Teachers paid 37.15 an hour and want statewide contract.

[DagnyTaggart]

This would be bad news for NH Taxpayers. 

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/NEWS01/208280382

Education chief outlines goals, discusses hurdles


By MICHAEL BRINDLEY, Telegraph Staff
mbrindley@nashuatelegraph.com

Published: Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007

ENLARGE PHOTO
Lyonel Tracy, state commisssioner of education, talks to Nashua school district staff Monday.
Staff photo by Don Himsel
Lyonel Tracy, state commisssioner of education, talks to Nashua school district staff Monday.
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NASHUA – Teachers and other district staff boarded buses at their schools Monday morning, and gathered at Nashua High School South for a back-to-school welcome from state Commissioner of Education Lyonel Tracy.

Almost the entire district work force, from teachers to administrators to secretaries, filled the gymnasium to the rafters, as Tracy spoke from the floor about his first days in school as a child and what his teachers meant to him.

"If it weren't for my teachers, I wouldn't even be here today," said Tracy, who was superintendent of the Portsmouth schools before he was appointed commissioner in 2005.

He also talked about initiatives he is undertaking this year, saying his department is looking to analyze school district budgets to see what percentage of their funding goes to direct instruction.

"That's where the real impact is," he said.

The only people who didn't attend Monday's meeting were paraprofessionals, who were at a separate staff meeting at the Keefe Auditorium at Elm Street Middle School. Superintendent Christopher Hottel was at South on Monday morning, and said he would later be heading to Elm Street.

During the staff meeting, Tracy praised the work that goes on in the Nashua schools, saying it is one of the few districts in the state that works with such a diverse group of students.

"You are an urban school district that gets it," he said.

His visit comes the day before the release of the latest round of "Adequate Yearly Progress" reports for schools across the state, which is the accountability aspect of the federal No Child Left Behind act.

Schools that fail to show adequate progress two years in a row are added to the state's "in need of improvement" list.

Nashua has four elementary schools on the list – Mount Pleasant, Amherst Street, Ledge Street and Fairgrounds – as well as Nashua High School South.

Because all four elementary schools receive Title I federal funding, they have faced sanctions such as having to offer public school choice and providing tutoring for students. Potentially a fifth elementary school – Dr. Norman W. Crisp – will have to offer choice this year, as well.

The delay in results this year could create a problem offering school choice after the school year starts, said Associate Superintendent Ed Hendry last week.

Tracy talked about the effect the law has had on education, saying while it is well-intended, "what we really need to do is rewrite it."

The expectation that 100 percent of students will be proficient in math and reading by 2014 isn't realistic, he said, and the law focuses too heavily on math and reading and does not incorporate other important subjects like art, social studies and even physical education.

In Nashua, the AYP results are being released on the first day of school. Tuesday is the first day of school for elementary schools, middle schools, and freshmen at the high schools. Upperclassmen and kindergarteners start later in the week.

Tracy said he had already studied the results for Nashua and the rest of the state, but said he couldn't say anything about them until Tuesday's official release.

No matter what happens, Tracy encouraged teachers to "get inside (students') hearts and souls and minds and find out who they are."

With the law up for reauthorization this year, Tracy said he has spoken with presidential candidates about changes that should be made to it.

The state has proposed implementing individual student growth into the accountability formula, but federal education officials rejected the proposal.

School board members Rick Dowd and Edwina Kwan were at the meeting, as was Helen Honorow, a Nashua parent in her first year as a member of the state Board of Education.

Tracy's visit to the city also comes as teachers go back to school for the second consecutive year without a new contract.

The union and the school board had come to terms on a four-year deal this summer, but the board of aldermen rejected it.

Earlier this month, Tracy had talked in Berlin about his proposal to come up with a statewide teacher contract, which would create a system with equal pay rates for teachers across districts.

On Monday, Tracy said that's an idea he's still looking into, but it would require some financial backing from the state legislature.

"It's also important to retain local control," he said.

Hottel addressed the contract situation with teachers, saying the union and the district's negotiating team met Friday, and have another meeting scheduled for this afternoon.

"It may take some time, but we're working on it," he said.

Regardless of what happens, Hottel said the teachers are the lifeblood of the school district, and said their work can't be quantified by calculating an hourly rate, something Alderman-at-Large Fred Teeboom attempted to do during discussion at a budget committee meeting.

"You're the people who are heroes to the students and give them a sense of belonging," said Hottel.

Teeboom's calculation was that teachers make $37.15 per hour, taking into account their summer break.

After the meeting, Hottel said there are still 10 teaching positions the district has yet to fill. Those classes will be run by substitutes until permanent teachers can be hired, he said.

As teachers filtered out, Tracy shook their hands and spoke with them about the upcoming year.

Michael Brindley can be reached at 594-6426 or mbrindley@nashuatelegraph.com.

[Ogre]

And unions are VERY powerful in NH.  It was a few years ago now that the NH Supreme Court ruled that employees can be forced to join unions.  Well, technically, they said you are free to not join the union, but you still had to pay the union dues.

[KBCraig]

Teeboom's calculation was that teachers make $37.15 per hour, taking into account their summer break.

I am not supporting the teacher's union, but I'd like to see how Teeboom came to this figure. When I've seen people offer such calculations before, they always assumed that "hours worked" equals the hours in a school day. I've known public school teachers (even dated one for a couple of years), and when you add in the work they did at home, and the extracurricular activities they were required to attend, they probably averaged 50+ hours per week when school was in session.

[lildog]

This is bad news on SOOOO many different levels.

Town's wishing to spend more on teachers to recruit better teachers will no longer have that as an edge.  Towns in the boondocks on the north end of the state will be paying the same as those on the south end of the state even though the standard of living is so much cheaper.

This has train wreck written all over it and sadly it's the kids that are going to suffer.

I cannot stress enough how important privatized education would be.  The question is how can we go about achieving this?  Especially given the current state of NH being controlled by socialistic democrats who jump at spending programs and would love to get their fingers on more control of the education system.

[DagnyTaggart]

Teeboom,Äôs calculation was that teachers make $37.15 per hour, taking into account their summer break.

I am not supporting the teacher's union, but I'd like to see how Teeboom came to this figure. When I've seen people offer such calculations before, they always assumed that "hours worked" equals the hours in a school day. I've known public school teachers (even dated one for a couple of years), and when you add in the work they did at home, and the extracurricular activities they were required to attend, they probably averaged 50+ hours per week when school was in session.

KB Craig.  You really need to read the book Education Myths.  Teachers themselves reported they work after hours about as much as other professions.   I myself although salaried spent time outside of work doing research and writing patient reports.  The difference between teachers and other professions is that teachers like to bitch and whine about something that is a given in their profession. 

I know teachers too.  Many report they have enough free time in the day to grade papers and do their lessons plans.  Teachers typically have one to three free periods a day to grade papers and do lesson plans. 

[DagnyTaggart]

I have met too many people associated with NH Free who are apologists for teachers.  Unions would not get away with the garbage they do if they did not have the support of the mindless drones called teachers. 

[kola]

And how many paid holidays do they get?

and thier summer vacation is how many weeks?

Kola

[EthanAllen]

The teachers unions are a huge threat to freedom.  Privatization of the delivery of educational services must be a priority.

Knowledge is part of the social commons.

[EthanAllen]

The teachers unions are a huge threat to freedom.  Privatization of the delivery of educational services must be a priority.

Knowledge is part of the social commons.

Wether or not that is true, where market forces can be employed effectively, they should be, as they are generally more efficient.  Its clear from everywhere that its tried that where the delivery of knowledge is privatized, it does a far better job.  The financing of the delivery is a separate question.

A private education is a self-selected group. A public education is provided for everyone.

[J’raxis 270145]

The teachers unions are a huge threat to freedom.  Privatization of the delivery of educational services must be a priority.

Knowledge is part of the social commons.

Wether or not that is true, where market forces can be employed effectively, they should be, as they are generally more efficient.  Its clear from everywhere that its tried that where the delivery of knowledge is privatized, it does a far better job.  The financing of the delivery is a separate question.

A private education is a self-selected group. A public education is provided for everyone.

You'd do better to argue for public education if it weren't the train wreck that it is.

[Tom Sawyer]

The teachers unions are a huge threat to freedom.  Privatization of the delivery of educational services must be a priority.

Knowledge is part of the social commons.

Wether or not that is true, where market forces can be employed effectively, they should be, as they are generally more efficient.  Its clear from everywhere that its tried that where the delivery of knowledge is privatized, it does a far better job.  The financing of the delivery is a separate question.

A private education is a self-selected group. A public education is provided for forced on everyone.

You'd do better to argue for public education if it weren't the train wreck that it is.

[Fluff and Stuff]

I have met too many people associated with NH Free who are apologists for teachers.  Unions would not get away with the garbage they do if they did not have the support of the mindless drones called teachers. 

Private school teachers are usually paid less than government school teachers but not a huge amount less.  However, the cost of educating a child in a government school is much more than the cost of educating a child in a private school.  The truth is, most of the extra cost has nothing to do with the teachers.

[J’raxis 270145]

Gatto talks about that in his book at that link there; he describes the proliferation of administrative positions within schools as a "jobs project" for otherwise unemployable people.

[Gard]

Gatto is right on the money, and his predecessor, Sam Blumenfeld, covers the history of government education very well in is book "Is Public education Necessary?" Look for it, and if you can get it used, grab it, because it's invaluable.

Suggestion, how about we libertarians volunteer for those open slots for teachers, and then start propagandizing the kids the way the lefties do every day when THEY control the classes? I bet the powers that be wouldn't sit still for that, yet they sit still for politicization of classes by leftists, and encourage poor teaching techniques like 'sight reading'.

Amazing.

[Fluff and Stuff]

Suggestion, how about we libertarians volunteer for those open slots for teachers, and then start propagandizing the kids the way the lefties do every day when THEY control the classes?

You can be a sup or get a grad degree and do that as an actual teacher.