The mayor also won much-needed moral support for his efforts to end "last in, first out" from US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
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Duncan, in a telephone conference call with reporters yesterday, backed up Bloomberg's demand to end LIFO, which protects teachers with seniority from layoffs at the expense of younger, motivated teachers who serve some of the most needy students.
"If layoffs are based only on seniority, that doesn't help kids," Duncan said, promising to use his position as the nation's education czar as a bully pulpit to end LIFO.
"Particularly, it doesn't help students who need the most help. You have a concentration of young teachers in the most disadvantaged communities.
"And if, due to budget cuts, you're only laying off those young teachers . . . there's massive disruption to those children who, again, need the most stability, the most support, and need the strongest teachers.
"If you go by our basic premise of trying to minimize the negative impact on students, [LIFO] just doesn't meet the test."
Right - laying off the most expensive teachers, the veterans, that helps the kids.
Please remember where both Arne and Obama stand on this fight when the corporate union leadership comes around looking for union members to coordinate GOTV efforts in 2012.
I was so angry when I read this article that I sat down and wrote an e-mail to the White House, saying that we need a new Sec. of Ed. and echoed your sentiments about the lack of support Obama was going to be getting in 2012.
ReplyDeleteI know they won't care, but I felt the need to do something.
We need a new president, period. This one is a worthless, corrupt son of a bitch.
ReplyDeleteWhat?
ReplyDelete"And if, due to budget cuts, you're only laying off those young teachers . . . there's massive disruption to those children who, again, need the most stability, the most support, and need the strongest teachers."
So those professional, long-term teachers who stay in a school for 15-20 years don't provide stability? They are possibly the only stability the entire community may know.
Is this the kind of logic one learns at Harvard?
yep, definitely lost my vote and I am campaigning for whoever runs against Dean Skelos. (Skelos is my representative).
ReplyDelete