The RCSD Board of Education approved more than $2 million dollars, approximately $350,000 per week, in salary, for professional development for teachers and summer school salaries.

This is nothing new. Each year millions of dollars are spent from the General Fund to offset the failure our children experience during the regular 180 day school year.

The approval of this spending by the Board goes largely without review or accountability and is seen as a “necessary evil” of the system.

Proponents of the corporate system of education would have tax payers believe that summer school is necessary in order to give students extra time to comprehend, learn, and succeed educationally when, in fact, six weeks of summer school does little to enhance the learning capabilities or opportunities for struggling students.

What summer school does do effectively is employ adults while depleting the coffers of the district so that they can show we need even more money to educate our children.

Unfortunately, no one asks the question, “What is done in six weeks that was not done in 180 days that leads to the educational success of students enrolled in summer school?

As well, are teachers who are attending professional development opportunities over the summer going to be held accountable for implementing those strategies and for providing “turn key” opportunities in their building?

Why are teams being paid to create Common Core aligned lessons when teachers should be creating lessons according to the needs of their students?

Are teachers being “in-serviced” regarding the “Master Schedule” that they are to follow?

Who will be responsible for making sure that every elementary teacher is teaching the same thing at the same time every day?

Will teachers who are attending professional development on the Montessori method be exempt from adhering to the master schedule?

It will not be long before our children will return to the chaos that is driving our district.

Our children deserve educational leaders who know, understand, and are willing to enact policies that are beneficial to their learning and will lead to their educational success.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!