Arne Duncan, former Chicago schools chief, received confirmation from the U.S. Senate to be the country’s new education secretary in January.
Duncan appeals to teacher unions for his willingness to work collaboratively with them. He has also criticized the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as too punitive, a stance that appeals to many teachers who believe the law is deeply flawed. At the same time, school reform advocates see Duncan as an ally. He favors teacher performance pay and has expressed a desire to expand the Teacher Incentive Fund, the federal grant program that helps school districts pay for teacher incentives. He also has a record of closing low-performing Chicago schools and expanding charter schools.
In his seven-year tenure in Chicago, Duncan was able to raise student test scores, graduation rates, and improve teacher quality. Critics argue that test scores increases were not due to Duncan’s leadership. Some parents felt his aggressive closure of ineffective schools was disruptive to kids.
In mid-January, the Galveston ISD school district approved a “voluntary reduction-in-force” plan to allow employees to leave their jobs in exchange for a percentage of their annual salary. Superintendent Lynne Cleveland said she hopes enough employees volunteer their resignations to allow the district to avoid widespread layoffs.
The amount a departing employee receives is a sliding scale depending on his or her years of service with the district. Employees with one to five years of service would receive 1 percent, while those with 20 or more years of experience would earn 10 percent. Employees that want to leave must notify the district by Feb. 20.
Many districts have terminated teachers who post inappropriate photos on social networking Web sites. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, school district is taking a closer look, disciplining or firing teachers that post written material that school district leaders find objectionable.
The district has suspended and plans to fire a teacher who wrote that she teaches “in the most ghetto school in Charlotte,” and described her students as “chitlins.”
Other teachers will face disciplinary actions short of firing for posting questionable images or written material on social networking sites, including one teacher who proclaimed, “I hate my students!”
The district’s code of conduct specifies that teachers can be punished for any unethical behavior or lacivious conduct. The district is working on a memo to remind employees that social network postings must be appropriate.
—“N.C. District to Discipline Teachers for Social-Network Postings,” Associated Press, Education Week, Nov. 19, 2008.
Sixty-five Texas teachers recently earned national board certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Texas ranked 22nd nationwide in the number of new National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) and 24th in the total number of teachers who’ve earned the certification over time (472). Nearly half of the Texas teachers who’ve earned the credential teach in Title I-eligible schools.
The state’s top five school districts in terms of total number of national board certified teachers are Austin (191), Corpus Christi (40), Round Rock (31), North East (19), and San Antonio (18).
Reductions in California’s education budget have hit the state’s school districts hard. Times are so hard that one teacher whose printing budget was cut decided to sell ads on tests to pay for his printing costs.
Tom Farber came up with the unusual idea when his printing budget was cut to $300 per school year. Farber generally spends more than $500 to print tests for students in his calculus class.
Rather than cut back on the number of tests he gives, Farber promoted the idea at Back to School Night in September. Customers, most of them parents, pay $10 for an ad on a quiz, $20 for an ad on a chapter test, and $30 for an ad on a semester final. The messages must be appropriate and in good taste.
When parents buy ads, they often use the space for an inspirational quote. Local businesses have also purchased ad space. One local orthodontist urged students to “Brace Yourself for a Great Semester!” as a plug for his practice.
Farber has sold enough ads to cover his printing costs. Any extra money he collects will go to the math department for other teachers to use.
—“Funds sliced, teacher sells ads on tests,” by Linda Lou, SignOnSanDiego.com, Nov. 22, 2008.
