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NEWS & LETTERS, October - November 2007
Students counted but don't count in Detroit
Detroit--"I’ve never seen anything like this!" sighed one administrator at my school, a veteran of Detroit Public Schools. Last June, 34 schools were closed and about 50 were "reorganized." The massive chaos damages teachers’ and staff ability to perform effectively and downgrades the educational life of the children.
A new superintendent, Dr. Connie Calloway, has ridden into town. Because of the corrupt contracting practices of the previous superintendent, all purchasing is on hold. Schools cannot receive curriculum materials, supplies, copier repair or repairs to the physical plant.
Staff and teacher placement is strictly by enrollment numbers. Thus, my school has "enough" teachers and counselors (last year we had three, now there is one)--but we all have to teach additional subjects, often outside our area of certification. Teaching split classes, two grades at once, is even more demanding. Students will lose because no one can teach a new subject as well--without preparation--the first time around.
Enrollment is low because so many children are enrolled in charter schools and suburban districts. These schools will keep the children until Count Day (Sept. 26); then expel the most difficult students. But state funds remain with the school that registered them on Count Day.
It is an open secret that DPS plans to lease their vacant buildings to charter schools. Meanwhile, the No Child Left Behind Act has terrorized the district so much that teachers in testing grades received scripted curricula to prepare for the MEAP statewide test upon which a school’s existence hangs.
Like workers everywhere, teachers and those unsung heroes, the support staff, are required to do more with less. We have not heard one word from the union about our deteriorating working conditions. At the same time the administration can’t wait to break the union altogether.
--Teacher
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