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9486 in the collection
Central Falls teachers union approves once-rejected plan
Jack Gerson comment:
The Central Falls Rhode Island teachers union and the school district reached a tentative agreement (TA) that apparently will allow teachers to keep their jobs (although they have to "recommit to their jobs and interview with the new principal". They'll have to work longer days, agree to do after-school tutoring, and engage in more "professional development" (aka mind-numbing baloney presented by overpaid and educationally clueless consultants). So here's what happened: the school district threatened draconian measures to stampede the union; Arne Duncan and Barack Obama backed them up; Randi Weingarten (national AFT president) stepped in to broker a rotten deal; and they've agreed to a TA that commits to stretch-out (longer work day) and other measures pushed nationally by the educational deformers of the billionaire boys club (Broad; Gates; Walton et al.)
AFT and NEA need to "recommit" to representing and fighting. The attack on public education needs to be met with coordinated national work actions, led by the national teacher unions. This ought to have taken place when the Central Falls school board first announced its plans to fire all teachers. It's still needed.
By Jennifer D. Jordan
CENTRAL FALLS — Everyone from the school superintendent to President Obama wanted to fix Central Falls High School, where only 7 percent of the students are competent in math and fewer than half graduate in four years.
The teachers union wanted to protect the jobs of its 89 members.
After four months of mass firings, union vigils, nationwide media attention and ugly rhetoric, both sides on Monday appeared to get what they wanted.
The 336 members of the Central Falls Teachers Union "overwhelmingly" ratified an agreement that saved the jobs of every teacher, librarian and guidance counselor at the high school, which serves 850 students. The agreement ends the discord and paves the way for a series of dramatic reforms designed to boost student test scores and graduation rates in one of the state’s poorest cities.
Less than two hours after the vote, the accord drew praise from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the first federal official to support the mass firings of Feb. 23. Days later, Mr. Obama called the firings a "last resort" to fix a failing school.
On Monday, Duncan struck a different tone.
"On behalf of the Obama administration, I salute the administrators, union leadership and teachers in Central Falls and Rhode Island for working through what has been a very difficult period and coming to agreement on a plan to improve their school," Duncan said. "Turning around a high school is very tough work. It is clear from this agreement that everyone is willing to give more in terms of time, training and tutoring."
At a joint news conference on the grounds of the high school shortly after the vote, Central Falls Supt. Frances Gallo called the agreement "historic" and said the rancorous dispute between her and the union had served a useful purpose.
"It got us all to the table and talking about what it takes to move a school, what it takes to build real reform," Gallo said. "Not a minute was wasted."
State Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist, who supported Gallo’s decision to terminate the faculty, said Monday she was pleased both sides had reached an agreement "that's in the best interest of students."
"When we can work collaboratively, that's the right thing," Gist said.
Union president Jane Sessums said she hopes "the rest of the country can learn from our experiences and avoid the pitfalls of mass terminations."
Sessums said her members "overwhelmingly" supported the slate of reforms -- even though they include the exact same six conditions Gallo had asked the union to agree to in February before the teachers were fired.
These include working a longer school day; providing tutoring once a week after school; attending weekly professional development meetings after school; participating in two weeks of training over the summer; eating lunch with students once a week and submitting to more rigorous evaluations.
As she originally offered in February, Gallo will pay the teachers extra for some of these duties -- $30 per hour for 10 days of training in the summer, for a total of $1,800 and a $3,000 stipend for the 90-minutes of weekly professional development. The stipend also recognizes the longer school days the teachers will work, Gallo said Monday.
Talks between Gallo and the union broke down in February, in part over how much teachers should be paid for the additional work. The majority of the 93 teachers, administrators and other faculty at the high school have worked in the district for many years and earn more than $70,000 a year.
This week, Gallo was able to secure more compromises from the union, including the flexibility to assign teachers based on experience, not just seniority, and increased authority for the new principal Gallo hopes to hire next week.
The new principal will be able to design a new schedule and improve the culture of the school, Gallo said.
"In the past, when we wanted to make changes, the contract was an immediate barrier," Gallo said in an interview. "What this agreement does is move that contract aside and give the principal the flexibility to say to his or her teachers, this is where we need to go."
The union also agreed to drop a federal lawsuit fighting the firings and to withdraw an unfair labor-practice charge from the State Labor Relations Board. The teachers will meet with the new principal and participate in a new "intervention" team at the high school to implement reforms.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the union that represents Central Falls, said she does not think the teachers gave too much away during negotiations.
"I think this is a great day for the students and the community of Central Falls High School," Weingarten said in a telephone interview. "We never believed the mass firings were a vehicle for school improvement. Despite a tough process, the collective-bargaining process won out and the agreement deeply respects the experience and the caring of the teachers in Central Falls."
KEY POINTSCentral Falls agreement
Length of day: Increased by 25 minutes
Tutoring: Teachers provide one hour before or after school each week
Professional development: 5-10 days each summer at $30 an hour; expected cost, $1,800 per teacher
After-school time: 90 minutes a week of common planning for annual stipend of $3,000
Teacher evaluations: New system takes effect in September
Job placement: Seniority no longer a factor
Job security: All teachers rehired for next year
Union lawsuit: Challenge to firings is dismissed
TIMELINE Tumult at Central Falls High School
March 17, 2007: Frances A. Gallo, veteran educator and former deputy superintendent of Providence schools, is chosen as Central Falls school superintendent.
2008-2009: Test scores remain a problem as only 3 percent of 11th graders are proficient in math in 2008 and 7 percent in 2009.
November 2009: Gallo begins talks with teachers on her plans to reform the high school.
Jan. 11, 2010: State Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist names the high school as one of the state’s worst and in need of closure or overhaul. Gallo says she already has a plan ready to implement in the fall, which would include a longer school day, more training, more tutoring.
Feb. 1-5: Gallo and union leaders are unable to reach an agreement on pay issues for the extra work. She says the failure is forcing her to switch to a reform model that calls for firing all teachers at the high school.
Feb. 12: Talks between Gallo and the teachers union fail and she proceeds with across-the-board firing plan.
Feb. 23: Board of trustees for Central Falls schools votes to fire teachers; move earns praise from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
March 1: President Obama singles out Central Falls High School as an example of failing school where teachers have been fired as a last resort to improve the school.
March 2: Executive council of national AFL-CIO condemns firings.
March 4: Gallo and Jane Sessums, president of Central Falls Teachers Union, agree to resume discussions on how to fix the situation; state Department of Education agrees to hire federal mediator.
March 18: Effigy of Obama is found hanging in classroom at the high school; union says teacher apologizes.
April 28: Union sues to block firings.
May 11: All but two teachers reapply for their jobs, along with more than 800 from outside the Central Falls system.
May 15: Gallo and Sessums reach tentative agreement to resolve the conflict.
May 17: Union ratifies agreement.
— Jennifer D. Jordan
Providence Journal
2010-05-18
http://www.projo.com/news/content/central_falls_agreement_05-18-10_E6IH8TJ_v65.13618042.html
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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