Since many believe that it doesn't matter to Governor David Paterson what human toll assertive acts on preserving the budget takes on his political career, he today made good on a threat to impound or delay US$750 million in scheduled payments set to go to state agencies and school districts.
New York state is suffering from a budget crisis created in part by the global financial crisis that seems to be easing. the other reason is, well, it's New York state.
The cuts in school payments drew the strongest resistance. Though Mr. Paterson said that most school districts had reserve funds that would allow them to absorb the reductions, he acknowledged that poorer school districts were “going to be a problem.”
But Stephen Allinger, legislative director of the New York State United Teachers union, said many districts had already used up their reserves for the year. Mr. Paterson’s reductions could affect after-school and sports programs, and result in staff reductions, Mr. Allinger said.
And he asked a question about the cuts that seemed to be on many people’s minds: “What does this mean? Is it just late, or are they going to cut it altogether?”
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Enrollment at Jamaica High School has been falling — it was 2,500 a decade ago — and its graduation rate has remained below 50 percent for years, education officials said. Under the city’s proposal, the school will stop accepting ninth graders in 2010 and slowly shrink.
Here's what I find curious about New York City Public Schools facing these issues. It appears to me that they are treated like businesses, without any of the functionality of a business. They are not run as businesses, yet when the students "fail" to perform, and "fail" to graduate, the entire school is told to shut down.
Who judges the performance of teachers? Why are teachers not fired?
Are systems not evaluated, put in place, or are not different management brought in to use inventive ways to manage teachers, grade teachers on performance and encourage changes to the system that improve the educational lives of students? I really don't know. I have never been inside a New York City public school.
In 2000, I was in a relationship with a woman who studied at Columbia Teacher's College and taught in a public elementary school in Harlem. My memory of her comments on teaching there is that the place was a bureaucratic morass.
Can anyone out there point me to people who study education policy for New York? Can anyone guide me to conclusive studies about the issues involving poor performance of city schools, parallels with teaching and student behavior, programs offered, and issues relevant to the rising or falling of a school's ranking in whatever system that New York City uses to rank these schools?
It seems shocking to me that, based on what I know, we can shut down schools here, but not offer much in the way of for-profit educational alternatives for students who might be well on their way to success but allegedly suffering from inattention or failure to be placed in the right courses, programs or schools in New York.
I say that as an assumption, open to being wrong, but I also have a background as a teacher, and I firmly believe that there are no bad students, there are only methods we have not tried yet.
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This post comes from Myra Sawyers, a former teacher and founding member of the Epic Project:
There are people who want to help build better education systems in America. In order to do that, you have to really know what is going on, and it's not pretty. It's actually kind of revolting.
Fewer and fewer qualified talented people are going to leave the profession, because the pay is sometimes not very good, and there are intractable problems.
Teachers take a lot of hits. I know, I have taken a few myself. We endure quite a bit in and out of the classroom. Most people know all about the challenges teachers face and talk about it but that is usually as far as it gets. This indifference has had its impact. Good or bad? The latter, I would argue.
I know there are teachers who are not doing a great job; just like there are doctors, lawyers, corporate executives (did I mention corporate executives?! phew, just checking...) who aren't and need to be fired. BUT (and I must emphasize this), there are far more great teachers then there are bad ones! (I will save that discussion for another time..)
In my many years of teaching in the classroom and on the college level, I have only come across one person who I would consider a "bad" teacher. However, bad publicity is having an impact on attitudes and perceptions. No one I know would disagree that teaching is not a respected profession; which it should be. Many parents and students have done very terrible things to teachers, and teachers have paid dearly(public humiliation, job loss, financial ruin, etc.).
I attached a link to a documentary film that a friend of mine is working on that is exposing "holding centers" for teachers in New York City. These centers are for teachers who have had allegations (true or false) made against them. Someone once called this place "Teachers Git-Mo". Funny? Not really...
Does this shock you? Why is this happening? Should these rooms exist? If a teacher is guilty, shouldn't they be fired? If a teacher is innocent, shouldn't they be put back in the classroom?
If we are going to change the school system and develop models that are really going to have an impact, then we have to pay attention and know what we are dealing with. There are monumental forces that are having a severe (and it's not all good!) impact on our children's lives. If we do not meet these forces head-on and challenge them, they will continue to maintain the status quo and our children and nation will pay the high price.
Oh, and did I mention the drop-out rate in New York is 52%...
What do you think happens to these kids?
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I am excited to participate in this blog and be part of a unique exchange of ideas that are expanding beyond the traditional channels of education reform; moving from academics to the world of social entrepreneurs. I hope my input will bring greater focus to the teaching profession and the need to elevate its status. Now, more than ever, we need to recognize and value teachers and reward them for the significant role they play in our nation’s economic future.
While a classroom teacher, I became deeply aware of the deterioration of the teaching profession. As the need for better education grew, the respect, and power of teachers became significantly less. Teachers became the problem and the scapegoats; we were being held responsible for everything wrong with the system and not having any power to influence the decisions that directly affected our ability to be effective. Then, adding insult to injury, trying to live on an annual salary of $32,000.
In 2004 I started a non-profit for teachers. It is called EPIC (because that is the kind of reform we need). Real and meaningful change to the education system will happen when we start paying greater attention to the teaching profession and its status.
Who in a young person’s life is most directly responsible for their academic success? Studies have shown teachers.
If we are as concerned as we say we are with our nation’s economic future, shouldn’t we be doing all we can to make sure our children receive the best education possible? So many have answered "yes", but it stops there.
EPIC is currently working on developing a pilot project that aims to solve the recruitment and retention crisis in the teaching profession through higher pay. One is already happening in New York, The Equity Project (TEP) Charter. They are paying their teachers $125,000 a year. The EPIC Project consists of individuals who want to expand those efforts into the Public School System.
Isn’t it time teachers made $125,000 a year? Currently, the average salary of a teacher is $31,000. When you look at the amount of education teachers receive, the level of responsibility expected and their value to society and then compare it to other professions, one could argue teachers should be paid much more.
As the only non-profit focusing on this issue, we believe that targeting recruitment and retention through higher pay will significantly transform the profession and the system. In exchange for paying teachers more, teachers will be expected to do more. They will construct curriculum (which is dominated by curriculum companies---curriculum is expensive!), direct school policies, handle administrative duties and be expected to work all year. Most teachers I know want this control especially if they are going to be compensated for it.
To make it possible to pay teachers more, would require a major shift in attitudes and perceptions. It will also challenge us to re-examine priorites and the current role of administration and other forces that have dictated much of what goes on in our school systems. Do they help or hurt education? Are prinicpals necessary? What other forces have caused our schools to suffer?
If the priority is, and always must be, student achievement, then we have to honestly ask ourselves hard questions about what are REAL needs in education. I know that if your give a great teacher a cardboard box, they will build a castle.
Simply put, if we want to give our children the best education to strengthen our nation’s economic future, we must attract the most talented individuals to the profession and keep them. Pay them!
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