I want to send this to the superintendent.

No test scores for you!

My non-proficient students took the reading proficiency test last month. I found out yesterday that the scores came in. The principal shared the overall passing rate (around 30%) with the school, but I was told that teachers will not be getting the scores or any of the score data. How am I supposed to know how each of my students did and what I need to work on in order to help them be proficient by the time the test is given again in March? So much for being effective.

Teaching: No Longer About the Kids

Last week I had four meetings after school. This week I have five meetings after school, two of which are on the same day at the same time. All of them are mandatory. I have a 50-minute prep period every day. All of my lesson plans (ten total, because I teach two subjects) need to be done one week in advance. I have to grade papers, call parents about tardies, update grades in the grade book, write my standards and lessons on the board every single day, write the week's lessons on a weekly calendar for both classes, and have all of my prior handouts and assignments neatly organized in a make-up work crate...and I have a little more than two hours of prep a week in which to do all of that. With my afternoons taken up by meetings, I have no choice but to bring work home in the evenings and on the weekends to do in the time that I should be spending with my husband and my son.

I've been teaching for eight years, and let me tell you, this job is bullshit.

My letter to Diane Ravitch

Dear Dr. Ravitch,

I'm sure you get a lot of mail, but I felt like I had to reach out to you because you may be the only person (outside of my fellow teachers) who would understand my frustration. I'm an English teacher at an inner-city turnaround high school in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our school district is famous for being the worst in the country - so they say - and my school is one of the worst schools. Last year, 50% of the teachers were fired, but all of the administrators and counselors were retained. I decided to transfer to the school because one of my good friends, who is a great teacher, was taking a position there as well. I have been successful in the past, especially with at-risk students, and I thought I would be a good addition to the school.

It's one month into the school year, and already I can sense failure looming ahead. Our school contracted with Pearson to be our provider for SIP materials, and yet it took them a month to get our materials to us. We now have exactly four weeks to prepare our students for the state-mandated proficiency tests in reading, math, science and writing. Yes indeed, some genius who is clearly out of touch with the sheer magnitude of what it takes to successfully reform a school has concluded that it would only take us two months to get our students (many of whom are far below grade level, not to mention LEP) performing at or above grade level. Even though our state is measuring student growth instead of test scores, our school will be judged by test scores alone.

I feel like I've been conned. How can I be expected to dramatically change the abilities of my students in two months? I'm being asked to do the impossible. Furthermore, my school is a genuine case of the inmates running the asylum. Administration is soft on the students while heaping all of the expectations and blame on us.

Is there a solution, or should I just quit and get a job as a Wal-Mart greeter? At this point, that sounds like a far more rewarding career path.

She wrote back and asked if she could post my letter (without my name) on her website. When I responded, I made sure to add the following information:

Our deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, Pedro Martinez, is a pencil-pushing numbers guy with zero experience in the classroom. He's a product of Broad Superintendents Academy and was CFO of Chicago Public Schools under his mentor, Arne Duncan.

Might as well make it very clear who's running this madhouse and why their reforms will not work.

Why not?

I'm thinking of chronicling my experiences during my first year teaching in an inner-city turnaround school in the lowest-performing school district in the country. Thoughts?

Turnaround...or aimlessly spin

Two weeks into the school year, and so far...

• I still don't have any of the textbooks designated for my subject
• I have two co-op classes (I asked for no co-op classes) 
• I still haven't received the special materials I was trained to use and must implement
• I have students who already are halfway to failing due to excessive absences
• Meetings! Meetings! Meetings!
• I'm already counting the days until summer

This is so not worth the money.

SSNY

Come to find out that core teachers (English, math and science) only get a whopping 26 minutes over the next three days to spend in our rooms to prepare for the new year. Every other minute will be spent in meetings. Non-core teachers get two whole days.

My room also lacks functioning air conditioning. There is a control panel on the wall, but I have been assured that it's "just for show." I was in there last week, and it was 96 degrees before noon. I was told I should buy a fan, which translates to I'm going to have to nag the hell out of someone so I can get one of the facilities engineers in there to fix it.

Already not looking forward to the new school year.