Teacher Lay-Offs: How Should Students Respond?

Tens of thousands of teachers nationwide are being laid off because of budget cuts.

And students are understandably left feeling hurt, frustrated, and eager to do something to make a difference.

In some cases, students are walking out of class to show their support for teachers who have been issued pink slips. In other cases, students are picking a day and staying out of school all together, hoping to send a message that the layoffs are not going unnoticed.

For us, missing class time to protest teacher layoffs seems counterproductive. Teachers are there to help their students receive a top-rate education. That includes making the most of class time. That is why we encourage students to take other steps to get the attention of the policymakers in their communities and beyond.

What are some things that students angry about budget cuts can do to effectively bring about change and to ensure their opinions and insights are heard?

• Recognize that the principal is probably not your enemy. School principals and other administrators are not happy about the budget cuts, either. Decisions about how money is spent and how to close budget shortfalls are generally made by the school board, with direction from the school district superintendent and cabinet level staff. They are in a difficult situation but are the ones who should be held accountable for cuts.
• Understand and be able to clearly and accurately explain the problem. School budgets are complicated. Because of a variety of federal and state level mandates, money from one category cannot easily be used for another. That means that money earmarked, say, for school construction, cannot be used to pay for teachers. Be sure you understand the basics of school finance before expressing your opinion. Ask an expert for help if needed.
• Let your voice be heard by school board members. Call, and write letters and emails to school board members and the superintendent. Express yourself firmly but respectfully. Consider attending a meeting and speaking during the public comments segment of the meeting, if your school district has one.
• Ask for an opportunity to meet with the school superintendent or cabinet level administrators to express your opinion. Attend the meeting prepared to present your ideas.
• Use social networking sites, text messaging, blogs and other communications to communicate information and suggest that others, particularly fellow students, take action.
• Consider staging an awareness event before school, after school or at lunch in order to express yourself. Know the policies of the school and do all that you can to follow school rules. This will not hinder your message, but instead will show that you value both education and educational justice.
• Provide talking points in writing for anyone who is involved in the movement. This will make it more difficult for others to misunderstand or misrepresent your cause. Students involved in protest will hurt their credibility and be taken less seriously if they are not on message.
• Contact local media. Be ready to explain calmly and clearly why you are upset, what you are doing and what you ultimately hope to accomplish. Offer to make other like-minded students available for interviews.
• Think visually. If you are holding a protest event, consider what signs students might hold. Make sure signs are respectful and include correct spelling and grammar. Signs are important in part because they photograph well and get the attention of passersby. One California teacher staged an effective protest by putting together empty chairs with the names of teachers who have lost their jobs.
• Communicate with your parents and other adults about what you are doing. Seek their advice about how to most appropriately and effectively express your frustration and bring about change.

The role of students can be a powerful one – if students are prepared to communicate in ways that are respectful and thoughtful. Do your part!

The Power of Story: Putting a Face on Undocumented Students

Undocumented students on college campuses in College Station, Texas and beyond are coming forward publicly as part of a courageous push to see Congress take steps to legalize undocumented students.

This article in Saturday’s Houston Chronicle does a good job of expressing some of the emotions students experienced, as they stepped forward after years of hiding their undocumented status and, in turn, masking who they really are, their history and their heritage.

The experience was clearly an emotional one for the students, including some who were warned not to go public by their parents and other family members. Jose Zelaya, a native of Honduras, is shown crying as he identifies himself publicly as an illegal immigrant.

As the Houston Chronicle reported, the students who came forward had shared themes. Even while being highly successful academically, they faced uncertain futures, unsure of where they might be able to secure jobs or even if they and their families will be able to remain in the U.S. Several of the students said they have gone without seeing their mothers or fathers because they have been deported or otherwise unable to get to the U.S.

The speakers' stories had common themes: Despite their academic achievements, their futures were uncertain. Many were torn by having families in two countries. Some talked of having their dads deported or going for years without seeing their mothers.

Whatever your position on illegal immigration and how it should best be addressed, the demonstrations being staged by undocumented students make a powerful point: That putting a face on complex, divisive social and political issues is important.

We know that it is easy to demonize people or groups that we do not know or understand. The protests of these students give us new insights, and help us to understand that the issue of undocumented students is complex and that the lives of students and families hang in the balance.

At one point at the College Station protest, the aspiring teacher, Zelaya, asked, “Can you understand what it means to be undocumented?”

Zelaya clearly contributed to that understanding.

And in doing so, he may just have helped us, as a society, to begin to address immigration in ways that are more ethical and just.

Beware of Misleading Budget Information in Tough Financial Times

“These are difficult financial times. We all have to make sacrifices – even teachers and students and schools.”

This sort of argument is used repeatedly on those of us who are dedicated to advocating for educational and social justice, particularly when children are involved.

The argument that we all must tighten our fiscal belts is a difficult one to dispute, particularly when budget shortfalls in some states are so dramatic.

But when we are tempted to remain silent or to back down in cases where we know kids are being harmed, we need to be reminded that much of this debate comes down to political choices.

Because the truth is, as the National Education Association, has repeatedly pointed out, a great deal of hypocrisy exists within our state budgets.

While on one hand lawmakers are bemoaning the financial crisis and insisting that nothing can be done to keep class sizes the same, to save schools or to continue programs for low-income families, those same lawmakers are often quite generous with money when their own pet programs or causes are at stake.

A few examples to be aware of as we continue working to call attention to the needs of low-income children and families:

• In Florida, Governor Scott has proposed a 10 percent cut to K-12 education spending. Cuts are so deep that schools are considering cutting football and other athletics programs. But at the same time, the governor has proposed cutting the corporate income tax from 5.5 percent to 3 percent and moving to fully eliminate it by 2018. How can we afford such tax cuts, when we cannot afford to adequately fund our schools?
• Michigan Governor Snyder is proposing the elimination of the state major business tax. He also is proposing an additional $1.8 billion in business tax cuts. Yet, Snyder recently signed a law slashing unemployment benefits from 26 to 20 weeks and he also is proposing a cut of $470 per pupil on K-12 education spending and a 15 percent cut in state support for public universities.
• In Ohio, Governor Kasich is proposing a 10 percent cut in education spending and a 10 percent cut to higher education. Kasich has said the cuts are unavoidable. But at the same time, Kasich refused to close 128 business tax exemptions, credits and deductions that create about $7 billion in lost tax revenue. Kasich also is implementing the final stage of an income tax break that will cost Ohio $800 million in revenue.

Are all tax breaks for businesses and individuals bad? Of course not. But isn’t it interesting how politicians can often find ways to give tax breaks, even when they cannot seem to find the money to adequately fund our public schools?

These are, indeed, difficult financial times. But we also need to realize that in many cases, politicians are using these challenging times to cut where they don’t mind cutting, while still finding a way to pay for initiatives that stand to benefit them politically.

The Need to be Fiscally Responsible in Lean Times

A front-page article exclusively in a recent Houston Chronicle print edition details the failings of a Houston Housing Authority program designed to provide low-income people with an opportunity to buy their own home has taxpayers in Texas and beyond talking.

The story chronicles the mismanagement of the “scattered sites” housing program, which allowed for the government purchase of 365 houses purchased from the U.S. Department of Housing in 1987 and 1988. The agency paid to upgrade the homes and opened them to public housing tenants. In 2004, the decision was made to shift renters out of the homes and to sell them to low-income people.

But since 2007 only 47 of the homes have been sold, including just 12 last year.

In many cases, people say they have tried to buy the homes but been told they were outbid or the homes were already sold – even when records show that was not the case. Many of the homes have been left vacant and apparently all but forgotten about, allowing mold, rodents, animals and vandals to take over.

New board members responsible for overseeing the program acknowledge it is a disaster and that more needs to be done.

A quote from newly appointed board member Lance Gilliam is particularly telling, with Gilliam reportedl saying, “We as an institution … have not done a good job. It’s not hard. Some of the stuff in our business is just not acceptable.”

It is tempting, when reading about the story of this failed Public Housing program, to view it as one unfortunate isolated incident.

But the truth is that there are many other programs out there – both public and private – that fall short.

And while taxpayers, donors and others may be willing to put up with some level of mismanagement and waste during booming economic times, no one is feeling so tolerant right now.

When everyone from teachers to bus drivers to city planners are being laid off because of tough financial times, it is essential that we ensure that the work that we are doing as advocates for educational and social justice is managed well, and that we pay attention to how we spend our resources. We cannot afford to become poster children for mismanagement, ineffectiveness and waste.

This is one reason that we at the Institute are so excited about the program evaluation work that we are doing, as we partner with nonprofit and government organizations to examine their programs, working to evaluate how effective they are, what is being done well, and what might be done better.

Working together, we can begin to take steps to ensure that resources are used well and that we are effective in our mission to advance educational and social justice.

Myth Busters: Students Fail Because Teachers Do

Today we are continuing to explore and expose common myths about teachers – including many that are being bandied about as state lawmakers across the country continue to make difficult decisions about education funding in the face of serious budget shortfalls.

Today’s Myth: Most teachers are incompetent, and teachers are the reason that schools fail.

Are there incompetent teachers in our schools?

Of course there are. And should they be removed, even if teachers’ union leaders resist? Of course they should.

No child should have to endure being taught by an incompetent, cruel or otherwise damaging teacher.

That said, the perception that the typical American public school teacher is incompetent is simply not true.

In our work at the Institute, we spend a great deal of time in schools and classrooms – and much of what we see is impressive. Many of the teachers we see at work – including many who we ask to see on our own, without a recommendation from an administrator or any advance notice – work miracles every day they come together with their students.

But we aren’t just relying on our own experiences when we say that the average American teacher is competent and effective.

The Teacher Advancement Program, which serves thousands of teachers nationwide, relies on both student test results and extensive observation methods to determine teacher effectiveness.

Of teachers who have been evaluated, more than 85 percent have been deemed proficient, earning a score of three or higher on a five-point scale. And one-third of teachers earned a four or five on the assessment.

That means that when we say that teachers are ineffective, we are basically allowing a fairly small percentage to malign the profession as a whole. This is clearly unfair – and not something we see to be as quick to do when talking about effectiveness in other fields.

So, we hope that next time you hear teachers being maligned – or you hear people arguing that dramatic cuts to education are OK because teachers are somehow undeserving of the job stability or benefits they have, we hope that you, as advocates of educational and social justice, will join us in speaking out.

We must stand up for our teachers, or our schools and students will surely pay the price.