JJ.G0ldD0t
14th April 2011, 02:05 PM
Hundreds of Katy ISD students walk out to protest teacher layoffs
http://www.khou.com/news/local/Katy-ISD-students-protest-teacher-layoffs--119843794.html
From the vid- it looks to me more like an excuse to be little attention whores.
However - if they are sincere, I wish they would address the root problem instead of the symptom.
This is at the district that my wife teaches in. She's had an interesting day.
vid at the link
KATY, Texas—Hundreds of Katy ISD students walked out of school Thursday morning to protest teacher layoffs in the district.
Students and parents claimed dozens of Morton Ranch High School teachers were abruptly pulled out of class Wednesday and told they no longer had jobs.
The kids said it was hard to watch their favorite teachers leave, knowing they’d be getting bad news.
Substitutes were reportedly on hand, in case the teachers who lost their jobs were too distraught to immediately return to class.
"They’re just the greatest teachers, and they’re just getting fired. And it’s not right. It’s not right," one Morton Ranch student said.
The Morton Ranch students held up signs in support of the teachers when they rallied outside the school around 9 a.m.
The protest later spread to Cinco Ranch High School, where hundreds of students lined the street and chanted as Air 11 flew overhead.
Around noon, Cinco Ranch Junior High students joined the protest at their campus, which is across the street from the high school.
Students at Seven Lakes and Katy high schools are also reportedly staging walkouts Thursday.
A Katy ISD spokesperson confirmed that about 350 teachers and other district employees are losing their jobs because of a massive budget shortfall. Another 200 positions are being eliminated through attrition.
The district said it has a $50 million shortfall and the layoffs will save about $23 million.
A district spokesperson said he didn’t think the students would be punished for the walkouts – instead, officials hoped they would be a lesson in protesting and speaking out about strong beliefs.
Some of the students outside Cinco Ranch said they were told by staff members that they would be truant if they didn’t return to class, but KHOU 11 News has yet to confirm that with the district.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/Katy-ISD-students-protest-teacher-layoffs--119843794.html
From the vid- it looks to me more like an excuse to be little attention whores.
However - if they are sincere, I wish they would address the root problem instead of the symptom.
This is at the district that my wife teaches in. She's had an interesting day.
vid at the link
KATY, Texas—Hundreds of Katy ISD students walked out of school Thursday morning to protest teacher layoffs in the district.
Students and parents claimed dozens of Morton Ranch High School teachers were abruptly pulled out of class Wednesday and told they no longer had jobs.
The kids said it was hard to watch their favorite teachers leave, knowing they’d be getting bad news.
Substitutes were reportedly on hand, in case the teachers who lost their jobs were too distraught to immediately return to class.
"They’re just the greatest teachers, and they’re just getting fired. And it’s not right. It’s not right," one Morton Ranch student said.
The Morton Ranch students held up signs in support of the teachers when they rallied outside the school around 9 a.m.
The protest later spread to Cinco Ranch High School, where hundreds of students lined the street and chanted as Air 11 flew overhead.
Around noon, Cinco Ranch Junior High students joined the protest at their campus, which is across the street from the high school.
Students at Seven Lakes and Katy high schools are also reportedly staging walkouts Thursday.
A Katy ISD spokesperson confirmed that about 350 teachers and other district employees are losing their jobs because of a massive budget shortfall. Another 200 positions are being eliminated through attrition.
The district said it has a $50 million shortfall and the layoffs will save about $23 million.
A district spokesperson said he didn’t think the students would be punished for the walkouts – instead, officials hoped they would be a lesson in protesting and speaking out about strong beliefs.
Some of the students outside Cinco Ranch said they were told by staff members that they would be truant if they didn’t return to class, but KHOU 11 News has yet to confirm that with the district.