Struggles at School of the Future

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 18:18 | Permalink

Starting a little more than a year ago, I got involved in a project sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute to compile a book about Philadelphia's School of the Future, the partnership between Microsoft and the District to create a new kind of urban high school.

My article adapted from the work done for the book by me and others has just been posted on the website of Education Next.

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Effective Teaching Campaign grades contract

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Tue, 01/26/2010 - 17:36 | Permalink

The Effective Teaching for Every Child campaign gave the new teachers' contract mostly high marks in a report card, but said that it does not provide enough incentives to recruit and keep teachers in hard-to-staff schools.

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AFT president: New contract a breakthrough

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Sat, 01/23/2010 - 00:14 | Permalink

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement Friday night that the new PFT contract is "groundbreaking" and provides teachers "with the tools, time and trust they need to be better educators."

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Teachers accept new contract

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 21:39 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers ratified a new three-year contract Thursday night that for the first time ties some compensation to growth in student achievement and establishes an intensive system for mentoring and evaluating novice and struggling teachers.

PFT president Jerry Jordan hailed the agreement as “progressive, a professional contract. Teachers are going to be in the forefront of working to make sure we have effective teachers in every classroom.”

It creates a Peer Assistance and Review program (PAR), based largely on ones in Montgomery County, MD and Toledo, OH in which specially trained consulting teachers will work with new teachers and those who have been rated “unsatisfactory” to help them improve. If they continue to flounder, a joint committee appointed by the District and the union can recommend termination.

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Contract details posted on PFT site

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 12:36 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink

Here is a link to a document that was posted on a members-only portion of the teachers' union site.

Highlights after a quick read (UPDATED 2:15 p.m.):

 -- 3 percent raises on September 1, 2010 and again on January 1, 2012 - just two across-the-board raises in a three-year agreement.

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New turnaround target: 76 schools by 2012

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 23:06 | Permalink

Pennsylvania's application for a piece of the $4 billion federal Race to the Top money calls for Philadelphia to "turn around" 76 low-performing schools by 2012-13 -- eight schools in 2010-11, 40 the following year, and 28 in 2012-13.

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When will teachers see the contract?

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 13:41 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers will make the contract changes available to its members at 5:30 pm (UPDATE: The contract was made available earlier in the day.) Thursday, 90 minutes before the scheduled ratification meeting and vote at the Liacouras Center Thursday night.

PFT spokeswoman Barbara Goodman said that the changes are still being printed, which is one reason why they will not be released earlier.

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Asian group files federal civil rights complaint over South Philly violence

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 14:56 | Permalink

The School District of Philadelphia failed to protect Asian students in South Philadelphia High School from harassment and violence, displaying "intentional disregard" for their welfare, according to a complaint filed today by Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund with the federal Department of Justice.

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