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2005 start tribune article by steve brandt on teacher assignment

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4/5/2014 search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/printviewfile?accountid=12085 http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/printviewfile?accountid=12085 1/3 Find a copy Full Text Back to previous page document 1 of 1 Teacher bill revises 'last hired, first fired' ; Minneapolis and St. Paul schools would be able to negotiate seniority's role in layoffs.: [METRO Edition] Brandt, Steve; Staff Writer. Star Tribune [Minneapolis, Minn] 23 May 2005: 1B. http://rx9vh3hy4r.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.882004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF 8&rfr_id=info:sid/ProQ%3Anewsstand&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Star+Tribune&rft.atitle=Teacher+bill+revises+%27last+hired%2C+first 0523&rft.volume=&rft.issue=&rft.spage=1.B&rft.isbn=&rft.btitle=&rft.title=Star+Tribune&rft.issn=08952825 Check for full text via Journal Finder http://rx9vh3hy4r.search.serialssolutions.com/? genre=article&sid=ProQ:&atitle=Teacher+bill+revises+%27last+hired%2C+first+fired%27+%3B+Minneapolis+and+St.+Paul+schools+would+be+able+to+negotiate+seniority%27s+ 0523&volume=&issue=&spage=1.B&author=Brandt%2C+Steve%3BStaff+Writer Abstract (summary) The Legislature is expected to adopt a bill that allows two big districts to negotiate exceptions to the iron rule of teacher tenure: last hired, first fired. That frees the Minneapolis and St. Paul districts and their unions to negotiate exceptions to seniority in layoffs. They're the only districts in the state barred from doing so. The proposed change in both the House and Senate education bills addresses only layoffs for tenured teachers, not how those vacancies are filled. Minneapolis teachers usually achieve tenure when they start their fourth year on the job. After nontenured probationary teachers, junior tenured teachers face the greatest risk of layoffs. Last year, a 1980s state Supreme Court ruling guided how the tenure law affected Minneapolis layoffs. That forced moresenior tenured teachers holding multiple licenses to switch into teaching subjects they typically hadn't taught in years or ever if that kept a more junior tenured teacher on the job. Rep. Jim Davnie, DFLMinneapolis, said he sponsored the tenure proposal in the House because he'd heard plenty from constituents about the impact of the tenure law a year ago. A former teachers union president in the Buffalo, Minn., schools, he said the Minneapolis layoff process needs a logic that responds to educational needs, yet respects teachers. "I don't think teachers favor rigidity for rigidity's sake," he said. Remember the anguished wails of Minneapolis parents a year ago when their children lost a favorite teacher to the labyrinthine workings of the state tenure law? Help is on the horizon. The Legislature is expected to adopt a bill that allows two big districts to negotiate exceptions to the iron rule of teacher tenure: last hired, first fired. That frees the Minneapolis and St. Paul districts and their unions to negotiate exceptions to seniority in layoffs. They're the only districts in the state barred from doing so. Just what that's worth depends on how far teacher unions are willing to go and how hard the districts are willing to push. But unions joined the districts in agreeing to the proposed change. That followed an outpouring of parental protest in Minneapolis over the forced reassignment of 140 senior teachers who held licenses to teach in more than one subject. Some were shifted into areas they had never taught; some took leaves or retired rather than accept the transfer. More layoffs are on tap this year, with 294 probationary teachers notified already in Minneapolis and more layoffs to be announced later. St. Paul faces layoffs this year, with the possibility of forced assignment shifts a year from now. Both districts and their unions are just beginning to discuss their next contracts, and the law wouldn't take effect until August. That means that changes wouldn't kick in until 2006 layoffs. Among the potential changes mentioned in Minneapolis so far are helping specialized places such as Spanishimmersion schools or autism programs to protect their staffs from layoffs or forced shifts. Minority teachers might also benefit. The district has said it wants to protect its highly qualified teachers of color from layoffs. Black teachers have been laid off to a much greater degree than other races, in part because of lower seniority. The district also says it wants the ability to recruit and keep quality veteran teachers to bolster the staffs of highminority schools that experience frequent turnover. However, the proposed change in both the House and Senate education bills addresses only layoffs for tenured teachers, not how those vacancies are filled. Minneapolis teachers usually achieve tenure when they start their fourth year on the job. After nontenured probationary teachers, junior tenured teachers face the greatest risk of layoffs. Last year, a 1980s state Supreme Court ruling guided how the tenure law affected Minneapolis layoffs. That forced moresenior tenured teachers holding multiple licenses to switch into teaching subjects they typically hadn't taught in years or ever if that kept a more junior tenured teacher on the job. Beyond the question of who gets axed during layoffs, there's the issue of which teachers fill the vacancies. That's governed by the teachers union contract. Teachers who are cut from their schools when their positions are eliminated get first crack at vacancies in their license area. But seniority plays the dominant role in who gets hired for vacancies when teachers seeking a voluntary transfer between schools compete for a position. Mary Ford helped organize a forum of parents in March to urge greater staffing stability. She said the pending bill "takes us in one step in the right direction. We need to do more so that principals are really given the power to choose and retain staff." School board members have complained about the impact of seniority in hiring. Teachers often attempt to shift out of high poverty schools as they gain seniority. An internal district

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Teacher bill revises 'last hired, first fired' ; Minneapolis and St. Paul schools would be able to negotiate seniority's role in layoffs.

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    Teacherbillrevises'lasthired,firstfired'MinneapolisandSt.Paulschoolswouldbeabletonegotiateseniority'sroleinlayoffs.:[METROEdition]Brandt,SteveStaffWriter.StarTribune[Minneapolis,Minn]23May2005:1B.

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    Abstract(summary)

    TheLegislatureisexpectedtoadoptabillthatallowstwobigdistrictstonegotiateexceptionstotheironruleofteachertenure:lasthired,firstfired.ThatfreestheMinneapolisandSt.Pauldistrictsandtheirunionstonegotiateexceptionstoseniorityinlayoffs.They'retheonlydistrictsinthestatebarredfromdoingso.

    TheproposedchangeinboththeHouseandSenateeducationbillsaddressesonlylayoffsfortenuredteachers,nothowthosevacanciesarefilled.Minneapolisteachersusuallyachievetenurewhentheystarttheirfourthyearonthejob.Afternontenuredprobationaryteachers,juniortenuredteachersfacethegreatestriskoflayoffs.Lastyear,a1980sstateSupremeCourtrulingguidedhowthetenurelawaffectedMinneapolislayoffs.Thatforcedmoreseniortenuredteachersholdingmultiplelicensestoswitchintoteachingsubjectstheytypicallyhadn'ttaughtinyearsoreverifthatkeptamorejuniortenuredteacheronthejob.

    Rep.JimDavnie,DFLMinneapolis,saidhesponsoredthetenureproposalintheHousebecausehe'dheardplentyfromconstituentsabouttheimpactofthetenurelawayearago.AformerteachersunionpresidentintheBuffalo,Minn.,schools,hesaidtheMinneapolislayoffprocessneedsalogicthatrespondstoeducationalneeds,yetrespectsteachers."Idon'tthinkteachersfavorrigidityforrigidity'ssake,"hesaid.

    RemembertheanguishedwailsofMinneapolisparentsayearagowhentheirchildrenlostafavoriteteachertothelabyrinthineworkingsofthestatetenurelaw?

    Helpisonthehorizon.

    TheLegislatureisexpectedtoadoptabillthatallowstwobigdistrictstonegotiateexceptionstotheironruleofteachertenure:lasthired,firstfired.ThatfreestheMinneapolisandSt.Pauldistrictsandtheirunionstonegotiateexceptionstoseniorityinlayoffs.They'retheonlydistrictsinthestatebarredfromdoingso.

    Justwhatthat'sworthdependsonhowfarteacherunionsarewillingtogoandhowhardthedistrictsarewillingtopush.Butunionsjoinedthedistrictsinagreeingtotheproposedchange.ThatfollowedanoutpouringofparentalprotestinMinneapolisovertheforcedreassignmentof140seniorteacherswhoheldlicensestoteachinmorethanonesubject.Somewereshiftedintoareastheyhadnevertaughtsometookleavesorretiredratherthanacceptthetransfer.

    Morelayoffsareontapthisyear,with294probationaryteachersnotifiedalreadyinMinneapolisandmorelayoffstobeannouncedlater.St.Paulfaceslayoffsthisyear,withthepossibilityofforcedassignmentshiftsayearfromnow.

    Bothdistrictsandtheirunionsarejustbeginningtodiscusstheirnextcontracts,andthelawwouldn'ttakeeffectuntilAugust.Thatmeansthatchangeswouldn'tkickinuntil2006layoffs.

    AmongthepotentialchangesmentionedinMinneapolissofararehelpingspecializedplacessuchasSpanishimmersionschoolsorautismprogramstoprotecttheirstaffsfromlayoffsorforcedshifts.

    Minorityteachersmightalsobenefit.Thedistricthassaiditwantstoprotectitshighlyqualifiedteachersofcolorfromlayoffs.

    Blackteachershavebeenlaidofftoamuchgreaterdegreethanotherraces,inpartbecauseoflowerseniority.Thedistrictalsosaysitwantstheabilitytorecruitandkeepqualityveteranteacherstobolsterthestaffsofhighminorityschoolsthatexperiencefrequentturnover.

    However,theproposedchangeinboththeHouseandSenateeducationbillsaddressesonlylayoffsfortenuredteachers,nothowthosevacanciesarefilled.Minneapolisteachersusuallyachievetenurewhentheystarttheirfourthyearonthejob.Afternontenuredprobationaryteachers,juniortenuredteachersfacethegreatestriskoflayoffs.Lastyear,a1980sstateSupremeCourtrulingguidedhowthetenurelawaffectedMinneapolislayoffs.Thatforcedmoreseniortenuredteachersholdingmultiplelicensestoswitchintoteachingsubjectstheytypicallyhadn'ttaughtinyearsoreverifthatkeptamorejuniortenuredteacheronthejob.

    Beyondthequestionofwhogetsaxedduringlayoffs,there'stheissueofwhichteachersfillthevacancies.That'sgovernedbytheteachersunioncontract.Teacherswhoarecutfromtheirschoolswhentheirpositionsareeliminatedgetfirstcrackatvacanciesintheirlicensearea.Butseniorityplaysthedominantroleinwhogetshiredforvacancieswhenteachersseekingavoluntarytransferbetweenschoolscompeteforaposition.

    MaryFordhelpedorganizeaforumofparentsinMarchtourgegreaterstaffingstability.Shesaidthependingbill"takesusinonestepintherightdirection.Weneedtodomoresothatprincipalsarereallygiventhepowertochooseandretainstaff."

    Schoolboardmembershavecomplainedabouttheimpactofseniorityinhiring.Teachersoftenattempttoshiftoutofhighpovertyschoolsastheygainseniority.Aninternaldistrict

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    Indexing(details)

    Title Teacherbillrevises'lasthired,firstfired'MinneapolisandSt.Paulschoolswouldbeabletonegotiateseniority'sroleinlayoffs.:[METROEdition]

    Author Brandt,SteveStaffWriter1

    1StaffWriter

    Publicationtitle StarTribune

    Pages 1B

    Numberofpages 0

    studylastyearshowedastrongassociationbetweenhighturnoverinmiddleschoolgradesandlowtestscores.

    Rep.JimDavnie,DFLMinneapolis,saidhesponsoredthetenureproposalintheHousebecausehe'dheardplentyfromconstituentsabouttheimpactofthetenurelawayearago.AformerteachersunionpresidentintheBuffalo,Minn.,schools,hesaidtheMinneapolislayoffprocessneedsalogicthatrespondstoeducationalneeds,yetrespectsteachers."Idon'tthinkteachersfavorrigidityforrigidity'ssake,"hesaid.

    Indeed,teachersthemselveshaveexpressedconcernsabouttheimpactsofasenioritydrivensystem.AsurveyofMinneapolisteacherunionmembersearlierthisyearfoundthatabout40percentofthoserespondingfeltthatschoolstabilityshouldbethemostimportantfactordeterminingteacherlayoffs,transfersorreassignments.Asmallernumber,28.5percent,namedseniorityasthemostimportantfactor.

    LouiseSundin,MinneapolisFederationofTeacherspresident,saidshethinksthatresultsshowadifferenceinoutlookbetweenyoungerteacherswhohaven'teverbeenlaidoff,comparedwithasmallernumberofolderteacherswhohave.

    Thisyear,thedistrictislookingatallowingteacherswhoformedateamatschoolsthatarebeingclosedtoshifttonewschoolsasateam.Theargumentisthatkeepingtogetherteacherswhoareexperiencedinworkingwithoneanotherhelpsstudents.

    Thedistricthaspreviouslysaidthatitsabilitytopersuadetheuniontomodifyseniorityforplacementissuesishamperedbythelackofmoneytouseasanincentive.Butthedistrictmaybeinmoreofapositiontodealintheupcomingroundoftalks.TheMinneapolisunionhasbrokenrankswiththerestoftheeducationlobbyinthestatetosupportalegislativeproposalbackedbytheMinnesotaBusinessPartnershiptobeefupschoolbaseddecisionmaking.Inoneversion,parentsandstaffcouldnegotiatebudgetingandhiringcontrolfortheirschoolswiththedistrict.Butchangesintheunioncontractwouldbeneededtomakethatworksmoothly.

    Sundinhassaidherreservationsaboutlimitingtheabilityofteacherstotransferbetweenschoolsisrelatedtoconcernsabouttheirtreatmentbyprincipals.Thedistrict'swillingnesstodealonmovingtowardstrongerschoolbaseddecisionsmayinfluencehowflexibletheunionwillbeonseniorityissues.

    .

    [email protected].

    .

    TOLEARNMORE

    What:TheMinneapolisFederationofTeachershasinvitedparentsandothercityresidentstoadiscussionofschoolstabilityandstaffingissues.ThisisafollowuptoameetingorganizedinMarchbyparentsconcernedaboutthefactorsthatcontrolhowteachingjobsarefilled.

    When:6:30to8p.m.today.

    Where:Thefederation'soffice,678thAv.NE.

    .

    BlackteachersloseinMinneapoliscontraction

    TheMinneapolisschooldistricthasbeenlosingenrollment.Blackteachersaregettinglaidoffmarkedlyfasterthanothers.That'sduetothelasthired,firstfiredruleofseniorityinstateteachertenurelaw,oneofthereasonsthelawmaychange.Layoffsformostotherminoritiesaremoreinsyncwiththoseforwhites..

    SchoolyearRace2000

    200120042005ChangePercentage

    White3,8763,15172518.7%

    Black47432914530.6%

    Latino828022.4%

    AsianAmerican1441212316.0%

    AmericanIndian77601722.1%

    Minority77759018724.1%

    Total4,6533,74191219.6%

    .Source:Minneapolispublicschools

    IllustrationPhoto:CHART

    (Copyright2005StarTribune)

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    Publicationyear 2005

    Publicationdate May23,2005

    Year 2005

    Section NEWS

    Publisher TheStarTribuneCompany

    Placeofpublication Minneapolis,Minn.

    Countryofpublication UnitedStates

    Publicationsubject GeneralInterestPeriodicalsUnitedStates

    ISSN 08952825

    Sourcetype Newspapers

    Languageofpublication English

    Documenttype NEWSPAPER

    ProQuestdocumentID 427708390

    DocumentURL http://www.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/427708390?accountid=12085

    Copyright (Copyright2005StarTribune)

    Lastupdated 20110831

    Database ProQuestCentral

    Copyright2014ProQuestLLC.Allrightsreserved.TermsandConditions


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