Ackerman alarmed by number, timing of teacher resignations

Just this week, more than 100 teachers have bailed on the Philadelphia School District, earning officials' ire - and potential consequences.

Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said yesterday that she'd never seen anything like it - between Monday and Wednesday, 113 new and veteran teachers either resigned, went out on long-term disability, or just failed to show up for work.

By the contract, teachers must give two months' notice before resigning, but there have been no real consequences for failing to do so.

"I find it incomprehensible, and very unprofessional," Ackerman said. "This business of not showing up, not telling us, or resigning and not giving 60 days' notice is totally unacceptable."

Philadelphia's pre-school churn is not new, though. The number of departures is similar to last year's figure. Because the district overhired by about 300 teachers, there should be few or no classroom vacancies on Tuesday, the first day of school, officials said.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said the crop of resignations represented less than 1 percent of the district's 10,700 teachers, and said it was understandable that some took more attractive jobs.

Many people quit, he said, because they find jobs in safer or more prestigious districts.

"If you get an offer which is going to provide you with a higher salary and better working conditions, that has to be taken into consideration," Jordan said. "If they're going to resign, the district is certainly in a better position if it's done before the start of school."

Ackerman said she found it eyebrow-raising that of the 100 teachers rated "unsatisfactory" last year, some recently filed for long-term leaves. District officials said they could not provide an exact number.

After teachers are rated unsatisfactory, they go into two years' "remediation," and if they do not improve sufficiently, the district can fire them. If a teacher goes out on leave, the remediation period resets.

Jordan said it was unfair to lump a few "malingerers who are gaming the system" in with teachers who have serious illnesses.

Under the contract, teachers who resigned this week immediately lost their health benefits, a district spokesman said.

Those who leave the district with little or no notice now will not be able to get jobs in the district again, said Estelle Matthews, human resources chief. Ackerman said she was also sending a list to the Pennsylvania Department of Education - just so the state knows that they violated their contract.

Ackerman said some local districts share with each other lists of teachers who resign without proper notice, and added that she plans to join their ranks in the near future.

The superintendent also sent the departing teachers a strongly worded letter, she said, in which she told them that their decision "hurts children."

The departing teachers were both new to the district - Philadelphia hired 1,300 new teachers this year - and veterans.

This month, district officials trumpeted their improved hiring practices and vowed there would be few or no teacher vacancies when school begins.

Matthews said she was sticking to that prediction, and her staff is working around the clock, she said, to make it happen.

"The target is zero. It's still zero. We are still filling vacancies every day," Ackerman said.

The district is helped by the fact that it overhired teachers. At one point, there were 289 teachers employed by the district but without classrooms.

They were to be "supplemental" teachers who would fill vacancies as they came up during the year. Now, many will be in front of a class come Tuesday.

That's crucial, said Michael Silverman, a regional superintendent.

"If a child doesn't get to see their teacher on the first day, it sets a bad tone," said Silverman.

More teachers were lured to Philadelphia with a moved-up hiring time frame, signing bonuses, and more aggressive recruiting. In fact, more than 400 have applied to the district since Aug. 1, officials said.

That teachers are jumping ship this close to the beginning of school, Matthews said, puzzles her.

"I've never experienced this," she said. "I came from corporate America. You don't run a business like this."

Jordan, the union president, said the district would make better use of its time in retaining teachers, both new and veteran.

He said the district's rhetoric wasn't helping teachers.

"It's a challenging enough job without being hammered over the head," Jordan said. "It's just not helpful for kids."