Earlier this week, we joined public school parents and reform organizations across the city in calling on the School Reform Commission to put student needs ahead of employee seniority. Read more from the Inquirer and WHYY here. Why is this reform so critical? The key to great schools is great teachers, and seniority too often …
seniority reform
Two-pronged attack on teachers’ seniority planned
Seniority for public school teachers is in the crosshairs in Philadelphia and soon will be a target across Pennsylvania.
Frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations for a new contract for Philadelphia teachers, a coalition of education and parents' groups says it will call on the School Reform Commission Monday to immediately pull seniority off the bargaining table and give Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. a free hand in assigning staff.
Two Groups Press For Elimination of Teacher seniority Rules In Philadelphia Schools
A group of education reform advocates is pushing the Philadelphia School Reform Commission to use its power to eliminate seniority as a basis for assigning teachers.
Seniority has been a major issue in the ongoing negotiations between the school district and its teachers’ union.
Parents and School Reform Groups Urge SRC to Implement Work Reforms on seniority and Staffing Now
Today, public-school parents and education reform groups today called on the School Reform Commission (SRC) to use its existing authority to implement policies that put student needs ahead of employee seniority when it comes to hiring, assigning and compensating teachers. Parents and advocates alike urged the SRC to end the negotiation stalemate by using its …
Our Response to Action United and PFT Attacks
Misguided and inaccurate attacks simply waste time and money, and do nothing to solve the problem. Our children are waiting, and they deserve better. Action United and its supporters at the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers are spending tens of thousands of dollars to divert the public’s attention away from the real issues at the center …
Our Statement in Response to SRC’s Intention to Suspend Portions of the School Code
Bipartisan legislative action gave the SRC the power to suspend the school code to manage through a fiscal crisis. That is clearly where we are in Philadelphia, so we endorse the SRC’s decision to exercise these powers. The SRC’s emphasis appears to be on ensuring that it can assign rehired employees to the positions that …
WHYY: Should merit matter in deciding which Philly teachers to lay off?
Jacqueline Bershad loved everything about the way her son's second grade teacher ran her classroom at Greenfield Elementary School in Center City Philadelphia.
She was "exactly what you would hope for in a teacher," Bershad said — warm, yet firm, giving kids just the right mix of academic rigor and fun.
WHYY: Down to the wire on schools funding, nonprofit pushes a labor proposal
As the state legislature approaches a critical deadline with little progress toward a funding solution for Philadelphia schools, a local nonprofit is shopping legislation linking any extra state funding to work-rules changes for public school teachers.
Did you read this?
As lawmakers in Harrisburg enter the final days of negotiation on the state budget, we wanted to be sure you read two pieces in today’s Inquirer that articulate why we must focus on both fully funding our schools and ensuring any new funding better serves our kids. First, public school parent Christine Carlson explains how …
Daily News Editorial: District must fix teacher policies
Contentious contract negotiations, like those involving the School District and the teachers’ union, are usually at heart a battle of narratives – between management, which is often in financial crisis, and labor, whose narrative is about protecting beleaguered workers from being exploited. They are rarely a celebration of hard data and facts about hiring, compensation …