Stories tagged: teachers' contract
At the SRC
Posted in February 2010 | Permalink
At its January meetings, the School Reform Commission:
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Effective teaching for all
Posted in February 2010 | Permalink
Negotiators for the School District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers deserve kudos for months of hard work hammering out an agreement that provides some important tools to support better teaching.
The District resisted the temptation to impose terms and stuck with a consensual approach. The union, breaking with past tradition, embraced an array of measures that will enhance its members’ role as professionals who have a major stake in the quality of teaching. These include:
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Teacher contract is signed; 'Real work begins now'
by Dale Mezzacappa Posted in February 2010 | Permalink
The contract negotiated between the District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has been hailed as a major step forward, with words like “groundbreaking,” “historic,” “transformative,” and “bold vision.”
But whether it advances the cause of education reform in Philadelphia will depend on how well the union and administration are able to work together to implement some of its more far-reaching provisions.
“The real work begins now,” said Mayor Michael Nutter.
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How teachers and unions feel about turnaround
by Ron Whitehorne and Tricia Fussaro Posted in February 2010 | Permalink
School turnarounds often result in the dismissal of teachers, if not the entire faculty. It is no surprise that those who work in classrooms every day are highly skeptical of this strategy for improving low-performing schools.
“Blaming teachers for poor-performing schools is a solution in search of a problem,” said Sara Turley, a second grade teacher at Spring Garden Elementary. Instead, she said, “the District needs to rethink the way that it attracts, hires, and maintains a staff of high-quality teachers.”
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Union likely to lose some schools
Submitted by Paul Socolar on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 14:51 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink
One component of the new teachers' contract that has stirred the most passions is the provision that teachers at Renaissance Schools are "forced transfers" who must reapply to stay at the same school. As details of the Renaissance Schools initiative were released on Wednesday, another blow to the union status of Philadelphia teachers came to light.
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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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Tentative agreement reached in PFT talks
Submitted by thenotebook on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 14:41 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink
UPDATE 1-19 12:35 p.m.
Both parties see agreement as "a win-win."
UPDATE 1-19 10:22 a.m.
Tentative, multi-year agreeement reached; ratification vote meeting is Thursday night. The agreement comes after negotiations over the weekend and throughout Monday night.
Text of statement from PFT president Jerry Jordan:
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PFT and District extend contract to January 15, 2010
Submitted by Erika Owens on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 13:36 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink
The teachers' contract (already extended twice this year) was set to expire today, and has now been extended for another 46 days. Negotiations between the District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers are continuing.
Notebook coverage of the teachers' contract is included in the just-released Winter edition, with an article highlighting the contract implications of the 163 emergency-certified new teachers hired this year. There is also a report on the District's scaled-back budget, which may limit the District's flexibility in negotiations. Since the spring, District officials have said publicly that there is no money in the current budget to fund teacher raises.
The joint statement announcing the contract extension is available here.
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Backdrop to contract talks: 163 new teachers are emergency-certified
by Dale Mezzacappa Posted in Winter 2009 | Permalink
As the District and the teachers’ union try to finalize a new contract, talks may be shaped by a budget crunch, evidence that the city is still having trouble attracting enough qualified candidates, and an intensifying national conversation about new compensation models.
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Teachers need World Series ... for contract help
Submitted by Samuel Reed III on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:25 | Permalink
Hopefully, SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union Local 234 will be able to “play ball” and resolve their pending contract negotiations. I give credit to the transit union for leveraging the Phillies and Yankees World Series while it was in town.
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Renaissance School provider applicants await the first cut
by Dale Mezzacappa
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