Factoids
About 60 percent of students attending Chicago schools will eventually graduate from high school. The black male high school graduation rate is only 44 percent. (LINK)
- The teacher’s union orignally asked for 30% raise. The average Chicago teacher currently earns $71K/year. The average Chicagoan makes roughly $30K/year.
- The district had offered the teachers a 16 percent pay raise over four years.
- About half of the students in Chicago Public Schools are African-American.
- Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s approach to education fits with the agenda of a number of his wealthiest political supporters. (is he a traitor to his Obama roots?) When he took office last year, the former White House chief of staff inherited a school district facing a $700 million budget shortfall.
Further Negotiations
The union countered by asking for a 30 percent pay raise over two years, followed by a request for a 25 percent increase over two years. Just weeks ago, Lewis told delegates the union had adjusted its demand and was asking for a 19 percent pay raise in the contract’s first year. (Source: Yahoo News)
Commentary
“Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Jean-Claude Brizard today announced that the current school year will mark the highest recorded graduation rate for the District, which is projected at 60.6 percent. The District has seen steady increases in graduation rates over the past five years.” (Source: CPS.EDU)
They are PROUD to see a 60% graduation rate! If 60% of students attend Chicago’s Public Schools graduate from high school, how can teachers claim to be any more than 60% effective? A 60% graduation rate is a dismal number for the teacher’s union and the teachers to find pride in. A 44% graduation rate for black males is SHAMEFUL. It’s no wonder that Chicago is so crime ridden. The only professional opportunities for 66% of young black men would seem to be as thieves and drug dealers since they have no educational background.
It’s also a big gamble for the union. Ashby says the outcome in Chicago could affect the future of organized labor at a time when membership is down and public sector unions are struggling. (NPR)
Solution
Fire the teachers and find non-union teachers from around the country who are willing to relocate in Chicago. Let’s see if they can get more 60% of students to graduate from high school. I’m sure that Chicago can find teachers who are willing to cross picket lines for $71K per year plus a generous benefit package.
Update: Lewis said among the issues of concern was a new evaluation that she said would be unfair to teachers because it relied too heavily on students’ standardized test scores…She said the evaluations could result in 6,000 teachers losing their jobs within two years. City officials disagreed and said the union has not explained how it reached that conclusion.
We wouldn’t want an evaluation to put teacher’s jobs at risk, now, would we? How is that fair?
Another Update:
If Union Leader Lewis wants to do something to help the student’s she’d move to disband the union and suggest that the City start over. It doesn’t sound as if their dismal record is doing much to help the kids.
Don't start using mathematics on those teachers; you'll confuse them.
Clearly all those faux-teachers deserve is a pay cut or a pink slip.
I think that the teachers in Chicago (video above) reflect the community values that spawned Barack Hussein Obama's career in politics.
I'm sure that if you flushed them all and replaced them with motivated teachers, you might get more than 44% of black males to graduate from high school.
Well, they have already quit their jobs. Time to bring in some real educators.
That's how I look at it, dmarks. And despite the claims furthered by the mainstream media that "America is working again", that area has a legitimate unemployment/underemployment/people gave up looking rate in the 16-20% range. I'm sure that they'll be able to find some teachers who are not 'fat cats'.
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