More than a dozen teaches and sometimes over 20 of the roughly 90-person staff were absent on almost any given day in the last couple of months, including six on long-term leave, said Central Falls School Superintendent Frances Gallo. Fifteen teachers have left since August, including six who quit after school started, though administrators said they have only one vacancy left to fill.
“It’s extremely frustrating, but more than that, I believe it’s extremely unprofessional,” Gallo said. “Teaching is getting a black eye, and why? Because not every teacher is living up to their vocation.”
Administrators withheld more than 450 first-quarter grades after deciding teacher attendance was too spotty to accurately measure student performance.
A student walkout disrupted classes last month, and the president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) held a news conference to support the teachers.
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Some students said they have grown weary of the negative attention, arguing teachers are being scapegoated for problems beyond their control. But some also said there are teachers and administrators who aren’t equipped to deal with disciplinary and academic problems.
“If we don’t do work, they don’t redirect us. They just kick us out of the class. How are we going to learn from getting kicked out every day?” asked Frankie Dehoyos, 14, a freshman. But he added, “We should all get blamed–not just the teachers, the students.”
Some parents are angry–some at the teachers, some at the administrators, some at both sides.
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