By Susan Du | City Pages
“Theo Olson, a special ed teacher of 16 years, caught heat this March after writing controversial Facebook posts complaining about cell phones, drugs, and the lack of student discipline at Como Park High.
Later, Black Lives Matter St. Paul published extensive excerpts from a private blog Olson had written, which were offered as further evidence he was not qualified to teach non-white students.”
Nicole Thomas | Medium
“A year ago I was appalled to discover, from local news reports, that police had arrested a teacher at my two kids’ school, P.S. 256 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, for performing a sex act on a student. I was concerned about how a person like Mr. Grant could have slipped through the cracks to end up in the front of a classroom. As a parent, I want to prevent any future Mr. Grants from entering my kids’ school or any other school in the city.
Last month, a group of parents joined me to attend a town hall meeting with Chancellor Carmen Farina to ask her questions about follow up from the incident and how to prevent it from happening anywhere again. When I looked into the case, I learned that there are several problems in the system that made this possible, so I wanted to know if the Chancellor is working to fix them.”
Mareesa Nicosia | The 74
“As the principal recounts the story, one of her seventh-graders was playing basketball outside on the playground as students were dismissed from Enrico Fermi School 17 the day before Christmas break last year.
Another student appeared in the waning light of the December afternoon, an eighth-grader who should not have been at the school because he’d been suspended for fighting. The older student approached the basketball player from behind, put a gun to his back, and marched him toward the school amid a throng of students.”
Sharif El-Mekki | Philly.com
“Two weeks ago, Gov. Wolf vetoed a bill that would have helped school principals ensure that our most effective teachers are in classrooms for the 128,000 students who attend the Philadelphia School District. This is a missed opportunity to put the needs of kids over the needs of adults.
House Bill 805 would have permitted district leaders, during layoffs, to furlough teachers who get ‘failing’ or “needs improvement” grades on their annual evaluations. Instead, we’re stuck with the old system – one 44 states have left behind – that forces us to look solely at years served, rather than students served.”
Joy Resmovits | Los Angeles Times
“The fight over teacher tenure in California continues.
On Tuesday, former students who sued over the issue asked the state Supreme Court to hear their appeal of the judicially whipsawed Vergara v. California case.
Meanwhile lawmakers have introduced legislation that one opponent has labeled ‘Vergara Lite’ to change the way California’s educators are hired and fired.
In Vergara v. California, lawyers representing a diverse group of students claimed that the state laws governing the process through which teachers earn tenure and are laid off in reverse order of seniority and the cost of their dismissal hurt students. They argued that the laws were unconstitutional because they resulted in a disproportionate number of ineffective teachers working in minority schools.”
Patrick Wall | Chalkbeat NY
“The struggling schools in New York City’s ‘Renewal’ improvement program serve nearly 6,300 fewer students today than when the program started, a sign that many families are still shunning the schools even as the city spends hundreds of millions to revamp them.
Eighty-one of the 94 schools in the program — or 86 percent — enroll fewer students now than they did when the program launched in fall 2014, according to a Chalkbeat analysis. The schools with high school grades lost an average of 146 students each, with many shedding far more: DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx serves nearly 600 fewer students today than it did in 2014.”
Alejandra Matos | StarTribune
“Two decades.
That’s how long it’s been since the Minneapolis School District was last led by a white superintendent.
But Tuesday that changed when Ed Graff, superintendent of Anchorage, was named the district’s next leader.
Some community members immediately raised concerns about selecting a white superintendent at a time when the district is struggling with a huge achievement gap between white and black students, little diversity in the teaching ranks and complaints of institutional racism.”
Mike Szymanski | LA School Report
“Attorneys representing the students in Vergara v. California filed a petition Tuesday to take the case to the California Supreme Court. Last month the Court of Appeal overturned a Los Angeles Supreme Court ruling in the case, which challenges teacher tenure, layoff laws and dismissal policies.
‘The Court of Appeal flatly got it wrong,’ said Josh Lipshutz, one of the attorneys for the students who claimed they were wrongfully discriminated against by being assigned ineffective teachers because they lived in low-income areas. ‘This is extremely important to the California education system and the children of the state, and we hope the California Supreme Court will see the merits of our petition.'”
Alejandra Matos | StarTribune
“Ed Graff is the new superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, pending the outcome of contract negotiations.
The outgoing head of Anchorage Public Schools was appointed Tuesday night by the nine-member school board in a 6-3 vote. State Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius had also been in the running for the job.
‘I am very excited to be chosen as superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools,’ Graff said through a Skype interview with news media.
His appointment capped a tumultuous 16-month search for the district’s top leader. In December, the board selected Sergio Paez, a Massachusetts educator, but rescinded its offer after allegations of abuse at a school in Paez’ district came to light just days after he was to be named superintendent.”
Jonathan Cetel | PennLive
“Earlier this month, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill designed to protect teachers with a strong track record of performance from being laid off when school districts are forced to furlough teachers in order to cut costs.
Legislation sponsored by Rep. Steve Bloom, R-Cumberland, has the support of an unusually broad coalition of business, civic, and education organizations who, frankly, are embarrassed that Pennsylvania is one of only six remaining states that require seniority to serve as the sole factor in determining layoffs.”