Central Falls, RI fires every teacher in HS
 

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — “You’re a coward!”
“You should be ashamed!”
Shouts broke through the heavy silence that had fallen in the auditorium of Central Falls High School.
Supt. Frances Gallo had just recommended that the district’s Board of Trustees fire the entire teaching staff of the city’s only high school, effective at the end of the school year.
Then, as the board’s vice chairwoman, Sonia Rodrigues, read each name aloud, a teacher stood. Some stood in silence, others held back tears.

A few minutes earlier, a resolved Gallo had opened her remarks by lashing out at teachers union leaders who she said had contrived stories “that misinform and twist the truth.” The union, the superintendent said, has distorted what went on in negotiations in “a deliberate attempt to obfuscate the issue of meaningful reform.”
She reiterated the conditions essential to transform the chronically troubled high school, plagued for years with dreadful test scores and a graduation rate of just 48 percent. She wanted the teachers to spend more time with their students and also more time improving their own skills.

Read MOre-----
http://www.projo.com/news/content/central_falls_gallo_02-25-10_7JHIJHB_v81.3a63368.html


I dont even know what to say about the situation. I know they have low test scores, but how will firing the entire school do anything?

Sounds like a "Lean on Me" approach.

They used to call me Crazy Joe but now they call me Batman!

Isn't this what Unions do all the time? Pull employees out to strike as a bargaining tactic? Thus affecting the work of the company.

I think it's selfish for teachers (Unions) to demand extra pay in our economy. I know teachers aren't the highest payed employees, and I have a lot of respect for them. Ninety percent of my friends are teachers or have teaching degrees. But, how many of you out there get paid salary and put in way more than 40 hours a week? I have some friends who work up to 60 hours a week and don't get paid extra because that is part of their job. Teachers have a lot of responsibilities with their students but they want to get paid extra to eat with them once or twice a week? Or to set up tutoring sessions? When I was in high school, or even junior high or elementary, our teachers were always available after school or before school for extra help.

Maybe firing the whole district isn't the right thing, but the Union demanding extra pay isn't the right thing either, especially if it's been proven that they are not doing their job. The article didn't really talk about that. I also hope all those parents supporting the teachers are supporting their children's schooling and aren't letting them run wild, not giving two shits.

Here's another article showing why the school has the performance problem it does.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/24/rho...ef=mpstoryview

This is reminding me of Pump Up The Volume where the principal expelled students with crappy test scores because they were dragging the school's overall average down. It seems to be the same deal here, except it's the teachers that are getting blamed.

Unless they have teachers that know how to teach 1) students for whom English is a 2nd language and probably not consistently spoken in the home and 2) students who most likely don't get enough to eat or are in an overall unhealthy environment at home, they're not going to make any progress. Lowballing them on their pay isn't going to work and isn't going to attract the better teachers that the district needs.

I'm usually on the side of the school board in these disputes, but this is an exception.

Sidebar/ Strikes are usually a last resort action, used when a contract has expired and a new contract settlement not yet reached. The majority of unions have a contractual agreement with their companies not to go on a "wildcat strike" (i.e., a walkout).

Please return to our regularly scheduled program.

Really? You know the graduation rate of a whole city?

Actually, that information wouldn't be too difficult to come by.

In Texas, TEA publishes graduation/retention rates annually. I'm sure other states are similar. If all of Detroit is covered by the same district (looks like most, if not all schools, fall under DPS), then that information would be relatively easy to find.

In the city of Detroit proper, yes. There are many, many school districts in metro Detroit however. An assumption that all teachers who would be friends of someone who is from the Detroit area actually work in Detroit is pretty broad. Regardless, he makes those statements to get people worked up. Additionally, so many people have left the city that it's nearly impossible to figure out what the real graduation rate is. There is no way to follow kids who move out of the district to see if they graduated.

They determine graduation rate by taking the number of freshman and comparing to how many kids actually graduate 4 years later. Where a population is experiencing a significant decline, it's not a valid measure.

As for the original article, it astonishes me that they think this is going to fix the problem. Astonishes me.

Don't get it twisted. This has NOTHING to do with the black community. Or are you one of those ignoramuses who thinks that Blacks and Hispanics are the same?

Oh, I know that MM is just saying these things to get folks worked up. I was just pointing out that it's not impossible to get the information.

And I realize that there are more districts in the metro area (I live in DFW, which takes suburban sprawl to a new level), but it looked like MM was referring to Detroit proper.

I just really see this as cutting off their noses to spite their faces. What teacher is going to want to work for this district? What if they can't hire enough? I think, if I was one of the good ones, I'd be so angry that I'd tell them to eff off if they offered me my job back. Unless I was desperate. Otherwise, I'd probably just move.

Well, given that rombola = madmax . . . .

Thanks Dee. Lol I actually only know one person who works in Detroit and she has a lot of ESL students. She's an amazing person and I'm sure an even better person. My teacher friends are basically Downriver (Suburbs).

Who is rombola? Why does he know personal info about me that I probably posted years ago? And what did he say cuz I completely missed it except for what is quoted?

Madmax

ETA: wow he got banned quickly this time.