Central Falls Teacher Absences Still on the Rise (RI)
December 20, 2010
Since the school year started Sept. 1, there has not been a single day when all of the 88 teachers at Central Falls High School have shown up for work.
On that first day, two teachers called in sick and a third took a personal day.
And there have been only five days — all in September — when administrators were able to replace all the missing teachers with substitutes.< ;br />
The teacher-absence problem started with just a handful of teachers calling in sick or taking a required professional development day. But as autumn rolled on, several teachers resigned and the mounting number of absent teachers left administrators struggling to fill the open slots.
Last week alone, there were at least 19 teachers out every day, 10 to 13 of whom called in sick each day.
The severity of the problem came to light last week when The Journal reported that more than half of the high school’s 840 students didn’t receive a grade in one or more classes for the first quarter. The school’s leaders, Deputy Supt. Victor Capellan and co-principals Evelyn Cosme-Jones and Sonn Sam, said 453 students did not receive solid instruction in several classes, and therefore no grade could be given.
They also acknowledged that in most cases the lost class time could not be made up.
The issue has exacerbated tensions between administrators who say some teachers have failed to adequately support efforts to transform the historically low-performing school and teachers who say their bosses are blaming them for the problems while not doing enough to fill vacancies.
At stake is the future of the city’s only high school, which was targeted for a major overhaul this year by state education officials. If this year’s transformation effort is not successful, Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist says she will pursue other options, including possibly closing the school.
So far, the high school has spent $16,000 in additional pay to teachers for covering the classes of their missing colleagues, plus $28,000 for substitute teachers, according to the Central Falls School District.
Thursday and Friday, The Journal received day-to-day data from the Central Falls School Department providing details on the absentee problem. An analysis of the data shows:
•Since Nov. 12, there have been at least 20 teachers missing or absent at the high school each Friday.
•Often, high numbers of teachers have missed several consecutive days, compounding the challenge of finding replacements.
•Starting Oct. 21, there were 14 to 19 teachers absent daily for seven straight days.
The high rate of teacher absenteeism has sparked a new wave of outrage and fed the ongoing debate about how to improve the nation’s worst-performing schools.
Bitterness remains over the mass firing of all the school’s teachers in February, jobs that were eventually won back through a compromise agreement in May. In exchange for their jobs, the teachers agreed to a list of changes administrators said were necessary to turn around the school, which has among the lowest test scores and graduation rates in the state.
Some teachers resent the new requirements, which include tutoring and eating lunch with students each week, attending after-school training sessions and being observed by third-party evaluators. In all, about 15 teachers resigned between June and November; two others retired. One position remains unfilled, according to school officials.
Despite some high points — including the creation of an active parent organization and a program that is helping 40 at-risk students stay in school — the high school has struggled with a new discipline policy and poor student attendance in addition to the teacher absences.
Central Fal ls Teachers’ Union President Jane Sessums has defended the teacher absences, saying they include approved professional days, bereavement leave and personal days.
“We are very concerned about the perception that CFHS teachers are calling in sick in response to administrative practices and/or in any organized manner,” Sessums said in an e-mail Friday. “CFHS has a dedicated teaching staff who are committed to providing consistent, high-quality education and support to their students. It is a disservice to these professionals for administrators, policymakers and the press to detract from the work that is being done at [the high school].”
It’s the responsibility of the school leaders to find adequate replacements and make sure student learning is not interrupted, Sessums said.
“Teachers have been dealing with a complicated web of issues at this school from day one,” she said. “It’s tough work, but they are committed to working with school officials and living up to the promises they made to the students last year, to transform this school into the one students deserve.”
But district leaders say the volume of absences and vacancies has destabilized the teaching force, despite efforts to hire new teachers, find long-term substitutes and deal with the higher-than-expected number of daily sick calls.
Some teachers have expressed dismay that their colleagues are missing school.
“I’d like to see every teacher show up, because we all have a stake in these children,” said long-time English and drama teacher Deloris Grant as she left a meeting between the school community and Gist Monday afternoon.
“The message from [the commissioner] was we all need to work together to make the transforma tion work,” Grant said. “She’s right.”
In a report to the School Board of Trustees in October, Deputy Supt. Capellan described the challenges caused by the high number of teacher absences. He said he worried that instructional quality was suffering and that students were not getting the chance to bond with their teachers.
“My concern was that if you have 14, 15 teachers out every day for various reasons, plus I have 10 to 15 new teachers in the school, that’s a third of the teaching staff who is either new or a sub,” Capellan told trustees on Oct. 12.
Since then, The Journal’s analysis of School Department data shows, the problem has intensified.
In September, on average, nine teachers were absent every day.
In October, nearly 14 teachers were out every day.
In November, more than 16 were out every day.
And so far in December, on average, 20 teachers have been out each day.
In an interview Friday, Supt. Frances Gallo called the high number of teacher vacancies and absences “extraordinary.”
“Of course it’s a challenge,” Gallo said, “especially in a small district with a limited number of substitutes.”
There are multiple reasons for the long-term and daily absences.
Since the start of the school year, six teachers have resigned. Two others quit during the teacher training the week before classes started. All but one, a reading specialist, have been replaced, say district officials. A reading specialist had been hired, but backed out a week ago. The school has launched a new search.
Another six teachers are out on long-term leave, requiring school leaders to hire six long-term substitutes.
Some teachers have been absent due to approved professional-development activities, and their classes have been covered by colleagues or substitutes, say school officials.
The rest of the absences are from teachers calling in sick, taking personal days or going out on bereavement leave.
While these are permitted absences, Gallo said the higher-than-normal number of teachers taking sick or personal time has caused headaches for administrators already stressed by running the school.
She also criticized the teachers contract.
According to the contract, teachers receive 15 sick days a year at full pay and are allowed to accumulate up to 185 sick days — which takes slightly more than 12 years of service to accrue. They also receive two personal days each year.
Veteran teachers with at least six years of service are also entitled to 40 days of extended sick leave at full pay; teachers with 15 or more years are entitled to 50 days, also at full pay.
“I think those extended days are rather inviting,” Gallo said.
Kathy Gaouette, director of human resources for the district, said all six teachers out on long-term leave had at least six years of service and were therefore eligible to take 40 to 50 days off at full pay.
By contract, teachers must advise administrators of daily absences by 6:30 a.m. Teachers notify an automated system either by phone or e-mail.
But there are a limited number of substitute te achers in Central Falls and some do not feel comfortable teaching classes outside their area of expertise, Gaouette said.
When Capellan and the co-principals cannot find a daily substitute, they ask teachers in the building to cover the classes of colleagues during their free periods — extra work for which they are paid. Capellan and the co-principals also pitch in.
“They [students] are never left unattended,” Gallo said.
But no one disputes that the number of teacher absences has affected students. Daily substitute teachers — unlike long-term substitutes — do not have to be certified in the subjects they are asked to teach.
And 453 of the 840 students at Central Falls High School didn’t receive enough instruction this fall to earn a grade in at least one class.