Seattle Teacher Refuses to Administer State Test (WASL)

In these days of state standards and so called “failing schools”, many teachers fantasize about not subjecting their students to the mandatory state standardized tests. For those teachers who have flirted with the idea, read this article about a teacher in Seattle who decided to take his “civil disobedience” into the classroom, defying state law and state academic standards. Right or wrong, it provides a great read and a poignant lesson in modern day civics.

Here is the link to the full article:

TEACHER REFUSES TO ADMINISTER STATE TEST

SAVE LIFE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL! – Meeting April 2nd, 2008

FROM TEAMS FELLOW EMILY RIGOTTI:

Dear friends and family,

Life Academy, the Oakland High School where I work, is fighting for
its life right now. As of Monday, we were informed that we would no
longer be allowed to continue to operate at our current facility next
year. If you didn’t know, seven years ago, we transformed a former Red
Cross building, then Adult Education building to become the welcoming
school it is today. We’ve poured in our blood, sweat and tears to make
it one of the most successful inner-city public high schools in
Oakland. We consistently rank at the top of our district in test
scores, attendance, graduation rates, student, staff and parent
satisfaction, and innovative professional practices. Last year, we
graduated over 30% of our senior class to a University of California
school.

Many alumni accredit our small school family atmosphere setting with
their success and now the district wants to move us to an unknown
site, most likely to be shared by another school in an overcrowded
space. When asked what might happen if no appropriate site is found,
our District representative simply answered with, “I don’t know.” This
answer seriously concerns us with the possibility that the district
may even break up our school if no site is found.

Recently one of the Oakland Tribune reporters blogged about this move
and offered copies of the letter we received from the district.
http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2008/03/19/life-academy-to-be-uprooted/#more-521

Based on the letter alone, it seems like we have several openings for
a legal argument. On the first line of the third paragraph, it states
that, “the District has determined that the Life Academy facility
probably does not comply with Field Act standards for housing K-12
students and staff.” Not a very strong statement to be making when
they are trying to move an entire school of 250 students.

We are desperately searching for individuals who can help us in this
struggle, Politicians, Media sources, Education Law experts, and just
you as a concerned individual wanting to promote social justice and
keep our under-served youth from being once again mis-placed. Please
disseminate this email widely.

The future existence of Life Academy depends on it. If you’d like to
learn more about our school, please visit our website at
http://www.lifeacademyhighschool.org/

Finally, there will be a mass demonstration of support from the
community and our supporters on Wednesday, April 2nd at the OUSD
Administrative building (1025 2nd Avenue, 4th floor, Hunter Hall,
Oakland, CA). Please invite as many people as you can, especially
those who have been touched by Life Academy.

Thanks for listening.

Emily

Layoff notices set to hit teachers’ mailboxes (SFGATE)

More than 10,100 teachers will see pink slips in their mailboxes over the next few days as districts up and down California meet a Saturday deadline to warn staff of anticipated layoffs due to the state’s budget crisis.

Kristen Vogel is expecting two pink slips at her house.

The third-year San Francisco elementary school teacher knows she’ll get one. A substitute principal at her school broke the news Monday. A union letter confirmed it Wednesday. The district’s official certified letter is likely to arrive over the weekend.

Her husband, a fourth-grade teacher in his first year at a school in Santa Rosa, is waiting for one, too, but because he’s a temporary teacher, the district doesn’t have to tell him until the end of the school year.

With the governor proposing a $4 billion budget cut to state schools next fiscal year, local education officials are scrambling to adjust their spending plans. Given that 80 percent or more of a district’s budget is spent on salaries, the only way to close the gap is to lose staff, many administrators said.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE

SF Parking Situation + Teachers = BAD NEWS!

Here is a link to an article about teachers getting an extraordinary amount of parking tickets in San Francisco due to our horrible parking shortage. And I totally understand…one year, I racked up over $1500 in parking tickets.

Here is the link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/01/BA0GUP11U.DTL