Staff from a low performing high school in Central Falls, Rhode Island will be, or have been fired. With government bureaucracies, separating fact from fiction is impossible.
“A mediator will lead negotiations meant to avert the mass firing of all teachers from long-troubled Central Falls High School as part of a plan to improve student performance, Superintendent Frances Gallo said yesterday.”
Here’s the key statement, in bold italics, which gives a clue to what’s really going on. Cooler heads will prevail because of the immense goodwill of all parties. Everyone involved must be seen to be reasonable and having “the best interests of the students at heart.”.
Jane Sessums, president of the Central Falls Teachers’ Union, described the meeting as a good start, although its focus was on the qualities needed in the school’s new leadership team, including a new principal.
Sessums said she wants negotiations between officials and the union to start as soon as possible. “As long as we’re talking, we can solve this,’’ she said.”
The problem they’re solving is continued employment in a system which hasn’t worked. The problem is not, again I quote, that “Just 7 percent of 11th-graders tested in the fall were proficient in math. Only 33 percent were proficient in writing, and just 55 percent were proficient in reading. In 2009, more than half of students failed to graduate in four years.”
The solution to the poor performance of the teaching will not be fixed by these steps proposed by the official, Gallo, responsible for the “firings”.
“Gallo said she initially asked the union to accept changes, including a longer school day, a formalized tutoring schedule, additional professional training, and implementation of a program in which teachers would eat lunch with students once a week.”
It will be interesting how the government and union spin will make this seem like a victory for everyone. How will they spin student results? The world wonders.
Cheerio and ttfn,
Grant Coulson
Cui Bono–Cherchez les Contingencies
