USA Today declares teacher shortage while Dallas fires hundreds
USA Today declares teacher shortage while Dallas fires hundreds
Date: Friday, October 24, 2008 12:37 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1932 -- 10/23/2008 >>>>>
USA Today published an article that claims that there is a shortage of math,
science and special education teachers. According to USA Today:
A growing number of school districts are hiring teachers from
foreign countries to fill shortages in math, science and
special education.
Contrast that to a story in the Houston Chronicle:
More than 400 of the lost jobs are expected to include teachers in
the core subject areas of math, science, social studies and
English. An additional 500 employees -- such as teacher aides, hall
monitors and clerks -- will also lose their jobs.
Hmmmmmmmmmm! So, what is going on here?
Salaries are definitely one reason school districts want to dump their
experienced teachers.
Segun Eubanks, director of teacher quality at the National Education
Association, the USA's largest teachers union, says many of those
districts have trouble keeping teachers for reasons including low
pay, disruptive students, and a lack of books and materials.
"American workers are not willing to do the work for the conditions
and pay we offer," he says. "So we're recruiting them for the same
reasons we recruit farmworkers and day laborers."
There is another reason for the job losses that is far more insidious --
BILINGUALISM!
Texas colleges and universities don't produce enough bilingual
education teachers. So, to close that gap, DISD and many other
urban school districts with a lot of Spanish-speaking students
recruit teachers from countries such as Mexico. School
districts are under pressure to comply with state law that
requires bilingual education.
So, what we have here is a bunch of school districts that are replacing their
domestic teachers with cheap foreign labor that come to this country with H-1B
and TN (Trade NAFTA) visas.
I have a couple of suggestions I would like to give to USA Today to deal their
claimed shortages of teachers:
1) The teacher's union or an unbiased think-tank should do a comprehensive
study to find out how many math, science, and special ed teachers are losing
their jobs, and that should be compared to the numbers that USA Today and
other media ilk claims we need. Press releases and TV coverage should be used
to expose liars like USA Today.
2) All districts that are laying off teachers should be required to pay for
them to go back college in order to get certificates that enable them to teach
in science, math, or any other subject that is declared to have shortages of
teachers. Once the teachers get the education or certifications they need the
school district will guarantee that any new teachers hired are the retrained
ones, and the school district must pay the teachers at their last pay scale.
Following that regimen will put an end to the open ended promises made to
desperate people that once they get certified to teach math or science it will
be easy to find a job, and it will prevent school districts from mislabeling
what they are doing as "layoffs" instead of what they really are doing --
permanently replacing Americans with cheap foreign labor.
Seriously folks, just how much math does somebody have to learn to teach 5th
graders how to do multiplication? Remember the newsletter I did about the
scientist who did the research for a Nobel prize, but is now getting $10 an
hour driving a van? Surely he could handle teaching biology to high schoolers
or arithmetic to 5th graders, couldn't he?
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-10-22-foreign-teachers_N.htm
Schools in need employ teachers from overseas
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/101608dnmetbilingualteach.3e83340.html
Many fear teachers from abroad will be favored as DISD cuts jobs
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-disdcuts_04met.ART.State.Edition2.26a51b8.html
DISD targets about 900 excess jobs in early look
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6050701.html
150 Dallas school employees lose jobs
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-10-22-foreign-teachers_N.htm
Schools in need employ teachers from overseas
By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
A growing number of school districts are hiring teachers from foreign
countries to fill shortages in math, science and special education.
The trend is most evident in poor urban and rural districts, according to
educators. Segun Eubanks, director of teacher quality at the National
Education Association, the USA's largest teachers union, says many of those
districts have trouble keeping teachers for reasons including low pay,
disruptive students, and a lack of books and materials.
"American workers are not willing to do the work for the conditions and pay we
offer," he says. "So we're recruiting them for the same reasons we recruit
farmworkers and day laborers."
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a think tank, says a new
teacher is generally paid $30,000 to $45,000.
The Department of Education does not track foreign teachers. The American
Federation of Teachers union estimates at least 18,000 of the nation's 3.7
million teachers were hired elsewhere.
Kate Walsh, NCTQ president and a member of the Maryland State Board of
Education, says it has become more common to hire overseas. "All poor
districts have a harder time recruiting," she says. "Anytime you're teaching
poor kids in the inner city, it's very hard to get teachers to stay."
Walsh says foreign teachers can enrich students' education by exposing them to
other cultures. Eubanks agrees but says the USA must address the underlying
shortage by training more teachers and improving schools.
Foreign teachers must pass state tests and meet federal requirements.
Around the country:
Prince George's County public schools in Maryland, with a teaching staff of
10,000, have 556 Filipino teachers and uncounted others from other countries.
Los Angeles has 326 foreign teachers out of 33,529.
Wichita public schools have 43 foreign teachers, all Filipino, out of 4,000.
Baltimore public schools have 593 foreign teachers from Jamaica, India, the
Philippines and elsewhere out of 7,000, says George Duque, staffing director.
"Retention has been excellent. We've only had 20, max, who have not been
renewed or who have chosen to leave."
Duque says Filipino teachers are a good fit because English is one of the
country's official languages and its academic system is similar to the USA's.
He acknowledges that there can be clashes over teachers' accents and cultural
differences. Filipino teachers, for example, come from a culture where
teachers are revered, he says. "When they come here, they have to learn about
our culture and the urban culture and the culture of poverty and the
challenges our children have," he says.
Danilo Danga, 33, is in his fourth year teaching special education at
Baltimore's Calverton Elementary/Middle School. He taught English and social
studies in the Philippines for eight years.
At first, he says, students disrupted class and cursed at him, yelling, "Shut
up, Jackie Chan!" and other taunts.
Colleagues advised him to assert himself and offer rewards for good behavior.
He did. Among the rewards was Filipino chicken adobo he cooked himself.
"Each year is becoming better and better," he says. "I'm excited to come to
school every day despite all the challenges."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/101608dnmetbilingualteach.3e83340.html
Many fear teachers from abroad will be favored as DISD cuts jobs
07:19 AM CDT on Thursday, October 16, 2008 By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The
Dallas Morning News kunmuth@dallasnews.com
Dallas ISD teachers are angry about layoffs. And some are wondering whether
bilingual education teachers recruited from abroad will keep their jobs, while
American teachers are cut.
A DISD layoff list obtained by The Dallas Morning News includes six bilingual
education teachers but includes no indication of whether they are foreign
recruits or U.S. citizens.
In comments on the DISD blog operated by The News, visitors express fears that
they may lose their jobs while foreign Spanish-speaking teachers keep theirs.
A blog comment from someone identified as "outraged" reflects the
sentiment: "Tenured employees get 'RIFed' and inexperienced bilingual
employees, many of whom are not even citizens, are left untouched. Somebody
needs to explain to me how this can happen in America."
The answer is complicated.
School district administrators consider bilingual teachers, along with math
and science teachers, a highly valuable commodity.
Texas colleges and universities don't produce enough bilingual education
teachers. So, to close that gap, DISD and many other urban school districts
with a lot of Spanish-speaking students recruit teachers from countries such
as Mexico. School districts are under pressure to comply with state law that
requires bilingual education. And they are under pressure to improve student
test scores, which is easier when students can understand what their teachers
say.
Students with limited proficiency in English make up 34 percent of the DISD's
enrollment, or 53,785 students.
Ray de los Santos, district director for LULAC, said bilingual educators
should not become scapegoats blamed for budget problems.
"We're seeing a nativist response," he said. "I understand it, especially in
these troubled times. But I want to emphasize that for the betterment of our
community we need to keep the focus on our bilingual and ESL students."
ESL, or English as second language, is another instructional method used
mostly for older public school students with limited English skills.
Another comment on the DISD blog reflects the hostility some feel toward the
new teachers recruited from other countries: "Why was superintendent Michael
Hinojosa allowed by the board to go outside the United States to displace
American citizen, English speaking teachers who have devoted their
professional career to DISD?"
According to the district, 346 bilingual teachers are working on H-1B visas,
out of 1,980 bilingual teachers. The visas are for skilled foreign workers in
fields in which there are shortages of American-born workers.
DISD also recruited many Puerto Rican teachers, who are U.S. citizens.
DISD chief human development officer Kim Olson said where a teacher comes from
is not a factor in making cuts.
"We don't look at nationality; we look at certification and seniority," she
said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-disdcuts_04met.ART.State.Edition2.26a51b8.html
DISD targets about 900 excess jobs in early look
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, October 4, 2008 By KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning
News kfischer@dallasnews.com Research librarian Molly Motley Blythe
contributed to this report.
The question echoing through the Dallas Independent School District on
Friday: Is my job safe?
TIM GRUBER/DMN
From left: Brooklyn Schirato, 5; her mom, Avis Schirato, a special ed teacher;
and Teresa Lackey, a seventh-grade teacher, waited for the school board
decision on Thursday. The short answer: It's complicated.
The Dallas school board on Thursday night authorized Superintendent Michael
Hinojosa to lay off nearly 1,100 employees, including about 550 teachers.
Under the plan, certified teachers who teach a "high need" subject such as
math, science or bilingual classes are likely safe.
For everyone else, all bets are off, particularly uncertified teachers in
easy-to-hire subjects like social studies or English.
State officials, meanwhile, continue to express concern about DISD's finances,
saying they're still monitoring district efforts to reduce an anticipated $84
million budget deficit.
They also expect an explanation of how the financial mess happened.
State Education Commissioner Robert Scott watched Thursday night's meeting
online and said through a spokeswoman Friday that he's pleased the district is
taking "necessary action" to reduce spending.
On tap next week: a crucial Austin meeting where district administrators will
try to sell the deficit-reduction plan to state officials, who have threatened
to send a conservator if the district fails to balance its budget.
Employees, meanwhile, will begin to hear next week whether their jobs are at
risk. The last of the layoffs are to occur by Oct. 17. Before that happens,
though, the district must finish its annual "leveling" of staff, where campus
staff allocations are reassessed in light of enrollments.
Early returns on "leveling" indicate that there are about 900 jobs at schools
that are too small to justify the positions.
DISD policy, however, states that layoffs must occur district-wide, so
managers at over-staffed schools simply cannot cut their excess workers loose.
Instead, the district has to assess all employees district-wide who do similar
jobs, based on common criteria. For example, math teachers would be on a
different list than Spanish teachers.
The staff cuts outlined by district officials are expected to save about $30
million, while reductions to nonpersonnel budgets are expected to save
$38 million more.
But even those deep cuts won't get the district out of the hole.
Administrators acknowledged that even with the reductions, they're still
headed toward a $15 million deficit. They have not yet said how they will make
up that gap.
Talk of layoffs began nearly three weeks ago when the district revealed it had
overspent last year's budget by $64 million and used half its cash reserve to
cover the deficit. Ten days later, officials revealed that this year's budget
was headed toward an $84 million deficit and proposed cutting hundreds of jobs
and millions of dollars in other expenses.
Trustees refused to authorize Dr. Hinojosa's layoff proposals for two
consecutive weeks before giving approval Thursday.
Certification hurdle
The first hurdle teachers have to clear in order to keep their job:
certification.
Teachers "who have not completed their Texas certification requirements will
be considered the first to be released," according to the plan given to
trustees Thursday night.
About 1,000 DISD teachers don't have a state teaching certificate. Most were
hired through the district's "alternative certification" program, an avenue
for mid-career professionals to enter teaching without going back to college.
But due to teacher shortages, many of those so-called "alt cert" educators are
in the high need areas of math and science, which will afford them some
protection from layoffs.
"The last hired 'alt certs' will probably be the first go " unless they teach
in a high need" subject, said Rena Honea, a spokeswoman for the teachers'
group Alliance-AFT.
Job evaluations
The second hurdle teachers must clear to keep their jobs: Good job
evaluations. This is the first criterion for nonteachers.
Those with "unsatisfactory" or "below expectations" ratings in recent years
will be released. Second on the list will be those with some aspects of their
most-recent evaluation marked "unsatisfactory" or "below expectations."
If any teachers are "tied" after assessing their certifications and job
performance, the district will use seniority " defined as continuous district
employment " to determine who keeps their job.
If it all sounds complicated, it is, said Dale Kaiser, president of the
teacher group NEA-Dallas.
"I'm still very cautious," he said. "That's why I've told all our [members]
not to sign anything until they've talked to us."
Research librarian Molly Motley Blythe contributed to this report.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6050701.html
150 Dallas school employees lose jobs
) 2008 The Associated Press
Oct. 10, 2008, 8:27AMShare Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo!
BuzzDALLAS -- The planned layoff of nearly 1,100 employees in the Dallas
school district began Thursday, with the cutting of 150 non-contract employees
and the elimination of 100 vacant positions.
Layoffs in the district, which faces an $84 million budget shortfall, will
continue at the end of next week when 550 teachers plus administrators and
other employees will lose their jobs.
"We're very concerned about people's well-being," Superintendent Michael
Hinojosa said. "We expect that everyone today was treated professionally."
Aimee Bolender, president of Alliance AFT teachers' organization, said in a
story in The Dallas Morning News that many teachers are scared.
"They're almost beyond hysterical, and there's no way it's not affecting the
classroom," Bolender said. "If a person is worried about whether or not
they're going to be employed, that's a number one priority."
More than 400 of the lost jobs are expected to include teachers in the core
subject areas of math, science, social studies and English. An additional 500
employees -- such as teacher aides, hall monitors and clerks -- will also lose
their jobs.
Teachers with low seniority and poor evaluations are the likeliest to get laid
off, Bolender has said.
The staff cuts are expected to save about $30 million, with an additional
$38 million coming from budget cuts in other areas, officials said. But that
still leaves the district about $15 million short, and administrators have not
yet said how they plan to cover the gap.
The Dallas school district is the nation's 12th largest, with more than
160,000 students.
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