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…
It looks like the strike is actually happening. The whole situation is very sad. I can’t help but think that the Capo board intended this to happen from the beginning.
I am sure that SAUSD’s board is keeping a close eye on this strike.
SUASD’s board doesn’t keep a close eye on anything except their cafeteria.
The problem with striking is it will affect the STRS and will cause animosity between teachers, not to mention the students and their families. I have never been through one, however I do not believe in crossing the picket line.
This seems to be the “Year to Bash the Teacher.” Stay strong Capo teachers.
crossing the picket line to what? teacher kids? woah, that’s something you should never cross a picket line for.
I hope unions go away and I hope something like this is put on a ballot.
Striking is never taken lightly. There comes a point where a line does need to be drawn. If the strike manages to get the board’s attention enough to go back and bargain in good faith then the union is accomplishing a lot. If the teachers do not go out on strike on this issue the future of their collective power, their union, will be nonexistent.
http://newsantaana.com/2010/04/22/santa-anas-valley-high-school-to-hold-a-community-meeting-today-at-6-pm/
Fire those Capo teachers!! There are many who want their jobs for half the price!
Hey laid-off-teacher, what goes around, comes around…
Probably not JJ…I was a really good teacher, but because of the union I can’t keep my job! I’ve been screwed already, so what goes around is coming back around to all you tenured teachers who aren’t fighting for good new teachers. Its funny because you know who helped me get my job? I did! Who took my job away?? The union…who is going to keep me out of work for the next 4 to 5 years?? The union.
It is not really the function of tenured teachers to fight for new teachers. That responsibility belongs to the principal who’s job it is to release teachers who lack the competence, passion, and a successful track record of achievement. If a teacher has been around for 15 – 20 years, they should have resume to prove they deserve the higher rung salary. The fact there are so few teachers let go is a function of union that makes the process so difficult, principals who are not particularly good at their job anyways (writing up poor performing teachers being one part), and a district that touts their excellence while doing little to that end.
Case in point, take a look at the front page of the districts web site. “Academic Achievement Abounds” “Celebrate our Academic Success at SASUD”. Below, View the Persistently Low-Achieving Schools presentation. Wait until the next list is published.
The actual fact is that it’s not easy to fire a bad teacher and th process is more complicated and expensive than passing legislation…unions have created a system that strangles the hands of principals and administrators. The only upper hand principals have is letting go of good young teachers. Most young teachers are let go because of budget cuts. There are to many bad teachers protected by this system. There are to many good young teachers without jobs.
Principals hands are tied and most tenured teacher don’t have a resume that proves any student academic success. Most tenured teacher don’t have portfolios that show any data. I know dozens of teacher who don’t hold much of a track record but because the process of firing is so long and expensive there is no way a unsuccesful teacher can be fired.
Just wanted to say that I think the Outsider has said what I have always believed. It is not the “function of tenured teachers to fight for new teachers”. That does not mean that we do not admire and appreciate the dedication of many of the new teachers and that we wish this wasn’t happening! In other fields it is not even possible for employees to fight for laid-off employees and they are not vilified for it. I don’t know one teacher that wished for any teacher to lose their job (rif’s). And I also don’t know one teacher who would fight for a “bad” teacher. We have been, in fact, successful in removing some of those teacher’s from our school. Unfortunately, the district just puts them on paid leave and a year or so later finds them a job at another school. I know that things will change, and should change in regards to the union, and especially the district over time. But please don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. The union can be very important for a teacher, especially when most district and boards are really just interested in their political and economic welfare. It wasn’t always that way, and we will have to regroup to effectively deal with that. Unfortunately these types of changes take far too long to accomplish.
I “feel your pain” laid-off-teacher because I’ve been out of work since June. Although I am an experienced teacher, I don’t have seniority in the district.
Do I think I could do a better job than some of the teachers who are working? Yes. Would I cross the picket line as a “scab teacher’? No.
As Anonymous stated above, the union really does look out for ALL teachers. Is it perfect? No. Does it fit the capitalist creed of laissez-faire economics? Of course not. But I can see the writing on the wall and the days of big, strong teacher’s unions are in my opinion, numbered.
What will replace them? Some sort of competitive based profession where only the numbers matter? How high are your class scores? How many did you graduate? How much will you get paid for each “A” given in your class? How tempted will you be to cheat or to subvert your colleague because you want the bonus really bad?
It’s the old tactic of divide and conquer. Sad to say that it appears to be working.
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2010/04/a-students-perspective-on-education-in-santa-ana/
I crossed those picket lines all 3 days! That was $875 in my pocket! That’s like 7 days at my other district!
Here’s one of our SAHS grads on TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6pwgkDlmjg
Hey Laid Off Teacher-I guess you gotta do what you gotta do-Scab!
Yea I’m a scab when I teach children…just shows where your mind is JJ…
to follow up with SAHS Teacher’s link:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/glomontiel2003/Gloriaharvard.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/glomontiel2003/LaCasaGarciaFlyer.jpg
http://www.causes.com/causes/472691
I just noticed the video posted on the SAEA website with Megan Fox. Do they really think they public is gonna believe that schools are going to go without janitors or nurses??? That video I think made things worse for us…”oh there’s the teachers was laid off”…Megan Fox should have told those little girls that the teachers should have taken a pay cut then they would have been able to keep their class sizes small.
It is disingenuous for the union to complain about the size of the classrooms. The district, for better or worse, maintained a smaller class size for a longer time than most districts. Now or next year it will be where it was years ago, about 31 for the primary according to Ed Codes. There is still a teacher per classroom, nurses, AP and Principals, librarians, computer lab, and a very expensive Gal Friday (TOSA) to help out with administrative functions. The District still pays your union president her full salary. BTW, isn’t anyone concerned that there might be a conflict of interest when your salary and benefits are being negotiated. And when will you be getting your 2010 contract?
I have to agree with the Outsider. We have kept a smaller class size way beyond most other districts. Unfortunately, districts like SA will be more severely affected as class size goes up. As nearly all have stated on this blog, the real problem is cultural/social. It is a lack of ambition, motivation, and value for education. It is not confined to any one community, however in certain areas of the country it stands out more in some communities. IT IS NOT A RACIAL problem, but is being attended to like it is one. Whatever your race, your values are learned from family and close friends. Until we accept that we are just throwing money down the drain. We are not addressing the real issue.
What’s this small class sizes stuff? High school English, math and social science teachers have up to 200 students each day. Some intermediate teachers have up to 240/day, as I was informed when whining about my own piddly 160/day. This is 320, or 400, or 480 student assignments to score, comment on, and record, considering 2 assignments a week. Consider 3 to 4 minutes a paper, all having to be done outside the normal workday. You do the math on that for the total hours. What’s this small classes myth? Is this what you’re seeing in the movies?
Yep, the perception of small class sizes in SA is very relative. When I started at the intermediate level about 17 years ago, my classes were 30-36 (36 being the limit of tolerance and only with an honors class). The size of the classes steadily increased for the last 8 years and not I don’t even know what it is like to have 36 anymore. Forty and up to forty three has become the standard. Be careful when you talk about the entire district because I don’t know anyone in any other district who has tolerated the class sizes I have for the past 8 years. Then they talk about an 8 period day and suddenly instead of 240 kids, you have 280. Has anyone ever tried to grade 280 papers per week let alone even attempt to know the names of 280 kids before the end of the first semester?
so sorry. I should have clarified my class size statement be limited to elementary. that is all that I am really qualified to speak to as I know that intermediate and secondary are way oversized. No need to let me know that will be changing soon (class size in elem.). Fortunately, so will my status . . .to retired! I truly feel for those of you that are and will be dealing with this now and in the future. It’s been bad for many years and only appears to be getting worse.
Ditto to SAHS teacher. I was just referring to the video posted on the union site which showed an elemenary school. Your plight doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. High school needs far more resources than it is getting.
The district is already planning to apply for waivers to go over their class sizes (2011-2012). Get ready for the “great teacher wipe-out” (teachers years 2001-2003). Remember, no one is that safe anymore especially if they are changing hire date to test score status (which many states are going to implement) + evaluation. If half of the 2002 teachers are wiped out already (this year), then they will cut the rest of the 2002 teachers and most likely 2001 folks unless 100-200 folks retire and seriously doubt they will. The administrators will be encouraged to wipe out the the teachers who have put their time in to save the district money by hiring the cheaper (newer teachers). Although I don’t have a crystal ball, I am pretty spot on with most predictions when it comes to EDUCATION. Get ready for larger class sizes, greater expectations, more pressure to race to the top while the 9 leaders sit pretty in a chair with big salaries.
Enough sour talk … everyone come tomorrow (5/13) to “Arts on the Lawn” at Santa Ana High School (unless of course you have a regular job and have to work). All day long students in band, orchestra, dance, choir, visual arts of all types will be showing their art and talents on the lawns of SAHS to VIP’s and to students released from their classes to enjoy a festival day of art. The superintendent will be there, school board members, city council, and probably the mayor of the city! (Parents and community members will probably not be able to take off on a work day — sorry.) No mathematics, English, government, history, or science instruction today! Every classroom will be half empty, so let’s all go out to enjoy the art. And, please, please, please call your congressman and tell him to oppose the funding cuts to our schools, because without a good education, how will our students be prepared to enter an advanced technologically based economy.
SAHS teacher,
Thanks for the story idea!
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2010/05/santa-ana-students-forget-learning-so-they-can-enjoy-the-arts-on-the-lawn/
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2010/05/state-test-scores-show-that-worst-schools-in-the-o-c-are-in-santa-ana/
So last week the Santa Ana H.S. social action club put up posters around campus describing the DREAM
Act, of which astonishingly few of our students have any awareness. The same day the posters went up, site administration ordered them to be taken down.
Yeah, they’re racist..admin are a bunch of hobos
It is my opinion that the District should be using Class Size Reduction money for CSR even though they are not required to. (They’re currently using EIA and other site funds which may or may not be determined to be legal.) At Rep Council tonight, I made a motion that the Council request that the Board of Directors and the Bargaining Team “fight” for Class Size Reduction (and the accompanying jobs and higher student achievement*) by encouraging the District to use CSR money for CSR. I was reminded that members indicated in a survey that wages and benefits were a higher priority than class size, but I’m wondering the following:
Might upper elementary, intermediate, and secondary members agree to make using CSR money for CSR a priority, since CSR money is generated based on the numbers of elementary students in grades K-3? Or would most members prefer that Class Size Reduction money also be available for wages and benefits?
*I am aware that the research is inconclusive regarding the effectiveness of CSR, but most of us who have experienced classes of 20 and 30+ students just learning to read can attest to its importance.
Patricia,
Is SAUSD using CSR money to fund teacher salaries and benefits right now??
I am all for lower class sizes. There are huge discrepancies in class sizes throughout the district. I do not think that fighting for class sizes of 20 to 1 for elementary grades and using district money to do it is wise when the upper grades have to continually tolerate higher and higher class sizes. I have had 43 kids in at least one class for the past three years, it is entirely intolerable. If there is money available and other district resources do not have to be used to lower class size to 20 to 1, go for it. But I am really tired of classes that are over 40.
Seth Liebman represented himself at the RIF hearing & today he got the letter from the judge stating that 24 RIF teachers will be re-instated (after the Board approves it of course on Tues). Seth stated to the judge that the district had made a mistake & allowed interns & less senior teachers stay in positions that more senior teachers (mult subj) could be working in. Congrats to the 24 teachers who will be rescinded. Seth did it all by himself & we’re proud of him!!!!
Please remember that secondary teachers have a prep period that needs to be included in their average class size. That “goose egg” during one period will make a big difference in the overall average.
As for grading time, elementary teachers have to grade math, reading comprehension, spelling, writing, vocabulary, grammar, science, social studies, & ELD for 30-34 students with no prep period.
Let’s see, using the same numbers as SAHS Teacher for grading time, but for only one assignment each week. 4min x 9 subject areas x 32 kids = 1,152 minutes =19.2 hours! Again, no prep period, and we have to plan all of these lessons every day as well.
A prep period is a prep period, it’s not a class and the state of California defines a class as “having students” and does not use prep periods to calculate averages. The district has already had their hand slapped for using prep periods in average class size calculations. I am in no way saying that elementary teachers have it easier than secondary teachers, I’ve taught both. It is not just the amount of work to grade, it’s the fact that you see 43 kids in 43 minutes and you are supposed to know the names of 240 students and actually interact with them. This just isn’t possible and it has reduced many classes into assembly lines and changed teaching practices away from the practices that teachers know are best for students. There is absolutely no sense in trying to rip each other apart, this is what the district and the state count on. We need to support all of our colleagues at any level, elementary and secondary. Everyone works hard under circumstances that are less than ideal.
In addition to my last comment, I have always thought that it wasn’t right that elementary teachers do not have a prep period but I’m not sure how that could be resolved given the constraints of the day and the fact that each student has just one teacher. I do believe that the secondary duty day is a bit longer (but don’t quote me) to account for the prep period.
tmare,
I agree 110%! It just seems that somewhere along the line, all the work that elementary teachers do is overlooked. I am married to a secondary teacher in our district, and the workload and hours are not equal between the two. Elementary teachers put in more hours and have more planning and grading to do. When I have mentioned it to our union rep(s), the response I get is, “If you don’t like it, move to secondary.” Wow! I feel supported!
Yeah, and the intermediate teachers have shorter class periods and an extra class to teach compared to high school teachers. When the high school teachers hear that we teach up to 240 students a day they can’t believe it. Of course, the district wants us to teach 7 classes now with one prep, none of us want to teach up to 280 student a day. The band, choir and PE teachers would end up with over 350 students! I guess with secondary it really depends on the subject area, some subjects require much more writing and projects which are very time consuming to grade.
Yah lets start fighting amongst each other about who does more work because that will lead to good things for schools.
Trex,
Try not to stir things up. I don’t see the recent comments as “fighting amongst each other”, just a polite and enlightening exchange. Elementary and Secondary need to be aware of each others conditions, and I for one, am getting “educated”.
I have to agree with Trex in some ways. It IS really nice for all levels to understand the demands that others are facing and I appreciate that type of exchange, however, I fear that the more frustrated we become, the more we attack each other. I think Trex was just reminding us not to do that. We all live in our own little bubble and it’s a good thing for everyone to understand the bigger picture. This all started with Patricia’s comments regarding class size in the elementary schools and I always want to make sure that everyone knows how hard she fights for the things she believes in. I respect that.
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2010/05/sausd-to-blame-teachers-for-problems-at-low-performing-schools/
It is important that all SAUSD teachers read the post just submitted by Art. I hope that you can all take away from this that now is not the time for teachers to start blaming other teachers. We are all in this together and most of us have fought very hard for our students under difficult circumstances. The current popular mode of operation is to blame the teachers and not focus on the real issues. Until the public is aware of the circumstances that cause low achievement and the government is willing to deal with causes and not symptoms, the climate for teachers will only get worse. This, in turn, only pushes the best teachers away from the most difficult students, a truly sad state of affairs. I often hear questions from my colleagues like, “What did the elementary teachers do that caused these kids to be so low?” Most of the time I respond with a story I heard from a Kindergarten teacher. She says that she has had numerous students who didn’t even know their own real name when they entered Kindergarten, they couldn’t hold a pencil or name any colors in either English or Spanish. This helps me put things in perspective when my intermediate school students are adding on their fingers. It’s tough for everyone. Until we find effective ways to educate parents and provide effective preschool programs for all kids, this will continue. Of course, no politician wants to deal with preschool, the benefits aren’t visible until at least 12 more years, long after the next election.
What this is all bringing to light is the fact that we serve mostly illegal immigrants children. I believe everyone deserves a right to education illegal or legal, but I feel the government is indirectly bringing to light the problems of the system we serve. I feel because of this the public will believe that we serve students who are doomed to fail because their illegal parents only care about work and not education. I hate to say that but that’s what it looks like. It is showing the public that our scores are low because we serve the students of illegal immigrants (most of SAUSD schools are 95% latino). Let me remind you that I am not in favor of deporting everyone. I am just stating what I am seeing from a different stand point.
Hey Trex, where do you get off saying that we serve mostly illegal migrant children? How do you know? Where are you getting you’re numbers from?
Regardless of where our student population comes from, our job is to serve them.
It just so happens that a significant number of these kids come from Spanish speaking homes. Teaching kids who come from diverse backgrounds is challenging but not impossible. it’s done in Europe and many other other places all the time. But California and the OC in particular are so damn xenophobic about teaching bilingualism, multilingualism or worse immersion, that of course these kids fail as do their teachers.
If you want to make the patriotic argument about this is America, blah, blah, blah, you my friend, may win today’s battle but not tommorow’s war.
Hispanic/Latino/Mexican kids are here to stay and they ain’t going anywhere.
What’cha gonna do?
W eare all bitching about the obvious:
* OVERPOPULATION: The District has more kids than it was designed (or capable) to handle. Most facilities are overcrowded and were NEVER intended for these numbers. The requirements of the staff are overextended.
*UNDERFUNDING: We all are feeling the effects of having to do more with less. But, in the SAUSD’s case, there are certain mandates it HAS to meet tomeet inorder to operate, costing EVEN MORE $$.
*DIVERSE POPULATION: This is a politically correct way of stating the obvious: A large number of these kids are english learners. Many parents have little or no idea of the process and or politics of the muncipal school system in the US. Parental involvement is the FASTEST CHEAPEST way to sucess.
So What do we do?????
*OVERPOPULATION: Thin out the ranks. One way or another the facilities need to evolve to accomodate larger numbers. This means year round tracts, alternative education for some, converting larger campuses into learning centers. MAXIMIZING ADA FUNDING!
*UNDERFUNDING: In 2006 there was over $1,000,000,000 (ONE BILLION) in un realized fundin for California schools. put some of the people on Chestnut in charge of this. SCE has 300 engineers availible to teach science two hours per day once a week. Start charging for services. If Johhny can’t pay, then Johnny does’nt play. At some point we’ll decide to scrap the program (the right choice). Encourage work group field trips. The list goes on and on.
DIVERSE POPULATION: Get Mom and Dad involved. Well rested, Well fed kids do better. If kidsin SAUSD cases they get WIC, they should’nt be coming to school hungry if they don’t they should be ready to learn. EXPLAIN THIS AT THE TEACHER LEVEL TO THE PARENTS.
Bill Stinnett wrote a book called: “Think Like Your Customer” Rob Richardson and the other childless members of the board would do well to read it. And practice it.
The problem at SAUSD lies at the district office, not with the teachers. It is the Inatech of public education.