By Nicole Gillespie, Ph.D., Philly.com
Perhaps for very different reasons, students and parents across Philadelphia are already counting the days until school starts. Both might be wondering who will be standing in front of the classroom on the first day of school. Odds are good that the teacher in the room will be new to the school, new to Philadelphia and, quite possibly, completely new to teaching.
Budget cuts and layoffs have eliminated positions for teachers and other staff. Other teachers are leaving because of retirements, poor working conditions and the transfer of district schools to charters. We know that there is a high rate of teacher turnover in urban schools, both district and charter. We also know that the graduation rate across all of Philadelphia’s schools is too low. But can we really expect to keep students in school and improve our graduation rate if we can’t even keep teachers there? Continue reading…