cheka.
19th January 2019, 03:03 PM
new Hampshire isd? overrun with vibrants? where did that come from?
https://www.unionleader.com/columns/teachers-speak-out-on-wilson-school-problems/article_d4b93773-1fc4-5a08-9b39-000ff2e8be3a.html
If you watch Manchester school board meetings on TV, here’s the usual lineup.
Cute grade-school kids lead the board in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a bunch of students who get recognized for achievements in athletics, band, academics and volunteering.
Then “the public” gets to speak for three minutes. Usually, it’s the same cast of characters: Teachers’ union president Sue Hannan, parent activist Jim O’Connell, the Central High kids who want a student on the school board, a couple of washed-up pols.
Last week was different — well, at least when it came to the public-comment portion of the program.
Three Wilson Elementary School teachers spoke bluntly about problems at their center-city school. Their students aren’t the ones leading the school board in the Pledge of Allegiance or accepting a certificate from the mayor. Their students come to school inadequately dressed for winter and leave not knowing if they’ll have a meal that night.
Here’s what the three teachers said:
“We did not choose to be verbally abused, sworn at, hit, kicked, punched, kicked in the face, stabbed or bitten. We did not choose to have our personal items stolen or destroyed,” said 15-year Wilson veteran Shannon Signor. Eighty days into the school year, Signor said, and teachers feel unsupported, unsafe and angry over what’s happening to their students.
The four paraprofessionals for the entire school are constantly getting pulled away from the special education kids they are mandated to be working with, said Johanna Dickson, a teacher with eight years experience. Those kids then act up and teachers get hit. “The need will only increase as we continue to get more students raised in this current drug epidemic,” Dickson said.
Meredith Doyle, a teacher in her third year, hates calling in sick once because she knows there won’t be a substitute to fill in. When a teacher does call in, the sick teacher’s students get split between other classes, which can mushroom to 40 kids. “There are students I have taught who are being influenced by drugs, alcohol and gangs. We all know we have a drug crisis that is looking these children in the face every day,” Doyle said.
About a third of Wilson kids don’t speak English as a native language. About a quarter are under an Individual Education Plan. And large majorities are not proficient in English, math or science, according to test scores.
https://www.unionleader.com/columns/teachers-speak-out-on-wilson-school-problems/article_d4b93773-1fc4-5a08-9b39-000ff2e8be3a.html
If you watch Manchester school board meetings on TV, here’s the usual lineup.
Cute grade-school kids lead the board in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a bunch of students who get recognized for achievements in athletics, band, academics and volunteering.
Then “the public” gets to speak for three minutes. Usually, it’s the same cast of characters: Teachers’ union president Sue Hannan, parent activist Jim O’Connell, the Central High kids who want a student on the school board, a couple of washed-up pols.
Last week was different — well, at least when it came to the public-comment portion of the program.
Three Wilson Elementary School teachers spoke bluntly about problems at their center-city school. Their students aren’t the ones leading the school board in the Pledge of Allegiance or accepting a certificate from the mayor. Their students come to school inadequately dressed for winter and leave not knowing if they’ll have a meal that night.
Here’s what the three teachers said:
“We did not choose to be verbally abused, sworn at, hit, kicked, punched, kicked in the face, stabbed or bitten. We did not choose to have our personal items stolen or destroyed,” said 15-year Wilson veteran Shannon Signor. Eighty days into the school year, Signor said, and teachers feel unsupported, unsafe and angry over what’s happening to their students.
The four paraprofessionals for the entire school are constantly getting pulled away from the special education kids they are mandated to be working with, said Johanna Dickson, a teacher with eight years experience. Those kids then act up and teachers get hit. “The need will only increase as we continue to get more students raised in this current drug epidemic,” Dickson said.
Meredith Doyle, a teacher in her third year, hates calling in sick once because she knows there won’t be a substitute to fill in. When a teacher does call in, the sick teacher’s students get split between other classes, which can mushroom to 40 kids. “There are students I have taught who are being influenced by drugs, alcohol and gangs. We all know we have a drug crisis that is looking these children in the face every day,” Doyle said.
About a third of Wilson kids don’t speak English as a native language. About a quarter are under an Individual Education Plan. And large majorities are not proficient in English, math or science, according to test scores.