Michigan School Board Approves Union Contract Which Reports say Could Block Parents from Classrooms and Limit Access to curriculum
EXCLUSIVE: I talk to a parent who is considering removing her children from the district
ROCHESTER, Mich - Many parents are not happy with the Rochester, Michigan, teachers union and school board.
The board approved a new union contract 5 to 2. According to the Detroit Free Press the contract includes a slew of new teacher protections, including how FOIA requests are handled, eliminates teacher effectiveness measurements, and even limits parents access to curriculum and classrooms.
I talked to a parent named Azita, who told me what it was like at the meeting at the disappointment she has in the board, teachers, and the teachers union.
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The meeting, attended by both parents and union members, was far from calm said Azita, with parents describing the behavior of some teachers and union representatives as unprofessional and hostile. “They were screaming, cheering, and acting like children,” Azita recounted, expressing concern about the environment created by those in charge of educating their children. The parent warned that the contract's approval could lead more parents to consider homeschooling, private, or charter school options, further impacting the district’s enrollment numbers.
Parents are urging others in the community to get involved and attend school board meetings to see firsthand what decisions are being made. “Don’t assume anything; do your own research,” Azita advised, underscoring the importance of parental involvement in shaping the education system.
Things like this are what led us to homeschool
This contract should not have been approved by either side. Parents have always had a right to see the curriculum being taught. Most districts have the curriculum by grade level and subject on their websites. Meaning any community member has access. As to whether or not parents can be in the classroom. I would have welcomed any parent any day for as long as they wanted to be there. I could have used the extra hands. I had an aunt of one student who thought her nephew was being neglected spend a week in my classroom. She left reassured no one was neglecting her nephew. Little did she know I would have taken an entire classroom of children like her nephew. He was eager to learn, polite, and kind to every student in my class. He struggled, but managed to graduate on time and become a productive citizen.
With student dollars being at a premium, this kind of stuff will kill your student count and budget faster than you can say your own name. Most schools allow for a loss of 50 students. The district I taught in lost 110 students one year due to six teachers who wrote letters of support for a pedophile. 4 were being transferred to the larger middle school because the smaller one closed and two remained at the high school . Parents who could not get their students into alternate schools or homeschool wrote letters stating they did not want their child in these teacher's classrooms. They specifically stated the teacher's name. A couple of them only had about 5 kids in their classes. Two retired the following year. Don't alienate the parents. When you do, you lose students. Let me tell you that extra 60 kids cost the district. At second count in February they had gained 3 students and lost 20 more. It was ugly and teachers were asked to take a cut in pay the following year and only agreed to a one year contract.