As the old saying goes, some times you have to break eggs in order to make and omelet. And so it is sometimes when one is trying to fix a broken educational system, clearing away that which does not work and starting fresh.
The Central Falls, Rhode Island school system has been grossly underperforming for years, with 50% of the high school students failing and a graduation rate of under 50%. The school superintendent decided she had to do something about it.
Sometimes the best way to stir things up is to do the unexpected, in this case getting rid of the obstructionists and starting with a clean slate.
Let's hope that the people and the governmental leaders of Central Falls will stand behind the school superintendent's decision and let her rebuild the school system into something that actually serves the children as it should.
The Central Falls, Rhode Island school system has been grossly underperforming for years, with 50% of the high school students failing and a graduation rate of under 50%. The school superintendent decided she had to do something about it.
Her plan calls for teachers at a local high school to work 25 minutes longer per day, each lunch with students once in a while, and help with tutoring. The teachers' union has refused to accept these apparently onerous demands.When the teachers and administrators refused to be part of the solution, they proved they were part of the problem. It then became necessary to deal with the problem. The superintendent did just that in the most effective and dramatic fashion, sending the message "Lead, follow, or get out of the way." Since the union decided to neither lead or follow - to do nothing - which was an unacceptable solution, the superintendent decided they needed to get out of the way.
The teachers at the high school make $70,000-$78,000, as compared to a median income in the town of $22,000.
The school superintendent has responded to the union's stubbornness by firing every teacher and administrator at the school.
Sometimes the best way to stir things up is to do the unexpected, in this case getting rid of the obstructionists and starting with a clean slate.
Under threat of losing their jobs if they didn't go along with extra work for not a lot of extra pay, the Central Falls Teachers' Union refused Friday morning to accept a reform plan for one of the worst-performing high schools in the state.Like unions across the nation have been finding out, calling a bluff these days has more often than not meant they have found themselves on the unemployment line. And so it was this time too.
After learning of the union's position, School Supt. Frances Gallo notified the state that she was switching to an alternative she was hoping to avoid: firing the entire staff at Central Falls High School. In total, about 100 teachers, administrators and assistants will lose their jobs.
Let's hope that the people and the governmental leaders of Central Falls will stand behind the school superintendent's decision and let her rebuild the school system into something that actually serves the children as it should.
This evening the Boston TV media reported that the Central Falls school board carried through on the promise made by the superintendent, firing all the teachers and administrators at the high school. Apparently the staff at the high school believed they weren't required to do anything more to fix the problems at the school unless they were paid even more than they already make.
Somehow demanding higher pay to do their jobs when they aren't really doing their jobs to the satisfaction of the superintendent, school board, and parents seems arrogant to me. If I'm not doing my job to my manager's satisfaction, i need to change things to meet his expectations. I'd be a damn fool to tell him "Pay me more, otherwise forget it..." That's a darn good way to get fired.
Love it! Excellent move. Reminds me of that fellow who bulldozed his house so it won't get foreclosed on.