strong word but suggest another one for arbitrarily and unfairly taking a working mother or father's livelihood, men and women without stock options and investment portfolios to tide them over until another job comes along. The school's students are living in the most desperate circumstances Rhode Island suffers. But no excuses, dammit! Accountability will be served, as long as you don't summer in a Swiss chalet.

As a teacher in a "failing" inner city high school for 27 years now, I'm as powerless and vulnerable as my brothers and sisters in Rhode Island, but a warning to those hurting people whose only sin is to teach the children of the working poor. If you are making these decisions President Obama, then be warned. If you are making these decisions, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, then be warned. If the oligarchs, Gates, Broad, Bloomberg, are making these decisions, be warned. If the banks on welfare or the men of the Business Roundtable are making these decisions, be warned.

The Education Wars: Support for the Central Falls 100

Although I personally think it is a good idea for teachers nationwide to show solidarity with the fired teachers from the Rhode Island high school, the chances of it happening are virtually nil.

After all, in many states it is ILLEGAL for teachers to strike. There are too many scabs wanting teaching jobs for many teachers to risk their own livelihoods to support others.

It was the summer of 1962 and I was seventeen and working as a summer replacement for those steelworkers who were on vacation. I was just out of high school and the world of work was new to me. I was working in the five-stand. It was a huge machine that squashed flat plate steel into thinner rolls at the US steel plant in Pittsburg, California. I turned around suddenly to hear a foreman yell at a worker for moving too slowly and in a fit of anger told him to get the hell out and go home. Head down, the diminutive worker headed out of the five-stand area towards the front of the plant. Word quickly spread among the other workers of what had happened to their union 'brother.' In what seemed like a flash, but was more like an hour the head roller slowly shut down the line as the foreman screamed orders to get back to work. All to no avail.

The other 10 or so workers, including myself--even though I did not quite understand, began to head to the front office. In doing so they gathered other workers along the way--all the other workers--in the sheet metal part of the plant. All of whom initiated what was then called a 'wildcat' strike. Although forbidden by their contract these steelworkers were yelling, screaming and cussing about the unjust dismissal of their fellow union 'brother.' As the leaders of the group went into the front office most others and I stood outside. As a neophyte I listened to the passionate exchanges that were taking place between these men. The bottom line was that they were not going to go back to work until their 'brother' was back at their side on the line. At that time there were three shifts at the five-stand. As my dad and uncles who worked at the plant later told me, all the shifts refused to work until the worker returned. Within two days he had came back with no reduction in pay and the foreman was reprimanded.

What I learned about camaraderie and mutual support of a fellow worker--a union brother-- was burned into my being. I then remembered the many years of union strikes my father endured to fight for better working conditions and more just benefits and hourly salaries At those hard times when he would work two or three other jobs to make ends meet while on strike.

As I watched the ABC newscast tonight I saw 100 of my fellow teachers from Rhode Island being fired from their teaching and counseling positions. Arne Duncan was quoted as approving of this action. He approved of it! I saw their pain and that of their students. There was no due process for each individual, just a mass firing. The foreman just yelling at them to go home. I immediately recalled what I had experienced over 48 years ago. Although I have taught for over 38 years and am now retired, my soul screamed for justice. There were my teaching brothers and sisters stark and alone.

I think what would happen if the other 6 million teachers, public, private, charter, university and retired refused to teach until these 100 were reinstated? How can we stand by and watch this abomination happen? Where is our outrage and our courage?

The Education Wars: Time to Fire Arne Duncan

This stupid shit thought it was okay that a rogue superintendent fired experienced teachers at a high school, forcing them to "reapply" for their jobs, and never mind the contract.

This bastard is a union buster. And Democrats are praising Obama for destroying public education.

Unreal.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has "applauded" the move to fire every teacher at Rhode Island's Central Falls High School, the Providence Journal reports.

Central Falls, the smallest and poorest city in Rhode Island, is also one of the state's most troubled school districts, with more than half of the students at the high school not making it to graduation.

Union members are fighting for the teachers' jobs, arguing that the move to fire the school's 70-plus teachers will harm students. George Nee, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, said at a rally Tuesday that the action was "immoral, illegal, unjust, irresponsible, disgraceful and disrespectful," according to the Journal.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

I hope the union sues the superintendent's and school boards' asses.

The Education Wars

Here is more about the Louisiana class-action lawsuit of teachers who were wrongfully terminated following Hurricane Katrina:

Eleven months after New Orleans Civil District Court Judge Ethel Simms-Julien certified a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 8,500 former employees of Orleans Parish Public Schools who were terminated after the State of Louisiana seized control of more than 100 public schools in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed the decision of the trial court. The three-judge panel was comprised of Judge Edwin A. Lombard, Judge Terri F. Love and Judge Paul A. Bonin.

"After reviewing the record before us, including the petitions, the arguments of the parties, the testimony at the certification hearing and the trial court's reasons for judgement, we find that there was a sufficient factual basis for the trial court to certify this class," Judge Lombard said Thursday.

The case began on October 28, 2005, just two months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orlans and the Gulf Coast when three employees filed a Petition for Injunctive Relief to prevent the Orleans Parish School Board from terminating their employment, claiming a violation of their state-mandated due process and property rights as certified and/or permanent public school employees. The initial plaintiffs included Eddy Loiver, a public school principal; Oscarlene Nixon, a paraprofessional/teacher's aide; and Mildred Goodwin, a custodian. The lawsuit was amended to include the State of Louisiana following the state's takeover of more than 100 New Orleans public schools effective November 30, 2005. Other "State defendants" include the Louisiana Department of Education and its Recovery School District, and the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).

This was an underhanded way to get charter schools and other privatization schemes through. What a dirty thing to do in light of this horrendous tragedy.
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Michael Scott, president of the Chicago Public Schools school board, has committed suicide, it was reported:

The death of Chicago school board president Michael Scott has been ruled a suicide by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Scott was found with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the office. His body was found early this morning at the water's edge of the Chicago River behind the Chicago Apparel Center at 350 N. Orleans along the north branch of the river, police said.

He apparently fell forward after shooting himself, and the gun was found under the body, police sources say.


Scott's family had contacted police Sunday night when he didn't show up after visiting his sister at a South Loop care facility. The relative said he visited his sister regularly on Sundays and described him as a creature of habit. He was last seen about 6 p.m.

The Education Wars II

A veteran teacher of some 37 years was shitcanned because she blew the whistle; however, unlike most she prevailed in court with an award:

Heights elementary schools, filed and recently won a lawsuit against the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners on counts of constructive discharge and breach of contract.

Dunston received compensation in the amounts of $183,000 for constructive discharge while working at Eutaw Marshburn and $110,000 for breach of contract while at Rognel Heights. Dunston was awarded a total of $293,000 but a financial cap on cases of constructive discharge reduced her payout to $210,000.

During her stint at Eutaw Marshburn, Dunston was assaulted twice by a 13-year-old, fifth-grade student, a situation she felt was mishandled by the school. The student was reinstated, she said. Then, the principal reassigned Dunston to another grade over the summer without notification and did not give her training materials. He then fired her because she couldn’t perform those duties, a violation of union guidelines.

When she joined the faculty at Rognel Heights thereafter, Dunston became aware of testing irregularities, which she reported to the Maryland State Department of Education. Upon learning of Dunston’s report, the school’s principal fired her, she said.

Though she expected to be fired for blowing the whistle, Dunston felt compelled to speak out.

“My certification means the same as my driver’s license. I wanted the world to know that these were principals that were supposed to be leaders and yet, they did not do a good job,” she said. And there are many more teachers who feel the same.

"There are many teachers who would like to speak up, who would like to tell but they're scared to tell,” Dunston said. “They're scared to tell because of what happened to me, the retaliation. They fear for their job—everybody needs a job at this point."

That's why so-called "friends" and "colleagues" will lie their asses off in "due process" hearings and even trials. I can't understand the mentality, a sociopath's mentality, really, that says it is okay to lie about a colleague in order to preserve his or her own job.

Dunston's payout is a pittance, really. And even if it is a pittance, the fucking school board is going to waste tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in order to "save" a couple of hundred thousand.

Pay it up, you dumb shits.
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Teachers fired after Hurricane Katrina can keep their class-action lawsuit.
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A fired teacher gets a court-ordered reinstatement, a rarity in this climate, yet the school district officials wonder how they can come up with her back pay.
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The Education Wars

If you are a teacher, you had better watch it if you have a blog, a MySpace account, or a Facebook page. You can be disciplined or shitcanned over it, as at least one teacher found out.

There was a case in Oregon, in southern Oregon, by the way, where an utterly stupid teacher posted content of a "guide for male teachers of teenage girls" and "underage girls." Not only did he lose his job, he got his license revoked.

This was more serious than the Facebook case.

The article pertains to Georgia, but I can think of several of the ten mistakes my school district made when it shitcanned me illegally.

More Drivel

about how it is supposedly difficult to get rid of a teacher because it is so expensive, while targeted teachers are languishing away waiting for their kangaroo hearings.

What a crock. Someday somebody is going to out these bastard administrators--the real problem in public education--and then the public will learn the truth about public education as it is currently in place--little more than rackets for criminality.

There's this letter in response to the article:

The Crime of Teaching Too Long
By Susan Brinchman, San Diego
Letter to Voice of San Diego
July 02, 2009

What is little understood is that the accusations against these teachers are often entirely false - it is a way to get rid of union members, union reps, and older teachers who pull larger salaries. There was an all out war on those groups in the past ten years in SDUSD. The teachers languish at home, waiting for a hearing in a kangaroo court, with charges that range from criminal to those that would cause loss of a credential, completely setup by the district's attorneys and administration. The principals and admins learned how to do this - as a cost-saving measure and way to break the union. It was legal and with the help of the broken legal system, which could cost innocent teachers a hundred or two hundred thousand easily, only to lose, it was a despicable and discriminatory act repeated over and over. The teachers who were taken off the job waited, often, quite upset, when all they wanted was to be back at work and be treated with respect for the good job they were previously doing.

To read about this in depth, buy Janice Howes' The Black Hole in the Blueprint, available on Amazon.com. She is a local, highly successful, talented teacher who was set up to lose her job and credentials. Her crime? Teaching into her 60's.

School districts are cynically using the tenure system as a way to throw out expensive, older teachers, like yours truly, and replacing them with cheapo bimbos. And then, when they hire the cheapo teachers, districts are increasingly denying them tenure, and thus their careers are ruined forever because of nationwide blacklisting. The children, meanwhile, are screwed over because they don't have experienced teachers.

It is becoming increasingly apparent the only teachers whose jobs are safe are those teachers who are politically connected to the district, i.e., they are family members of other school district employees. In other words, school districts are turning into family enterprises, like the mob.

More at this site, operated by somebody who was shitcanned from a San Diego area school district.