Fired Central Falls Teachers Keep Jobs in New Agreement
Teachers at Central Falls (R.I.) High School will keep their jobs under a new tentative agreement with the school system. The teachers will vote today on the new pact. Under the agreement, which was reached Saturday, the school system will implement a plan to turn around Central Falls High School for the 2010-2011 school year in a way that involves all stakeholders—administrators, teachers, students and parents—to create a pathway toward excellence for everyone at the school.
The agreement allows the current staff to return to the school without having to reapply for their jobs. Teachers will need to recommit to their jobs and interview with the new principal.
The plan also would incorporate important changes designed to increase student achievement. These include a longer school day, more after-school tutoring, a new evaluation system designed to inform teaching and learning and targeted and embedded professional development.
Fired Central Falls Teachers Sue School District
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The union representing more than 90 teachers and staff at Central Falls (R.I.) High School who were fired last February filed suit yesterday against the school district. The suit comes after school officials made clear that the fired teachers and school staff were not being returned to their jobs. Instead, they have been ordered to reapply, along with all new applicants, for positions at the school.
Jane Sessums, president of the Central Falls Teachers Union (CFTU), an affiliate of AFT, said:
We are disappointed that it has come to this. We have been attempting to work with Superintendent Frances Gallo, and will continue to work with her to deal with the issues. The union is committed to improving teaching and learning at the school. However, we took this action today because we believe that the fundamental rights of the staff at Central Falls High School were violated and require legal redress.
Central Falls Superintendent Stalling on Talks With Teachers
Less than a week after agreeing to negotiate with fired teachers at Central Falls (R.I.) High School and their union, the school superintendent is delaying the talks.
In a statement, Jane Sessums, president of the Central Falls Teachers Union, an AFT affiliate, urged Superintendent Frances Gallo to “resume negotiations with the teachers union and to accept (Rhode Island Education) Commissioner Deborah Gist’s offer to provide impartial mediation.”
We must not keep this school, its students, teachers and staff on tenterhooks any longer.
The school superintendent fired all teachers at Central Falls High on Feb. 23. She agreed March 3 to resume bargaining and include the union in all discussions on a comprehensive education plan that will help students and teachers succeed. The move followed a nationwide public outcry, with thousands signing an online petition to tell school officials the students deserve better and they should work with teachers to build on improvements at the high school. (Keep the pressure on the Central Falls school administration. Sign a petition here.)
Central Falls Superintendent Agrees to Resume Talks with Teachers
The school superintendent who last week fired all teachers at Central Falls (R.I.) High School has agreed to resume bargaining and include the union in all discussions on a comprehensive education plan that will help students and teachers succeed. The move followed a nationwide public outcry, with thousands signing an online petition to tell school officials the students deserve better and they should work with teachers to build on improvements at the high school. (Keep the pressure on the Central Falls school administration. Sign a petition here.)
AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement that she was pleased the superintendent has agreed to resume talks:
The dedicated teachers and staff [of Central Falls High] want nothing more than to continue and improve upon the progress they have made. Real, sustainable change will only happen when all stakeholders work together.
Firing of Central Falls, R.I., Teachers ‘Illegal, Unjust, Disgraceful’
In the middle of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, more than 90 dedicated professional educators find themselves put out into the street. On Feb. 23, the Central Falls, R.I., school trustees fired the entire teaching staff of Central Falls High School, supposedly because of declining test scores at the school, which is located in Rhode Island’s smallest and poorest city.
In all, 93 persons were put in the street—74 classroom teachers, plus reading specialists, guidance counselors, physical education teachers, the school psychologist, the principal and three assistant principals. Negotiations over ways to improve the school between teachers and the school superintendent broke down when school officials insisted that teachers add new duties, some without any extra pay at all.
