Furlough Teachers, But Then Furlough Expectations

As Georgia continues to lose tax dollars, the state intends to balance the budget on the backs of teachers:

"Georgia’s 125,000 public school teachers could be forced to take days off without pay next year as the recession continues to batter state finances. Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta), chairman of the House budget subcommittee on education, said school officials should consider furloughing teachers on “planning” or training days in hopes of saving the state up to $200 million."

(I see where the House has passed the $18.6 billion dollar budget and it includes funding for school nurses--so at least my diabetics, asthmatics, and ADHD kids can get the medical attention they need). Saving the state almost $200 million is important, but teachers being furloughed for 6 planning days is going to hurt every school's product and presentation. The Savannah Morning News editorialist sort of gets the dilemma, but doesn't really understand the impact of losing planning days:

"The days that teachers would take off without pay would be planning days. These are days when students get a holiday, but teachers report for duty. Hence, teacher furloughs wouldn't mean lost face time with teachers for students in classrooms. That makes the best of a bad situation."

Typically, teachers get 4 days before students arrive, 1 day directly after Christmas break, and 3 days at the end of the school year. If the furloughs are going to happen, then the day after Christmas break needs to go and probably 2 out of the 3 days at the end of the year. That leaves 3 more days to make up and if they come at the beginning of the school year then the state probably knows and is banking on the fact that teachers, as conscientious as most are, will be at school--working--just not getting paid, preparing for their students. Let's say teachers stay away though as a form of protest for being dinged about a $1000--what would that mean for students? I mean students aren't losing any face time, right?

--During the first day back, it takes about 3 hours to introduce new staff, review any new policies handed down over summer, develop or share procedures to deal with the new policies, go over committee assignments, and hit the AYP data for what happened over the summer, what the school's status is for the year (passed AYP or Needs Improvement for the year), and what that AYP status means for the school-wide accountablity plan.

--Teachers then work in their classrooms--which may or may not be the classrooms they left in the summer--as movement of staff occurs based on student shifts, teachers leaving, certification issues, etc.

--During this time, which generally unfolds over the the next 3 pre-planning days, most staff will have at least one district-wide meeting or workshop to attend either as a liaison (meaning going to a meeting for all 4th grade math teachers for example and reporting back to all 4th grade teachers what district expectations are for 4th grade math) or as a specific position (gifted teachers, special education teachers, special area teachers like art, music, PE, etc.). This is in addition to school-wide meetings where grade-levels meet with administration to go over curriculum expectations for the year (that may or may not be different based on what the federal DOE, state DOE, or local BOE has put into place over the summer--stuff like Response To Intervention protocol, Professional Learning Community and Data Team procedures). Remember, the teachers and school staff have to implement in the classroom whatever nutty idea has passed through whichever legislature ostensibly to help students achieve.

--Usually, there is an open house scheduled during pre-planning week where parents and students come into the school and locate their new classroom for the year. This is what usually starts the year off for most parents either with a good feeling and a reasonable set of expectations for the new school year or sends them careening around the building in search of administrative relief.

The three pre-planning days are a whirl of activity--planning, discussing (sometimes arguing), making materials (Montessori materials) and getting ready for when the students arrive--because when they arrive, they are the focus and everything else drops away as a secondary concern. Furloughing teachers during planning days will impact students as surely as if it was face-to-face time. A prepared, caught up, planned up, teacher brings a patience and center of gravity that is a larger percentage of classroom success than you might think. I don't know if the furlough plan means for teachers to work for free or it means just staying away, but if it means the latter, Georgia's students will be impacted--maybe not in the obvious face-to-face way but in a more pernicious, indirect, fashion of discounting what a teacher does during their planning and training days and making everyone's remaining school days more difficult and assuredly less productive.