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Louisiana Teachers Chatboard

Have time to clarify? RSD/NOPS?

by Disheartened No More/Rebecca

Aug 9, 2007

/blockquote>

Having scoured the net for information, I'm still unclear
on a few issues & would appreciate it greatly if someone
out there might be able to shed some light. . . I'm
scheduled for an interview "event" with TeachNOLA & await
nec. info. from my principal in FL to complete my
TeachLouisiana application. If I am accepted by TeachNOLA,
who views my app.? The Recovery School District-- does that
encompass Orleans and neighboring parishes? Also, I've read
some articles re: RSD that are of concern. Most articles
claim that kids who are not "selected" for charters are
relegated to RSD schools which are overcrowded &
underfunded, that the RSD teachers are generally less
experienced, though the pay is higher (?). Forgive me, but
this all seems confusing. I've just relocated from FL;
there, aspiring teachers pass all required exams, apply to
a county schoolboard, & are given by the schoolboard a list
of openi...See More

nolateach /blockquote>

I can completely understand your confusion as I went through
it last year. While I can offer insight into teachNOLA and
the RSD, hopefully other teachers working in charter schools
and for NOPS will also offer you some insight.

There are three different types of public schools operating
in New Orle...See More

Aug 9, 2007

catherine mcghee-jackson On 8/09/07, nolateach wrote: > I can completely understand your confusion as I went through > it last year. While I can offer insight into teachNOLA and > the RSD, hopefully other teachers working in charter schools > and for NOPS will also offer you some insight. > > There are three different types of public schools operating >...See MoreOn 8/09/07, nolateach wrote: > I can completely understand your confusion as I went through > it last year. While I can offer insight into teachNOLA and > the RSD, hopefully other teachers working in charter schools > and for NOPS will also offer you some insight. > > There are three different types of public schools operating > in New Orleans right now. You have the New Orleans Parish > Schools (NOPS) running a handful of schools that the state > run RSD did not take over. These schools were all of their > top performing schools and I think that most of them have > selective enrollment but I could be wrong about this. > Within the RSD, you have charter schools that primarily > private entities are running and the state run public > schools. The charter schools all have an application > process which may or may not be selective depending upon the > school (though some would argue that even the simplest > process is selective because we have generations of poorly > educated people in the city who are defeated because they > don't know how to navigate in this new system) and they > also have the ability to turn students away which the RSD > schools do not. Therefore, the charter schools have smaller > class sizes and I would assume far fewer behavior issues > because disruptive students can be kicked out of the > school. I also know that charter schools hire (almost > exclusively) certified teachers with the possibility of a > handful of Teach For America teachers who are currently > working towards their certification. > > The RSD schools are the lowest performing schools in the > state. These are the schools that were failing before the > storm and the state took them over following Katrina. All > of these schools are located in Orleans Parish. Teaching in > the RSD can be very challenging for a number of reasons. As > I'm sure you have already figured out, the RSD is not very > organized and not very communicative. For instance I just > received my official offer letter for a teaching position > for the upcoming school year, but no word yet on whether or > not I will remain at the same school. Additional challenges > include student behavior, lack of supplies and resources, > overcrowding due to too few teachers, etc. > > Another sad reality of the RSD is that the schools are so > hard to staff that they came out this year advertising that > you don't need to be a certified teacher to teach in the > RSD. All of the uncertified teachers are supposed to be > enrolled in a certification program and they also have to > take all of the Praxis tests, but they get a Temporary > Authorization to Teach (TAT) for a year at a time. In a RSD > school you can expect to teach with a lot of uncertified > teachers who are career changers. Some of these people > actually have teaching experience but they are not used to > working with our types kids. But to be honest even the most > seasoned teachers who previously worked for NOPS expressed > that they struggle with teaching these kids. > > On to teachNOLA...as a certified teacher, if you are > accepted teachNOLA acts as the middle man. Schools keep > them updated with a list of their vacancies and teachNOLA > then refers their teachers to those schools. Additionally, > many principals respect the rigorous interview process that > teachNOLA puts their applicants through, so they will > contact teachNOLA directly for possible teacher candidates. > I don't know if teachNOLA shares your application with > principals or not, but I would guess that they do because I > never had to fill out an application for the RSD. Since you > are interviewing with teachNOLA so close to the start of the > school year, I would be prepared for things to move very > quickly. To give you an idea of how quickly things can > move, here is run down of my experience last year: I > interviewed on Saturday, August 26th. I received an e-mail > around 2:00 a.m. Sunday, August 27th letting me know that I > was accepted by teachNOLA. I took my skills test at the RSD > Monday morning and got on a plane to head back home. By the > time I got off of my plane, I had three messages from my > principal asking to set up an interview. Within twenty-four > hours of my phone interview I had accepted a position at my > school. By Labor Day, I had moved to New Orleans. > > What you may or might not realize about teachNOLA is that > they recruited both certified teachers and uncertified > teachers this year. The uncertified teachers were recruited > for the RSD and they actually taught summer school and also > attended an intensive training institute this summer to help > get them ready to have their own classrooms this fall. This > is not an uncommon practice in high needs districts. > Baltimore, D.C., New York, Oakland, etc. all work with the > New Teacher Project (the parent organization of teachNOLA) > to recruit new teachers from other professions. > > You are correct that there will be teachers that leave > before the end of the school year. Winter break might be a > little optimistic, I worked with a teacher that didn't even > last their first day. > > In terms of being substitute, last year the RSD hired > permanent subs who were actually paid the same rate as > regular classroom teachers with credit given for experience > and level of education. So in terms of pay, it's not such a > bad gig. In terms of the actual job, it's pretty > gruelling. It is not uncommon at the high school level for > students to figure where the subs are and then go to class > for one or more periods so that they can hang out with their > friends. During that time, the students can be very > destructive to the classroom. Additionally, students > generally will not respect the sub or recognize that the sub > has any authority. > > I apologize for the length of this post. I hope you are > able to gleen some useful information though. Good luck at > your interview event! >

Aug 15, 2009

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