11/17/2005

How "Bumping" & Vacancy Games Affect Urban Schools

This week's big new report, The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts, from The New Teacher Project sheds some interesting light on seniority transfer rules and vacancies and its effects on where teachers end up within school districts.

However, the report seems limited in its power to generate helpful progress by the fact that it doesn't name the districts that it uses for case studies (I'm sure some folks could figure it out) and did not apparently include input or expertise from teachers unions. The angry response doesn't take long to appear:
Study Falsely Links Low Teacher Quality to Union Contracts (AFT)

Early Coverage:
Teacher Transfer Rules Hurt Schools, Study Says WashPost
Urban teachers often not welcome WashTimes

UPDATE:
Tough choices on teacher quality Gadfly