All Providence teachers get layoff notices as precaution

Source: NBC10

Dismissal notices were sent to every public school teacher in Providence as a precaution because the budget process is still ongoing, a news release from the city said Tuesday.

The release said the notices were sent to comply with a state law that says teachers must be notified about potential layoffs by March 1.

City officials said all teachers were notified because the city's budget has yet to be determined.

"Because it is too early in the process to be certain of all possible changes to the school budget, issuing dismissal notices to all teachers provides maximum flexibility moving forward," the news release said.

Read more: http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2011/feb/22/all-providence-teachers-get-layoff-notices-precaut-ar-403579/

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This is the kind of crap teachers all over the country have to deal with right now. But hey, we're the overpaid bad guys, right?

Maybe not every teacher or every school, but many got the notices "just in case." My daughter was one of them.



TG, TT

...by a certain date. California must notify by March 15th each year if a teacher might not be brought back the next year. SOP.

No reason teachers w/25 yrs in core classes should get these notices. Only those who have a few yrs or are in subject areas that might be cut should have gotten these. Either, lazy or scare tactic!

My wife has been teaching for three years and seems to put much more time and effort into her classes than many of the more tenured individuals. She actually was "taken aside" by a few others in her department because they thought she was doing too much and was making them look bad. She's getting paid half of what they are and putting in more effort which is what our kids in school need. Just sayin.

If they always laid off the most senior, and best paid, workers, nobody would ever want to put in too many years, or get paid well, because they'd be the ones on the chopping block.

Not saying it's right, but that's the logic behind it...

I'm saying there needs to be a better system in place for evaluating teachers. I manage a staff of 10 people. If someone doesn't perform well they will move on with help from me. That's regardless of age, pay grade, etc. Of course we should keep good teachers even if they are at the top of the pay grade. But some a blatantly milking the years for the pension (what's left of it.)

Supervisor evaluations are too subjective and political. Test scores alone often tell more about the backgrounds of the students than the quality of the teaching.

You are being a bit harsh. There are lots of problems for a teacher who has put in maybe 20-25 years and is then fired.

Once a teacher has put in 25 years, he or she usually cannot get a job in a different field. It can be done, but it isn't easy.

Of course, at this time, it is very difficult for anyone to get a job in any field.

In addition, one of the purposes of pensions is to motivate employees to stay in their jobs longer and in many states, if you are eligible for a state teacher's pension, even a small one, your Social Security will be severely reduced, so you definitely want to stick with teaching once you put your chips down and get credits toward your pension.

Evaluations exist in nearly every job field imagineable. It is never easy to evaluate someone because there are many variables to everyone's jobs. If your in sales and miss your sales goal that's not good. However you may have contributed in another manner to the company that was very beneficial. If you are a nurse and get great patient feedback from surveys because you are very nice but can't hit a vein with a needle that is a problem.

My wife, first had, has seen many crummy older teachers. They walk in 20 seconds before the bell, they leave 20 seconds after the bell. They don't contribute any time or effort to help in after school activities, etc. Of course many seasoned teachers are quite opposite. Reward the ones who go above and beyond...maybe not so much the ones who do not.

Just because a teacher, especially a seasoned one, get to work later than a newer teacher and leaves first does not indicate if they are "crummy.". I have been teaching for 11 years and I am ten times the teacher I was anywhere in the first five years, even though I spend much, much less time at work than I used to. I can plan faster and with much higher quality lesson plans. It takes me much less time to grade because I know how to do it effectively, and I learned that not every assignment is worth grading because not everything shows acquisition of a skill or content knowledge.

So from a new teacher's eyes, maybe I look like a "crummy" teacher because I don't stay until 5:00 each night. But I guarantee you my students are quite lucky to have me as their teacher.

It is vastly complicated to evaluate a teacher, but especially so if you are only looking at time spent at work.

grading papers than do more experienced teachers. That is true in a lot of jobs. You learn your job. That is why employers generally lay new hires off first.

One of the problems in education....especially in rural areas......is nepotism & the spoils system---and they protect each other. (I personally believe there should be NO relatives employed in the same system.) Here in TN it is a HUGE problem.

The fact others told her she was making them look bad is......simply unprofessional. However, I have seen this happen in other industries, too....it is by no means isolated to education.

The reason I mentioned those w/few years, is they WOULD be the ones let go first. Did not imply, in any way, that they would be the BEST to let go. As with most jobs, seniority counts for something. In education, it is often part of the law.

Source: Providence Journal

PROVIDENCE — The school district plans to send out dismissal notices to every one of its 1,926 teachers, an unprecedented move that has union leaders up in arms.

In a letter sent to all teachers on Tuesday, Supt. Tom Brady wrote that the Providence School Board on Thursday will vote on a resolution to dismiss every teacher, effective the last day of school.

In an e-mail sent to all teachers and School Department staff, Brady said, “We are forced to take this precautionary action by the March 1 deadline given the dire budget outline for the 2011-2012 school year in which we are projecting a near $40 million deficit for the district,” Brady wrote. “Since the full extent of the potential cuts to the school budget have yet to be determined, issuing a dismissal letter to all teachers was necessary to give the mayor, the School Board and the district maximum flexibility to consider every cost savings option, including reductions in staff.” State law requires that teachers be notified about potential changes to their employment status by March 1.

“To be clear about what this means,” Brady wrote, “this action gives the School Board the right to dismiss teachers as necessary, but not all teachers will actually be dismissed at the end of the school year.”

Read more: http://www.projo.com/news/content/providence_teacher_layoffs_02-23-11_MCML6R3_v17.1a1cc6d.html#

is there any common sense left ANYWHERE? While you're at it let's close down all the hospitals and fire and police departments. Then we can lower our taxes even more.