Webchat Log: Pilot Schools
The Radio Boston webchat on pilot schools brought out some excellent questions on a wide variety of considerations within the debate. Click on this post to read the full transcript.
10:49 WBUR moderator10 WELCOME TO THE RADIO BOSTON WEBCHAT
10:49 WBUR moderator10 Today: Are pilot schools the way to go for public education in Massachusetts?
10:50 WBUR moderator10 Remember, you can listen to the show online at 1pm EST at: http://www.wbur.org/listen
10:56 WBUR moderator10 Hello guests!
10:56 WBUR moderator10 Do any of you have children in pilot schools?
11:23 Nancy Hi, I have children in a suburban charter school.
11:27 guestboston i have children in a boston pilot school
11:34 differnet I have a child in a charter school and while it’s harder on her and on me, it’s definately been worth it. Let’s face it one size does not fit all.
11:39 differnet Does anyone have a grasp on what the union is protecting beyond salaries. I’ve heard the speaker talk about work
11:39 differnet conditions… which i think means hours.. but is it something more?
11:39 Nancy7 It’s benefits, and job security too.
11:41 differnet Okay.. but benefits is a large word. I work in higher education and tenure is almost impossible to get these days. It isn’t just about the number of years anymore, but job performance too.
11:43 differnet I’m pretty much dissappointed in the on-air discussion about the reasons the teachers are voting against the pilot schools. The discussion has been general and not really saying EXACTLY what the problems are other than the longer work day.
11:45 differnet I’m also a little bamboozled, why the teachers get to vote, but not that parents. It’s OUR children. Shouldn’t we have an equal voice?
11:46 Nancy7 I agree, we should have an equal voice. Charter schools definitely struggle with this balance.
11:46 differnet Well, having a child in a charter school, I can say that my charter school has parents on our board of directors.
11:47 differnet I think 50% of our board is made up of parents.
11:48 Nancy7 We have parents on our board, too, but sometimes parents aren’t in on decisions that are important to them. Wow-50% is great.
11:49 differnet When we had our DOE review last year, they had a general call for parents to meet with the DOE to be interviewed.
11:49 differnet There was about 20 of us who were interviewd.
11:56 differnet Well, i’m completely underwhelmed by the teacher’s union representative….
12:00 guest1381204 hi
12:00 guest263228 The biggest issue is that pilot schools get to hire and fire who they want
12:01 smary where did my comment go?
12:02 guest908443 Where’s the innovation? Self selctive admission policies are not examples of innovation.
12:03 smary Also pilot schools get to hire without regard to teacher seniority, so school leaders can hire teachers who are best suited to the needs of the students
14:24 guest9323070 hi
14:24 guest9323070 hi
21:56 meghna1571 Thank you to all who participated. This concludes the pilot school webchat.
