Another Broad superintendent at work in Philly. Contract a slap in face to teachers. Ed reform...

Last edited Thu Feb 28, 2013, 07:43 PM - Edit history (1)

this is how it is done by the Billionaire Boys Club.

Diane Ravitch posts about the degrading way Philadelphia is treating its teachers and other public employees.

Philadelphia Insults Its Teachers and Other Employees

Philadelphia’s Broad-trained Superintendent William Hite offered the district’s employees an insulting contract: pay cuts up to 13%, benefit cuts, longer school days, and no pay increases until 2017. After 2017, any increases would be “performance-based,” dependent on the principal’s recommendation. Seniority would be abolished, as well as any payment for advanced degrees. See here and here

In addition, schools with more than 1,000 students would not be required to have libraries or librarians. No more counselors. No limits on class size. The district would no longer be required to provide teachers lounges, water fountains, etc.

This is the most insulting, most demeaning contract ever offered in any school district to my knowledge. The terms seem more appropriate to a prison than to a school, although it seems that both teachers and students are treated as wards of a cruel, harsh state. Who would want to teach in such a district that cared so little for students and teachers?

Is this what Dr. Hite learned at the Broad Superintendents Academy? Crush the workforce?

William Hite is the Superintendent of the Philadelphia School District.

Here is his page at the Broad Academy.

Broad Academy William Hite

William Hite
The Broad Superintendents Academy Class of 2005
Superintendent, Philadelphia School District

Pre-Academy Role: Area Assistant Superintendent, Cobb County School District, Atlanta, Georgia
Post-Academy Role: Deputy Superintendent, Prince George‘s County Public Schools, Maryland

School leaders must provide the support and resources to enable all students to excel academically. Quality education is the key to future opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Urban superintendents must have the capacity to encourage change and hold teachers and administrators responsible for closing ethnic and income achievement gaps.

Philly pays him a whole lot of money, but less than the previous Broad superintendent they had. They bought out Arlene Ackerman's contract to the tune of $905,000, plus her yearly salary of over $300,000.

How Hite's contract compares to Ackerman's

Who could ever forget former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s $905,000 buyout?

Last year, Ackerman was paid that amount to leave the school district as a result of the terms of her contract. Her contract was criticized for other reasons, too. It made her eligible for a retention bonus, performance compensation, payments for unused sick days, a Blackberry, car and other benefits.

On Wednesday, the School Reform Commission approved a five-year contract for incoming Superintendent William Hite, who begins by October 1. How does Hite’s contract compare to Ackerman’s?

Salary: Hite’s base salary is $300,000, which is less than Ackerman's. (It's worth noting, however, that Hite will be paid more than the highest-paid city official as of April, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, whose salary is $255,000.)

Here's how the Broad Foundation also works. It stated early on its goals to use union leaders to gain their goals.

Broad Foundation revealed it allied with president of teachers union from the start.

From the 2009 annual report of the Broad Foundation, one of the major groups pushing education "reform" and charter schools. They admit they as much as enlisted Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, from their beginning and have allied with her quite often.[

"Teacher unions have always been a formidable voice in public
education. We decided at the onset of our work to invest in
smart, progressive labor leaders like Randi Weingarten, head of
the United Federation of Teachers in New York City for more
than a decade and now president of the American Federation
of Teachers (AFT). We partnered with Weingarten to fund two
union-run charter schools in Brooklyn and to fund New York
City’s first incentive-based compensation program for schools,
as well as the AFT’s Innovation Fund. We had previously
helped advance pay for performance programs in Denver and
Houston, but we were particularly encouraged to see New York
City embrace the plan."
Page 11 Broad Report]

Broad Academy superintendents seem to have little regard for teachers, and they are very aggressive in their demands.

More about the Philly outrages at this link