Central Falls RI school board lets fired teachers keep jobs; Obama had praised decision to fire them

[Bluebear]

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — A Rhode Island school board has approved an agreement to allow teachers at a troubled high school to keep their jobs after all of them were fired.

The 5-1 decision Tuesday evening by the Central Falls school district board of trustees ends a turbulent chapter that drew national attention to the impoverished city. The February decision to fire every high school teacher drew praise from President Barack Obama, who cited it as an example of accountability.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQe6oVWR8RCYpv36bVIUomkB09NgD9FU57CO0

[Bluebear]

1. updated

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. And the president said . . . .

[Bluebear]

6. :crickets:

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Seriously

[msanthrope]

10. "It worked." The union caved to all demands. Dropped the lawsuit.

The teachers are auditioning for their jobs...

as I point out in the links below, (post 8) Fran Gallo got every single thing she wanted.

I would not tout this as a victory for teachers, but an object lesson on how you'd better have smart people running your union.

[Bluebear]

12. ' you'd better have smart people running your union' - And a President not fighting it.

[msanthrope]

14. Well, you better have a union rep who understands that when you

reject an offer,(as opposed to giving a counteroffer) the other side is under no obligation to give you another offer.

[Bluebear]

15. I'll let our teachers comment on this outcome & their perception. Thank you!

I do know that the majority were upset for the Administration cheering the blanket firings.

[msanthrope]

16. I'd like to hear from a Central Falls Teacher. But they all have essays

to write, and a 5 minute lesson to plan, and an interview to prepare for.

And a longer school day, and tutoring to plan for. No more lunch break--they get to eat with the students. Cripes, when I taught at-risk kids I didn't have to do that!

And I seriously hope, for their sakes, they get better union representation.

[branders seine]

3. sounds like the congressional rapublicans

Obama, the chessmaster, bends over (backwards) to appease, reward, cajole and please them.

Then they give him a big rousing "fuck you!"

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[Starry Messenger]

5. I guess they weren't a bunch of greedy childhaters after all.

You'd never have known it reading here.

[msanthrope]

8. They get to audition for their jobs--the Union and the teachers caved. So the firings worked.....

Look at everything the union gave into----and they still have to apply for their jobs--



Plan to rehire Central Falls teachers is put in place

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 26, 2010

By Jennifer D. Jordan

Journal Staff Writer

CENTRAL FALLS — Eighty-seven teachers at Central Falls High School who were to be fired this summer will keep their jobs once they write an essay, conduct a five-minute lesson and interview with the school leadership team.

The May 15 agreement outlines 17 points, including the six conditions Gallo wanted teachers to agree to in February to transform the struggling school. They include lengthening the school day, eating lunch with students, submitting to more rigorous evaluations, providing extra tutoring to students and agreeing to 90 minutes of weekly professional development after-school and some summer training.

School leaders and teachers have also agreed to collaborate on professional development and on creating a new school schedule. The union agreed to give up the annual “job fair” and instead permit administrators to hire and staff classes based on the quality and experience of the candidates.

Also, the union caved on their lawsuit....

As part of the pact, the union said it would withdraw unfair labor practices complaints it had filed against the school district.

http://peoplesworld.org/r-i-calls-truce-in-war-on-teachers/

[Bluebear]

9. "So the firings worked" - - explain your conclusion? Is this in support?

[msanthrope]

13. You should read the articles that detail everything the union caved on, as cited.

The School District got every single demand they asked for, without going to the trouble of finding new staff. Hell--they got more than they originally asked for.


Every single demand---just by playing chicken.

So the firings worked in that they brought a badly-run union to heel, got more teaching time for the students, and broke the 'job fair' system.

Heck--these teachers have to audtition for their own jobs back--this is not a victory for them.

[laughingliberal]

11. :facepalm: eom

[Starry Messenger]

17. Some further information for the thread.

The agreement passed overwhelmingly on a vote by the Central Falls Teacher's Union and allows roughly 90 teachers who were fired to return to their jobs without having to reapply, according to union officials and Superintendent Fran Gallo."

...

The agreement lengthens the school day by 30 minutes and requires all teachers to spend one hour tutoring each week. Teachers would be required to eat lunch with students once a week, face a more rigorous evaluation system and undergo up to 10 days of professional development every summer and 90 minutes of weekly planning time after school.

Those conditions are similar to but more stringent than the ones proposed by Gallo before the firings.

"I hope the rest of the country can learn from our experience and avoid the pitfalls of mass terminations," union president Jane Sessums said at a news conference announcing the agreement. "Cooperation and collaboration are necessary ingredients in school improvement."

Teachers would receive an annual stipend of $3,000, plus $30 per hour of professional development time.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/16/1189044/central-falls-ri-agrees-to-rehire.html#ixzz0p0J1L4hg

The teachers are being rehired with a "formality" interview and are getting guaranteed pay for the new hours. The old deal that Gallo tried to swoosh past the union did not have guaranteed pay in it for all the time demanded, it was just a promise to try to find money. No one "caved", it was a negotiation, which was what the union was trying to do in the first place.

[msanthrope]

18. "Those conditions are similar to but more stringent than the ones proposed....before the firing"

From the very article you posted, Gallo just got more than what she was asking for originally.

The Union had asked for $90 and hr for development time--they are getting $30, but no pay increase for the longer school day itself. They have to drop their lawsuit. They have to agree to 17 other points.


and they did have to reapply---


"According to the 17-point settlement agreement, all 89 high school teachers and support staff such as librarians, guidance counselors and psychologists were required to reapply for their jobs by May 14, the first step in the rehiring process."

http://www.projo.com/news/content/central_falls_rescinds_terminati_05-26-10_C8I_v44.36639d3.html

This reapplication includes an essay, a performance lesson plan, and an interview with a leadership team....

Sure, you can quote the shorter articles that gloss over the actual points, but the union got hosed. here, I'm going to have to argue that a local paper, like the Providence Journal, might have more in-depth coverage and accuracy than the AP feed.