Elizabeth Beck, union co-president, said the strike vote was in response to a move by the district to shuffle elementary-school students between classes, resulting in some class sizes as large as 28. The no-confidence vote was the first in Shoreline in at least a decade, she said.
On the district Web site, Walker wrote that the district had added seven elementary teaching positions on Sept. 13 to deal with too-large classes in nearly half of the district's elementary classrooms. Those new teachers are to shuttle among overloaded classrooms, providing extra help during portions of the school day.
The one-day strike adds tension to the already strained relations between teachers and administrators in the 9,000-student district. A strike was averted before school started, but Beck said Walker and her staff are already violating terms of the new contract.
Sep 22, 2007
Shoreline teachers strike to protest class sizes
Taking Thursday off, with a vote of no confidence for the Supe. From a Seattle Times update:
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3 comments:
The floating teacher fix is a joke. Having help for an hour a day is a band-aid, not a solution. You're still responsible for the grading, the conferences, the management, and everything else. Being that floating teacher would be a breeze; you're basically a parapro with a far better salary.
I agree with Ryan. But the district gets to use money from I-728 instead of the general budget to fund the floating teachers. A shell game for sure.
Well in regarding teacher aid, it must be brought to attention that in elementary schools there are children with special needs integrated within the classes. There are students within these elementary schools that don't speak English fluently or have learning disabilities. With such large classes and no extra help the needs of students falling under these categories would not be met. The lack of teacher help and the large class sizes would mar the education of many students.
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