|
|
|
|
April 2010
Hundreds of RI teachers rally to protest policies of Commissioner Gist
Posted Thursday, April 29, 2010
By Jennifer D. Jordan
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Fueled by teacher firings in Central Falls and slashed paychecks in East Providence, frustrations among many of the state’s 14,500 teachers with Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist boiled over Wednesday evening.
“Commissioner Gist, teachers in the state of Rhode Island have trust issues with you,” said Rhode Island Federation of Teachers President Marcia Reback.
During a packed meeting at the Providence Hilton attended by more than 300 teachers, dozens of speakers said they no longer trusted state and district education leaders. They said it would be hard, if not impossible, for them to support the state’s application for a portion of the $4-billion Race to the Top application, which rewards states that embrace radical education reforms.
Rhode Island’s application promises to make it harder to become and remain a teacher and outlines a process that would remove ineffective teachers — proposals that concern many educators.
At the start of the meeting, union leaders connected the dramatic changes Gist wants to make with two rancorous disputes. In Central Falls, the entire teaching staff at the high school has been fired. And in East Providence, the School Committee unilaterally cut teacher salaries. The speakers questioned why state education officials had not done more to prevent or address those situations.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we are a small state and everyone knows everyone else. When one of us is hurt, then all of us are hurt,” Reback said. “You have told me a lot that you respect teachers, and maybe on an individual level you do. But I don’t believe that collectively, particularly when we are organized as a union, you respect us very much,” Reback said, as the audience rose in a standing ovation.
Kelly Vasey, an elementary-school teacher in East Providence, said she would be unable to support the state Department of Education’s application to win up to $75 million in education aid.
“How can RIDE expect the teachers in East Providence, and I’m sure in Central Falls, to put our faith in this proposal when there is no trust between us and the superintendent and the School Committee?” Vasey asked. “We feel that RIDE needs to step up and fix this if we are all going to get on board.”
Gist scheduled a series of public meetings this month to gather input and build goodwill for the application. Her goal, she said several weeks ago, was to win support from 100 percent of the state’s teacher union locals. During the first round, only the Foster and Providence locals signed on.
Wednesday, Gist acknowledged it was an unlikely goal and she did not expect teachers in East Providence or Central Falls to endorse the application, given the tension in those communities.
But she urged teachers across the state to embrace the effort, saying “this is a tremendous opportunity to bring resources into our state.”
Officials also sought to address why the department is taking a more active role in Central Falls, including paying for a mediator, but is unable to do so in other cases.
The state and federal governments pay to operate Central Falls schools and the state Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education appoints the chairperson of the School Board of Trustees, which operates like a school committee. Because of the unique relationship, the department is involved, said Deputy Education Commissioner David V. Abbott.
However, the Education Department must stay out of other district disputes and let them be handled by the state Labor Relations Board or the courts, he said.
Teachers said they were troubled by the new evaluation system education officials plan to roll out over the next couple of years.
Standardized test scores and other kinds of assessments yet to be determined would make up 51 percent of a teacher’s evaluation; grades, writing samples, portfolios, classroom observation and interaction with students, parents and fellow teachers would make up the other 49 percent.
Teachers found to be ineffective two years in a row would lose their jobs. If hired elsewhere and found to be ineffective again for three additional years, teachers would lose their certification, meaning they could never again work in Rhode Island public schools.
Based on feedback that education officials have received, Gist said they will establish a committee that includes teachers, principals and superintendents to help develop definitions of teacher effectiveness and to decide which factors should be included in evaluations.
Wednesday, several teachers said they are worried they will be blamed for factors beyond their control, such as students with family problems, learning disabilities and limited English. Other teachers said they fear they will be blamed for a district’s lack of a curriculum or for budget cuts that reduce their materials.
“Poverty is an issue, and it has to be addressed,” said Debbie Scarpelli, a Pawtucket teacher. “We are there for our kids. But I have kids coming into school who had a brother shot in a drive-by. I have students who arrive from other countries whose first year of formal education is seventh grade. I don’t think it’s fair that only teachers and principals are held accountable for this.”
Adam Satchell, a teacher at West Warwick High School, said he opposes relying primarily on test scores and assessment data to determine student growth.
“It’s almost as though the state is ignoring socio-economic status and … lack of parental support,” Satchell said. “My students receive free and reduced lunch, have behavioral problems and bounce around from town to town. None of my students is on track to graduate. Am I an effective teacher? … Well, one of my fifth-year seniors told me the only reason she came back this year is because she knew I would help her.”
Hope High changes debated
Posted Tuesday, April 27, 2010
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Hope High School students on Monday once again turned out in force to keep their school intact, but this time, school leaders came armed with their own arguments for changing the school’s schedule.
The students, who have become eloquent champions of the school’s reform program, say that moving from four 90-minute periods, called a block schedule, to a six-period day will prevent them from developing the trusting relationships with teachers that have transformed Hope from a failing school to a flourishing one.
“Do you see what Hope has turned us into?” said Julio Diaz, a sophomore. “We’re talking politics. Aren’t you proud that we can talk to grownups? Please, let’s talk this out.”
According to students, the district is trying to impose a cookie-cutter schedule that flies in the face of a state order that directed the once-struggling high school to adopt a block schedule, hire new teachers and split into three smaller learning communities.
Students say they are thriving under the new Hope, pointing to lower rates of suspension, improved graduation rates and steady gains in reading and writing achievement. They described how their teachers have inspired them, how the arts curriculum has empowered them and how their principals have provided a safe, structured environment in which to learn.
But Nicole Onye, the director of high schools, painted a very different picture. Hope, she says, has lost 105 days of instructional time over four years because its classes meet every other day instead of daily. The six-period day, which has been adopted by every other high school, will allow students to take Advanced Placement classes and enroll in college classes.
But students said — and teachers have confirmed — that a block schedule allows a student to take 32 classes over four years compared with 24 under a six-period schedule. Students also said that a six-period day would limit the number of electives, especially in the arts, which make Hope special.
Although Onye praised the positive changes at Hope, she said that the school’s academic performance remained disappointing. Hope’s attendance and graduation rates continue to lag behind the district averages and the school’s SAT scores are not good enough to meet admission standards at either Rhode Island College or the University of Rhode Island.
According to Onye, only 3 percent of Hope’s Arts Academy passed the state math test.
But Hope students said that math scores are abysmal district-wide, with an average of only 11 percent of all high school students achieving proficiency.
“We’ve seen millions of dollars infused into Hope,” Onye said. “Those funds were diverted away from the other high schools. But we did not see the gains we expected.”
Students weren’t the only ones to defend Hope’s current configuration.
Harlan Rich, a member of the East Side Public Education Coalition, urged the School Board to come up with a compromise that would honor Hope’s gains. He also said that the School Department has forbidden teachers to speak publicly about their profound concerns about the changes coming to their school.
And Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith said that the district should be replicating Hope, not taking it apart.
“These schools [including Perry Middle School, which is slated to close] have empowered teachers and students,” he said. “Let’s wait and see if we get a school-funding formula. Let’s roll the dice, and go all in for Hope and Perry.”
AFT president lauds R.I.'s labor/management collaboration
Posted Thursday, April 15, 2010
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The president of the 1.4-million member American Federation of Teachers came calling Wednesday and she liked what she saw.
In her first classroom, Randi Weingarten, the union leader, quickly slipped into Weingarten, the teacher.
“If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?” she asked a room full of eighth graders at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence.
“Go to the moon,” said Jonathan.
“I’d stop war,” Marcas said.
“I want to go back in time,” said another boy.
What time, he was asked.
“Ancient times,” he said. “1887.”
“What steps do you have to take to become an astronaut or a scientist or become president?” Weingarten asked. Finish middle school, one child said. Complete high school, said another. Graduate from college, said a third child.
Weingarten, who is diminutive and soft-spoken, visited Providence Wednesday, not because labor and management are at each others’ throats, but because a superintendent and a union leader are willing to put their disagreements behind them and work together. In fact, it looks like Providence is the first district in the country to adopt this collaborative approach, according to the American Federation of Teachers.
Weingarten toured two failing schools, Roger Williams and Charlotte Woods Elementary, and broke bread with school officials and elected leaders because she heard that this was one district that was trying a fresh approach to the painful and often traumatic work of school reform.
“I’ve been president for two years,” Weingarten said. “I race around the country looking for [schools] where things are working or trying to work. I’m delighted to be in Providence because you are doing both.
“You can’t buy trust,” she said. “It’s earned, not given. If we are going to engage schools, the pivotal piece is collaboration. That’s what you are doing here, and it’s breathtaking. I thank you for having the courage to do it.”
Weingarten’s tour began at Roger Williams Middle School on Thurbers Avenue, a hulking brick edifice historically plagued by dismal test scores, leadership turnover and discipline issues. But Weingarten saw something other than failure. She observed teachers working hard to keep their students engaged and students paying attention.
“I’ve just seen two examples of extraordinary teaching in a school that is one of 5,000 schools that need to change,” said Weingarten, who was trained as a lawyer and later taught history at a Brooklyn high school. “Teachers often get labeled as bad teachers. Walking through these hallways defies that myth.”
After visiting the middle school, Weingarten joined Mayor David N. Cicilline, Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, teachers and elected officials at a student-made breakfast at the Providence Career and Technical Academy, a $90-million high school full of modern technology.
It wasn’t all hearts and flowers, however. Renee Grant-Kane, a second-grade teacher at Charlotte Woods Elementary School, one of the schools singled out for intervention, said teachers are afraid of the forthcoming changes, including a new hiring method that is no longer based on the time-honored practice of seniority.
“Teachers,” Grant-Kane said, “do not get treated as professionals. How can we build morale? Change means working harder. We need teachers to buy in, and they can’t do that if they feel isolated.”
Marcia Reback, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers, said that Providence is trying to shake up the old top-down model of school leadership by inviting teachers to be part of the change.
“There is a great risk in what [Providence School Supt.] Tom [Brady] and [Providence Teachers Union president] Steve [Smith] are doing,” Reback said. “It puts the responsibility on everyone’s shoulders.”
And Weingarten pointed out that it takes more than teachers to turn around a failing school. It takes a uniform curriculum that reflects the state’s standards. It takes meaningful professional training. And it takes using test data to see which children are failing and why.
A few months ago, state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist identified six of the lowest-performing schools in Rhode Island. Five were in Providence and one was in Central Falls. In Central Falls, a breakdown in communication led to a nasty dispute that pitted teachers against the superintendent and ultimately led Supt. Frances Gallo to fire all of the high school’s teachers and staff, effective this June.
Providence, which has a long history of bitter labor-management relations, chose a different path. Brady and Smith agreed to pursue the road not taken. They put aside their considerable differences (including a lawsuit over hiring practices filed by the union) and decided to hammer out a school-reform plan together, as partners.
Although the details have yet to be worked out, both parties have agreed to collaborate on how each of the four schools will be improved. A fifth school is expected to be closed.
Providence schools seek hike of 5 pct. in budget
Posted Wednesday, April 14, 2010
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — In what has become an annual spring ritual, the Providence School Department has proposed a budget where some of its biggest elements — the level of state aid and the city appropriation — are unknown.
The department is recommending a $329.4-million budget for fiscal 2011, which represents a 5-percent increase over the current budget.
According to the School Department’s chief financial officer, Matthew Clarkin, the proposed budget includes a $16.8-million deficit. That budget shortfall, however, could jump to almost $24 million if the General Assembly accepts Governor Carcieri’s budget, which calls for a $7.1-million cut in aid to the Providence schools.
Although there are no guarantees, Clarkin said that City Hall has told the School Department to assume that the city will continue to fund the schools at the same level. Mayor David N. Cicilline and other city officials are pressing Carcieri not to slash aid to cities and towns.
He also said the department’s 2011 budget does not include any savings that would be realized from the proposed closure of Perry Middle School and Feinstein High School.
“We don’t have a number yet,” Clarkin said, adding that school officials will meet on Monday to get an estimate of the savings. Coming up with an estimate is complicated because the department has to figure out how many teachers will be needed, in addition to the cost of busing students to schools outside their neighborhoods.
The School Board will decide whether to close the two schools at its April 26 meeting.
Much of the school budget is absorbed by fixed costs such as salary and benefits, which consume nearly 80 percent of this year’s budget.
According to Clarkin, the district spends $6.6 million maintaining a substitute teaching pool of 204 teachers, which is required by contract to fill vacancies from sick leave and other absences. The proposed 2011 budget sets aside an additional $2.2 million to pay for substitute teachers, a figure Clarkin says more accurately reflects the projected cost.
Clarkin said that the department was able to save almost $700,000 because the city refinanced its pension liability. But that savings doesn’t cover a $1.4-million increase in transportation costs, including a 14-percent proposed hike in the price of RIPTA bus passes, which are used by 2,500 students.
“We didn’t budget for the entire 14 percent,” Larkin said. “We budgeted for 10 percent.”
Although the contract with First Student calls for a 4-percent increase, the School Department is trying to negotiate a lower rate with the bus company. Larkin said, “We’re going back to them and saying, ‘We can’t absorb a 4-percent increase.’ ”
On a positive note, the school district was able to trim $1.3 million in out-of-district tuition, which covers students whose needs cannot be met in the classroom. The savings, Larkin said, represents the School Department’s successful efforts to educate those students within the district.
|
|
