More information about RIDE's school classifications: PPSD PowerPoint

As I work on a long post and East Side Monthly column about the significance and lack thereof of RIDE's new school classification system, I want to share this PowerPoint created by PPSD and shared by Superintendent Sue Lusi in various venues, including last week's Providence City Council meeting that Zach Mezera wrote about here.

Councilman Sam Zurier posted the PowerPoint in PDF form (click here to download). If you have any interest in this issue, it's well worth a look for its more specific focus on Providence than the material that RIDE has provided thus far as well as the detail about timelines and next steps. Thanks to Councilman Zurier for sharing.

At the risk of being a nudge, I'll point out that this belongs on the Providence Public Schools website as well, along with more info that provides guidance and context about this whole deal. I've mentioned this to folks at PPSD and assume it's in the works...so let's see it. Thanks.

PPSD Middle/High School Common Planning Time/Early Release: No More

Update to the previous post about Councilman Zurier’s upcoming hearing about PPSD’s practice of releasing middle and high school students early in order to accommodate the need for teachers’ common planning time: an announcement from Mayor Taveras’ office released Tuesday states, "...the district will immediately increase instructional time by ending the practice of dismissing students early every week to accommodate state-mandated common planning time."

That’s it? Well, okay then.

The City Council Education Subcommittee's August 23 5:30pm hearing, according to email that Councilman Zurier sent to constituents, is still going forward to "review other issues related to the re-opening of school this fall, including the assignment plans for children who were in schools closed this Spring, and the “match” process by which teachers from the closed schools were assigned new positions."

The Mayor’s August 2 announcement focused mainly on the recently negotiated contract with the Providence Teachers Union. More about that in the next post.

Common planning time and early release - seeking alternative solutions

Ward 2 City Council member Sam Zurier is holding a meeting on August 23 that will focus on the impact of common planning time on middle and high school schedules. Last year, middle and high schools released students early to accommodate common planning time for teachers. For more on the effects, reactions, and possible repercussions of the early release time, please see GoLocalProv's "Providence Schools Violated State Law."

Here's Councilman Zurier's invitation, which is extended not only to parents but also to anyone who would like to comment on or learn more about the impact of common planning time on instructional time:

I would like to give you a heads up that the City Council Education Subcommittee will be holding a meeting on Tuesday, August 23 at 5:30 p.m.  It will take place at City Halll on the third floor.  The purpose of the meeting is to ask the School Department how it is going to handle common planning time in middle and high schools this year, with the hope that they have found an alternative to the early release program they ran last year.  I am hoping that some parents can come to the meeting to express their concerns with last year’s program.

Providence City Council teachers contract hearings, 2/17 and 2/22

Karina Wood, Interim Executive Director of the nonpartisan citizens' initiative BetterProvidence, has passed on information about the hearings that the Providence City Council is holding this week to gather information about the contract between the Providence Teachers Union and the Providence Public Schools. Here's Karina's announcement:

The contract with the Providence Teachers Union has a major effect on the cost of education in Providence and on the policies and practices by which our children learn in the classroom. The contract need to be renewed by August, 2011.

This Thursday, February 17 at 4:30 p.m., at City Hall, the City Council’s Education Subcommittee of the Finance Committee is inviting the lead contract negotiators to present the goals they have for the upcoming negotiations. Superintendent Tom Brady, Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith, and Providence School Board President Kathy Crain have been invited to make presentations and take questions from the committee. 

The public is invited and welcomed to attend. Please come if you can.

Ed Fitzpatrick wrote about the upcoming teachers contract hearings in today's ProJo, with a focus on City Council member Sam Zurier, who initiated the hearings. The ProJo's Alisha Pina also reported this story last week.

This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the union and district's aims and expectations, which will have a tremendous impact both on the ways Providence spends money not only on salaries but much more, and on the ways teachers can spend their time as professionals working toward the best possible learning outcomes for our kids. It's also a chance, as time permits, for you to offer your perspective as a citizen about the ways resources can and should be used to create the best conditions for teaching and learning in our city's public schools.
 
There will be a second teachers contract hearing on Tuesday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m.