Archives for category: Resistance

Two charter school teachers in Durham, North Carolina, write that their schools are closing on May 16 to join the protest against the Legislature’s underfunding of public schools.

Taylor Schmidt and Morgan Carney, teachers at Central Park Charter School, reflect on their school’s advantages and point out:

“As the 10th largest economy in the nation, North Carolina is currently ranked 39th for per-pupil spending. Public school teachers often reach into their own pocketbooks to buy essentials like pencils and copy paper for overcrowded classrooms, nevermind having the financial support to take 95 sixth graders on a bus to a local farm for project work.

“Adding to these challenges is the broken system of creating and managing charter schools in our state, a system that includes our own school. Soon after we arrived at Central Park, structural shortcomings became apparent. Students of color comprised 81 percent of the demographics of Durham Public Schools in 2013, while students of color at Central Park comprised only 29 percent of the student population. Whereas 66 percent of students in Durham Public Schools were eligible for free and reduced lunch, only 7 percent of CPSC students were eligible for the program.

“This realization led to greater clarity: regardless of our intentions, we had become part of the problem of school resegregation. We petitioned the state to become the first charter school to give weighted lottery preference to economically disadvantaged families. We have changed our policies to provide free and reduced-price lunches and transportation assistance. While there is more work to be done, each year the socioeconomic diversity of our student body better reflects the strengths found in the rich diversity of our community and delivers on the mandate for NC charter schools to provide increased learning opportunities for those most in need.

“In 2018, Central Park is arriving at another moment of clarity. We recognize that, despite positive intentions, we are still part of the problem. As a charter school, we play into a system that has strayed from the original goals. The charter school system has been turned into a Trojan horse that severely underfunds our state’s public schools, creates competition for resources, resegregates our schools, and provides blinders to cover the increasing privatization of North Carolina’s educational institutions through for-profit charter schools. The mission of our school, and the original mission of charter schools, forbid us from staying silent on these issues.

“We intend to actively fight against resegregation of schools by race and class in North Carolina. We stand against privatization, vouchers, and for-profit charter schools, believing passionately that we must serve in collaboration and partnership alongside our communities’ public schools.”

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, Funding, North Carolina, Privatization, Resistance, Teachers

Justin Parmenter to N.C. Teachers: Professional Teaching Standards Support Your Right to Speak Out on May 16

By dianeravitch

May 12, 2018 //

North Carolina teacher Justin Parmenter says that some districts have resorted to intimidation tactics to discourage teachers from showing up at the State Capitol in Raleigh on May 16.

But, he writes, North Carolina professional standards encourage teachers to act and speak on behalf of improving working conditions for teachers and students.

He writes:

“On the contrary, the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards actually encourage teachers to be active in their advocacy and work to improve teaching conditions and change policies that negatively impact our profession.

“Take a look at Standard 1 for yourself:

“Teachers lead the teaching profession.

“Teachers strive to improve the teaching profession. They contribute to the establishment of positive working conditions in their school, district, and across the state. They actively participate in and advocate for decision-making structures in education and government that take advantage of the expertise of teachers. Teachers promote professional growth for all educators and collaborate with their colleagues to improve the profession.

“Strive to improve the profession
“Contribute to the establishment of good working conditions
“Participate in decision-making structures
“Promote professional growth”

He recommends that you take a selfie on May 16:

“While you’re at the General Assembly advocating on behalf of your students and colleagues, be sure to get some pictures of yourself. They will serve as useful evidence of your distinguished performance on Standards 1c and 1d.”

Categories Accountability, Education Reform, North Carolina, Resistance, Teachers

E.J. Montini: That 20% Raise for Arizona Teachers Was 100% Bull

By dianeravitch

May 12, 2018 //

E.J. Montini, opinion columnist for the Arizona Republic, explains how Governor Doug Ducey pulled a fast one on the teachers who thought they won a promise from him.

“An analysis by The Arizona Republic – based on the state auditor general’s numbers – indicates that 59 school districts wouldn’t get enough money under the law to give all of their teachers the promised raise.

“In other words, that 20 percent pay hike for all teachers was 100 percent bull.

“Sure, some teachers will get raises, but apparently not all of them and not at the level that was promised.

“In addition, the devastating education spending cuts made for years were not reversed. Support staff salaries were not guaranteed an increase. And there was no moratorium on tax cuts.

“If the RedForEd people want to accomplish their goals they’re going to have to do it on their own.

“With a ballot initiative.

“Perhaps it will be one that has been put forth by coalition of teachers, parents and education advocates led by the Center for Economic Progress.

“The plan, called the Invest in Education Act. would increase taxes for individuals earning more than $250,000 a year and couples earning more than $500,000.

“The wealthy prefer a sales tax

“A group of local CEOs, along with the Chamber of Commerce – people who earn that kind of money – would rather place the tax burden for education on our poorest brothers and sisters by boosting the sales tax.

“They’re prepared to spend a ton of money to fight the income tax proposal.

“(They’d rather do that, apparently, than put the money into public education.)”

They will need to collect 150,000 signatures by July 5 to get the proposition on the ballot. A number of groups and faith communities have offered their help. They say it is a moral issue.

“The protesting educators in the RedForEd movement tried to teach that lesson.

“The governor and Legislature failed the exam.

“They’re going to need a make-up test.”

Categories Arizona, Funding, Resistance, Teachers

Stuart Egan: North Carolina Teachers Will Confront Legislators on May 16

By dianeravitch

May 5, 2018 //

The General Assembly convenes in Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 16.

Stuart Egan writes that teachers will be there to meet them.

On May 16th, teachers in North Carolina will begin to make a stand for their profession and the state’s public schools.

What these teachers and advocates want Raleigh’s lawmakers to understand is that there is a difference between “rewarding” teachers and respecting the teaching profession and the public schools.

A reward is something that is given in recognition of someone’s service, effort, and/or achievement. One could get a reward for doing well on a project or completing a task. Some could look at a bonus check as a reward for accomplishing a goal.

However, NC’s teachers want more than a reward from the General Assembly. They want respect for all of our public school teachers and the public schools which serve a vast majority of our children.

To have respect is to have a deep feeling of admiration for someone because of his abilities, qualities, and value. It is understanding that someone is important and should be taken seriously.

In this highly contested election year, many will be fooled by lawmakers wanting to “reward” the teaching profession with bills that might offer more pay or actually fund a mandate and mistake that for respect. Respect goes much deeper.

That is why teachers and advocates will march and rally on May 16^th when the NCGA reconvenes because it reminds policies makers that there are many stark differences between rewards and respect.

Categories Accountability, Education Reform, North Carolina, Resistance, Teachers

North Carolina: Major Districts Will Close on May 16, Anticipating Teacher Walkouts

By dianeravitch

May 3, 2018 //

Major school districts in North Carolina have decided to close school on May 16, when teachers will mass in the State Capitol. That is the day the General Assembly reconvenes.

There are few states in which the state legislature has been more punitive towards teachers and public schools than North Carolina.

#RedForEd rolls on.

Categories North Carolina, Resistance, Teachers

Arizona: Legislature Passes Budget, Meets Teacher Demands in Part

By dianeravitch

May 3, 2018 //

Tens of thousands of teachers in Arizona went out on strike last Friday, demanding a restoration of deep budget cuts over the past decade and pay raises. The legislature passed a new budget today that fell short of meeting their demands.

The strike may end, for fear that teachers will lose public support if they stay out longer.

”The legislation signed by Gov. Doug Ducey (R) early Thursday did not meet all the demands initially laid out by the groups coordinating the walkout, and some teachers had hoped to keep schools closed until legislators committed to a larger budget. But it was enough progress for union leaders to recommend teachers return to the classroom and prepare for another battle later in the year….

”The budget bill gives teachers a 9 percent pay raise next year, which, combined with a 1 percent raise already given, gets them halfway to the 20 percent hike they have called for. Ducey has promised that the second installment will come by 2020, though that is not guaranteed by the package he signed.

“The plan steers bulk money to districts and gives them the discretion to dole out the raises as they see fit, meaning not all teachers will receive the same percentage pay bump. An analysis done by the Arizona Republic found that a minority of districts under the plan will not receive enough money to give all their teachers 20 percent increases.

“The bill also hikes state spending on schools by $200 million per year more than Ducey originally proposed at the start of the year. Still, it comes up well short of the walkout organizers’ demand that funding be restored to 2008 levels, adjusted for inflation.”

So…the districts will decide who gets a raise. Overall funding remains far below what it was pre-2008.

Are the Koch brothers giving each other a high-5?

Will the teachers remember in November and vote out these scoundrels?

Categories Accountability, Arizona, Funding, Resistance, Teachers

Justin Parmenter: Why North Carolina Teachers Are Likely to Join the Teacher Walkouts

By dianeravitch

May 3, 2018 //

Justin Parmenter, a teacher in North Carolina, explains that teachers in his state have good reasons to walk out, like teachers from West Virginia to Arizona. The state legislature has kept their pay low and failed to fund the schools adequately. At the same time that the Tea Party dominated legislature was administering cuts to schools and teachers, it was cutting taxes for corporations and expanding charter schools.

Consider the facts of the last several years:

NC teachers earn 5% less, on average, than they did before the recession when numbers are adjusted for inflation.
Our state today spends 12.2% less per pupil than it did prior to the recession, ranking 39th in the nation.
Staffing ratios for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers are far below what industry recommends, leaving our students without the social and emotional support they desperately need.
Teachers have lost due process rights, longevity pay, and pay increases for graduate degrees. New hires after January 1, 2021 will not enjoy retiree health benefits.
Legislators removed the cap on charter schools, 173 of which are currently adding substantial fiscal pressure to cash-starved districts.
We’ve lost nearly 7,500 teacher assistants due to state budget cuts, crippling teachers’ abilities to differentiate instruction and manage behavior.
Health insurance premiums have skyrocketed. Teachers responsible for insuring their families now pay an average of nearly $10,000 a year.
The General Assembly implemented a new principal performance pay system, which will result in some school leaders suffering pay reductions of more than $20,000, leading to early retirements.
Despite some progress, a bungled class size reduction leaves schools with unfunded capital needs and almost 7,000 new teaching positions that will be difficult to fill, especially considering the hostile landscape detailed above.

The day of reckoning in North Carolina is May 16, when the Legislature reconvenes.

Expect to see teachers at the State Capitol on May 16.

They will be there to demand that North Carolina make good public education a priority.

Categories North Carolina, Resistance, Teacher Pay, Teacher Shortage

Linda Darling-Hammond on the Teacher Walkouts

By dianeravitch

May 2, 2018 //

Linda Darling-Hammond writes here about the historic protests by teachers now sweeping through red states.

She writes:

“A nation that under-educates its children in the 21st century cannot long survive as a world power. Prisons — which now absorb more of our tax resources than public higher education did in the 1980s — are filled with high school dropouts and those with low levels of literacy. We pay three times more for each prisoner than we invest in each child’s education annually. With an aging population and only three workers for every person on Social Security, the United States especially needs all young people to be well-educated enough to gain good work in the complex and rapidly changing economy they are entering. Without their ability to pay the taxes that support the rest of society, the social contract will dissolve

“Inadequate education funding has created the conditions that make teaching the daily struggle that has finally drawn teachers and families to the picket lines: unmanageable class sizes, inadequate resources and facilities, cuts to essential medical and mental-health school services and more. As child poverty, food insecurity and homelessness have climbed to among the highest levels in the industrialized world (more than one in five live in poverty and in 2014 one in 30 were homeless), schools have been left with fewer resources to address these needs and support student learning.”

Categories Budget Cuts, Funding, Resistance, Teacher Pay, Teachers