Learn To Be Foundation

Ms. Gibson was an incredibly talented and exciting teacher. In my opinion, she was the best kindergarten teacher in the entire school, and each day I was inspired to be a better teacher by her passion for teaching and her dedication to her students. Unfortunately, she was laid off. Not by her immediate supervisors who were thoroughly impressed by her teaching methods and interacted with her daily, but by the school district.  The district, a group of decision makers who directly influence the education of over 700,000 students, has decided to send lay-off notices to a few thousand employees based solely on their spot on the proverbial totem pole.

It is very frustrating to read this article and see that the dismal financial situation in California is again negatively impacting public education through layoffs in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district continues to grow in student population, but it is failing to meet student demand by cutting important resources. Eliminating positions, such as school nurses and librarians, will take away vital resources from the students. These students will lose exposure to a wealth of books that can play an integral role in fostering a love for reading. Teachers will have to take away from precious class time to treat bruises and coughs, check out library books, and counsel students with behavior issues. Teacher layoffs will result in yet another increase in class size that will make it more difficult for students to get the attention and personal interaction necessary to succeed in the classroom.

What still puzzles me about teacher layoffs is that teacher retention in LAUSD is based solely on seniority. Unfortunately, it does not matter which teachers make the largest positive impact in the classroom or who motivates students to try their best; all that matters is who has been teaching longer. This type of retention system would be absurd in almost every other type of business. If layoffs must happen, they should be based upon productivity and observations among other important factors, but not solely on years of experience.  

I understand that the present decision makers in LAUSD are not entirely responsible for the present dilemma, but at some point difficult decisions need to be made to help propel the district forward. Teachers need to start being held more accountable for their teaching and should always be assessed and held to certain standards. If we hope to improve public education, we need to recruit an intelligent, passionate workforce of teachers who are constantly striving to improve education. The volatility of the school district and lack of job security for new educators only serves to drive these potentially great teachers away from the profession. I believe that quality teachers are the most important part of a successful school district. Decisions about retention and recruitment of teachers should be based upon comprehensive criteria in order to ensure that students are put in classrooms with the best teachers to help them succeed.

As an organization, Learn To Be hopes to continue expanding to different schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide support and supplemental resources to students after school. We realize that certain schools are struggling to meet the individual needs of all students, and we hope that our one-on-one tutoring can help schools and communities bridge the achievement gap.