Saturday, May 5, 2012

Resignations

On another post Anonymous wrote:

I feel this should qualify for a separate listing




04-25-2012 BOARD MINUTES SECTION H RESIGNATIONS STARTING ON PAGE 218



There are 30 teachers listed. Are the majority of teachers listed in this Section taking the Board-PFT Union buyout from December?



They are listed as resigning for personal reasons effective 6-18-12. Please explain to taxpayer and concerned parent.



19 comments:

Questioner said...

Can you post a link?

Anonymous said...

I downloaded the 4-25-12 Board Minutes from the PPS web site.

www.pghboe.net.

Downloaded in Acrobat 128 MB 451 pages.

Why?
Because as a taxpayer and parent-all the Board members gibberish means little-it’s the print version that walks their talk.ts

Anonymous said...

I am wondering are some of the resignations targeted teachers?

What was the Board/PFT buyout for teachers-to be listed as resigned?

Anonymous said...

No Disipline in the Schools or Administrative Support

Horrible, scripted, repeditive uncreative, curriculum

To many students already in overcrowed class rooms

Risen, Focused

No support

They failed their subjective improvement plan's

No Union protection

Exited

Some Empowerment

Anonymous said...

I know three teachers on this list. All colleagues of mine. Only one of the three was eligible for and took the early incentive retirement offer.

Anonymous said...

Please explain

What factors makes a PPS teacher eligible for the early incentive retirement offer?

In addition, what is the early incentive retirement offer?

A very concerned parent that has a former teacher of my son’s in Section H resignations.

Was the incentive retirement offer off the table?

I would appreciate an answer for a very confused parent.

Anonymous said...

It wasn't an early retirement incentive. It was for people who were too far from retirement but maybe were considering a career change. I think it was $50,000 over several years. They were especting few takers -- I think they predicted less than 50 -- so the 30 is no surprise.

Moe said...

Anon 10:03, you said that "it was for people who were too far from retirement but maybe were considering a career change."

Maybe for some, or even most. But for those who were being focused or harassed, it was either resign "for personal reasons" or be fired.

A colleague of mine when through this. If you resign, you get the buyout, plus you avoid having "fired" on your resume.

But you have to sign a paper releasing the district from any legal action.

Anonymous said...

The resignations are different than the retirements and are in a different letter section. The 30 were the resignations for personal reasons.

There were a few early retirements listed in the retirement section.

Questioner said...

Some who have seen minutes go by for years observe that the number of resignations for personal reasons have greatly increased over the last year or so.

Anonymous said...

11:20:

Not really.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous ...7:17 AM

Yes, really!!

YES, it is a given with the revolving doors.

When you make a comparative analysis with the past three administrations. The past 6-7 years show a tremendous shift in increasing resignations.

Many teachers and Bellfield Avenue internal office employees are listed on continuing basis.

Especially secretaries and many diverse positions throughout the school system within the school building culture.

Anonymous said...

The buyout package is an insult to teachers. I would like to see some top administators be given that package and be expected to take it. At least it is something, but it is an insult

Anonymous said...

The great majority of these teachers were targeted because of their seniority, "RISEn", put on an improvement plan and then given the choice of resigning or being fired.

Boy...don't you just feel empowered by this process?

And now the all out assault on seniority in the press. You'd have to be a complete idiot not to see what is going on.

Anonymous said...

Thanks to the posters that contributed to the insight for the many resignations.

As a parent, taxpayer, sometimes you feel like an outside person looking in. So watching board meetings, reading the board minutes, attending parental school affairs and this blog; I am finally gaining a better analysis with diversified input and no venting-as one poster thought as an answer for logical questions to resignations and upward numbers each month.

I have come a long way with the above and this blog brought me to a true realism of PPS

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yoyt0UnDrg4

and they wonder why....

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:06 you don't work for the dist. So you really do not know whats going on in side the schools,some not all teachers are in it for a paycheck and that's why they are being observed more then they ever did before and it's to weed out the ones that's only in it for a paycheck ,so do you think it's fair if your child would come home and you ask him/her what did you learn today and they say nothing ,the teacher let me and the rest of the class listing to our iPods ,WHAT WOULD YOU DO.Time for a change in the pps seniority process.

Anonymous said...

**and they say nothing ,the teacher let me and the rest of the class listing to our iPods ,WHAT WOULD YOU DO.Time for a change in the pps seniority process.
**

What would I do? I would let the principal know about this problem. I would keep track every day of what my kid had done in that class so that when I talked with the principal I would have a list of problems. If I had any examples of poor assignments, etc. I would use those as well.

THEN I would expect the principal to do his or her JOB! They are supposed to observe, pull in the ITL, use an improvement plan if necessary, and document.

Plenty of teachers were fired this year, proving that it can be done without all this moaning and groaning about how it can't be done!

I expect administrators to do their jobs and the union/reps to support those who pay them. (And no, I'm not a teacher in the union.)

Otherwise I expect the district to PROVE that they are capable of telling who the most and least effective teachers are, how they come up with those ratings and rankings and to be very transparent about how many more senior "bad" teachers there are and how many young, newer "much better" at teaching teachers there are so we can have this discussion with some numbers attached.

Otherwise, we just have their assurances that this is fair and not an attempt to lower salaries by deciding that every teacher turns bad before they make "too much" money.

Anonymous said...

Clearly, 1:40 learned how to read, write and express themselves in an educated manner. She/he also raising the right questions by inference. There must be a clear and fair definition, even a rubric, for precisely what constitutes an "effective" teacher. Currently, that does not exist. In fact, the Chief of Performance was NOT able to articulate a definition for an "effective teacher" when asked to do so by a Board member.

That clear and fair definition should be available for consideration, discussion, input and agreement PRIOR to "improvement plans" or dismissals. Similar, agreed-upon processes must also be in place for ALL administrators from principals to superintendent. Let the public be informed and knowledgeable via a clear, fair, but specifically-detailed RUBRIC.

ALL adults in the school system must be held accountable for their role and the end results of educating ALL of PPS children/students!