The entire teaching staff at Rhode Island’s Central Falls High School was issued termination notices this week after local union leaders refused to sign off on sorely needed reforms necessary to turn the failing school around.
School Superintendent Frances Gallo informed all of the high school’s 74 teachers by mail Thursday that she will recommend their termination at the end of the 2009-10 school year, the Providence Journal reports.
It reflects the drastic measures forced on school district leaders by American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association affiliate unions that remain out of touch with the country’s sagging economy, and the communities they serve.
Gallo didn’t make her decision lightly. Central Falls High School has been on the state Department of Education’s list of underperforming schools for seven years. Less than 50 percent of the school’s students graduate, only 7 percent are proficient at math, and roughly half cannot read proficiently, state data shows.
State Education Commissioner Deborah Gist charged Gallo with reversing that trend, and Gallo formulated a transformation plan with the help of the Central Falls Teachers’ Union.
But reform talks broke down last week when the CFTU refused to sign off on many changes because the district is unable to pony-up enough extra cash to motivate its teachers. Those changes include a 25-minute longer school day, a formal tutoring schedule, lunch with students once a week, and better teacher evaluations.
Gallo offered to pay teachers $30 an hour for other extra duties, and $1,800 for two weeks of additional training in the summer, the Journal reports. The union demanded $90 an hour, and pay for more of the additional duties.
“I know I tried as hard as I could to get the local union leadership – who are constantly telling me they are committed to reform – to agree to these reforms,” Gallo told the Journal.
We certainly don’t envy Gallo’s position, but we do applaud her commitment to improving instruction at Central Falls High School. That’s far more than we can say for the CFTU.
Business Insider reports that teachers at the high school make between $70,000 and $78,000 per year, more than three times Central Falls’ median household income of $22,628. Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is 12.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
About 96 percent of the school’s 808 students live in poverty.
The union’s stubborn refusal to put forth a little extra effort to help those kids build a brighter future goes far beyond the typical union selfishness. It’s pure greed.
The Central Falls school board will vote on Gallo’s decision next week. We hope they support their school’s leader, whom we consider a rare breed with enough backbone to do what is truly best for the district’s students.
If approved, all of the school’s 74 teachers can reapply for their positions, but no more than 50 percent can be re-hired, under the reform model.
We hope the teachers that are committed to their students’ success agree to do what’s necessary, and earn back their positions at the head of the class.
To those mulish enough to snub their noses at Gallo’s reforms, we say good riddance.