RECENT COMMENTS
Reports of city schools facing position cuts for next year (UPDATED)
UPDATE 6/15/15 2:50 PM:
RPS has released a statement about this. (PDF)
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UPDATE 6/15/15 2:45 PM:
RPS Executive Director of Secondary Schools Abe Jeffers was able to provide information on the neighborhood secondary schools this afternoon:
Armstrong HS and Franklin Military Academy have projected enrollments of 957 and 359 for the 2015-2016 school year. For next year, Armstrong is projected to have a student/teacher ratio of 20.80/1, and Franklin Military Academy is projected to have a student/teacher ratio of 14.08/1.
Armstrong will be losing positions in Spanish, band, choir, and ISS, and gaining positions in math, FACS, marketing, and art, for a net increase of 1 position.
Franklin will be losing positions in math, science, Spanish, and German, for a net decrease of four positions.
MLK Middle School has a projected enrollment of 747 for next year, with a student/teacher ratio of 21.65/1. The school will see decreases in math, Spanish, health/PE, and ISS positions, and gains in tech ed, art, dance, and drama, for a net decrease of 1.17 positions.
Not sure why MLK would be losing a math position. The school has a 28% three-year pass rate on the SOLS. Franklin Military is losing a math teacher, too, although they’ve not made accreditation in the subject in at least 3 years.
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ORIGINAL
Word is spreading across social media that many schools in Richmond Public Schools are slated to lose a number of teaching positions for next year. As seen on Facebook and shared on the Oregon Hill community blog, for example, it is being reported that award-winning Open High will be shorted 2 1/2 teachers for next year:
Our staff at OHS was just informed this afternoon that Open HIgh School for next year is losing 1 whole English Teacher Position, 1/2 of a Science Teacher Position and 1/2 of a Foreign Language Teacher Position (French), and 1/2 of the ONLY Fine Arts Teacher Position. The fine arts program will be slashed in half, leaving Brigette there only part time.
Organized parent groups are also reporting various cuts at Albert Hill MS, Lucille Brown MS, Community HS, and Thomas Jefferson HS, with many of the cuts coming in foreign languages and the creative and performing arts.
In an attempt to sort out what the facts of the matter might be, I sent an email yesterday to 7th District Schoolboard Representative Don Coleman, the RPS public relations email address, and RPS Superintendent Dr. Dana Bedden asking if there were going to be cuts at East End schools. I received an almost immediate response from Dr.Bedden:
All of our secondary schools are going through what is called a leveling process which is based upon a school average of 22:1 staffing model.
[…]
Leveling: The leveling process involves adjusting the number of teachers at all schools based upon their enrollment figures and student course request. Changes, based on the difference between the projected enrollment, actual student enrollment and student course request result in the reassignment of core content and/or elective staff as needed to meet student schedule/staffing needs across the school division/district.
For example, the beginning of this past year, we had to move a large number of teachers to other schools to meet enrollment and/or staffing needs.
Given our limited resources and also “attempting” to make sure we have teacher assignments properly aligned with student enrollment and course request when school opens, some of the leveling is occurring now.
Additionally, we are hopeful this will minimize some of the reassignments at the beginning of the school year thus allow teachers to better prepare for the change, next school year and more effectively utilize our staffing resources within our “budgeted” resources. RPS still has an approx. $5 million gap in the adopted budget.
His email seems to generally acknowledge that cuts are taking place, in response to school enrollment numbers and the need to level the student/teacher ratio at 22:1.
A protest against the reported cuts is planned for 8AM Monday morning at City Hall. In addition, a petition has been posted to “Keep the Performing Arts in Richmond Public Schools”.
The School Board will be meeting tomorrow, Monday, June 15, at Huguenot High School at 6 PM. (agenda)
For context, the enrollment at Open High has remained very constant over the past 15 years. I’d be very suprised if the enrollment figures were expected to be that different for next year.
OPEN
2000-2001 188
2001-2002 183
2002-2003 184
2003-2004 177
2004-2005 177
2005-2006 182
2006-2007 171
2007-2008 167
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2011-2012 182
2012-2013 173
2013-2014 190
2014-2015 182
Protesters get ready to demonstrate Richmond teacher position cuts at specialty high school
http://www.nbc12.com/story/29317481/richmond-teacher-cuts
The City has spent $2 million for the UCI bike race, which happens in September. While I was not against it (I hoped it would help with increasing bicycle amenities across Richmond), if I had known all the cuts made to education, I would have been more circumspect about it. Budgets represent choices. The City leadership keeps re-affirming its choice to put private, corporate endeavors over public ones like education- Center Stage, Redskins training camp, Stone brewery, etc., etc. I think the message to my friends who have or who are planning children and cannot afford private school is pretty clear- leave the City of Richmond. In the past, I might have encouraged you to try to find a way to make it work here. I cannot do that in good conscience any more. I am truly sorry.
And yet … and yet … Richmond can come up with lots of money for lots of other things. Facilities for a very wealthy football team? Check. Bribes to get a craft brewery to relocate to Richmond? Check. Park enhancements in middle-class white neighborhoods? Check.
It’s fair to judge any city (county, state, country) by how it treats its kids in education and health care and social services and recreation facilities and … and … Richmond doesn’t do very well, does it?
Post updated with data for Armstrong, Franklin, and MLK:
RPS Executive Director of Secondary Schools Abe Jeffers was able to provide the following:
Armstrong HS and Franklin Military Academy have projected enrollments of 957 and 359 for the 2015-2016 school year. Armstrong will be losing positions in Spanish, band, choir, and ISS, and gaining positions in math, FACS, marketing, and art, for a net increase of 1 position. Franklin will be losing positions in math, science, Spanish, and German, for a net decrease of four positions. For next year, Armstrong is projected to have a student/teacher ratio of 20.80/1, and Franklin Military Academy is projected to have a student/teacher ratio of 14.08/1.
MLK Middle School has a projected enrollment of 747 for next year. The school will see decreases in math, Spanish, health/PE, and ISS positions, and gains in tech ed, art, dance, and drama, for a net decrease of 1.17 positions. The school is projected to have a student/teacher ratio of 21.65/1.
“Motion passes 6-3 to stop all leveling until the school board can be appraised of all the impacts”
https://www.facebook.com/events/786607281437362/permalink/787411474690276/
As a city resident who teaches in one of the surrounding counties, I really don’t understand the fuss. County employees are regularly surplussed to other schools if population shifts or if an elective can’t attract a full-time schedule. This can even rarely happen up to the first day of school if enrollment suddenly jumps at an elementary school, although that is rare.
Two things are standard operating procedure in the surrounding counties: redistricting students to make the best use of school space and surplussing teachers to make sure the right amount of staff are at each school. Why does this always have to be such a big deal in Richmond Public Schools?????
As a former teacher, I am familiar with what you describe. There is a disconnect here between enrollment and some of the staff movements… In this situation, teachers are being taken from schools whose population is not dropping, and which are already not meeting the accreditation marks.
See the top of the post – not sure why math teachers would be pulled from MLK or Franklin, for example.