Detroit schools warn supervisors of layoffs

By Chastity Pratt

Detroit Public Schools leaders took a bold step to help fill teaching vacancies: they sent layoff notices Monday to some school administrators, hoping they'll apply to be full-time teachers.

Many of the 382 curricular leaders and staff coordinators learned Monday that their contracts won't be renewed for next year.

The curricular leaders, formerly known as department heads, teach three classes and have duties including observing teachers, helping with disciplinary issues, coordinating standardized testing and developing curriculum.

Staff coordinators are full-time administrators who work in elementary schools assisting principals with similar issues. These positions pay about $69,500 a year compared with a top pay of $64,600 for teachers.

The district has about 1,300 vacancies for certified teachers.

"It's part of restructuring of academic resources," Stan Childress, district spokesman, said of the layoffs.

The district expects many will go back to teaching, while some will retire, Childress said.

Dianne Baker, principal at Chadsey High School, said curricular leaders were upset after she passed out the sealed letters.

"They have direct contact with teachers; they are our link to the classroom teachers. They'll be missed," Baker said.

While some of the administrators and their principals were dismayed, the union leadership has called themove an attempt to bust the administrative union.

Diann Woodard, president of the Organization of School Administrators & Supervisors, said the district has not shared any information about the layoffs.

The administratorsunion will have about 100 membersleft, mostly central office administrators, once the curricular leaders and staff coordinators are laid off June 30, Woodard said.

The principals and assistant principals were taken out of the OSAS union and given individual yearly contracts in 2000.

"They have always said they think reform is eliminating administrators," Woodard said of the district. "The administrators who did the hard work have become the scapegoats for the ones who messed up the district."

Union members, administrators and principals were uncertain who would pick up the responsibilities of the laid-off workers.

However, the layoff letters encouraged the administrators to apply for the teacher-coach position to be posted in mid-May. The job description was unknown.

Janna Garrison, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said the teachers union does not have a classification called teacher coach and the district had not approached the union about creating it within DFT.

Childress said school officials found that some of the curricular leaders did not teach three classes. The teacher coach will be a full-time position who works at more than one school, he said, adding that the specifics are still being worked out.

"It has nothing to do with trying to bust any union," Childress said of the layoffs. He said about half of those administrators will be needed as teacher coaches.

Gwendolyn Gohagon, a curricular coordinator at Mackenzie High School, said she had been optimistic about her prospects of keeping her job until she got the letter.

"I'm disappointed," she said. "Without curricular leaders in place, you will see a major change, without anything in place to evaluate teachers," said Gohagon, who was responsible for evaluating about 65 teachers.

However, she said, "those of us who were great teachers before we were put in these positions will go back to being great teachers."

Sourced from: Detroit Free Press