Michigan- News from the Front - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dynalow · #31 03-07-2010, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kknudson

I was going to post that Illinois has a LAW that Tenure must be used for laying off teachers.
Then I heard that it is law in 48 states, and that firing a tenured teacher is more difficult than firing a union auto worker.
In fact there are many tenured teachers that, like the auto workers, are paid to do nothing after they were for whatever reason removed from their position. Some because of school or program closings, sometimes basically criminal acts, but it is cheaper to pay them than pay the lawyers to truly fire them.They specifically mentioned 7 Hawaiian teachers that they attempted to fire for poor performance. After 10 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, 4 were let go.

Turn Around. Look at Me!.

Don't know where this will end up, but interesting idea anyway. Note it comes from federal giudelines & options.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/24/rhode.island.teachers/index.html?hpt=T2
CNN) -- A school board in Rhode Island has voted to fire all teachers at a struggling high school, a dramatic move aimed at shoring up education in a poverty-ridden school district.

In a 5-2 vote Tuesday night, the board approved the plan by Frances Gallo, superintendent at Central Falls School District, to discharge the teachers, administrators and other personnel at Central Falls High School.

The firings, which will be effective at the end of this school year, came after the district said it failed to reach an agreement with the teachers' union on a plan for the teachers to spend more time with students to improve test scores.

A union spokesman called the firings drastic and cited a 21 percent rise in reading scores and a 3 percent increase in math scores in the past two years.

The school district said 93 people -- including the principal, three assistant principals and 77 teachers -- were fired. The teachers' union said the firings affected 74 classroom teachers plus a number of other educators such as guidance counselors and reading specialists.

Central Falls High is one of the lowest-performing schools in Rhode Island. It is in a community where median income is $22,000, census figures show.

Of the 800 students, 65 percent are Hispanic and for most of them, English is a second language. Half the students are failing every subject, with 55 percent skilled in reading and 7 percent proficient in math, officials said.

In a proposal based on federal guidelines, Gallo asked teachers to work a longer school day of seven hours and tutor students weekly for one hour outside school time. She proposed teachers have lunch with students often, meet for 90 minutes every week to discuss education and set aside two weeks during summer break for paid professional development.

A spokesman for the union said the teachers had accepted most of the changes, but wanted to work out compensation for the extra hours of work.

The superintendent said the two sides could not agree on a pay rate.

Under new federal requirements for school reform, low-performing schools have several options. One is called the transformation model, which includes a series of changes that teachers agree to adopt.

When the negotiations on those changes failed at Central Falls High, the superintendent switched to another option: the turnaround model, which means firing every teacher at the troubled school.Kathy May, a teacher at Central Falls High, said she's disheartened. "I feel like, after 20 years, I can see some progress beginning to be made. And I'm sad that we're not going to be around to follow that through, to push that forward."
(Progress? After 20 years?? Gimme a break!Sheesh!)

Gallo, who said Rhode Island law says notice must be given by March 1, said the problem isn't solely the fault of teachers and it wasn't her preference to make the move. She indicated that some of the teachers might be rehired.

"When we had to move from the transformation model, the next best move was the turnaround model. And that requires us to remove the teachers and rehire, of those who reapply, up to 50 percent," she said.

"This is a major move, for a very significant reason, and that being that we couldn't hone in on the assurances we needed for the transformation model."

Asked what would happen if the teachers' union accepted the original terms, Gallo said it would be very difficult to go back, but can't be discounted.

"And if ... as we move forward, if indeed something of that effect comes around, then I still think we have a lot of doors that could be opened."

At a community rally before the school board meeting on Tuesday, supporters of the teachers slammed the plan.

Jane Sessums, president of the Central Falls Teachers Union, said teachers have been unfairly targeted and scapegoated and the union will fight to have them reinstated.

"We want genuine reforms, not quick fixes that do nothing but create a wedge between teachers, our school and our community," said Sessums. She added that "teachers have agreed to numerous solutions and reforms."

George McLaughlin, a guidance counselor who was fired along with his wife, a chemistry teacher, said the school has been inaccurately cast as a place with low graduation rates.

"We have the most transient population in this state. Nobody comes close to us. So when they say that 50 percent of the people graduate, a very high percentage of our students leave our school. They return. They leave again. They go back to other countries," he said, noting that three times as many of the school's students are accepted to colleges now than they were five years ago.

He also knocked the superintendent, saying she "has been with us for a little more than three years."

If Gallo were willing to negotiate and listen to former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who has offered to mediate, "maybe we could resolve this instead of causing more trauma to us."

McLaughlin said the negotiations were about job security, not pay, and said the teachers are ready to resume talks.

daveuz · #32 03-09-2010, 09:00 AM

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up aradical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile.
Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural. http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12104259

pj67coll · #33 03-09-2010, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveuz

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up aradical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile.
Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural. http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12104259

Excellent idea methinks. I've already suggested in other threads that similar things should be done here in Phoenix.

- Peter.

Hatterasguy · #34 03-09-2010, 02:00 PM

Saw that one coming. They should just tear up the roads, shut down the utilities and let those areas go back to forest. Unless someone wants to farm on them.

pawoSD · #35 03-09-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

All in favor of selling Michigan to Canada raise your hands now

Fine with me, then the people would be nicer, there'd be less murdering, and I'd have health care!

Monomer · #36 03-09-2010, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Saw that one coming. They should just tear up the roads, shut down the utilities and let those areas go back to forest. Unless someone wants to farm on them.

It's already halfway there...

#37 03-09-2010, 11:44 PM

Today I was talking to someone (now living in Atlanta) who still owns a house in Detroit; he has not been able to sell it for a couple of years bet has managed to rent it, for less than his mortgage payment, so he's now losing less money every month. What a mess.

pawoSD · #38 03-09-2010, 11:57 PM

Detroit needs to be leveled and turned back into farmland. Maybe save the core downtown district and spruce it up, but the majority of the suburbs need to go back to nature.

Hatterasguy · #39 03-10-2010, 12:25 AM

They will.

The problem with Detroit is all the producers left, now the city is just left with the dead weight.

cmac2012 · #40 03-10-2010, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strelnik

But wait, maybe den you get da good hockey players, non?

Besides, Quebec girls are very friendly.

Oui. Thank heaven for leetle gurls.

cmac2012 · #41 03-10-2010, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveuz

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up aradical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile.
Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural. http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12104259

They had a good piece on that on NPR. Said that in some places, one house in 20 was occupied. THAT would be a trip. I met a guy about 15 years ago who had bought a large house in Detroit for under $100 grand. From his description, sounded like a $half million dollar house even back then.

daveuz · #42 03-10-2010, 08:49 AM

This happened on a flight bound for Detroit.

Jack was sitting on the plane when a guy took the seat beside him.

The guy was an emotional wreck, sweating, pale, hands shaking and moaning in fear.

'What's the matter?' Jack asked.

"I've been transferred to Detroit , there's crazy people there.

Jack replied, "I've lived in Detroit all my life. It's not as bad as the media says.

It's as safe a place as anywhere in the world."

The guy relaxed and stopped shaking and said, "Oh, thank you. I've been worried to death.

But if you live there and say it's OK, I'll take your word for it. What do you do for a living?"

.

"Me?" said Jack. "I'm a tail gunner on a Budweiser truck

strelnik · #43 03-10-2010, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveuz

This happened on a flight bound for Detroit.

Jack was sitting on the plane when a guy took the seat beside him.

The guy was an emotional wreck, sweating, pale, hands shaking and moaning in fear.

'What's the matter?' Jack asked.

"I've been transferred to Detroit , there's crazy people there.

Jack replied, "I've lived in Detroit all my life. It's not as bad as the media says.

It's as safe a place as anywhere in the world."

The guy relaxed and stopped shaking and said, "Oh, thank you. I've been worried to death.

But if you live there and say it's OK, I'll take your word for it. What do you do for a living?"

.

"Me?" said Jack. "I'm a tail gunner on a Budweiser truck

Yeah, but it's the EOD squads working near the liquor stores that really have it bad.

Fortunately, now that the anti-sniper battalions have wiped out the hiding spots near the stores, it's a lot easier to see who has emplaced mines in the pot holes....

MTI · #44 03-10-2010, 03:21 PM

Monthly Unemployment Drops in 9 States; Michigan Makes Headway

Unemployment decreased in nine U.S. states in January, led by an improvement in Michigan that demonstrates factories are driving the economic rebound.

Michigan’s jobless rate fell to 14.3 percent, still the highest in the nation, from 14.5 percent in December, according to figures issued today by the Labor Department in Washington. New York and New Jersey were among the eight states where unemployment decreased by a tenth of a point.