Friday, October 1, 2010

Moving Day At CCSD

Every year at this time, it is staff moving day between schools. Because CCSD predicts before school starts, how many students will come to a particular school, they have slots for so many teachers at a particular school. Then the third Friday count happens and the following week, schools that have more students than predicted get a few more teachers and administrators while schools that have fewer schools than predicted, lose teachers and administrators.
While the rationale for leveling day is fine- all classes should be the same size, no matter what school you are in, the disruption it causes is horrible.
For instance, at our school, we lost about 8 teachers, or so. So, those classes those teachers had, get divided up between the remaining teachers in the subject area. For instance, if a English teacher had 180 students total, in all their classes, those 180 students all of sudden will be transferred out their English class and into a new English class in a course of two days.
The problem is this: there is disruption for at least a week or more in the new class because the teacher has to catch those students up to where their class is. They also have to get to know the new students and see where they are at, education wise. In some classes, you just threw out 2 or 3 weeks of teaching out the window. With kids under greater pressure to pass proficiency exams or just to pass a class, this is stress they don't need or want. Further, the pressure on Special Education students is very hard and some students never readjust.
Further, I thought CCSD just got about $57 million plus to hire more teachers administrators. Why isn't this money being used to help supplement the schools that are losing teachers and administrators?
I realize leveling day is a tradition in CCSD, but that doesn't make it right. Hundreds, if not thousands of student's education are being effected by today's actions. For those students, it is like the first day of school all over again and the effects will continue for the next several weeks. Leveling Day is wrong and it needs to end.

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