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Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 05:25 PM Jun 2012

Recovery School District (NOLA) will lay off almost 200 teachers

http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2012/06/recovery_school_district_will_2.html



The Recovery School District, the state agency that governs most of the public schools in Orleans Parish, is moving to lay off almost 200 teachers. Layoffs at the Recovery District have become an annual occurrence as the district turns more of its traditional schools over to independently run charters, which now educate about 80 percent of students in New Orleans.

Superintendent Patrick Dobard said that 117 employees will be let go as a result of school closings or the dropping of certain grades at various traditional schools. Another 82 employees, he said, will be cut for ineffective ratings on their evaluations.

It's the second year that the district has used teacher evaluations to decide who will lose their jobs, a controversial and growing trend nationwide. District officials said that they will be looking to fill some -- though likely not all -- of those 82 slots with other candidates and could rehire some of the employees being laid off simply because their school is closing or being turned into a charter.




Some good material in the comments:



100+ effective teachers let go... "New" schools such as Carver High School will be staffed with inexperienced TeachForAmerica and TeachNOLA placements that earn significantly less than those teachers being displaced. It's very easy for a population, that pays almost no property tax to support public education, with "their children" in private and parochial schools to comment on the RSD. The replacement teachers, as a rule, live in New Orleans for two year and move on; then a new group of bright-eyed youngsters will lead our classroom and the cycle continues. These survivors, however, will not return to their home areas touting New Orleans in a positive light. Search and find what they say about our city and state!

Public education is now being crafted by a few, almost all with zero educational training but a six-week TeacherForAmerica summer session. Our current state superintendent does not hold a teaching certificate, could not be a school principal, or lead a district, yet he is calling shots with a his TAF mafia. But look at their goals...

ACT testing scores, Advanced Placement courses make for admirable goals, but they do not reflect our culture. Where will these college graduates find jobs? The down-sized Times Picayune? Our leading banking sectors? Our world class business community? John White is paving the way to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, and beyond with his agenda. Where are vo-tech programs? Who will build our houses? Fix the leaking pipes or repair the electrical circuits?

The powerful continue to exploit the racial divide. People of all races, who do make a difference for kids in New Orleans, are being tossed aside. These teachers have known since November they would be out of work, it just too bad the paper decided to tell the news.

The very cynical rebuilding of what was continues.




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