Behavior of Central Falls, RI Teachers Questioned

You may recall the firing of 88 teachers (all) at the Central Falls, RI high school this past spring for poor performance leading to many failing students and their inability to pass standardized testing. If I recall correctly, less than 16% of the students were proficient in reading and writing at that time. Many of those teachers were rehired for the start of the new school year after the union agreed to work longer school days and other changes.

The Providence Journal Reports that because of the loss of class time, more than half of the students at Central Falls High School received no grade in at least one subject on their report cards for the first two months of school. The Education Action Group is calling for the re-firing of certain teachers at Central Falls High School, one of Rhode Island’s most troubled schools, because educators there continue to fail their students and snub local taxpayers with dismal attendance.

According to Deputy Supt. Victor Capellan, 453 students out of a total enrollment of roughly 840 students, received NG — No Grade — on their report cards this fall in at least one subject.  Ouch.

EAG believes that teachers’ conduct in recent weeks is a clear indication that district leaders made a terrible mistake in trusting local educators to rededicate themselves to their jobs.

"We believe the best course of action now is to quickly re-fire those who have dismissed their responsibilities to Central Falls students, and send a strong message to their colleagues that they could meet the same fate. Their union will object. That should not be a consideration." - EAG

Naturally, the union is defending the teachers' recent actions and performance.

But I have to wonder just how much of this problem is related to teacher performance as opposed to the administrations inability to lead their school district and find adequate replacement teachers in a timely manner? Certainly, missing teacher staff leading to a severe shortage of instructional time is a big problem but finding substitute replacements should always be a top priority for Central Falls especially since all of these teachers were initially fired. Succession planning, it seems, is non-existent in Central Falls.