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Illinois Teachers Chatboard

Chicago teachers' strike. What are the issues?

by Anyone from Chicago willing to state your issues?

Sep 10, 2012

What are teachers saying?

view previous comments

anon Thank you, Rahm, for your concern.

Your ignorance is showing. This isn't about their salaries; that's pretty much been negotiated.

This is about working conditions and evaluations, which AREN'T "fair."

What a tool you are. I doubt you are a teacher anywhere.

On 9/11/12, Chris wrote: > On 9/10/12, Anyone fr...See More

Sep 11, 2012

Elaine Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post's blog "The Answer Sheet" has a very concise review of the issues. Salary is one but not the only point. Most are different that what teachers everywhere are facing.

Chicago teachers strike: The issues By Valerie Strauss The teachers strike in Chicago, the third largest public school district in the ...See More

Sep 11, 2012

WOW Godo for the teachers they deserve it. But I must ask what the heck is up with the short school days to begin with? I have never heard of such a thing in any place I have ever lived. Every where I have ever been school days have always been at least 7 hours for the children. ANything less is just crazy. I agree teachers need a raise but only if the...See MoreGodo for the teachers they deserve it. But I must ask what the heck is up with the short school days to begin with? I have never heard of such a thing in any place I have ever lived. Every where I have ever been school days have always been at least 7 hours for the children. ANything less is just crazy. I agree teachers need a raise but only if their work days are full days. That short of a day has me thinking they were being over paid to begin with. When we figure in cost of living for big cities comapared to other places they are paid about the same as any other teacher in the nation. But those short days make them over paid compared to teachers working 7 to 8 hour school days with kids in the class room.

On 9/11/12, Elaine wrote: > Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post's blog "The Answer Sheet" has > a very concise review of the issues. Salary is one but not the only > point. Most are different that what teachers everywhere are facing. > > Chicago teachers strike: The issues By Valerie Strauss The teachers > strike in Chicago, the third largest public school district in the > country with some 350,000 students, is about more than money. > > For the first time, teachers in a major school district have walked > off Teacher Jillian Connolly helps her daughter, Mary, study math > problems while picketing outside of the William H.Wells Community > High School in Chicago. (Scott Olson/GETTY IMAGES) the job in part > to challenge some of the key tenets of modern school reform that > have been advanced by the Obama administration and by Chicago Mayor > Rahm Emanuel, who was once President Obama’s chief of staff. > > In fact, Karen Lewis, the head of the teachers union, said the two > sides were close to agreement on financial matters, but other issues > remain outstanding. > > While no other teachers union has gone on strike in solidarity, they > will be watching to see how this turns out. > > More than 26,000 teachers and other unionized school personnel went > on strike Monday for the first time in 25 years after the Chicago > Teachers Union could not reach a contract agreement with Emanuel and > the school district’s leadership. > > In July, the two sides had reached an interim agreement on a longer > school day, about 90 more minutes a day for elementary school > students, who had the shortest day of any big city in the country. > The pact called for the hiring of new teachers, but how they would > be hired has become a sticking point: by seniority from a pool of > laid- off teachers, as the union wants, or by principal discretion, > as Emanuel wants. > > There are a number of key issues on the table, including: > > * Standardized tests and teacher assessment. This is one of the > biggest issues in public school reform. A number of states have > passed laws — including Illinois — that require teacher evaluations > to be based in some large measure on their students standardized > test scores. Assessment experts have said repeatedly this is a bad > idea — including a group of Illinois researchers and academics who > sent an open letter last March to Emanuel school officials warning > against implementing a teacher evaluation system based on > standardized test scores. But Emanuel is insisting anyway, and in > fact wants to the scores to count for more than the state law says. > > * Merit pay: This is another big issue in school reform. Emanuel is > one of a number of reformers trying to institute a pay system that > rewards teachers financially for excellence, which is determined > mostly by standardized test scores. Merit pay systems have been > tried over the years and have never worked well for teachers for > various reasons. Emanuel already unveiled a merit pay system for > principals that includes the use of test scores to assess how well > a principal is doing. > > * Charter schools and teacher placement: Emanuel wants to expand the > number of public charter schools, in which some 50,000 Chicago > students now attend. Most of the city’s charter schools have no > unions and the union is worried that with declining student > population as well as poor academic performance, many traditional > public schools will be closed and unionized teachers will lose their > jobs. The charter schools overall have a mixed academic record, but > Emanuel, as well as school reformers in other cities, look on them > as one of the things that will improve public education. Critics > don’t agree. > > * Salaries: Emanuel promised a 4 percent pay raise to teachers last > year but dropped that to 2 percent a year for four years because of > the district’s dire financial situation. The school district > negotiators raised the offer to 3 percent a year over four years in > a new offer made to the union Sunday, Reuters said. How much do > Chicago teachers earn now? More than teachers in Los Angeles, but a > little less than in New York City with a mean of $61,790 annually > for a primary school teacher to $69,470 for high school, Reuters > reported. Chicago Public schools say the average teacher makes > $76,000. > > * Underfunded pension fund: Chicago has the most underfunded state > pension system in the nation, according to Reuters, at a time when > many teachers are retiring > > Follow The Answer Sheet every day by bookmarking > [link removed]

Sep 19, 2012

Michael The 5:45 has been latched onto as a talking point that only tells half the truth. Teachers had a 7 hour day. They arrived 30 minutes before students and didn't have lunch until AFTER the students left. Since their lunch was their own, they were allowed to leave after having been on campus 6:15. These may sound like great perks and in some ways they...See MoreThe 5:45 has been latched onto as a talking point that only tells half the truth. Teachers had a 7 hour day. They arrived 30 minutes before students and didn't have lunch until AFTER the students left. Since their lunch was their own, they were allowed to leave after having been on campus 6:15. These may sound like great perks and in some ways they were, but those same teachers were only given three 40 minute prep periods during a week. They worked hard. Student lunch tended to be about 20 minutes. No recess.

Furthermore, there are well over 100 elementary schools that don't have playground space. Kids have no place to have a recess.

All that's really changed is that lunch moved to the middle of the day and teachers are supposed to have an average of 320 minutes of prep per week. It's a bunch of accounting games that allow sound bytes.

On 9/19/12, WOW wrote: > Godo for the teachers they deserve it. But I must ask what the heck is > up with the short school days to begin with? I have never heard of > such a thing in any place I have ever lived. Every where I have ever > been school days have always been at least 7 hours for the children. > ANything less is just crazy. I agree teachers need a raise but only if > their work days are full days. That short of a day has me thinking > they were being over paid to begin with. When we figure in cost of > living for big cities comapared to other places they are paid about the > same as any other teacher in the nation. But those short days make > them over paid compared to teachers working 7 to 8 hour school days > with kids in the class room. > > > On 9/11/12, Elaine wrote: >> Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post's blog "The Answer Sheet" has >> a very concise review of the issues. Salary is one but not the only >> point. Most are different that what teachers everywhere are facing. >> >> Chicago teachers strike: The issues By Valerie Strauss The teachers >> strike in Chicago, the third largest public school district in the >> country with some 350,000 students, is about more than money. >> >> For the first time, teachers in a major school district have walked >> off Teacher Jillian Connolly helps her daughter, Mary, study math >> problems while picketing outside of the William H.Wells Community >> High School in Chicago. (Scott Olson/GETTY IMAGES) the job in part >> to challenge some of the key tenets of modern school reform that >> have been advanced by the Obama administration and by Chicago Mayor >> Rahm Emanuel, who was once President Obama’s chief of staff. >> >> In fact, Karen Lewis, the head of the teachers union, said the two >> sides were close to agreement on financial matters, but other issues >> remain outstanding. >> >> While no other teachers union has gone on strike in solidarity, they >> will be watching to see how this turns out. >> >> More than 26,000 teachers and other unionized school personnel went >> on strike Monday for the first time in 25 years after the Chicago >> Teachers Union could not reach a contract agreement with Emanuel and >> the school district’s leadership. >> >> In July, the two sides had reached an interim agreement on a longer >> school day, about 90 more minutes a day for elementary school >> students, who had the shortest day of any big city in the country. >> The pact called for the hiring of new teachers, but how they would >> be hired has become a sticking point: by seniority from a pool of >> laid- off teachers, as the union wants, or by principal discretion, >> as Emanuel wants. >> >> There are a number of key issues on the table, including: >> >> * Standardized tests and teacher assessment. This is one of the >> biggest issues in public school reform. A number of states have >> passed laws — including Illinois — that require teacher evaluations >> to be based in some large measure on their students standardized >> test scores. Assessment experts have said repeatedly this is a bad >> idea — including a group of Illinois researchers and academics > who >> sent an open letter last March to Emanuel school officials warning >> against implementing a teacher evaluation system based on >> standardized test scores. But Emanuel is insisting anyway, and in >> fact wants to the scores to count for more than the state law says. >> >> * Merit pay: This is another big issue in school reform. Emanuel is >> one of a number of reformers trying to institute a pay system that >> rewards teachers financially for excellence, which is determined >> mostly by standardized test scores. Merit pay systems have been >> tried over the years and have never worked well for teachers for >> various reasons. Emanuel already unveiled a merit pay system for >> principals that includes the use of test scores to assess how well >> a principal is doing. >> >> * Charter schools and teacher placement: Emanuel wants to expand the >> number of public charter schools, in which some 50,000 Chicago >> students now attend. Most of the city’s charter schools have no >> unions and the union is worried that with declining student >> population as well as poor academic performance, many traditional >> public schools will be closed and unionized teachers will lose their >> jobs. The charter schools overall have a mixed academic record, but >> Emanuel, as well as school reformers in other cities, look on them >> as one of the things that will improve public education. Critics >> don’t agree. >> >> * Salaries: Emanuel promised a 4 percent pay raise to teachers last >> year but dropped that to 2 percent a year for four years because of >> the district’s dire financial situation. The school district >> negotiators raised the offer to 3 percent a year over four years in >> a new offer made to the union Sunday, Reuters said. How much do >> Chicago teachers earn now? More than teachers in Los Angeles, but a >> little less than in New York City with a mean of $61,790 annually >> for a primary school teacher to $69,470 for high school, Reuters >> reported. Chicago Public schools say the average teacher makes >> $76,000. >> >> * Underfunded pension fund: Chicago has the most underfunded state >> pension system in the nation, according to Reuters, at a time when >> many teachers are retiring >> >> Follow The Answer Sheet every day by bookmarking >> [link removed]

Sep 20, 2012

Grrrrrr!!!! What the media fails to mention time and time again is that the 5.75 day WAS ONLY FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS!!!! They made it sound like ALL CPS schools were shortchanged, when high schools had a day comparable in length to most suburban schools. My school's day was 6.75 hours last year; I did a spot-check of schools in the burbs and found that schools...See MoreWhat the media fails to mention time and time again is that the 5.75 day WAS ONLY FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS!!!! They made it sound like ALL CPS schools were shortchanged, when high schools had a day comparable in length to most suburban schools. My school's day was 6.75 hours last year; I did a spot-check of schools in the burbs and found that schools that had longer days also had longer lunch or advisory periods, more passing time, and/or an optional extra period for kids in AP and other programs. It was the same time for the high school I attended and a high school I taught at in another state. So our day was lengthened by 30 minutes...not too bad, but the kids also have 5 more minutes in lunch and more passing time. So that means that they only get an extra 3 or 4 minutes in each class period. Also, creating a balanced schedule took many hours of work on the part of our administrative staff that could have been spent on better initiatives, especially when several drafts had to be thrown out because CPS kept changing the parameters.

On 9/20/12, Michael wrote: > The 5:45 has been latched onto as a talking point that only tells half the > truth. Teachers had a 7 hour day. They arrived 30 minutes before students > and didn't have lunch until AFTER the students left. Since their lunch was > their own, they were allowed to leave after having been on campus 6:15. > These may sound like great perks and in some ways they were, but those > same teachers were only given three 40 minute prep periods during a week. > They worked hard. Student lunch tended to be about 20 minutes. No recess. > > Furthermore, there are well over 100 elementary schools that don't have > playground space. Kids have no place to have a recess. > > All that's really changed is that lunch moved to the middle of the day and > teachers are supposed to have an average of 320 minutes of prep per week. > It's a bunch of accounting games that allow sound bytes. > > > On 9/19/12, WOW wrote: >> Godo for the teachers they deserve it. But I must ask what the heck is >> up with the short school days to begin with? I have never heard of >> such a thing in any place I have ever lived. Every where I have ever >> been school days have always been at least 7 hours for the children. >> ANything less is just crazy. I agree teachers need a raise but only if >> their work days are full days. That short of a day has me thinking >> they were being over paid to begin with. When we figure in cost of >> living for big cities comapared to other places they are paid about the >> same as any other teacher in the nation. But those short days make >> them over paid compared to teachers working 7 to 8 hour school days >> with kids in the class room. >> >> >> On 9/11/12, Elaine wrote: >>> Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post's blog "The Answer Sheet" has >>> a very concise review of the issues. Salary is one but not the only >>> point. Most are different that what teachers everywhere are facing. >>> >>> Chicago teachers strike: The issues By Valerie Strauss The teachers >>> strike in Chicago, the third largest public school district in the >>> country with some 350,000 students, is about more than money. >>> >>> For the first time, teachers in a major school district have walked >>> off Teacher Jillian Connolly helps her daughter, Mary, study math >>> problems while picketing outside of the William H.Wells Community >>> High School in Chicago. (Scott Olson/GETTY IMAGES) the job in part >>> to challenge some of the key tenets of modern school reform that >>> have been advanced by the Obama administration and by Chicago Mayor >>> Rahm Emanuel, who was once President Obama’s chief of staff. >>> >>> In fact, Karen Lewis, the head of the teachers union, said the two >>> sides were close to agreement on financial matters, but other issues >>> remain outstanding. >>> >>> While no other teachers union has gone on strike in solidarity, they >>> will be watching to see how this turns out. >>> >>> More than 26,000 teachers and other unionized school personnel went >>> on strike Monday for the first time in 25 years after the Chicago >>> Teachers Union could not reach a contract agreement with Emanuel and >>> the school district’s leadership. >>> >>> In July, the two sides had reached an interim agreement on a longer >>> school day, about 90 more minutes a day for elementary school >>> students, who had the shortest day of any big city in the country. >>> The pact called for the hiring of new teachers, but how they would >>> be hired has become a sticking point: by seniority from a pool of >>> laid- off teachers, as the union wants, or by principal discretion, >>> as Emanuel wants. >>> >>> There are a number of key issues on the table, including: >>> >>> * Standardized tests and teacher assessment. This is one of the >>> biggest issues in public school reform. A number of states have >>> passed laws — including Illinois — that require teacher evaluations >>> to be based in some large measure on their students standardized >>> test scores. Assessment experts have said repeatedly this is a bad >>> idea — including a group of Illinois researchers and academics >> who >>> sent an open letter last March to Emanuel school officials warning >>> against implementing a teacher evaluation system based on >>> standardized test scores. But Emanuel is insisting anyway, and in >>> fact wants to the scores to count for more than the state law says. >>> >>> * Merit pay: This is another big issue in school reform. Emanuel is >>> one of a number of reformers trying to institute a pay system that >>> rewards teachers financially for excellence, which is determined >>> mostly by standardized test scores. Merit pay systems have been >>> tried over the years and have never worked well for teachers for >>> various reasons. Emanuel already unveiled a merit pay system for >>> principals that includes the use of test scores to assess how well >>> a principal is doing. >>> >>> * Charter schools and teacher placement: Emanuel wants to expand the >>> number of public charter schools, in which some 50,000 Chicago >>> students now attend. Most of the city’s charter schools have no >>> unions and the union is worried that with declining student >>> population as well as poor academic performance, many traditional >>> public schools will be closed and unionized teachers will lose their >>> jobs. The charter schools overall have a mixed academic record, but >>> Emanuel, as well as school reformers in other cities, look on them >>> as one of the things that will improve public education. Critics >>> don’t agree. >>> >>> * Salaries: Emanuel promised a 4 percent pay raise to teachers last >>> year but dropped that to 2 percent a year for four years because of >>> the district’s dire financial situation. The school district >>> negotiators raised the offer to 3 percent a year over four years in >>> a new offer made to the union Sunday, Reuters said. How much do >>> Chicago teachers earn now? More than teachers in Los Angeles, but a >>> little less than in New York City with a mean of $61,790 annually >>> for a primary school teacher to $69,470 for high school, Reuters >>> reported. Chicago Public schools say the average teacher makes >>> $76,000. >>> >>> * Underfunded pension fund: Chicago has the most underfunded state >>> pension system in the nation, according to Reuters, at a time when >>> many teachers are retiring >>> >>> Follow The Answer Sheet every day by bookmarking >>> [link removed]

Sep 20, 2012

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