Words, Hands, Hearts

Thursday, passing period before Advisory. One of my freshman advisory students is cupping his cell phone to his ear, struggling to hear, speak, breathe, do anything. I almost tell him to get off his phone and get to class, but I let it pass. He's usually very loud, rambunctious, and ANNOYING.. typical 14 year old freshman boy. There's a difference in his demeanor that slowly creeps into my awareness as he finally comes through my door.

"Ms. Chew, can I have a pass to the office? I need to go home. Something happened, I need to go home."

I nod silently as I move to my desk to write him a pass. His friend comes over and asks what's wrong. I can barely make out their conversation.

"What happened? Oh my gosh, when?"
".. just barely today. I need to go home, I really don't feel like being here anymore."

I finish writing his pass and as I hand it to him, I quietly ask, "Are you alright? Is everything ok?"

He leaves without saying a word. Once he's gone, I pull his friend aside and ask him what happened.

"His brother just died."

I run across the hall to my coworker to tell her what I heard.

"Oh no.. that's why he was so upset this morning," she says. "He had his head down on the table and was crying. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong and didn't want to get sent down to Wellness."

I grab his counselor when I see her in the hall. She has someone call home and finds out that his brother was 23 years old. He died of a heart attack at home barely an hour after his mother had left for work.

I can't say that I know my student very well, he's only in my advisory period so I only see him once a week. But I didn't need to know him to read the grief and anguish on his face. Of course he didn't want to be in school anymore.

For a minute there I thought I had lost touch of the heartache and heart break that comes with working with my kids. Then it all came rushing back to me, a bittersweet, familiar sense of helplessness and hopelessness that reminds me.. I'm alive.

If This is Goodbye

I was going to start this post off w/ "Well the good news is.. I still have a job." But then I realized that I had already used that intro. Last year. To the day. Which shows really how sad and precarious education's position is in the list of the Governator's priorities.

Sure the stats may look better. Only five of our staff are receiving layoff notices today. Only five. Except.. we are a really small school. So "only five" translates into.. maybe 15% of our staff. 22% of our English department. 25% of our social science department. 33% of our world language department. 100% of our health department. So yes, the good news is I still have my job. The bad news is, some of my dear, beloved coworkers might not.

I went in to speak with my principal today. I asked her if I should be worried about being consolidated. She said no, especially because of my double credential. If we need to cut some fat in math and in science, instead of losing a full-time employee.. I can go halfsies on science and math. I knew it was a good idea to add the credential in math when I did it, I just didn't know my ass would need saving so soon. Teaching physics will always be my first love and my priority, but it looks like being able to teach math too is what it's going to take to keep my job.

So what I want to say (of course people who blog have something they want to say) is this.. there is something WRONG here. Have I mentioned that California is ranked #47 in the list of state spending on their students? FORTY-FREAKIN'-SEVEN. Below the national average, below DC.. above only Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. I don't think my coworkers should have to worry about losing their job every year over things they have no control of--how the state is deciding to spend its money and how long they've been at the job. The system is obviously broken. I just wish I knew who could or how to fix it.

Superintendent Starts Layoff Process - 504 to Receive Notices

[From an update email from our union]

Yesterday Superintendent Carlos Garcia officially announced the number of layoff notices that he intends to send out to certificated staff in the district. With Board of Education approval, he will send notices out to approximately 362 teachers and 144 administrators.

The Board of Education will meet tonight to officially approve the sending of the layoff notices. According to the superintendent, these notices will be hand delivered starting Monday, March 9th. Most likely this will happen by principals at school sites.

The anger and frustration that is generated by these layoff notices should be directed squarely at the Governor, and the state legislature. Because of their failure to enact a responsible education budget, SFUSD is facing a $29 million budget shortfall next school year.

Five city Supervisors attended the superintendent's press conference yesterday, all indicating their support for SFUSD to draw from the San Francisco Rainy Day Fund. However, at most the district will be eligible to draw $24 million, leaving at least a $5 million deficit. I have spoken repeatedly about the need to make any cuts as far away from the classroom as possible, and will continue to do so.

This includes protecting the jobs of all paraprofessionals as well. So far, we have heard no mention from the district as to what their intentions are with para layoffs. By law, district officials must send para layoff notices 45 days before the end of the school year.

Finally, layoff notices must be received by teachers no later than March 15th. In order to rescind those notices, the district must notify teachers by May 15th. Unfortunately, the official disbursement of the Rainy Day Fund does not take place until after the city budget process, which starts in June.

With Mayor Newsom taking the lead, last year the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in May committing the city to providing the funds to the school district. It is our hope that the city will once again commit those funds early this year, in order to save the hundreds of teacher and para jobs at stake.

With the layoff process begun, the mayor will hold a press conference today to indicate his support and the Board of Supervisors is expected to consider a resolution at their 2:00 p.m. meeting today. Until the funds are fully committed, we will continue to make our case to them that our schools need their leadership and their support.

p.s. The dean got shat on today. Touchdown!