►
From YouTube: Committee on Education Testimony - Ray Guzman 11-28-2016
Description
From the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Education held Monday, November 28, 2016:
Swenson Arts and Technology HS Teacher Ray Guzman testifies on the challenges of teacher retention and recruitment in the School District of Philadelphia.
View the full hearing here: https://youtu.be/zfTHKrvMFTQ
A
Gaming
chairwoman
blackballed
thank
you
for
allowing
us
to
be
present
here
and
to
speak
on
behalf
of
all
of
our
colleagues.
I
would
like
to
begin
by
setting
the
context
of
teacher
retention,
its
challenges
and
it's
a
possibility
by
Framing
that
I'm,
not
here
speaking
only
on
my
own
thoughts.
I
am
also
the
building
rep
at
Swenson,
and
we
had
a
meeting
and
we
came
about
the
key
points
that
the
whole
school
would
like
to
be
put
forward
here
tonight.
So
I
speak
on
behalf
of
my
building.
A
I
would
like
to
present
some
specific
examples,
many
of
which,
like
I
mentioned,
come
straight
from
the
workplace.
They
are
first-hand
accounts
with
both
veteran
and
new
teachers
engage
in
what
is
both
their
calling
and
aircraft
as
a
comparison.
I
would
also
like
to
discuss
how
the
challenges
of
personnel
retention
are
addressed
in
another
area
of
public
service,
because
I
feel
it's
very
important
that
we
frame
public
education
as
a
service.
A
A
Respect
for
the
teachers
and
for
the
teaching
profession
is
not
only
fundamental,
but
it's
also
fully
serves
the
public
interest.
Shamefully,
we
have
allowed
the
opposite
to
occur.
We
have
allowed
derision
and
name-calling
and
scapegoating
and
any
form
of
very
easy
solutions
to
very
complex
problems.
It
is
despite
this
hostile
environment
that
recruitment
efforts
of
teachers
are
still
effective.
A
Every
year,
thousands
of
teachers
across
our
country
answered
there
they're
cloning
and
enter
our
classrooms
in
order
to
lead,
teach,
nurture,
mentor
and
guide
our
students,
yet
once
in
place,
very
little
effort
is
afforded
to
them
to
ensure
that
they
remain
engaged
and
remain
committed
to
the
profession.
New
teachers
begin
their
careers
in
the
context
of
an
unwritten
expectation
that
one
tenth
of
them
will
not
return
for
year,
two
that
nearly
one
half
of
them
will
not
return
by
year.
A
Five,
after
studying
attrition
rates
among
K
through
12
teachers,
Professor
Richard
ingres,
all
of
the
University
of
Pennsylvania,
concluded
that
job
dissatisfaction
is
the
leading
challenge
to
teacher
retention.
Imagine
if
our
country
had
the
same
expectations
and
high
attrition
rates
among
the
Armed
Forces,
and
we
antagonize
on
top
of
that
their
service
in
the
same
way
that
we
do
teachers.
This
scenario
would
elicit
outrage,
censure
and
calls
for
immediate
remedy.
Teacher
attrition,
on
the
other
hand,
has
been
allowed
to
persist
interminably
without
much
concern
or
any
address.
A
Respect
for
teacher
agency
and
voice
teachers
often
work
in
isolation,
very
few
opportunities
to
review
or
comment
upon
ever-evolving
curricula,
unfunded
mandates
and
legislative
directors.
Moreover,
increased
responsibilities
often
laid
upon
teachers
without
content,
certifications
or
foisted
upon
them
every
day.
For
example,
a
teacher
who,
in
the
past
could
consult
with
a
librarian
to
advance
research
on
the
project
today
has
to
assume
the
role
of
the
librarian
has
to
take
time
to
research
has
to
take
time
to
furnish
materials
and
to
present
them
in
addition
to
the
project
that
he
or
she
is
trying
to
promote.
A
Now,
today,
there's
no
librarian
and
often
no
library,
it's
2016
so
I.
That
is
the
daily
reality
that
we
need
to
keep
in
mind
in
terms
of
the
inability
to
consult
with
colleagues
and
to
account
on
support
staff
only
heightens
the
burden
of
isolation.
High
attrition
rates
impede
teacher
collaboration,
given
the
institutional
memory
and
continuance
of
strategies
that
are
compromised
with
your
departure
of
the
significant
ratio
of
teachers.
This
situation
becomes
stressful
for
veteran
teachers,
let
it
let
alone
the
strain
on
novice
teachers.
A
Central
to
retaining
teachers
is
allowing
them
the
agency
to
deliver
content
the
to
address
standards
creatively
and
to
provide
opportunities
for
collaboration.
Now,
a
prerequisite
to
agency
is
voice.
Seeking
the
voice
of
its
stakeholders
is
a
natural
action.
When
n,
when
any
organization
welcomes
input,
cease,
seeks
to
be
inclusive
and
once
buy-in
from
members,
why
would
a
young
professional
remain
in
an
environment
where
they
are
not
heard?
Their
actions
are
entirely
too
limited
and
do
not
permit
real
engagement.
A
Respect
for
teacher
contracts,
teachers
in
Philadelphia
have
not
only
endured
for
years
without
a
contract,
but
they've
also
been
subjected
to
the
indignity
of
a
unilateral
breakage
of
a
mutually
agreed-upon
contract.
The
subset
of
teachers
that
comprises
five
years
or
less
were
promised
a
salary
schedule
with
step
increases,
while
all
teachers
are
covered
by
the
same
contract.
This
particular
subset
of
new
teachers
is
central
to
up
to
our
discussion
tonight.
These
professionals,
who
are
starting
their
careers
in
earnest,
may
also
be
starting
their
own
families,
pursuing
personal
interests
and
also
seeking
advanced
degrees.
A
In
all
likelihood,
a
number
of
them
expect
to
move
up
any
career
ladder.
That's
present
within
the
school
district.
However,
when
our
employment
contract
is
in
a
state
of
uncertainty,
non-existent
career
paths
and
related
considerations
among
amount
to
a
pressure
cooker,
it
is
a
situation
in
which
this
cohort
finds
it
necessary
to
either
leave
or
abandon
the
profession.
A
A
My
student
population
is
very
diverse
and
to
see
the
stress
on
these
students
was
heartbreaking.
I
can
only
imagine
of
school
where
teachers
don't
know
their
students.
The
students
are
not
aware
of
who
their
teachers
are,
of
who
they
can
trust
in
the
time
of
such
high
anxiety
and
situations
like
that,
also,
as
we
know,
pride
internal
tensions
that
students
have
thanks
to
the
very
veteran
staff
at
my
school,
the
ninth
of
note
of
November
turned
out
to
be
a
pretty
calm
day,
even
though
it
was
not.