Central Falls, Rhode Island teachers face renewed attacks

[Hannah Bell]

Last February 23, 74 teachers and 19 staff members at the high school in the small impoverished town were fired en masse as part of a “turnaround” plan imposed by Central Falls Schools Superintendent Frances Gallo. The firings came after teachers refused to accept demands that would have amounted to tearing up their contract...

A “settlement agreement” ratified May 17 by the Central Falls teachers rescinded the firings...the agreement imposed concessions and attacks on working conditions equal to or perhaps even more drastic than demands the teachers originally rejected...

In recent weeks, the Providence Journal has run several articles attacking the Central Falls teachers for absenteeism and on the results of new teacher evaluations.

In December, an estimated 50 students at Central Falls High School staged a walkout in support of the teachers, sparked in part by the new evaluation process. The student protest began as a reaction against morning assemblies organized by the school administration for the purpose of channeling student discontent into support for the school administration.

Students were not willing to go along...Ashley Castro, a senior, told WHDH-TV that “we want to know why teachers are getting bashed on -- why everything is getting put on the teachers, because the teachers are awesome teachers...”

Gallo issued a statement after the protest, placing full blame for school problems on the teachers, while threatening the jobs of those who are out on leave, stating, “We are working as fast as possible to find highly qualified teachers and long-term substitutes to replace the unusually high and unanticipated number of teachers out on indefinite medical leave.”

The Journal’s complaints about the teachers are twofold: first, that evaluations of Central Falls High faculty conducted this fall ranked 14 of the 81 teachers “unsatisfactory,” and second, that this fall an unusual amount of teachers on leave — including normal sick leave and long-term medical leave — has meant that students did not receive grades in some of their classes...

According to...the school department’s web site, the (new teacher) evaluations are being supported by “a bench of external evaluators and observers” from Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, the New Teacher Project and Mass Insight.

The New Teacher Project bills itself as a “revenue-generating nonprofit organization” that receives funding from the Gates Foundation and includes on its board a partner of the venture capital firm Bain Capital.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/dec2010/cent-d31.shtml


Um -- "revenue-generating non-profit"? where does the revenue go? i assume it comes from the public, but where does it go, bill?

lots of "investors" making money on this useless crap.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. wtf

Morning assemblies organized by the school administration for the purpose of channeling student discontent into support for the school administration.

:wtf:

[Hannah Bell]

2. that caught my eye too. i'd like to know more.

[freshwest]

3. I don't trust Bill Gates and his notions about education.