A Question of Equity

About a week ago, the union representative at my school asked if I had a preponderance of low level readers and/or ESE students. He suggested I come and talk to him about the situation, which I did yesterday afternoon. I discovered that, according to the master contract, a principal cannot assign all of one type of student to any one teacher. It's against the rules.

I paused for a moment and wondered how I felt about that information. I wondered why I'd drawn the short straw. As far as I know, I am the ONLY teacher who has level 1 and level 2 readers for 6th and 7th grade. At last count, I think I had about 96 of them. I thought that I'd been given these students because I was the newest Language Arts teacher on staff, but according to the master contract, that can't play a role in this kind of decision-making. If I hadn't decided to take on the role of yearbook adviser this year, having these students -- who typically have many more behavior problems -- might not seem like the stressful task it is. But I did, and it does.

The rep asked me if I wanted to do something about the situation. You know, make waves. Again, I took a moment and thought it over. If I did raise a ruckus, I'd probably get stink eye from the administration. Not to mention the other LA teachers who would have to absorb some of my lower level students into their classes. Also, did I want to disrupt the learning process for the kids that I have now? Would changing teachers after the first six weeks of school be a good thing for them? Would being in a class with higher level students be a good thing?

I'd have to say "yes" to that last one. I can't help but think that "dumping" all the lower level kids in the same classes, year after year, contributes to a ghetto culture. The district, whether the practice is done formally or informally, calls it "tracking." If we're going to give all kids an equal education, even within one school, shouldn't we mix it up? Differientiated learning is a big buzz word. If you want to follow the trend, give a teacher a classroom with a variety of students. Set the bar high. There's nothing like some healthy classroom competition, and my sense is lower level kids will rise to meet expectations if they are in a class where that is the norm, not the exception.

So, I'm still thinking about all this. The rep is going to talk to the president and get some feedback from him. If I decide I want to take the next step, I go in with a building rep to meet with my principal. The meeting is a semi-friendly chat where I present my "evidence" and share my concerns. The rep says that our principal is likely to make changes based on that meeting. She's been in a grievance situation with the union before and knows it's a long, painful process. If the principal recognizes the agreement in the master contract and realizes my concerns are valid, the likely outcome is a more equitable redistribution of students. I would "lose" some of my kids and gain some level 3 and 4 students, maybe even level 5 students. Some of my kids would go to other LA teachers. The rep suggested that if I decide to meet with the principal, I take a fellow union rep and language arts teacher with me. It was also suggested I might want to talk to the other teachers in advance who may end up absorbing my students.

I haven't made any decisions, but I'm thinking hard. There are pros and cons to consider. I guess the main reason I would make a case out of this issue is because I don't want it to happen to me again or to the next teacher hired. In my experience, if you don't rock the boat when you want to get out, it keeps sailing along. If I don't stand up, if I don't say or do anything, nothing will change. I stand to benefit from a successful resolution, but my students will benefit as well. I truly believe that to be the case.

Interesting. This morning, I came to work and found a schedule change form in my box. Brayden, one of my most troublesome students, was being transferred to a colleague's class. Brayden just returned from a 3-day suspension. He is a lower level ESE kid, but what distinguishes him is his disrespectful behavior and inappropriate comments in the classroom. This is the student that blurted out last week, "Ms. Parker, my daddy got drunk last night." I could have felt sorry for Brayden, but I knew it was just another one of his attempts to get attention, interrupting the whole classroom just to have me stop what I was doing and tell him to knock it off. So, Brayden, got a schedule change. He was going to have Mrs. James fourth period. Mrs. James is my mentor teacher. She teaches regular and advanced 7th graders who do 7-8 projects a year and score nothing less than a 4 (out of 5) on their Okaloosa Writes essays. Mrs. James quiets her classes with a rain stick. Sending Brayden into her classroom was like sending a tornado into a private gated community. I couldn't hide my glee when I saw the form, but I wondered about the fallout.

Mrs. James approached me this morning in the workroom. "What can you tell me about Brayden? Is he a dumb kid? Why did they change his schedule? Who changed his schedule? He's going to die in my class. We did three pages of grammar worksheets yesterday, and I'm going to pile it on. He'll never catch up." I haven't done anything yet, but I'm already getting a taste of the reaction to expect from my colleagues. And it isn't pretty.

I can't help thinking, though. Maybe Brayden will feel out of place in the gated community, but what if he had some other kids like him in there with him? What if there were 4 or 5 or 6 Braydens? Mrs. James, a veteran teacher who was talking about retirement the first day of school (she has 6 years left), might have to stretch to meet the needs of every student in her classroom. She might have to design some new curriculum, change up her lesson plans, do different kinds of activities. I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. Can change be good even if you don't like it? Sometimes. Definitely.

I'll keep you posted as the situation develops.