Funky Boss - Part Two
MaryEllen Elia, superintendent of public schools in Hillsborough County, addressed schedule changes recently in The Tampa Tribune. Although she doesn't mention my initial piece, her attempt to cloud the issue on more than one occasion requires my response.
MaryEllen Elia is changing high school schedules next year to comply with new class-size rules and, as a result, more than a few people are alarmed. The benefits she lists are dubious at best. Forcing experienced educators to forgo valuable planning time will not benefit our students. We need more teachers to keep up with a large population, yet Ms. Elia would rather save money. She wants to “use those savings to increase employee salaries.” Such a boast is worded quite carefully. Teachers need help from an increased educating force, Ms. Elia, not empty promises.
It is inconceivable that anyone in education would compare the hardworking but vastly different professionals teaching in our elementary schools with those in our high schools. Elementary teachers deal with 35 – 40 students while high school teachers juggle close to 120 students or more each day. Our superintendent should defend her argument with better examples than pitting teacher against teacher in the court of public opinion.
Ms. Elia also underestimates the awareness of our high school students by suggesting that most won’t notice a difference next year. More than a few teachers are worried they won’t have time to sponsor popular service clubs anymore. How many of our students will notice that?
Our best, most qualified, and most effective teachers are saying enough and yet Ms. Elia dismisses such concerns with a thinly veiled attack, suggesting we don’t take into account what’s best for our students. Is our superintendent so far removed from the classroom that she actually believes demanding more for less from teachers will benefit anyone?
Ms. Elia, this state continues to lag behind others in educational excellence and yet you refuse to take into account the very legitimate concerns of your students, their parents, and most teachers. Take a look around. Who’s saying “yes” besides you?
posted by kate @ 5:54 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
wow! this site really covers all kinds of interests. Nice.
Elia sure wasted a lot of words saying "The contract says I can do it, so bite me teachers, parents and students."
Moonbeam, Well said!
Sunshine
I really admire your articles and public responses! I just haven't responded because I would like to be rehired next year and I only have a one-year contract.
I am so fed up with being compared to Elementary School teachers. I know how hard they work with their kids, but it's like comparing apples and oranges. They work an intensive 300 weekly minutes with 25 kids and their parents. We work 260 minutes with 150 kids. There are different agendas and methods suitable to each age group. The idea that the reduced planning/conference time won't affect students is ridiculous. There goes any unneccessary parent communication and creative planning. Not to mention essays...I can't in good conscience send out my kids without knowing they can put together a basic essay, but it takes at least 15-20 minutes to grade each one. Where will that time come from without that extra hour to catch up on worksheets and parent contact? I already get here around 6:30 and never leave before 3:30, so I'm already putting in the "extra planning time" suggested by administration for next year.
Here are some of my thoughts on the issues of implementing "classrooms size reduction." The amendment says nothing about "class size," rather it clearly refers to "classrooms." I think we should be consistent about this when writing about its issues, so that we do not lose sight of the fact that the argument is about the number of students in classrooms and not student/teacher ratios. One of the schemes is to put two teachers in a room with more than the number of students mandated by the amendment and call it co-teaching. Doing this is not in the spirit, or the letter, of the amendment.
Classrooms Size Reduction and the Spirit of the Amendment
by Steve Kemp
Clearly, the spirit of the classrooms-size-reduction amendment to Florida’s constitution is not being followed. Those who voted for the amendment did not want the burden to be put on teachers. In fact, the spirit of the law is for teachers and students to have classrooms more conducive to learning. Notice, the operative term is “classrooms.” The amendment states that, “[t]he legislature shall make adequate provision to ensure that, by the beginning of the 2010 school year, there are a sufficient number of classrooms…” How clearly stated is that: “sufficient number of classrooms” and “the legislature shall make adequate provision.”
Implementation was to be gradual beginning in the 2003 school year. Average number of students in classrooms started with the whole district and, beginning with the 2006 school year, shifted to individual schools. So, this year the average number of students per classroom is calculated within each school. In order to comply with the current averaging of classroom size teachers are being asked to double-up in the classroom. In this way, those students present are averaged between two teachers instead of one, thereby “complying” with the amendment. That number of students over the mandated amount is assigned to the extra teacher. In this way, the average number of students per teacher is supposed to be within the limits. This way of implementing the plan might be satisfactory if the amendment called for a reduction in student/teacher ratios. When “we the people” in a majority vote decided on a reduction of the number of students per teacher, it was in the form of reducing the number of students in the classrooms. The writing on the constitutional wall is clear; we need more classrooms and teachers to fill them.
Another scheme for implementing the amendment is for teachers to add another period of classroom instruction to their day. While this might be a doable proposition if approached professionally, that is not how it was introduced. Essentially, it is being forced on teachers without any discussion. There are significant problems with this part of their plan. Teachers must have time to plan and conference with parents. Although, like most people in other professions, teachers take home a significant amount of work, it is important that some time be set aside during the school day. School administrators have their own work burdens to deal with and, historically, teachers have contributed some time during the day to help monitor students. It would be virtually impossible for the number of administrators currently allotted per school to do this without teachers helping. When teachers have sufficient planning/conference time part of that time can be used for this student monitoring duty. However, if adding an additional instructional period reduces the planning/conference time per day, no time will be available to help administrators monitor students. This now becomes a student safety issue, as there will be insufficient adults monitoring student behavior in and around the school.
The reason this is happening the way it is has mostly to do with lack of funding. The amendment has something to say about this as well. (See below for the wording in the amendment concerning funding.)* It clearly states that the funding is the responsibility of the state and not local school districts. Therefore, if the state forces local school districts to fund their own classroom size reductions, through co-teaching or other schemes, will it be setting the stage for lawsuits claiming it violated Florida’s constitution? We need more classrooms to satisfy the will of the people. We do not need to be finding ways around that fact by pairing up teachers to co-teach so that just as many, or more, students are in the classrooms. Making teachers co-teach this year and ramming an additional instructional period down teachers’ throats next is not what “the people” who voted for reduced classrooms size had in mind.
Exactly !!
How many millions did JEB spend trying to say we never voted for that?
They always find a way to make it worse than ever.
But, as usual, only the children suffer. And the teachers who are really trying to do a good job.
I have highly qualified friends who are (were) teachers who only got to work one year and then JEB spent the millions to 'lure' people from other states. Myself, I think this is a guise for Elia bringing who she wants into the fold and of course, where did all those millions go?
Verizon brought uncomfortable changes with the employees they 'imported' and now the school system will be rife with the same.
We're trying to support you good teachers. Please keep standing up and speaking up .....
oh BTW Port Tampa: WELL SAID !!
Style points. You hit the nail on the head.
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