by Christopher Paslay
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Jerry Jordan, President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. This article appeared in the May edition of the PFT Reporter.
A child came to class late one morning with a sad, almost weary look on his face, and carrying a small suitcase. When his [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘PFT’
May 25, 2009
A broader approach to helping kids: A call for shared responsibility
January 8, 2009
District should mandate after school activities instead of extending school day
by Christopher Paslay
It’s no secret that Philadelphia School District officials want to extend the length of the school day. Increased instructional time was a high priority on Dr. Ackerman’s recent “wishlist” for the District.
Although I don’t agree that more is always better, research shows that keeping kids in school longer improves tests scores and [...]
October 29, 2008
PFT Holds Strong, Wins 4% Raise and 10 Month Contract Extension
by Christopher Paslay
Kudos to PFT President Jerry Jordan and members of the Collective Bargaining Team. The Philadelphia School District agreed to extend the PFT’s current contract another 10 months to August 31st, 2009. Even more important, the SRC agreed to a 4% salary increase for teachers that will take effect on March 15, 2009.
Although [...]
October 15, 2008
Philadelphia Needs More Disciplinary Schools
by R.B.
This is what I’ve noticed in my almost 15 years of teaching in Philly schools.
In all the articles I’ve been reading, in the Inquirer, PSU, and Chalk and Talk, I find one element missing. It’s not about money. It’s not about certified teachers. It’s about the idea that Philly is forced to teach all children. [...]
October 14, 2008
The Top 10 Reasons Why Philly Lacks Teachers
by Silence Dogood
According to a story in today’s Inquirer, “District lags in filling teacher vacancies,” a month into the new school year, the Philadelphia School District had 144 unfilled teaching jobs. This is troubling to district officials, because big urban cities like New York, Chicago and Boston all opened with no vacancies.
Teacher recruitment experts, along [...]
October 8, 2008
One Year Deal for Teachers is a Lot of Tricks and No Treats
by Ed Olsen
I’d like to address a few additional points that I feel are worth mentioning in response to Dr. Ackerman’s statements as of late in the press.
First, she claims that the district’s proposed one year contract is to bide time in order to “develop a strategic multiyear contract that tackles the tough issues that [...]
October 1, 2008
Sandra Dungee Glenn Addresses PFT Contract Situation
by Christopher Paslay
Sandra Dungee Glenn, the chairwomen of the School Reform Commission, wrote a commentary in today’s Philadelphia Daily News headlined, “School progress & contracts”. In it she touts the experience of Arlene Ackerman, the Philadelphia School District’s newly appointed CEO, and highlights the support the district is receiving from “strong public education advocates” Mayor [...]
September 29, 2008
Arlene Ackerman Responds to Inquirer Commentary
by Christopher Paslay
Arlene C. Ackerman, Superintendent of the Philadelphia School District, responded to my commentary in Thursday’s Philadelphia Inquirer by writing a letter to the editor. The letter, headlined, “Taking Exception,” explained that the School Reform Commission is working hard to rectify the problems faced by the Philadelphia School District, and that there [...]
September 29, 2008
How About the Teachers?
by Christopher Paslay
Here is a reprint of a commentary I published in The Philadelphia Inquirer last Thursday, headlined, “How about the teachers?” To comment, please click on the link below.
***
After six months of failed negotiations with the School Reform Commission, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is still without a contract. The Sept. 1 deadline [...]
