Teacher Layoffs Tied to Special-Education Changes

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- The Board of Education is laying off 19 teachers and five teaching assistants as part of a special-education change.

The layoffs mean that the district will have fewer classrooms staffed by two teachers.
Under the new approach, special-education teachers will only come into the classrooms that have a mix of nondisabled and special-education students for part of the day.

The Board of Education adopted resolutions authorizing the layoffs at a special meeting on Wednesday. The layoffs included three elementary teachers and 16 special-education teachers.
On Monday, schools spokeswoman Desiree Grand said that the district was following a model instituted by the Yonkers school district in the 2009-10 school year.

"Rather than having the special-education teacher with the students throughout the day, they are sharing special education teachers among several classrooms," said Jeff Yonkers, president of the Mount Vernon teachers union.

Exploring Untraditional Teaching Methods

Boys in Ginny Stevens' third-grade classroom spent the school year without desks. It wasn't because of budget cuts -- it was action research.
Stevens and about 80 other Clark County School District educators displayed their findings after months of unorthodox teaching practices May 13 as part of the fifth annual Best Practices Action Research Data Fair at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd.
Stevens' class of 22 boys had small, portable desktops to work on, but how they positioned themselves and where they sat, or lay, was up to them.
"Furniture really does get in the way," Stevens said. "They like free seating, and it offered a lot of flexibility. Boys need more space than girls. They like to stretch out."

Special Ed Teacher's Words Spark Outrage

BAINBRIDGE, Ind. -- A special education teacher's Facebook comments have incensed parents and prompted an investigation by the school district.
Amber Russell, a teacher at North Putnam Middle School, posted on Facebook, "I love dumb people. I call it job security," along with "5+1=Freedom from the Hell hole" and "I feel sorry for preachers and teachers. No matter hard they work, there's always an incoming batch of sinners and dumb people."