Once again we have had to set up a new SAUSD corruption thread as the last one started to run slow with all the comments on it.
Our schools are in crisis today – not just here in Santa Ana but all over the state. The only thing we know for sure is that we are going to take more budget hits.
I am amazed that the SAUSD hired back all their laid off administrators. How crazy is that? Class sizes are growing, good teachers are laid off, and the union, as usual, is asleep at the wheel.
We will continue to reason through all this here at the Orange Juice blog! We can but hope for the best…
okay. This may sound like a wild idea, but here goes. Have we ever considered asking for volunteers to accept furlough days? I think it might be a good idea, since I know I would be willing to take at least 10 to help save jobs. There is a way that it will not affect your retirement, including your yearly salary (you get the credit even though you don’t get the pay). The district would just have to agree to do this with the state. It is already being done in several districts when teachers want to share a contract and work over 50%, e.g. a 60-40 contract. I would think that there may be some Mom’s who want to have a little more time with their kids, and teachers nearing retirement who may want to ease into it. The jobs saved could be filled by the teachers who would have been furloughed. Anyway, just an idea, that I think might help on a strictly voluntary basis.
#852,
Thinking “outside of the box” will set us free.
Great idea.
NEA and AFT Urge Support for Fired Rhode Island Teachers
By Cynthia McCabe
February 26, 2010 — Teachers and staff at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island were making real progress in improving academics and raising test scores. But this past week, district administrators made national headlines with the now-infamous decision to fire the entire staff of the school. The NEA and the American Federation of Teachers stand together in solidarity with the fired educators and are urging supporters to take action on their behalf.
By signing the petition at http://centralfallskidsdeservebetter.com/petition educators, parents, students, and members of the public call on District Superintendent Frances Gallo to do what is right — work with the teachers instead of scapegoating them, and seek real reforms that help students achieve.
The 74 teachers and support professionals fired are invested in their students and their community, union leaders said. And while they recognize there is still much work to be done, they want nothing more than to stay hard at work and continue the momentum.
In recommending their firing to the Central Falls school board Tuesday, Gallo took the unusual step of blaming the teachers, rather than following a collaborative path to proven reforms that benefit students. As school board members tallied their 5-2 vote that amounted to a humiliating public firing of the educators, teachers packing the room leaned against each other for support and wept.
New federal school reform requirements offer districts four options for turning around under-performing schools. Under the transformation model, educators work in collaboration with administrators. That’s what was under way in Central Falls, until Gallo opted to switch to the turnaround model, by which every teacher is fired at the school.
NEA and AFT leadership and members are working closely with the Central Falls Teachers Union and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals to get the Central Falls administration to return to negotiations and find a resolution to the crisis.
Santa Ana teachers have got to get out on Thursday and join the rally at Kohl’s center on 17th & Bristol at 3:30!! This is a state protest and there will be various meeting places throughout CA. Please go to the SAEA website for more info. Thanks!!
Hey,
Obama’s “insider” choice for Sec. of Education again has shown his inability to make educationally sound decisions. When will WE, who pay his salary, have the ability to fire him for his assinine opines?
GG18 has a good point. The State is broke, the district is broke. Charter schools are sprouting everywhere. How much longer can we keep holding out for more money? This is like a Mexican standoff; nobody’s going to win if we don’t budge.
EVERYONE needs to put some skin in the game. We all could give up a little time, a little money so that we can ALL have jobs.
I want to return to my classroom and stop hearing all the whining about how bad teachers have it.
Try not having a job, then you’ll be grateful to that you can make a decent salary in a decent side of town.
Nothing is ever perfect but it’s insane to keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over and expect a different outcome.
Remember site based management? It was supposed to be a power sharing agreement between teachers, administrators and parents. We still have relics of it here and there but the power still sits with the administrator. We’ve got to re-work this formula. There are teachers who should never be administrators and administrators who should never teach. Let’s re-tool before it’s too late. let’s take ownership of our profession and remember that we’re in it to make a difference. If you don’t like your student population the go some place. Don’t hate your students, remember, they are your bread and butter and should be the reason you get up in the morning.
No one person has all the answers but each one of us carries a small piece of the puzzle that will let us see a new day as educators.
United we stand. Divided we fall.
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2010/03/orange-county-education-community-to-take-to-streets-in-protest/
It is sad that it is only because of unions that the 74 teachers in Rhode Island have to be treated as a group, as if they are all equally effective in the classroom. It would be better for the students and the community if the good teachers could be retained and the lousy ones could be fired. Ditto for Santa Ana.
The problem is who is defining the “good.”
I”ve been saying this since the beginning! Salaries have to be reduced or else you will lose public education in the form it is now. Unions are not helping at all with this and they’re destroying the system that we have. Teachers, the majority of them, will not sacrifice their salaries but as you can see charter schools are popping up everywhere (Waldorf, Montesorri schools) and are being independently run and funded. When will teachers of CA and NEA realize that there needs be more flexibility. Some unionizers claim that we’ve fought for to much to for what we have already and we need to continue fighting, but NEA and CTA if you’re listening we are going to lose it all if you continue not to budge!!
Also Obama has lost my vote! I voted for him and supported him and now he’s backing the firing of 74 teachers good or bad!! I’m voting republican on everything next election so he doesn’t ruin public education! I understand why republicans don’t like him now…
Trex, I’m not sure where you are coming from but your obvious ignorance regarding charter schools is making everything you say suspect. Waldorf and Montesorri schools are private schools that have been in existence for decades, they are not charter schools. Aside from that, I’m not sure what your point is. If you would like to make your point a little more clear, I am willing to listen.
tmare,
Waldorf schools are charter schools, not private. Check this link out… http://www.edutopia.org/waldorf-public-school-morse
My point has always been that Unions need to budge and teachers and administrators need to give up a little in order to save the system that has provided them a life for many years. Obama is looking to break up the unions and shut down schools and at the worst fire without justice whether you’re good or bad. He’s flaunting $900 million in our faces because he knows were addicted enough to take it. If we cut our salaries we could save ourselves and the corruption that will come of this.
Correction
Yes the Waldorf charter schools you see now are not full on Waldorf schools but instead they hold that curricular ideas.
Wilson teacher –
And when will the good taxpayers of Santa Ana get the opportuninty to fire lousy SAUSD teachers? Oops … we’re stuck with the motely lot. At least the good voters get to elect or re-elect a president every 4 years.
Remember that charter schools are public schools. Charter schools will flourish because of the ridiculous policies and mandates we as teachers are required to follow due to a district administration that is out of touch and state and federal mandates that dictate what and how we teach. It is possible for a group of teachers and parents to wrestle control away from the district by writing a charter. A charter doesn’t necessarily have to pay less to teachers nor is it impossible for charter school teachers to unionize. The major reason why charters exist is because teachers have not been allowed to do what they do best: teach. I don’t think this has to be a bad thing. Years ago, it was supposed to be all about local control, when we lost that, it became necessary to find ways around the dictatorship we currently live under.
Mr/Ms Anonymous, The good taxpayers do have the opportunity to do as you suggest. They simply need to encourage and elect school board candidates whose platform is to fire all of us and make us re-apply for our jobs, if we want to continue to teach here. Arne Duncan and Obama are promising a bundle of federal stimulus money to school districts that do just that. This particular action tipped the balance for me to put President Obama into the fool category.
Another good reason for unions in the workplace:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/03/janitor-facing-eviction-c_n_481057.html
JJ –
Unions, such as SAEA, are a major part of the problem.
#867 – Accountability. It would be swell if teachers were held accountable.
Holding teachers responsible is an assumption that we don’t know how to do our jobs properly! How about holding a doctor responsible for their patient having a heart attack? Never mind they were 100 pounds overweight and ate greasy food everyday. Yeah, there we go…. a doctor is held accountable for all the healthy patients they have. I am amazed by how quickly people want someone else to fix their problem. It makes me sick. First and foremost a PARENT is responsible for THEIR child. If anyone can not see that, then there is no hope for anything else that follows!
teacher I agree with you and your analogy is perfect.
I hope SAUSD reduces the salaries of some teachers. It would be a dream come true, because maybe some of these teachers will retire and realize the gravy train is over.
I heard there was an after school meeting called (announcement was apparently made during 8th period) for Willard teachers. Russo came to talk staff. Does anybody know what this was all about?
nothing good. They are selling Willard (out to the state) for money. Will they fix the problem? no…will those responsible be called to account for it? no. Will Russo get away with it? yes. totally depressed!
Here’s an e-mail sent today from a teacher at Valley High School:
We had an emergency meeting today at 3:00 after school. Valley High, Century High, and Willard Intermediate are designated Persistently low performing by the federal government. We have until June 1, 2010 to submit a plan to restructure the schools and bring performance up. The Fed has given all such designated schools across the country the same deadlines as well as 4 options to choose from for restructuring.
Briefly:
1 Turnaround Model – Dismiss the principal (if on-site more than 2 yrs) and all staff, review all qualifications for staff and rehire not more than 50% as a start
2 Transformation Model – Replace the principal (if on-site more than 2 yrs) increase instructional time, require school improvement activities and more…
3 Restart Model – Close the school and reopen under a charter school operator
4 Closure Model – Just close the school
We are also beginning our preparation for WASC approval and now we are also going to work with the district and the community to pick a plan of action and then write a response to submit by June 1, 2010, as if there was not enough to do during the day…
The district is going to release this information to the press on Monday at 10:00 AM. I thought this would be interesting information to share with all of you.
The announcement was made at Willard right before first lunch about an emergency meeting. We got the news as stated in the above post. The district office didn’t have much information to give us as far as what to expect. Apparently, they know very little. We were told that Jane wanted us all to know before it came out on Monday. I didn’t know she cared………. haha!
So what kind of support did Jane and Juan offer these 3 schools? They raised their class sizes and are now wondering “why” they didn’t do well. What kind of leaders are these 2? = idiots Jane will continue to collect her $241,000 salary + $56,000 perks & Juan will probably give himself a raise for these 3 schools failing. Oh, and why don’t they add “even more” kids to their classrooms, that oughta really offer them “more support”? I am really shaking my head today.
Isn’t it “ironic” that they are taking over these 3 schools the day “after” they found out that CA wasn’t receiving the Race to the Top money? The Turnaround Model includes things like the following:
“Financial incentives, increased opportunities for promotion and career growth, and more flexible work conditions that are designed to recruit, place, and retain staff with the skills necessary to meet the needs of the students in a transformation school.” It’s all about MONEY of course.
Both the Turnaround and Transformation Model include potentially offering “financial incentives, increased opportunities for promotion and career growth, and more flexible work conditions.” The Transformation Model, however, doesn’t require replacing 50% of the staff.
This is all very interesting but what exactly can they do at Willard? It’s not like the staff has been there a long time and have been a failure. The district is the one who has failed Willard, when do we get the chance to fire 50-100% of the district administration?
Description of Intervention Models from the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top Application for Initial Funding (CFDA Number: 84.395A); pages 71-74
Turnaround model:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr09ltrattd1214.asp
Turnaround model? Sooooo much room for interpretation by the school district.
The Turnaround model should make district quite happy. Now they will be able to break union contracts. Now they will be able to squirrel away even more money into bogus accounts. To borrow a phrase: The Turnaround model and greed are good.
Willard’s focus has undergone change, after change, after change with absolutely no attention given to what was done in the past, what curriculum was developed, how past resources were allocated and what actually worked.
A good example is Willard’s AP, Rob Vicario (incredible teacher and excellent AP).
Mr. Vicario’s classes did amazing work. His social studies students produced multi-media presentations that would blow your socks off.
Mr. V also took on a journalism class. Lots of planning, hard work and a good chunk of money was put into redesigning an entire area (including upgrading the wiring) for Mr. V’s journalism class. It was money well spent and it worked.
Change in admin… room was ripped out. Curriculum, equipment, upgrades to the room were ignored. Incoming admin. never even considered building on what was there. It was as if it never existed.
Another example of ignoring previously invested time, money, and talent – Willard used to be cutting edge high tech. All FOUR computer labs were full every day. Teachers would negotiate with other teachers to schedule their classes into the labs. Willard’s tech person kept everything up and running and current.
After district’s budget cuts forced Willard’s tech person into early retirement last year we’re back to the stone age. Equipment all over the place, nothing coordinated, little planning, poor execution, computer system management quickly sliding into the dusty gray bar land of upgrade available but not downloaded.
Are Willard’s students better educated today than 20 years ago? No.
Talented teachers were forced out because they were not “team players” (team player – someone who blindly says yes to the principal even when what they are asked to say yes to is idiotic, unethical, and, in some situations, totally illegal).
Money invested into equipment and developing curriculum abandoned. Incoming admins. were oblivious by choice to anything that had taken place in the past.
Waste, waste, waste!
Anything that has been positive at Willard has come from the staff (classified and certificated) not the principals and certainly not from the district.
to #879
“This is all very interesting but what exactly can they do at Willard?”
New year, new Willard principal, revolutionary ideas and solutions?
“OK gang! Let’s do it for the kids! How about an 8 period day! Now we can have incredible things like electives!”
Flashback – we used to have real electives with real equipment with real, highly qualified teachers.
Flash forward to today: “Teachers! Pick an elective, any elective. We’ll fit it in.”
Funding for equipment and curriculum development necessary? Well, no. Experience necessary? Well, not exactly.
“You can all teach an elective as part of your regular day (in addition to the planning for and teaching of what you were actually hired to teach) at your regular salary! Remember, we’re doing this for the kids!”
If there has been one consistent theme on this blog over the last several years, it is that Jeff Bishop was destroying Willard. Now that he is gone, I guess he skates away and the many teachers who are new to Willard this year are expected to receive the punishment he and SAUSD deserve. This is the danger of allowing the federal government to become involved in education. The federal government can barely manage to clear the snow around the Capitol. It should have no say at all in the management of schools 3,000 miles away. Let’s get rid of No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and even the Department of Education. They are unneeded, and impediments to any meaningful school reform, which can best be done from the local level.
We’re coming across the same problems Rhode Island came across. If the union isn’t flexible then they will just fire all staff. Its a good thing for us newer teachers though because now maybe some teachers will think about retiring before they lose their jobs.
Thank you veteran teachers for now completely ruining the union so we pretty much now have no protection from any form of legislation. Again thank you for pointing fingers and blaming.
#882
You are completely correct. There is no possible way that anyone can blame the teachers at Willard. Do you blame the veteran Willard teachers for their resolve to stay at the school despite the deplorable conditions? Do you blame the large number of teachers who have been there 1-2 years? Watch out everyone, no one is safe at this point as the district will probably decide to shuffle everyone around and many of us who like our school site and are very committed to it may find ourselves at one of these schools in order to make it appear as though something is happening. What if the district never opened up Villa and particularly Mendez? Do you think Willard would be in this mess or is it possible that the opening of so many fundamental schools has only created a dumping ground for the students who don’t have the support or the resources to get into a fundamental school or get out and go to another district or a private school? These are scary times and we need to support our colleagues as much as possible. The state is starting with 100 schools, I’m sure that there are a number of other SA schools that will come up next. The freight train is coming. I’m beginning to think that teachers need to unite and take over their schools through charters. Local control is out, the only way around it is to become a charter.
Trex, if you have a point to make, please make it. I still have yet to see exactly what you think veteran teachers in SA have done to ruin the union or the schools. Do you have anything helpful to add? I’ve done my job as both a committed teacher and resident of SA for over 20 years, I just can’t understand how I have ruined anything.
You have ruined the union because you continually badger the union to fight for your salaries, benefits, buy back days! You guys still do this even when we’re in this recession/depression. You guys just don’t care about anyone else but yourselves and your pockets. You don’t care that there are people in their mid-thirties who cannot find a job and have kids. The union last year voted not to save jobs through pay cuts rather they said “f” the other guy and lay him off. You verteran teachers have shown how selfish you can be and its because of this the union will be broken up. Its happening already so there’s no stopping it, you can continue to complain and ask how you made this union “bad” and point the finger but the reality is its falling apart. It happened in Rhode Island and now its happening to Willard, Valley, and now Century. All I can say is get ready new graduates because there will be jobs.
whoa t-rex! apparently you do not have a house payment, children, or any financial obligations. Have you been in Santa Ana long enough to know what the admin. would do to non-union teachers? I don’t think so, either that or you are not thinking carefully. All teachers do not agree with everything the union does, all three, national, state, and local. Did you read my post about giving up days (furlough) to help the budget situation and keep jobs? Were you around when principals were being escorted out of their offices by police? If we had decent administration and a district that really cared about their students, then we wouldn’t need a union. In what world do you think that is happening in? Certainly not SA, and probably not in many places now. So don’t go thinking that teachers and unions caused all this. Put on your thinking hat and look around you, it’s happening everywhere, in most jobs and in all government jobs. We know there needs to be some reform, but you are placing the blame on the wrong people if you are blaming teachers. I for one, don’t have much say in what the union does except for my vote, which doesn’t come around often. And I certainly do not approve of my money being spent the way it is by CTA. If your wish comes true regarding unions, you will be sorry for what you wished. You’re just trading one set of bad circumstances for an even worse one.
I think it’s time that everyone starts thinking about how they are going to support their colleagues and also get ready for the day when the same thing happens at your own school site. There’s no stopping this train at this point, that much I agree with.
What can we do for each other is a very good question! I was so disappointed by the lack of protesters we had at the rally last Thursday. Whoever doesn’t thinks they are safe from this train wreck is sadly mistaken! It’s coming and it’s coming quickly!
I just received the following email from a colleague at my site:
Ok so our school [Wilson], Willard and Century were chosen to be analyzed/observed by the state on March 17th but now SAEA just sent out email that 3 schools, including Willard and Century, will be “reorganized” for next year because they’re low performing. So are they still walking thru on the 17th? Hmmmm
Trex #886
I don’t give a crap about unions. I know unions are flawed and bad. In fact, I have never been to a union protest.
I really don’t care how the money lands. Its going to screw us (teachers) or help us, no matter what our opinion is.
Money filters through an insane number of layers of government before it reaches the classroom.
It really doesn’t matter what teachers want, need, protest.. etc, at the classroom level.
The teachers’ union has bought space for teachers and education, and I admit that it works. But at the district level, the union is merely there to keep up a charade of compromise.
The district bids low, the union bids high, they agree in the middle, and its supposed to be some compromise.
Nothing the local unions do really matters. Its all manufactured.
Desgraciadamente,
I think the state will STILL do a walkthrough at all three schools! For the
following reasons:
1) Once the state has an agenda, it takes a lot to change it.
2) The state may want to check and see what the FEDS. are claiming is
true…and/or the FEDS. are telling the state to confirm.
3) Big Brother loves to say: “I told you so.”
Hey, IF the FEDS. and the state really want change, and they believe it is
“the teachers’ fault”. Why not simplify everything? Simply take all the
“wonderful teachers” at the high-performing schools and transfer them with
the “lowly teachers” at low-performing schools. That would surely show the
truth. According to the FEDS. and the state, the high-performing schools
would become low, because of the low teachers, and the low-performing
schools would become high because of the high teachers. Simply trade all
the teachers in SAUSD with all the teachers in Irvine or Laguna! The
problem(s) would be solved. Of course “they” would never do this obvious
“solution” because it would expose that the true scapegoat is NOT the
teachers.
That being said, good luck to “them” when they fire everyone at a
low-performing school. Do you really think the best and brightest teachers
who are ensconced in a nice school will flock to go teach in a poor facility
with underperforming students/parents and be judged by their test
performance? Hey, let’s trade Barack Obama with René Garcia Préval and see
if Haiti becomes a first world country!
Aside from the 126 or so RIF’s, temporary contracts, and Non re-elects, SAUSD staff is not getting fired at Willard, Valley, or Century. There will be reassignments. The wording in the Race to the Top grant language is “replace,” and the district has assured the staff that is what will take place. Specifically, depending on the remedy selected (with closure not an option), teachers will either be retained at the site or moved into a vacancy at another site.
The sad thing is that the previous suggestion is possible, only with the current teachers in the district. Just trade the fundamental school teachers into the low performing schools and I’m sure all of the problems will be solved. This unfortunate flawed thinking is truly dishonest, but I’m sure it will happen, in part. It will happen because it is a no cost way of putting a check in a box to prove that you’ve doing something.
The choices under consideration are the other three: Turn Around, Transformation, or Charter. Only the Transformation Model, if chosen, bases administrator and teacher retention at the site on student performance outcomes. All current stakeholders will be represented in the coming months as SAUSD considers which model to implement for each site. The Turn Around model requires the screening of staff, permitting up to fifty percent to be retained at the site. All SAUSD certificated staff should be aware that our contract allows the district to transfer us. We all did just receive a notice that we may be subject to reassignments next year. With fifty percent of the staff at two high schools displaced, vacancies will be filled by reassignment. We are all in this boat together…
When asked directly at the meeting, it was stated that each site plan will be developed independently of the others. This means that one could conceivably go Charter, one Turn Around, and one Transformation. It would be a good idea for all of us to be present at the two required hearings that SAUSD’s Board must schedule prior to announcing the models selected.
895
You are exactly right, no one should feel that their position at their school site is secure right now. The cheapest alternative for the district is to basically reassign at least 50% of the teachers at that site to another school. Guess who’s going to those schools? I’m not really sure exactly who, but you can bet it will be the rest of us. Changing the school itself significantly is going to require that the contract for the teachers at that site is essentially different and will require those teachers to work more. I’m not sure how that can be achieved aside from paying the teachers at those sites more. Who is going to want to transfer there? I guess it doesn’t matter, since anyone can be reassigned but I really wouldn’t want a bunch of disgruntled teachers to be transferred to schools that are already having so many problems. It really just cries “scapegoat”. How about addressing the real problems? How about making sure that low income ELL students actually attend preschool, since this is where the problem begins. How about a bit of parent accountability and training? We really have to think way outside of the box because more of the same (changing the schedule, classes, minutes, principal, teachers, etc…) just isn’t the answer and that’s all that this seems to be, more of the same.
Dearest Union: Did SAEA have anything to say about this failed race to the top funding? Did CTA have a recommendation on these measures? Did SAEA consult its membership or rep council before agreeing to the terms that have led directly to the recent actions against these three schools?
This year was proceeding so smoothly- no RIFfing?
Or will this action create a whole new wave of RIFs and has the SAEA been played again??
Our best chance to change this is by electing O’Neil. The Mercer cabal counts the votes, it may like all past ordained elections come in solidly for the SAEA endorsed =Mercer-slate.
It’s been so for years– do something about it at your site.
After posting jibber jabber cartoons mocking Russo, Hammet and Lopez on the SAEA website at union expense, Mercer is not surprisingly no longer taken seriously by these administrators. Indeed, the Mercer cabal is the laughingstock of the District office.
Put O’Neil up or we can expect a dozen more faculties to be threatened with termination. She is taken very seriously because of her expertise on school finance and years of tenacious research into district sleight of hand.
Hey T-Raptor (#891), I think it’s time for you to bail from SAUSD and go charter. It’s what you’ve been secretly craving all along isn’t it? Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were one of those teachers who just show up to collect a paycheck, let the kids run amok and then blame their parents and the union for how crappy this district is.
In a nutshell, the state is competing for “Round 2” of the Race to the Top funds. Their application is due in June & CA must “make changes” before they get this money. What “changes” do they need to make? For one thing, they need to take over 100 schools and prove that the Union is not stopping it. The feds are not giving out the money if they are going to be stopped by the Union….simple as that. Does it make more sense now? What about replacing the Superintendent and her ASSistants instead of the teachers for a “lack of support”????? (Just a suggestion)
I think it could be time for the teachers that do a lot more than just show up for a paycheck to consider going charter. The writing is on the wall. The Feds are now completely entangled in local schools, what a pendulum swing from the era of supposed “local control”.