There were a number of stories that came out of last night's LSC meeting. Sure I told you who was and wasn't there but that only scratches the surface of the information I uncovered, discovered, and just plain found out.
I want to begin with this one, perhaps the most troubling, CERTIFIABLE. Well maybe not, that is the problem. Nestled on the third page of the third page of the night's agenda was the PERSONNEL.
This section is always lumped together in a rush to get to that non-debatable motion to adjourn the meeting. So as you would expect it is a perfect way to slip people and potential stories by unnoticed.
EXCEPT.....
when a poor disabled poet just happens to be scanning the papers looking for something to write about. In this case it would be a tragedy or maybe it's just the same old song. In a time when we only have 1 school in the city that made AYP, it just doesn't seem like the time we ought to be hiring more unqualified teachers.
But that's just what we did. Out of 10 new assignments, 7 were not CERTIFIED for their positions. I'm not saying these people are not smart, they are probably all smarter than me. I know I couldn't pretend to keep up with a classroom. Hey I have tried a couple of times and IT AIN'T BEEN PRETTY. The bottom line is though if you are not certified for the position, you don't have a license. That makes you unqualified. Would you feel safe if your bus driver didn't have a license?
Why are we doing this? What message does it send about how much LPS cares about the education of our kids?
Its really hard to find people with certain certifications. Lynn's salaries are low when compared to other similar cities (Boston, Lowell, Lawrence). The people with the "hard to get" certs go for the $$$. We have to fill the jobs with what we can get....uncertified teachers.
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