Diane Ravitch posted to a story in Education Week. This is what she had to say about the story she had linked to:
Every once in a while, I read something that rings as true as a perfectly pitched bell or a fine piece of crystal.
Every once in a while, a clear-headed thinker assembles all the pieces of what is happening around us and puts it all together into a sensible and compelling analysis.
Go over and read the article and then, share it with everyone you know. The easy answer to the crisis in education is to blame the teachers. It will take much more hard work and a willingness to examine our society to make a long-lasting impact to the challenges we face in public education.
There is a reason that we lose 50% of teachers in their first five years of teaching and money is very rarely listed as the reason for leaving. Rather, the top reasons for leaving are due to poor working conditions and lack of respect or support from administrators.
School may start back Monday August 20th for Vallejo students, but their teachers have been working hard all summer in order to best serve the students they teach.
Vallejo Teachers will be returning to work this week, starting with optional staff development days beginning tomorrow. However, for many teachers, the summer break meant an opportunity for them to become better at their craft. Teachers took a variety of professional development courses, including learning about the Common Core. While contractually Vallejo teachers only have one paid day of prepping their classrooms, most have been working the past few weeks in getting their classrooms ready for their students.
Katie V., a teacher at Cooper Elementary enjoyed her professional development opportunities which included training in Math as well as taking the “Emerging Leaders” track at CTA’s Summer Institute. Other teachers took part in “Positive Behavior, Interventions and Support” (PBIS) and “Guided Language Acquisition Design” (GLAD) trainings, such as teacher Kevin S. at Highland Elementary. Other teachers took trainings on Board Math, Differentiated Learning, Content Area Language and Literacy, such as Jen Z. at Mare Island Physical Fitness Academy and Cheryl T at Vallejo High.
Other high school teachers, such as Scott H. and Rob R., participated in trainings that will help the District in its vision for Academy High Schools. Scott H., a teacher at Bethel, did a week long training at UC Davis’ History Project Technology Institute and Rob R., a teacher at VHS, participated in his school sites’ Engineering Academy Project.
As noted on this website, Vallejo teachers also attended several events this past summer in order to strengthen their union, which helps them to become better advocates for their students and their colleagues.
Teachers also worked this past summer developing new lesson plans or tweaking their lesson plans to make them better for the upcoming school year. While there is the misconception that teachers do not work during the summer months, many of Vallejo’s teachers would state that this is unequivocally not true for them.