TRANSCRIPT
Good evening President Haynes, Board Members, Superintendent Leon and Leadership Team.
First, I want to acknowledge the life and activism of our Ms. Wilhelmina Holder. Many things in this city will never be the same but particularly these school board meetings. May she rest in peace and power.
Tonight, my comments are focused on the recruitment and retention of teachers. From Tuesday’s Business Meeting, I heard a lot of great things. I heard about the multi-pronged approach of a teacher pipeline and bringing in retired teachers.
What I didn’t hear as a part of the long-term plan is the retention of the teachers we already have. I heard an approach that is coming from a space of equity but not necessarily a place of humanity.
To these ends, particularly concerning retention, I submit a resolution for a moratorium on instructional staff nonrenewals:
Whereas, we have a teacher shortage, period;
Whereas, nonrenewals affect non-tenured teachers and it takes time to develop teachers into effective practitioners; and
Whereas, instructional staff nonrenewals can be given for reasons including poor performance, reorganization, and economics, and these generic reasons, without any details, are what get listed on nonrenewal letters;
Therefore, be it resolved, that the Newark Board of Education decline to approve the instructional staff nonrenewals except in cases where the instructional staff have proven harmful to our children;
And further, be it resolved, that direct, clear support program be given to anyone issued a nonrenewal so that they have an opportunity for further professional development.
As you prepare for the Donaldson Hearings next month, I would suggest board members look to have answered questions that stem from the space of how the instructional staff member cared for students, how (if at all) they were notified of their lack of performance and then provided coaching to improve said performance.
Policy and programs can be written up and presented nicely. But sometimes folx spend more time on the aesthetics of the presentation than they do on the implementation. And the actualization of the policy or program doesn’t serve children, by way of their teachers in this case. So, again, for both the Board and those who will be preparing for Donaldson Hearings after the vote tonight, the key question, from a humanizing perspective: how has the teacher shown how they have cared for students? That’s what I would like to see this board and District focus on in determining whether an instructional staff should be nonrenewed.
