Save our teachers

To:  Students

Recently the Pittsburgh Board of Education has required a select few teachers from each district school be laid off, most likely to make small cuts in favor of saving a handful of money. The criteria for being laid off is unknown, however at Brashear High School it is evident the newer teachers are being laid off, regardless of their skill set in the classroom or how well they have contributed to the overall success of the school and/or the students.

Among these teachers are Mr. Agulia, Ms. Dirks, Ms. Chengery, Mr. Broderick and 11 or so more. These teachers have presented outstanding methods in teaching and in handling a classroom. Since these teachers have been working in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, test scores and PSSA scores have skyrocketed, going from primarily Basic/Below Basic to primarily in the Proficient category (PSSA Score Information). Not only that, but these select teachers are enjoyable to learn from and have a lot of information and knowledge to offer to the students at large in the Pittsburgh Area school district.

Which begs the question: Why must the newer, imaginative teachers be laid off when there are teachers who are close to retiring and teachers who do next to nothing that are still in the workplace?

As students, we propose that the older, more set-for-life teachers take the cut. On average, the longer you have been teaching, the more you earn. Not only would fewer teachers have to get laid off, but even if they do, they will possess a better means to support themselves while out of the workplace.

We must fight this act of injustice to preserve good teaching methods for the sake of the future generation of school students that go there, and for the sake of our children who may attend these schools in the future. The future of education and learning is at risk; fight for it.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Save our teachers Petition to Students was created by and written by Justin Smith and Sam Bastianini (briellsy@gmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.