Georgia

From the Atlanta-Journal Constitution June 10, 2010

After a massive teacher layoff, Cobb County will rehire 500 teachers, including 130 special education teachers.

The district recently had laid off 171 special education teachers because of budget cuts, a move critics said would put the most fragile students at more of a learning disadvantage. The cuts were part of Cobb’s reduction of more than 1,000 employees, including more than 700 full- and part-time teachers, to close a $126.7 million deficit for next year. Cobb also instituted five furlough days, no teacher raises, and cuts in school bus stops and health benefits for employees.

Cobb County said it’s committed to special education and no services will be affected despite the cuts and the subsequent shuffling of teachers. Cobb laid off 20 full-time and 79 part-time special education teachers, and 72 teachers with contracts of less than a year. However, the district said it will rehire 132 special education teachers because openings were created by other teachers who retired, resigned or moved away.

Some parents complained that the teachers they have come to know and trust are gone. They questioned whether the newly hired teachers would develop the same rapport with their children. Regular teachers also will be asked to assume the duties of special education teachers in some cases.

“It’s hard to find the right fit for your child and, when you do, you don’t want to change it,” said Elizabeth Foy, mother of Hannah, 3, who is enrolled in the special needs pre-K program at Nickajack Elementary School.

The Foys sold their Mableton home at a loss and moved to Smyrna so their daughter could work with a specific teacher, Shannon Bryant. The tight network of special education parents considered Bryant a highly effective teacher.

“She is like the model of patience and understanding,” Elizabeth Foy said of Bryant.

In working with Bryant, Hannah Foy learned to sit appropriately during circle time and play on the playground independently, her mother said. The child also was learning to recognize her name. Bryant’s departure was a blow to the Foy family.

“I was in tears,” Elizabeth Foy said. “We were incredibly disappointed. We’re devastated.”

Cobb used a pre-determined procedure to make decisions about which teachers to cut. First to go were part-timers. Those with limited contracts were next. Those with unsatisfactory evaluations followed. Lastly, those with the least seniority were cut.

A school district spokesman said Bryant and 19 other full-time special education teachers were laid off because they had unsatisfactory evaluations. However, Bryant was named Nickajack’s teacher of the year this past year.

“Every one of those was based on unsatisfactory performance ratings,” Dillon said. The rest of the special education teachers were cut because they were part-timers or had limited contracts, he said.

Parents went to a school board meeting to show support for Bryant.

“To take somebody away from these kids who cares so much about them, it’s a crime,”  said Stuart Wood, father of a kindergartner at Nickajack Elementary School.

Wood’s son has a developmental disorder and learned to walk and speak in Bryant’s pre-school class, he said. “They are obviously not taking into account these children, who are the most vulnerable in our society,” Wood said.

Bryant said she’s looking for another job. “I never thought I’d have to apply for unemployment,” she said. “It’s hard. It’s one of those experiences. I know I’ll get past it. I’ll get through it.”

Cobb principals are busy hiring hundreds of teachers back, Dillon said. Already the number of job openings on the district’s Web site has dropped from 548 openings on Wednesday to 292 positions the next day.

Atlanta

Atlanta Public Schools has hired a dedicated stimulus team program manager to provide supervision, leadership, coordination, and program development for using stimulus funds. The manager is responsible for overseeing, coordinating, and managing the programmatic components of stimulus fund expenditure and utilization to ensure program compliance, and will supervise all department representatives responsible for overseeing and reporting on the ARRA funds.

The district has identified four priorities and initiatives for its use of stimulus funding: creating and saving jobs, building capacity and sustaining growth, supporting students, and enhancing material support. The anticipated outcomes from these initiatives include sustaining critical positions that support instruction and have an impact on student achievement and effectively implementing, managing, and tracking ARRA funds to ensure district compliance with federal and state guidelines.

ARRA funds will be used to sustain teaching and other instructional positions that otherwise would have been lost due to cuts in state and local funding. Title I funds will be used to support 11 instructional mentor positions (seven high school and four middle school) and five middle school counselor positions. IDEA funds will be used to save 49 special education paraprofessional positions. In addition, three additional instructional mentor positions will be created at the high school level using Title I funds.

State Fiscal Stabilization Funds will shore up the budget shortfalls that resulted from severe state and local budgetary constraints, enabling the district to maintain existing successful programs that have been responsible for increasing student achievement significantly over the past several years.

To build capacity and sustain growth, Title I and other ARRA funds will be used to provide English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and gifted endorsements, extended professional learning opportunities, teacher induction programs, consultants, and incentives and internships. The district has a significant number of teachers who have not met certification requirements in the areas of special education, English language learners (ELLs), mathematics, science, and foreign language. The district recognizes the need to increase the number of teachers who are certified to teach appropriate gifted courses. Atlanta Public Schools will use the ARRA stimulus funds to plan and create necessary endorsement courses to address these critical areas.

The district can reduce the number of teachers that are not highly qualified by helping them to successfully pass the appropriate Georgia Assessment for the Certification of Educators (GACE) content assessment. The district will focus efforts toward assisting special education, ELL, gifted, mathematics, science, and foreign language teachers in meeting the content assessment requirements. ARRA funds will provide GACE workshops throughout the year to help teachers meet state testing requirements. Content assessment workshops will be provided to lead participants through a deeper understanding of Georgia Performance Standards and the state’s testing framework. ARRA funds will be used to reimburse teachers for the fees needed to take and pass the required GACE assessment(s).

The ARRA funding will also help build internal capacity by extending professional development opportunities to district staff. The district will offer teachers numerous professional learning opportunities to increase the number of highly qualified and effective teachers meeting the diverse needs of the students in the school system. Teachers will also gain deeper instructional knowledge in critical areas, such as core curriculum, English language learners, inclusion, behavioral support, and comprehensive reform models. These learning opportunities will also cover such topics as Response to Intervention (RTI), differentiated instruction, and co-teaching modules, all of which will ultimately lead to greater student achievement. The district is also planning to use a portion of the stimulus funds to increase the number of teachers who are dual certified, an important strategy designed to boost student achievement and prepare for the impact of future budget cuts and school closings.

In addition to system-level courses, each school will have the opportunity to offer professional development specific to the needs of its student population, including strategies to meet the needs of ELL students, inclusion strategies for special education students, and strategies for teaching gifted, mathematics, science, and foreign language students.

ARRA will allow the district to provide quality support that fosters effective leadership for teachers and administrators within schools and classrooms. Funds will provide differentiated professional learning for both teachers and instructional personnel who support teachers (instructional mentors, model teacher leaders, coaches, etc.). Stimulus funds will also be used to build capacity within the district’s current and emerging leadership. Thus, this funding will be used to support leadership internship programs, such as the Superintendent’s Academy for Building Leaders in Education and secondary leaders’ academies.

The district plans to buttress student learning and increase academic achievement by using Title I funds to support comprehensive reform models, supplemental instructional programs, (e.g., student writing programs, literacy and mathematics development programs), and extended-learning opportunities, such as summer enrichment programs, Saturday instructional academies, zero-hour programs, and before- and after-school programs. The district expects these initiatives to provide substantial results. These results include seeing an increase in the number of students meeting or exceeding state standards both in the classroom and on state tests; closing the achievement gap for middle and high school students in the core curricular areas; increasing the number of students who successfully complete graduation requirements and pursue higher levels of education; and increasing writing scores among all students in grades K-12.

Funds will also be used to sustain and develop structural academic supports across the district, such as those relating to college readiness starting in the early grades (e.g., advisory, mentoring, on-track-to-graduate, college and career interest inventories, SAT and ACT prep, etc.) and to grade-level transitions. ARRA funds will also help the district improve student performance through the collection and analysis of instructional and demographic data (e.g., benchmark testing, materials, human resources, and equipment).

The district’s plans to use ARRA Title I funds to acquire teaching materials (for example, in the areas of science, math, English language instruction, instructional technology, assistive technology, and social studies) that are needed to further enhance the instructional program and support academic achievement and social development. Title I funds will also be used to install 21st century technological supports, which will enhance the learning process and foster ongoing academic achievement.

IDEA funds will be used for area-specific professional development (autism, inclusion, and piloting positive behavioral support models) for Program for Exceptional Children (PEC) paraprofessionals, math endorsement courses for PEC teachers, and instructional coaches for inclusion. ARRA funds will also be used to provide additional assistive technology software to PEC programs.

ARRA can help Atlanta Public Schools meet the overall goals for the Program for Exceptional Children to enhance the achievement of students with disabilities, increasing the successful transition of students with disabilities from preschool through postsecondary education, and creating a sustainable model to build the capacity of all stakeholders to enhance the learning environment. These stakeholders include general education and special education staff, leadership teams, parents, the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support, community partners, and college and university personnel.

The PEC will use ARRA funds to provide intensive training and professional development for autism teachers and paraprofessionals, as well as training for all special education school-based leaders. ARRA will help the district to develop and implement Professional Learning Communities and Communities of Practice at the school-reform team level, to offer math endorsement courses for PEC teachers, and to increase inclusion training for both general and special education teachers, with an emphasis on middle and high school.

ARRA will also enable the district to provide additional funding for instructional coaches for inclusion; create a mathematics and science retreat for students with disabilities; provide additional funding for a high school transition coach for PEC students; and provide funding to purchase assistive technology software for all schools. Moreover, ARRA will provide funding for additional paraprofessionals to support students with instructional and behavioral issues and to foster focused parent engagement and training, as well as to support promising practices programs at the high school level and provide targeted support in legal compliance areas.

Other programs will be buttressed with ARRA funds through the purchase of materials and other instructional and behavioral supports. These supports include technology and software, such as Whiteboard systems; supplemental instructional and therapy materials; online courses for high school students; equipment for the sensory and work-it-out rooms; contracted instructional coaches and transition specialists; and professional development.

ARRA will also enable the district to further support current early intervening services by funding a pilot Positive Behavioral Support (PBS) program in four middle schools; providing a PBS coach on utilizing targeted and individualized PBS interventions to reduce over-identification and disproportionate use of discipline for target student populations; making use of Response to Intervention support; and providing intensive training and professional learning in schoolwide discipline plans. ARRA will also assist the district with efforts to improve schoolwide culture and climate; increase parental engagement; and develop lesson plans to enhance student engagement. ARRA will also provide funding for additional support personnel and training in collecting and disaggregating disciplinary data that can be used to improve instruction and school climate.

The outcomes of the district’s preschool program would also be enhanced due to ARRA, as the district plans to provide professional development on effective and innovative reading techniques geared toward preparing children for kindergarten; PBS for preschool; the effective use of portfolio assessments for preschool-aged children; and Response to Intervention evidence-based strategies for preschool-aged children. The district is also planning to purchase portfolio assessments that have been correlated with preschool outcomes, and hire or contract additional literacy and math coaches at the preschool level.

For the full report Click Here.