A Day Without a Teacher

Let me close the brief discussion concerning the teacher shortage with this. To each parent of a son/daughter, how would you feel if your child/children attended school and the Administration had to drop a couple of courses and/or an entire curriculum in a content area that your son/daughter really wanted to take?

I'm serious, what would your reaction be? How do you suppose your child would feel about being denied an opportunity they relish?

And to those who would offer the lame excuse that "they can sign up for another program," I say that's nonsense and it's our responsibility to see to it that no child is denied opportunities for success. Put another way, as adults it's incumbent upon us that we don't allow education to be diminished in any way.

We all need to jump into the fray with regard to making sure all of our schools have the teachers our students need and deserve.

Dick

You Can Help

I often hear people say, as they throw up their hands, "but what can I do about it?" Okay, a fair question. So I have an answer for you. When it comes to finding a way or ways for us to add our voice to the cause of adding to our ranks of teachers I'd like to ask those of you so moved to write a letter to the leader of our professional teaching organizations.

The address of the AFT: The American Federation of Teachers, President Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers, 555 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20001. The address of the National Education Association is: President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, 1201 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036-3290

Please let me know if you are able to shoot off a letter and any response to you receive.

Thanks,
Dick

Teacher Openings

I thought I'd add some numbers to the dire situation relative to the need for teachers going forward. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that there will be plenty of job openings for PK-12 teachers between 2014 and 2024. A staggering 1,053,000 openings are in the offing. Yes, that's right, over 1,000,000 teachers will be needed.

This isn't merely about teacher training, getting students interested in pursuing a career working with young people and helping to shape their direction in life. Not having the necessary and highly qualified people in the classroom will surely send a jolt to the very fabric of American society; culture, entertainment, the economy and more.

The problem is here right now and Americans better wake up and get off their asses and do something about it!!

Dick

Want Ad - Calling All Teachers

Yesteday I brought attention to the fact that America's classrooms are going without teachers. It doesn't matter if it's the suburbs, rural locations or the inner cities...there is a teacher shortage in the US. Bringing young people into the fold, retaining them and making sure that all programs are fully staffed is a must for public education.

Too often it takes a crisis or problem to come into full view before we take any action. Well, the time is now because the teacher shortage in America is real.

It is high time that teachers in the classroom encourage young people to carry on the mantle of teaching. It is incumbent upon the IEA, AFT and NEA to provide funding in the form of grants to high schools so that secondary teachers can implement Introduction to Teaching courses that put high school students in the elementary and middle schools. And it ought to be a priority for the Department of Education to take up the cause of fighting to stop the shortage.

Dick

Me Panic...Well, Yes

Not to worry everyone. All is well on the front to recruit, retain and keep teachers in the field of public education. Well, panic, at least for me has set in. Hyperbole - I'll let you judge for yourselves so in the meantime I'll present some non-fake information.

I've talked about the crisis in rural schools...shrinking population, too few dollars and a dwindling supply of teachers. That loss of teachers goes for public schools in suburban areas as well as in the inner cities. A number of states are loosening their standards or licensing requirements out of necessity - there are simply too few people in the classrooms. High schools in particular are finding it harder and harder to find good candidates for teaching our children.

As the above takes place, schools are simply not filling slots and are allowing the so called 'electives' to die a slow death.

And this limited supply of teaching professionals is just as bad for schools who are searching for competent substitute teachers. Thousands of substitute teacher slots go unfilled every single day, day in and day out. I'll let you venture a guess as to what gets done in the classroom when that occurs.

Universities across America are finding fewer high school graduates desiring to enter the profession. Some universities are shuttering their education curriculum altogether.

As a former teacher, I have to say that such a trend portends some serious thinking and action to address these problems. So, yes I see a reason for panic.

Dick

Heath Insurance, Children and Education

It's a known fact that a healthy, well nourished child will have a better chance for success when they head to school each day. The importance of this truth can't be overstated nor should the fact that without the CHIP program (already not renewed for 9,000,000 kids) and the ACA we are putting too many students at further risk.

In some respects CHIP and the ACA are just as critical for s,tudents as pens, notebooks, cleats, a school uniform or crayons. Nothing could be more important for that child than be healthy and able to write, play that instrument, read or run up and down the soccer field.

For the sake of students I hope that we can agree that a healthy child benefits all.

Dick

Students Stepping Up

As conditions continue to be abysmal on the ground in many parts of Puerto Rico a group of Hinsdale Central High School are eager to do their part to try to bring some tangible support to some of the island's children. The Central students have formed a group called Campaign for Classrooms (C4C).

In the past couple of years C4C has helped to rebuild schools in Uganda, Nepal and Honduras. Schools Count will partner with C4C to help get a school back on its feet in Guayama, Puerto Rico. This just so happens to be the very location where Hurricane Irma came ashore on September 21st.

C4C will raise funds for Marcela Cora Garcia Elementary to get up and running to full speed. Over the next couple of days we will provide everyone with more information about the situation in Guayama going forward. As of this morning communications, the existence of clean water and many other life essentials continues to be sparse.

So, hats off to the members of C4C for their willingness to do something to bring aid and comfort to the students at MCG Elementary!

Dick

New CEO at CPS

It seems as though there is a constantly moving revolving door at CPS Headquarters when it comes to the person in charge. Yes, there is another change as Forrest Claypool stepped down as Friday in the wake of a damaging report by the Inspector General. Janice Jackson the current chief education officer in the school system, will take over.

Ms. Jackson comes to the position with very different credentials than many of her predessors. She attended Cook Elementary in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood and graduated from Hyde Park Academy H.S. She attended college in the city and then moved on to be a Social Studies teacher at South Shore. Later Ms. Jackson had two stints as a principal first at Raby H.S. followed by heading up that position at Westinhouse High.

Ms. Jackson's daughter currently attends a CPS school. I don't know what the future holds for Janice but she sure has a working knowledge of the city public schools. Time will tell but she certainly comes to the job with some real education background and that can only help all concerned.

Dick

Rockport, TX Good News

Dr. Ricketts, the band director at the high school, has informed me that a good number of the music instruments have been saved following Hurricane Harvey. What they are most in need of are some snare drums. Together with Luscombe Music in Elmhurst I'm pleased to announce that Schools Count Corp. will be able to ship some new snares to the school!!

Aside from concerts, parades and playing at athletic contests, the fact that the students will be able to get in the classroom and to do something they love to do is exciting. Glad we can lend a helping hand with the music program.

Dick

CPS CEO in Trouble?

I'll return to my series on CPS high schools tomorrow. A bit of a blockbuster story has erupted in the past day or two. According to the Chicago Sun-Times the Inspector General, Nicholas Schuler, has recommended that the Board of Education fire Forrest Claypool, the CEO of the school system.

Why the firing you ask? The report/recomendation comes about because Schuler had compelling proof that Claypool had delayed or obstructed an investigation. That investigation said that Claypool had hired a friend, who also made contributions to past Claypool political campaigns, the school system's general counsel.

Without getting involved in the weeds, the IG essentially said that CPS ethics rules were broken.

Mayor Emanuel acknowledged that Claypool "made a mistake." However, both the Mayor and CPS Board of Education President Frank Clark also praised the work of Claypool.

It will be interesting indeed to learn the outcome of a closed door CPS Bd. of Mtg. after the Schuler presented his recommendation that Claypool be terminated. One thing is certain...this is but another blot on the record of CPS that clearly isn't what the image of the system needs at this point.

Dick

CPS High Schools in Flux - Part 3

Hopefully my series on a number of CPS high schools who are shrinking in size is not simply a litany of all that is 'wrong' but it also gets to the crucial points of how students aren't properly served and what can be done going forward. So it's true that a good number of the 17 schools I've mentioned over the past couple of days will be closed.

In the meantime a number of schools will stay open next year. Some are facing a dirth of students, a number are having to cut class offerings, resources are lacking, and principals are faced with severely slashed budgets. Sadly, a number of these schools are in need of repairs and, more importantly, they need an infusion of hope and great teachers.

Sadly, the above produces a cycle of students continuing to flee a number of these 17 schools. To give you a sense of the scattering, the Chicago Tribune has reported that some of the students living in these 17 school boundary areas, instead of attending their neighborhood high school, attended at least 90 different CPS high schools!!

All of this is sad news for many of these communities that are already suffering from various socio-economic woes. Many quite simply, and tragically, are left behind.

Dick

CPS High Schools in Flux - Part 2

As the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune noted, the 17 high schools with drastically dwindling student populations are not only at risk of closing (3 will shutter at the end of this school year) they are in a situation where they can hardly deliver a decent level of education. And much of this failure to deliver a quality of education lies outside of what teachers and staff are able to do.

Here's what has been happening. As the population of a neighborhood diminishes - for a whole host of reasons - so does the student population in the high schools. That always leads to a cut in funding. So for every student lost roughly $5,300 doesn't make it to the coffers of the principal.

For example, Manley High School had a student population of 1,221 in 2007-08. In the current school year Manley has a population of a mere 114 pupils, a difference of 1,107. Multiply that drastic drop in students by $5,300, or even a smaller amount for earlier years and there has been a loss of over $4,000,000.

That means that Manley - and some of these other 17 schools - see a loss of teachers, a severe reduction in curricular programs and it feeds into the fact that students continue to flee from schools as all of the above occurs. In short, it is a cycle that continues to further erode what a high school can deliver.

Quite sad

Dick

CPS High Schools in Flux - Part 1

The Chicago Tribune has undertaken a review of CPS high schools and they have found that 17 of them have enrollments of 516 or fewer students. Many of these schools have enrollments below 300 pupils. To say that these high schools are facing serious problems, not to mention the closing of their doors, is an understatement.

In the next few days I'll try to recapture some of the major points of the Tribune articles and get into more depth on what is not only likely to take place but endeavor to shed some light on many of the hidden reasons for the demise in population as well as what will surely be the effects on the various communities.

Here's where we are at. CPS WILL close three schools at the end of the current school year. Those schools are Robeson, Hope and Harper. No doubt these students, their families and staff, not to mention the communities, are certainly feeling the pain and not merely the pain of closing but - underclass students - the pain of what lies ahead.

As I go forward in the coming days I'll address; losses in enrollment, what the losses mean in terms of programs offered in the schools, the loss of income that comes with decreases in student enrollment and current other problems the 17 schools are facing.

Rural School Plight - Part 5

The story regarding the fate of rural schools seems to almost be written in stone with respect to funding. Lots of people will wring their hands and some spats will arise. A little tinkering of finances will take place but nothing of any magnitude will occur. It's not only that various bodies of governance can't agree on what to do there's another rather sinister reason why little will take place.

Teachers, whether in rural settings, suburbia or the inner city will do what they always do. As the expression goes, 'we'll make do.' It is part of the genius of good teachers and excellent schools but it is also one of the reasons that the wringing of hands goes on. Government bodies know full well that schools will 'make do.'

As funds dry up and solutions aren't brought forward rural schools will slowly continue to close their doors.

Dick