Hite: need a more modern, professional teachers' contract
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
Hite: need a more modern, professional teachers' contract
Kristen Graham
Philadelphia School District Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. ( TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer )
A great deal has been said about the Philadelphia School District's initial contract proposal to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. So far, little of that has been said by district officials, who have declined to go into specifics.
On Thursday afternoon, I sat down with Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., who very much wants the public to know that he's first and foremost an educator, that he values teachers, and that he does not want to drive anyone out of the district.
“We believe teachers are professionals, just like architects, lawyers, doctors,” Hite said. “We want a contract that reflects that. I truly believe that in order for teachers to be effective, there needs to be some flexibility and we need to treat them as professionals.”
Hite said he wants to clarify some misconceptions about what's out there about the proposal, which The Inquirer obtained and detailed this week. The contract of 10,000 teachers and 5,000 secretaries, nurses, counselors and other support staff expires in August.
That proposal calls for a 13 percent pay cut for those making over $55,000 and an end to seniority-based positions and to a guaranteed adequate supply of textbooks, among other provisions.
It infuriated teachers and PFT leaders, who said it seemed the district was attempting to penalize and drive out veteran educators. Many said they felt disrespected.
But Hite said that was the opposite of the district’s intention.
“We have a great deal of respect for what teachers do each and every day; we think that teachers are key to our strategy of improving educational outcomes for all of our students,” he said.
The superintendent said he would not neogtiate in public and declined to go into details on the financial terms of the proposal, beyond emphasizing the district’s dire fiscal situation, its projected $1 billion deficit over five years, etc.
"We're really trying to save this district," he said.
The proposal asks for salary reductions and benefits givebacks of 13 percent for those making $55,000 and above, but also increases teachers’ workdays, to eight hours. (They currently work a seven hour, four minute day.)
That’s just a recognition of what most teachers are already doing, Hite said.
“Many of our teachers work beyond eight hours — they work on weekends, they work nights, and they work on holidays. We value that. This is not a longer school day — this is more time to plan and collaborate,” he said.
Now, Hite said, for teachers to advance, they must move out of the classroom; the superintendent wants the new contract to help them progress in their careers while remaining in the classroom. “Distinguished” teachers should be paid accordingly, their classrooms used as models, and their experience used to help new and struggling teachers.
“We want more support for teachers,” Hite said.
As for provisions that call for an end to mandated water fountains, private rooms for nurses and counselors, and an adequate textbook supply, the superintendent was clear: “there is a difference in eliminating a provision and eliminating the thing that is being provided.”
Translation: the superintendent does not want to take away teachers' water fountains or desks or counselors' and nurses' right to private rooms to see their students.
When he was a teacher, his contract didn’t call for Hite to have chalk and a chalkboard, he said. But he had them; his district still had a responsibility to provide them, even though they weren’t spelled out.
“Many of those things are listed in our contract,” he said, pointing to a bound copy he keeps in his desk. “In terms of a professional contract, they have no business being there. Those are kind of ridiculous. In order for us to provide a high quality education, naturally we have to provide those things.”
What he wants, Hite said, is a “more modern document that speaks to the type of things that we think are really important, like growth and evaluation and development and teachers being part of the conversation.”
Flexibility is also key, he said.
Remove a class size maximum, a current proposal, helps with things like concurrent high school and college courses and “blended learning” opportunities — with a cap of 33 students, if 10 students at five district high schools wanted to take an Advanced Placement class, that would be difficult to achieve.
More in tomorrow's Inquirer...
Comments (86)
Yo Hite, you're about 15 years too late. The city is dying and it will take 20 years to rebound if that's possible.— Ralph 1- spoken by someone who obviously is never in the city. the city is doing the complete opposite of dying. something like 3,000 apartments have just been built just in my Fairmount neighborhood. Destroy education is the most myopic and destructive thing politicians could do to the growth Philadelphia is experiencing. No one will want to live here is you get rid of the middle class. No rich people will live here if the city doesn't offer the cute coffee shop run by the middle class person and no middle class will live here if you destroy the schools. I'm overwhelmingly amazed by how destructive republican thinking is. common sense dictates we need to increase demand but they destructively stop that and would rather watch the country burn. sad because philly could really have been nice in the future and now it really is going to be Detroit. and don't forget people we have Independence Hall and now it is going to be sitting in the new Detroit.
- Stop the bs highwater... This has nothing to do with republicans this city has been run by democrats for 50 years and they have mismanaged the tax payers money. If they keep the status quo then the taxes on real estate need to double with a wage tax on top the tax base will really leave. Most that live in the city that make money leave as soon as they have kids or send there kids to charter or private schools. You need these people because they are the one's paying the wage tax and property tax but raise them to high the middle class family can't pay them and the rich leave even more then already have and then Philly becomes Detroit.. — PhillySM
- little thing called "sequester" going on in Washington that has everything to do with republicans and this destructive mentality.
love how you justify not having a school district because people send their kids to private schools. too funny. - Sequestration was the Obama's administrations brain child. The republicans had nothing to do with it. Carney finally admitted it today. This is the most divisive president in recent history....your a typical talking head. Quick to blame anyone and everyone but your savior.
- typical republican trying to blame going over the cliff on Obama. what difference does it make who create the sequester? only republicans think its a good idea. cause you are stupid.
- That's right!!! That 138 REPUBLICANS VOTED FOR!!!!! — OurCity2000
- Hite says that this is about saving the District. BS. What about the 25 obscene pay raises at 440 that were recently leaked? Meanwhile Hite cuts school programs and now teacher's compensation. I saw the list. The Inky published it. Those 25 political patronage jobs are held mostly by lazy do nothings. If Hite was in any way sincere, he would first take away those raises and then extend the same pay cuts to all 440 non union staff as a measure of shared sacrifice. Then Hite and all of those in the 150K and above pay scale should be cut 25-50% until 2016. That is only fair. Even the queen of greed Arleen Ackerman made some pay concessions. Keep in mind that Hite makes 300K base salary. That is more than the Mayor and The Governor by more than 100K. WTF?
— DarnelX 
The same way that Republicans saved PUBLIC Television.
Big Bird hasn't been seen in prime time since September 11, 2001.— Cuddles- Good for Hyte, the tax payer thanks you....— PhillySM
- I am a taxpayer and people like you horrify me. The only way to bring philadelphia out of the dark ages it has been stuck in is through education. When the money that is suppose to go to educate our children goes to politicians and administrators instead of the teachers we are doomed. You show your ignorance. — gemini48
- What about that clause regarding "reasonable" force to defend oneself against an aggressive student?— nikki1231
- This school district is a beyond repair. This guy has the dubious task of dismantling the remainder of entitlements that the unions and other government funded salaries are expecting. Guess what, the well is dry. Get the water from the stone, folks. lol.— FletcherT
- When the top tax rate was 91% and America sent hundreds of thousands of suburban Males to college the America PUBLIC Education system was the envy of the world and our Middle Class was the strongest Middle Class in the history of the world.
Then Ronald Reagan redefined debt and deficit along with a concept known as "starving the government/beast"...now more and more of our doctors, nurses, engineers, spelling bee champions and more and more of our Middle Class is born overseas...as we count drops from a water fountain.— Cuddles - This is all administrators and politicians and has been since Rendell was in office. Ackerman walked away with $900K because Nutter and other politicians were afraid she would talk. Stop with the anti teacher propaganda when educated people know the truth. — gemini48
- A salary for work done is not an "entitlement".
I understand you have lost all your self respect and are jealous of others who still have some.— carl and sons - To look a reporter in the eye and tell them you value teachers and then offer them this contract is flat out asinine. Hite should be ashamed of himself as an individual.— slanted and enchanted
- Mr. Hite, I am one of your employees. The only purpose of telling me I can't defend myself against a student attack is to metaphorically spit in my face. I'm old enough to know better and you will not convince me otherwise. I will never forget the contempt you have shown my work with this proposal. Go back to where ever you came from if you think you can sell this in Philly.— high water
- Sell it in Philly the teachers take concessions of 180 million or they go to the property owners and say you know we just raised the property taxes 94 million dollars with avi but poor teachers need to keep there pay at the same rate and pay the same for there benefits so we decided to raise the property taxes an additional 180 million doubling your current bill. I know we raised the taxes 10% the last 3 years and now another increase with AVI but the teachers really need it. The tax paying public would laugh at you that is how you sell it Philly and come on that is an easy sell and they know it that is why take concessions or get another job. — PhillySM
- my comment was regarding the tone and the insult in the contract, not the numbers. — high water
- As a teacher in the SDP, why should I be asked to give back 26% of my salary because prior administrations mismanagement of money. As far as the property tax goes, why doesn't the city collect the half BILLION of unpaid taxes? Don't blame that on teachers. My taxes are going up about $1200 if the AVI goes through. — kell48
- This comment has been deleted. — bil,l atkin,s
- Cushy lifestyle? On 55,000 a year? - Oh wait, soon to be 48,000 year. For a job that is so stressful that it has a 35 - 50% attrition rate? McKinsey Institute identified attrition as the single greatest educational crisis in America right now. This contract won't help. — LMparent
- The teachers aren't raising taxes, the politicians are. Where did they get the $900K to pay Ackerman? But you're going to tell someone who makes $55K to take a pay cut? Maybe our city council members all need to go teach a few classes, they make alot more money and do a lot less work. They also get COLA's unlike other workers. PhillySM you are obviously content living in an uneducated corrupt city. — gemini48
- If you are trying to sale us that the tax increases are the teachers' fault you are either stupid or very stupid. Your pick. How about the raises the upper management got not long ago? Who gets a 50% raise anywhere? How about the behind the doors deals between out politicians and their "friends"? Teachers' compensation (benefits included) in Philadelphia is well below market value especially if you factor in the conditions (buildings, administrators, students, parents etc) that they have to deal with. You want to get rid off "bad" teachers but yet you want to decrease their pay even more, so how are you going to keep or attract any "good" teachers? Why would anyone in their right mind apply to work here?
They are professionals paid as labor. Compare any professional's earnings over their career (you are welcome to include benefits) and you will see that a teacher is at the bottom of the pyramid no matter where they are working.
Starting a fight against the teachers is exactly what the politicians want you to do so you do not see how they are getting rich on our backs. Like I said:you are either stupid or very stupid.
P.S. try watching this video and you may get a clue
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/43996175#43996175— vathi - This comment has been deleted. — bil,l atkin,s
- Who is "we all"? Do you even have children? Intelligent, educated people are disgusted by the propaganda put out by greedy administrators and politicians. — gemini48
- How about you swap things and give me a 13% raise and call me a laborer. Hite's comments make as much sense. Hite is lying to us all.— fubar-philly
- November 4, 2014— Cuddles
- Is Hite going to take a 13% cut in pay and a 13% cut in benefits? Otherwise his words are pure BS!!— Pete H
- He just forgot to mention that he is basing his theory on Major League. Give 'em the heater, jobu!— AreaMan
- This is why he was the wrong man for the job. This is why we need an elected school board like every other district in the country. Those water fountains and textbooks are mandated because, historically, the district hasn't provided them unless forced. He doesn't know anything about Philadelphia and he doesn't know anything about teaching. Name a school in Philly where chalk (whiteboard markers) are provided. You don't even provide copy paper.— juliec224
- What a load of garbage. If anyone had any hope that this guy would do the right thing by teachers and students, you can forget it.
We honor teachers, we want them to be treated as professionals...? By making them bus monitors? By not guaranteeing them a desk? He knows that if it is not spelled out in the contract, then the SD will not do it. If you are going to take responsibility for it, then why not keep it in the contract? Simple--so when you don't, you won't have a grievance filed against you. So you can do whatever you want.
— pachysandra - Also, what he said about lifting class size caps is a lie. If there are special circumstances or a class is going to be co-taught, there are ALREADY allowances in the contract. There is a list of acceptable reasons to go over 33 students, one of them is: "A larger class size is necessary and desirable for specialized, assembly or forum type classes (e.g. library, music) or experimental instruction." Same goes for teaching outside of certifications. You are already allowed to teach out of your certification if you and your principal agree-- Hite wants to make it so they can force you to do so.— juliec224
- Is it me or does this guy Hite look like Ru Paul.— MWW-54
- Who called for this interview?
Ms. Graham or Mr. Hite?
See a need for a little spin Mr. Hite?— Cuddles - Don't think for a minute that this is Hite's handiwork. The SRC, Vallas, Ackerman, Knudsen, Nutter and Corbett have been concocting this mix for 10 years now. Hite's just the fresh face henchman to dish it up. He knew exactly what he was getting into when they signed him and he's getting well paid to speak out of both sides of his mouth (a prerequisite). Eli Broad will guarantee Hite plenty of more urban districts where the expertise he gets these next months will be of great profit to all of them. And all these players will be long gone before Philadelphia parents even know what hit(e) them!— hmmm
- hmmm--
Nailed it.
Let's have interviews with all of the SRC members--the ones who are voting on this. Make them explain their reasons for closing schools and backing this steaming mess of a contract. It is so easy for them to sit there and watch people speak (won't say listen) and not have to explain themselves.
How about this--each one of the SRC members writes an op-ed giving their reasons for closing schools and endorsing a contract which takes away all employees' protections. Let's hear why they do not believe a teacher should be allowed to protect him/herself from physical attack.
Do they have the courage to come before the public and defend their positions?— brinsley 
Comment removed.- @gemini48 hit the nail on the head. hite was brought here as a rubber stamp to do what ackerman inevitably began to rebel against. i.e. pass out psd contracts to vendors and promote political connected favored charters like they were chiclets to nutter's, rendell's, evans and other philly pols buddies. the nutter admin has been handing out no-bid contracts like john street never could. this city(be it it's underfunding pension plans to prop up developers to build stadiums with taxpayer $$$ to land grabs going on in regentrified areas ...etc.)has been for sale since the rendell admin.— ihatenewyorkers
- Lost opportunity in not questioning Hite on the seemingly contradiction in asking teachers to give back 13% of their pay and at the same time his giving hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary increases to the infamous 26 non represented adminitrative employees.— BRIT
- Than why did Hite give himself and other pay raises— dmac6419
- Comment removed.
- i'd say you're high if you don't see the growing all around you. — high water
- Cuddles: A history lesson, after WW2 there was one major manufacturing Country ,the USA as the years progressed our former Adversaries and Allies as well rebuilt their economy. As a result we were not the only game in town. Too boot the other Countries received financial assistance from their Governments, as a result in order to compete we had to reduce Corporate tax rates. Trying to compare Economies from different eras is difficult.— Jim Morris
- Hite:Your no better than the late Queen,your in way over your head.— aguckin
- What a load of BS. "We're going to take things out of the contract but still provide them." Why take the out then? It is obviously the intention to stop providing them at some point.
Does this clown really think people are stupid enough to fall for that double talk?— carl and sons - What about the 20 something non-union workers who all got raises because they took on extra responsibilities? Teachers are doing the same thing and are being asked to pay 26% of their salary. This is absurd!— kell48
- Asking any working person to take a 13% pay reduction is outrageous and down right insulting! That's what America is coming to? Keep voting repiglican. Pretty soon the working man will have to pay the employer and call it master!— Kolitz
- Hite's comments reminds me of the infamous quote by an American general during the war in VietNam. He claimed that the military had to destroy a Vietnamese village in order to save it. Hite knows what he was hired for. He is the point man for have Philadelphia's education system run by privately controlled charter schools with nonunion staffs. Nutter is trying hard to break the fire fighters and non-uniformed city workers and this is his way, along with his buddies to geet rich by investing in charter school organizations. You know what. Until the parents of the city's children start acting like parents and taking an interest in their kid's education, Philadelphia education will remain a toilet.— Drumgoole
- People like phillytaz have no clue that they live in this world. It is impossible trying to talk rationally until the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future visit him!— sjkolman
- We have the 2nd highest local tax burden in the nation. There is no money left to tax.— flyers2thecup
- Then we should force our politicians to stop giving high paying jobs to their uneducated friends and family members, stop paying outside consultants thousands of dollars to do the work of our mayor, and take care of the middle class workers who actually do work in Philadelphia. You obviously don't have children or don't care about them if you think you should cut the pay of the people who educate them. — gemini48
- Well it will be interesting to see what teachers do now. Under the contract ALL of them will be faced with the same diminished resources for the jobs they do. Obviously, those at the top of their game and/or in the city's best schools, will be prime candidates for any suburban jobs that may be open. My bet is they will run. They will run based on the threat of this proposal, whether it settles down into something more reasonable or not. Younger teachers, still paying school loan and wedding costs, growing family to consider, etc. will have little incentive to stay in the city at all, esp. on the heels of the new tax assessments.
HELLO BRAIN DRAIN!— hmmm - You are trying to save your job!
— Liberty_1776 - center city is growing. city has lost populations in the Southwest and the Northeast, but center city is booming. Do you read the articles in this paper about all of the development?— high water
- The Inq. Building is going to be high end condos. The old PA state building will be luxury condos. Fairmount is a mix of expensive high tax homes with a string of left over ghetto. Areas around temple and univ city are booming. The poor are being squeezed out of center city and pushed to the northeast. Nutter is not raising taxes because of the schools. If the city just collected what they should no one would pay more. But, instead the politicians like nutter and street protect their friends who owe money. Comcast now owns NBC....you can't tell me they are too broke to pay more taxes to the city. We keep making excuses for companies not to carry some tax burden. Instead, the city kicks small business and the citizens in the rear end. IF we are so broke why did Nutter's Staff get a raise, the police commissioner get 60K more a year, and Hite awards raises to 25 administrators at the 440 building. Student learning has been hindered by bad policy, lack of discipline and parental involvement. THE SRC members are not educators. Ramos was fired from Phila before. He is back to make sure it crumbles. Dr. Shite is hear to please the Gov that draining Philadelphia dry. WAKE UP PA......time to hold politicians accountable and remind them THEY WORK FOR US! — iteachinphilly
- If you believe he cares about education and respects teachers, I have ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. Another Broad administrator trying to ruin education and turn it over to corporate greed. He is hear to collect his 300k a year for the next 5 years and then leave. Is he going to take a 13% pay cut? Is he going to pay his health care? Is he going to give up his expense account? Give up his driver? When he starts buying the paper and supplies for his office on his credit card, driving a 1995 honda civic to work himself, paying for his parking space in front of 440, and working as hard as the teachers I think I will believe him. Until then, just another carpet bagger in our town without a clue as to what he is doing.— iteachinphilly
- This comment has been deleted.— bil,l atkin,s
- I'd bet money you never referred to Ackerman as Dr. , joke. — high water
- "You're" so erudite, TazMan, how come you don't know when to use "your" as opposed to "you're). You know so much why don't you volunteer in "your" local Philly school to see how you measure up.
solidarity forever— solidarityforever - How many doctors architects and lawyers have contracts spelling out whether they have a water fountain or not? When's the last time you saw an architect parading around with a solidarity sign.
Teachers deserve to be treated like professionals. But their union (something other professionals don't need) makes them look like a bunch of ditch diggers looking to shirk.— samac - The parts of the contract that insure that teachers have desks, students have textbooks, counselors and nurses have appropriate facilities etc. only ended up in the contract after years of those people not having the necessary "professional" materials. Who's Hite kidding? Professional? Teachers in Phila haven't been treated that way ever!— sabelotodo
- samac - yes, there are unions in hospitals for nurses. And doctors and dentists have their own union. So do engineers. Professionals all have organizations that represent them.
School workers organized for collective bargaining to improve teaching/learning conditions and of course for decent compensation.
Now they want to "save" education by cancelling all the things that make teaching doable, like a cap on class size, preparation time, and not being used for non-teaching duties.
Hite is a hatchet man doing the bidding of the Broad Foundation. He double-talks about "respecting" teachers while taking all incentives away from them to remain in the profession.
The purpose of these contract proposals is obvious. They want to nullify the union, hire and fire at will, avoid giving raises except for "merit" and force teachers to do menial tasks formerly assigned to aides.
The commercialization of education marches on.— Gendres - "We're really trying to save this district," Mr. Hite said.
If you were REALLY trying to save the district, Mr. Hite:
You will rescind the OBSCENE raises you gave to your central administration staff and you will cut down their numbers (they contribute the least to our schildren's education thinks this parent), and
you will include everybody, including YOURSELVES, in the proposal to cut salaries above $55,000 by 13%, or even salaries over $150,000 by 25%!!!!!
I support my child's teachers who do a lot with little and pay for supplies out of their own pocket sometimes. We as parents pay a lot to provide the basics such as copy paper, full-time (instead of part-time) nurse for our children!— EIK - Addition:
Mr. Hite claims that the teachers should know that he will provide what is needed even if it is not in the contract.
They should trust him based on what??? His words, actions, track record?? Where and when???— EIK - Teachers would lose their houses and many would have to take second jobs under this contract. How is that respecting them or helping them dedicate themselves to their professions?
The Philadelphia Teacher's Contract is always sub-standard when compared to every suburban teacher's contract in the area. They're already making $20,000 a year or less than suburban teachers, who have endlessly more supplies, never have to buy children basic items like pencils, notebooks and folders and who have no idea what it takes to cope with multiple unruly students while attempting to teach. More to the point, it is substandard to the contracts of other urban teachers. Hite doesn't want to modernize teachers' contracts. And stating he respects teachers while treating them this way is about as convincing as a man who beats his wife as he claims to be devoted to her.— Stand for Something - Hite should lead by example and try to live on the teacher's salary he's proposing. Let's see him live on a $55,000 minus 13 percent, then minus another $13 percent of healthcare benefits. Ms. Graham can follow him around for a month and report on his ability to cope with that sort of salary - oh, minus the bodyguards, driver, free computers, car, etc. He can also cut the pay of the 50 employees upon whom he just bestowed astronomical raises.— Stand for Something
- Along with the union-busting recommendations that the Boston Consulting Group provided to Hite, they also provided talking-points to address the criticism. Hite is doing nothing more than spouting these talking-points.— Boru
- Sounds like reality has finally jumped up to smack fantasy silly.— Faadoogled
- HAHAHA @high water - Please do "at least" a quick Google search to find that Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 that contained Automatic Budget Sequestration.
Isn't it a shame when the facts get in the way of a good story?
The Democrats did this to themselves and are trying to blame someone else - True to their MO— PhillyIsCorrupt - from my previous post since you dummies can't read-
what difference does it make who create the sequester? only republicans think its a good idea. cause you are stupid.
— high water - The guy is talking out of the side of his mouth. his answers to questions surrounding reducing facilities and providing adequate space are specious. Shouldn't the next question based on his logic be, "dr. Hite, if these facilities (rooms) and equipment (chalk and chalk boards) are, as you say a given, why the need to present them to the union?"
Unfortunately, the teachers' union is only a skeleton of what it once was. Hite and the SRC which hired him are using this opportunity to do exactly the opposite of what Hite declares by degregating the negotiating process with a "my way or the HITEway " approach to dealing with the professionals he says he admires. Was there any doubt what role Hite was selected to play other than be an illusionist charged with further deconstructing the public schools?.
Nevertheless, make no mistake, the PFT will go years without a contract. The question is, will the SRC then move to simply institute its policies without a contract?— Right To Be Heard - I started in October 1990. There were 43 kids in most of my classes, but there were only 33 desks. I assigned seats for the students who were present that day. A young lady came in the next day and asked where she would be sitting. She was incredulous when I told her she would have to wait to see who was absent that day. The district didn't need to level classes until December. They didn't change this to the "manageable" 33 students because it would be better for the students. They did it because the union worked for this knowing that to do so was better for the students and the teachers. No limit on class size? Been there, done that. Only this time, classes wouldn't need to be leveled by December.
Solidarity forever— solidarityforever - Dr. Hite must be delusional. The statement that going from 7hrs to 8hrs isn't a longer day shows the man lives in fantasy land. The contract offer is a joke but if he really wanted to make it seem credible, why doesn't he and all of his assistants offer to take the same cuts they expect from the PFT. After all, if they're so much in debt, every dollar helps!— bagelguy
- http://parentsacrossamerica.org/how-to-tell-if-your-school-district-is-infected-by-the-broad-virus/
Please check out this site for a list of moves by the typical Broad Academy Superintendant graduate like Bill Hite.
They brought in Arlene earlier to begin the school closings especially in black neighborhoods, thinking a black woman could get it past the community better than any white male.
All comments here about school privatization are correct. The Broads, Waltons and Gates are all in cahoots to corporatize American education. They are not altruistic but greedy.
But first they must make peons of the school workers.— Gendres - Solidarity, I was in the system in the late 60's when teachers had to do all kinds of non-teaching duties and class sizes could reach 37 or more. Salaries in those days never went above $10K
But I do remember that every school had a librarian, an art teacher, music teacher, gym teacher, counselor and nurse. There were usually enough supplies, so we could give kids paste, crayons and pencils during class.
We had some tough disputes in those days about working conditions and benefits. We won relief from non-teaching duties; smaller class size (not compared to the suburbs); and compensation tied to gaining fresh skills.
We still had "steps" to reach the salary we were supposed to get from the beginning. (Think of an engineer having to wait 10 years to realize his full professional compensation.)
We were not paid extra for attending after school or evening meetings. Of course, any work done after the school clock was on the teacher's dime. The "prep time" added to the contract was to help alleviate that, but it was never enough. Not when you had to prepare about 25 lessons a week, grade homework and tests, complete records and reports, and communicate with parents. Any one of us could have had a full time secretary to do all the paper work alone. But that is part of a teacher's duty so we did it.
— Gendres - Poorly informed people often think that all teachers do is babysit or talk in front of children and come and go on a part time clock with summers off. They have no idea of the amount of time that goes into each lesson or the expertise that informs those lessons.
Teachers are supposed to know something about everything. They also have to know how children learn at each stage of their development and be able to spot difficulties early enough to intervene. They have to be able to manage time, materials and groups efficiently.
Listening to some of the envious and even misogynist remarks made on these message boards, one has to question if we as a society have any hope of ever being completely civilized.
Hite is doing what he was trained to do. Shame on him.— Gendres - If advanced degrees show no correlation to better student performance, then the same could be said for those Superintendents that have advanced degrees and yet run the district "into the ground". Hite makes the correlation to doctors--yet fails to mention that "medical doctors" aren't paying out of pocket expenses to the degree that teachers are. Doctors get "kickbacks" from prescription companies, and those funds are used to finance their practices.
Hite believes the b/s that he told the press. I don't know about you, but I cannot afford to take such a pay decrease, get no raise until 2017, and continue to pay for materials that the district will not provide. Hite makes it seems that "copiers" in a building are extraordinary requests. No books? I guess teachers are going to have to fabricate the necessary materials in order to effectively teach. And, with no prep, no minimum class size, no lunch. And yet, possibly, teaching 5 periods in a row without a bathroom break.
Incidentally, Mr. Hite, the article fails to mention the concessions that YOU are willing to concede to! What are YOU willing to give up?— snafu - If you believe that the city of Philadelphia should help the School District of Philadelphia by forcing people who do not pay their property taxes to do so then tell this to the SRC at 440 on Thursday, March 7th at 4:30 pm.— snafu
1
Popular Posts
About this blog
Inquirer reporter Kristen Graham writes the Philly School Files blog, where she covers education in Philadelphia, both in and out of the classroom.
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
Search this blog:
Blog Roll
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners: