After a decade-long war on public education by Democratic and Republican presidents and Wall Street that has wracked schools with high-stakes bubble tests and crowded classes beyond fire codes but has left kids no better educated, teachers are finally starting to fight back.
With low pay and even lower collegiate expectations, part-time instructors face a full-time problem.
Several key details of the contract changed but one ithing did not: How much Portland Public Schools pays its 3,000-plus teachers still depends on just two factors. Neither of which have much, if anything, to do with the quality of their teaching.
With education budgets squeezed statewide, Monterey County teachers are bracing for lay-off notices that, by law, districts must send by March 15 if they anticipate downsizing next year.
Primarily intended to encourage parental involvement, English teacher Channing Woodsum's visits offer him a glimpse into students' living conditions, particularly notable in a school where many children come from communities plagued by violence and poverty.
When Portland Public Schools begins bargaining with its nearly 3,000 teachers, counselors and school psychologists next month, one issue is not likely to be addressed: How should PPS identify and get rid of bad teachers?
In spite of campus facelifts, mandatory uniforms and new resources, San Francisco's first three "Dream Schools" have a long way to go before they become the dazzling college-preparatory academies to which San Francisco parents will be clamoring to send their kids.