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This is CRIMINAL! May the Gods punish the warmongers. GI
DPS teacher shortage makes learning tough in district, teachers say | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
By CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
More than three months into the school year, a teacher shortage is shaking Detroit Public Schools, causing a cascade of problems from overcrowded classes to report cards with no grades to the sudden transfer of students, some with autism.
Growing class sizes a problem across Michigan schools
Some teachers complain that they have 40-50 students in classrooms, making it difficult to control students and difficult for kids to learn.
"I've won awards. I am a champion teacher," said Gwendolyn Guerrant, a 24-year veteran who said she averages more than 40 students in her five classes at Central High School. "This is the first time I've felt inadequate."
Class sizes are rising across the state because of budget cuts. But the overcrowding in Detroit appears to be more severe and springs from different problems, including massive teacher retirements and school reorganizations. While other districts are able to quickly fill openings, DPS has been unable to attract enough teachers for specialized classes.
The teachers union expressed concern to DPS emergency financial manager Robert Bobb in June about the need to fill vacancies. That's when more than 800 of DPS's roughly 5,000 teachers retired under a state program that offered incentives to highly paid teachers to leave.
DPS has responded by holding job fairs, using uncertified substitutes as teachers or having other teachers fill vacant posts during breaks. Officials now say the district is down to 36 teacher vacancies.
Bobb said the confusion is "definitely settling down." He has backed down from plans to close three schools in January, a spokesman said this week.
Read more @ Detroit Free Press
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