Teacher layoffs high despite stimulus aid
Published: Sept. 8, 2009 at 12:07 AMU.S. stimulus funds have not prevented extensive school layoffs in states with overwhelming budget deficits, education officials said.
In states with manageable budget deficits the stimulus money replaced revenue from local taxpayers, The New York Times reported Tuesday. In those states, many teachers and other school workers who had been laid off were hired back.
In states like Arizona, California and Georgia, however, teachers were laid off (the majority), shuffled into new districts (that i've never heard of in 14 years) or unfamiliar grade levels.
Education experts (Who and credentials please?) said many districts were forcing out strong teachers rather than those of limited effectiveness. Officials are dismissing teachers hired most recently because of union contracts or state laws that protect tenured teachers, Timothy Daily, president of the New Teacher Project, a non-profit organization, said.
He said few districts have accurate systems to evaluate teacher performance. (While the later is true, no body in government or education has come up with the magic system that is both valid, replicatable, and empirically sound. This is the solution to the problem of the day; that everyone claims to be the solution BUT nobody seems able to put forth a plan that will accurately measure teaching ability or progress YEAR AFTER YEAR. Please don't quote the president of some obscure "non-profit" organization with a questionable purpose. The federal prisons are full of them.) In my state, California, the CTA and its "associations" have ruined the profession's status and mishandled millions of dollars in dues. I am no fan. Many of my friends and darnN good teachers and counselors are headed for the unemployment line. ALL because the CTA's blood for money approach to negotiations as disseminated through the locals and in direct violation of their own guidelines for "Associates" to negotiate under. Even still theres no talk of pickets and CTA HAS NO STRIKE AND DEFENSE FUND. THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF RAISING ONE BY RAISING DUES TO NEARLY 100$ a month per member.
Still most usn
"Districts tend to make their problems worse by laying off good teachers and keeping bad ones," (How the hell does he know what the mitigating factors are? UPI has conveniently left them out.) Daly said.
Teacher layoffs also cause class sizes to jump (if their not replaced with low paid substitutes or interns). In Arizona up to 50 students are in many classrooms, and the norm for Los Angeles high schools this school year is 42.5 students per class.
In states with manageable budget deficits the stimulus money replaced revenue from local taxpayers, The New York Times reported Tuesday. In those states, many teachers and other school workers who had been laid off were hired back.
In states like Arizona, California and Georgia, however, teachers were laid off (the majority), shuffled into new districts (that i've never heard of in 14 years) or unfamiliar grade levels.
Education experts (Who and credentials please?) said many districts were forcing out strong teachers rather than those of limited effectiveness. Officials are dismissing teachers hired most recently because of union contracts or state laws that protect tenured teachers, Timothy Daily, president of the New Teacher Project, a non-profit organization, said.
He said few districts have accurate systems to evaluate teacher performance. (While the later is true, no body in government or education has come up with the magic system that is both valid, replicatable, and empirically sound. This is the solution to the problem of the day; that everyone claims to be the solution BUT nobody seems able to put forth a plan that will accurately measure teaching ability or progress YEAR AFTER YEAR. Please don't quote the president of some obscure "non-profit" organization with a questionable purpose. The federal prisons are full of them.) In my state, California, the CTA and its "associations" have ruined the profession's status and mishandled millions of dollars in dues. I am no fan. Many of my friends and darnN good teachers and counselors are headed for the unemployment line. ALL because the CTA's blood for money approach to negotiations as disseminated through the locals and in direct violation of their own guidelines for "Associates" to negotiate under. Even still theres no talk of pickets and CTA HAS NO STRIKE AND DEFENSE FUND. THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF RAISING ONE BY RAISING DUES TO NEARLY 100$ a month per member.
Still most usn
"Districts tend to make their problems worse by laying off good teachers and keeping bad ones," (How the hell does he know what the mitigating factors are? UPI has conveniently left them out.) Daly said.
Teacher layoffs also cause class sizes to jump (if their not replaced with low paid substitutes or interns). In Arizona up to 50 students are in many classrooms, and the norm for Los Angeles high schools this school year is 42.5 students per class.
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The prospects for healthcare reform may be chillier than DC weather, but Democrats in the House and Senate are turning their attention to another warmer but still significant national issue: the increasing number of runaway and throwaway youth who are being forced into prostitution. In response to the growing concerns that desperate, runaway teens will be forced into prostitution in a sluggish economy, Congress is pushing several bills to improve how runaway kids are tracked by the police, fund crucial social services, and prevent teens from being caught in sex trafficking. Here's the gist of what the new legislation is trying to accomplish:
No comments:
Post a Comment