9486 in the collection
Veteran teachers treated unfairly in competitive job market, some say
Comment on Newspaper Site:
Kira Orange Jones, executive director of Teach For America's operations in the New Orleans area, said the organization's mission is "not to fill a teacher shortage, but to be one solution of many that contributes to higher achievement."
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Kira Orange Jones need to tell this to the local teachers who graduate with degrees in EDUCATION and cannot find a placement due to OUT OF STATE graduates WHO WANT TO PLAY TEACHER FOR TWO YEARS and flee, LOL!
I know of at least five local education gradutes who went to the Houston and Atlanta for good teaching positions because both Orleans or Jefferson would not hire them over TFA - the coolies of the education field!
TFA takes jobs from locals and send qualified local teachers to out of state employment.
TFA takes jobs from both new and veteran qualified teachers. THE MOST a TFA person should be doing is a teacher para or support - END OF STORY.
by Sarah Carr
In the most competitive market for job-hunting teachers in New Orleans in recent memory -- perhaps ever -- some worry that veteran educators have received short shrift.
Several teachers who attended a recent meeting at the United Teachers of New Orleans, for instance, alleged the district has discriminated based on age in order to save money.
"People who are proven are being bumped for people who are cheap, " said Maryjane Potts, an art teacher who lost her job due to a consolidation of schools.
But Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas argues that, contrary to public perception, many district principals prefer experienced educators to recent college grads.
"The myth that we are displacing veteran teachers with Teach For America teachers is false, " he said. "It's blown away by the data."
The highly selective Teach For America program puts teachers in schools with large percentages of low-income students for two-year periods.
According to district figures provided last week, of 114 new teachers hired for the school year, 24 came through Teach For America, whose teachers are largely fresh out of college; 13 came through teachNOLA, which recruits a range of professionals to teach in the city; and 77 came through other routes.
Last year, when the RSD central office had a stronger hand in hiring, the district hired more than twice as many new Teach For America instructors.
But some educators argue that no Teach For America candidates should have been hired over veterans who were laid off for reasons unrelated to performance. Of the 187 teachers surplused last spring, 108 found teaching jobs in the region. The other 79 had not found new positions as of last week.
The competition for jobs is also fierce in many surrounding parishes, which face a glut of applicants, in part because of the layoffs in New Orleans. So far Jefferson Parish has hired close to 40 new Teach For America teachers, St. Bernard has hired close to 25 and St. John has hired between 25 and 30. Charter schools in New Orleans, meanwhile, have hired nearly 80. Those numbers do not include returning Teach For America teachers.
"Teach For America flooded the area with a lot of candidates, " said Jeff Nowakowski, spokesman for Jefferson Parish public schools.
Kira Orange Jones, executive director of Teach For America's operations in the New Orleans area, said the organization's mission is "not to fill a teacher shortage, but to be one solution of many that contributes to higher achievement."
"I think it's good that site-based selection is happening (in New Orleans) and that there is more competition than ever, " she said.
— Sarah Carr
Times-Picayune
2009-08-18
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2009/08/veteran_teachers_treated_unfai.html
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