What a joy it is to go into a school that is working. Especially when that same school was in serious trouble just two years ago.
Parents weren’t exactly clamoring to get their children into the Gavin Middle School in South Boston. Test results were grim: Only 1 in 4 Gavin students scored proficient or advanced in math on the 2011 MCAS. Fewer than a third cleared that bar on the English test.
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OK, so we all agree: the school does well, and everyone works 90 minutes longer every day plus perhaps an additional hour tutoring plus an additional 25 days of professional development. So that's an additional 600 hours of work every year. That's great, admirable, awesome, true dedication, needed, honorable, and so on. And folks do this without getting any additional compensation. So here's the question: If the people who are doing this work were being properly compensated would their work be any less admirable, awesome, or Honorable? Or is the fact that they are exploited the admirable distinction? Would their students learn less if teachers were being properly paid? The Laws of this great Commonwealth allow this exploitation. As admirable and effective as the school at be it is still sweatshop Labor. Why do they take advantage of thee folks? Because they can. the as has no objection to the additional 600 hours, I am tolD. The BTU just wants these folks appropriately compensated-- just as they are everywhere else in this great country.
Hey Yvonne. Did you happen to ask about the kids that Up Academy routinely shoves back to the traditional schools? It's easy to "appear" to have turned things around when the kids that don't measure up to your "standards" are turned away. And who will educate these kids Yvonne after you have successfully privatized the whole school system?
Hey 99. Yvonne didn't ask your question because she doesn't want to hear to the answer. Wouldn't fit with her well-known agenda: privatize public servives like education. Also would deflate her ideal for public employees where all agree To work w/o compensation just because they can be forced to.
Yeah, let's return to those good old days of privately run bucket brigades the next time the firemen's contract comes up. Maybe we can get private security firms, like Blackwater, to privatize urban law enforcement. People can dump their own garbage and drive their own kids to school..... and the big non-profits represented by the Boston Foundation and Boston Municipal Research Bureau can continue to be exempt from property taxes so that homeowners can pay for the remaining services.
It would be honest and good reporting if you reported on how many suspensions occurred in the first year of UP Academy. 85% of the former students may have begun the school year in September 2011 but how many were still there in May to take part in the MCAS?
How many repeating sixth graders were moved to other district schools?
Everyone beat me to the punch with the hemorrhaging of students, great comments all! So I went and checked the “data” on the MADOE, it’s a little slim but a few items just glared off the page, so I’m glad to have the opportunity to share them here! There are a total of 57.5 Staff members, of these 27 are under 26 years of age, 21 are between 26-32, and 9.5 are between 33-40 years old. There are no staff members over 40! Out of 4,100 teachers who applied for 60 positions in Up’s first year, they couldn’t find 1 teacher who was over 40! If this isn’t a clear case of age discrimination, I don’t know what is!
Speaking of discrimination, in a school with 228 African American students, 151 Hispanic students you would have thought that Up Academy would have diversified their teaching population to reflect that of their student population! Considering that Boston Public Schools is under a Federal Court Order to diversify that applies to Up Academy also! Obviously, Dr. Johnson didn’t mention it or Up Academy chose to ignore it, but out of 4,100 who applied for 60 positions, Up Academy Administration chosen is comprised of 43.5 white, 8 African American, 4 Hispanic, 2 are Asian! Finally, since there are 57.5 UP staff and 42.5 classroom teachers (32.7 are in general ed, 6.8 are special education, 3.0 are ELL teachers), what are the other 15 administrative people doing besides collecting paychecks?
They troll the hallways everyday to make sure that the"teachers"are following the script.
Actually you could take almost any person off the streets and train them to follow these scripted lesson plans.
Like Les Grossman said in Tropic Thunder, "a nutless monkey could do your job!"
J Shore has it right! Bend a few of the work rules and look what you get- unemployed, recent grads being taken advantage of by an educational vendor with an agenda. No creaming Yvonne claims - let's see the discipline records for the students that were not retained. You can achieve a lot in school improvement by removing -eh, not re-enrolling- the right kids. I guess you could call it removing the skim milk, so what's left is creamier. At least she did not go to Grogan or Tyler for their insights into the joys of exploiting these young teachers.
UP got all the 'extra' teachers because staff is so young. When they get older, they will leave, to be replaced by....younger staff. UP is up for a new school in Boston. a school or two in Lawrence, and so on. Bigger and better. Here's an idea: Let UP run a school exclusively for the kids they have kicked out, and then judge them by what they accomplish.
More Great to the point comments! Personally, I can hardly wait until the MADOE and the IRS release the 2012 "data!" How many teachers are certfied? How many are on a "waiver!" What is Up Academy attrition rate for teachers and students! Up's 2011, IRS 990 states they received in contributions and grants of $1,792,590! WOW! I can hardly wait to see how they "invest" this money! Where will it go? To "the children"...I don't think so!
g8 comments! Their nickname is "up and out" academy! I wish them well, just wish they kept some of my former students that I managed to teach - not throw away!
Let's not forget that the Gavin's population was roughly 10 percent multihandicapped. By virtue of the fact that they couldn't write or speak in any significant way, these students were automatically counted as "Warning" in terms of MCAS tests despite the submission of accepted alternative portfolios.
Where are they now? The program is still housed in the UP/Gavin building, but UP declined to include these students in their school. Instead, these students were also jettisoned off and--while physically attending school in the Gavin/UP building-- they technically now belong to the Murphy School in Dorchester.
The increase in scores is nice, but exclusion seems to be a key component in this numbers game...
Dear SBoston2222,
Thank you for sharing this important information. I, for once, am without words.
Dear SBoston2222,
Thank you for sharing this important information. I, for once, am without words.
Boston is flooded with teacher. For each position their any over thousands of applicants. I am a teacher and although I am "not on the clock" for a eight hour work day, I usually work ten hours a day. Some moments I am actually envious of my friends who leave their 5pm jobs with no homework to do. Then I look at my students and I can truly say I love what I do! Most teachers work on 6.5 hour a day contract but really work more hours then that!