For nearly 500,000 Mexican schoolchildren, the school year has yet to start. That’s because thousands of Mexico’s teachers have blocked highways and seized government buildings to protest education reforms that would end the longtime practice of teachers selling their jobs or passing them on to their children. Strikes erupted in August in the state of Morelos and could spread nationwide.
The conflict centers on a national plan to professionalize teaching and hold teachers accountable for their students’ performances. It was ratified by Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the leader of the county’s 1.6 million-member education union, Elba Esther Gordillo, and sent to Mexico’s 31 state governments and federal district for approval. Most states have pledged support for the plan.
Protesters believe Gordillo, who recently declared herself the union’s leader for life, agreed to the deal to retain her grip on power at the expense of teachers. Calderon and Gordillo insist that they are motivated by the need to overhaul Mexico’s education system.
In addition to taking away teachers’ ability to sell their jobs, the plan requires prospective teachers to take exams before being hired or promoted. Teacher pay raises would be linked to their students’ performance on standardized tests.
The protests are wearing thin with parents whose children have yet to start classes. Some are so angry they’ve taken matters into their own hands by forcibly reopening schools.
—“For Mexico’s teachers, jobs are things to inherit or sell, and they’re on strike to keep it that way: Standardizing gets tested,” by Marion Lloyd, Houston Chronicle, Oct. 12, 2008.
The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district (PSJA ISD) is among several districts hoping to scoop up math or science teachers laid off by Dallas ISD. Math and science teachers are in short supply all over Texas and perhaps to a larger extent in the Rio Grande Valley.
PSJA ISD advertised in the Dallas Morning News and sent recruiters to a job fair the Dallas school district hosted to help employees affected by the cuts find new jobs. In addition to bringing new teachers to the Valley, district recruiters hoped the job fair would provide a chance for PSJA ISD to lure back teachers who left the region.
—“Rio Grande Valley school districts recruiting Dallas educators,” by Jennifer L. Berghom, The Monitor, Oct. 10, 2008.
In October, Brownsville ISD was named the winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education. The prestigious award is given annually by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation to a city school district that makes strides in improving student achievement. The district will receive $1 million in college scholarships to be awarded to next spring’s graduating seniors.
Brownsville ISD outperformed other Texas districts in overall math and reading scores in 2007, in spite of the fact that 94 percent of its students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and 43 percent are English-language learners.
Aldine ISD was also a finalist for the award.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) won’t sit on the sidelines of the education reform movement. The country’s second largest teachers’ union will put up $1 million and seek additional money from philanthropic donors for the AFT Innovation Fund. The fund will support “bottom-up” reforms—efforts initiated by teachers—that are “sustainable, innovative, and collaborative” in nature.
AFT leader Randi Weingarten said the money will be used to implement programs, lobby school boards, or even to support union-friendly candidates in favor of teacher-generated reforms.
Some examples of programs the fund might support include the following:
—“Teachers union initiates school reform plan,” by Greg Toppo, USA Today, Oct. 10, 2008.
Does your district have a plan in place to ensure that critical records are protected in the event of an emergency? If not, there’s help available.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) offers active and continuing records management solutions, governmental records protection options, and tips on getting ready for emergency situations. TSLAC provides online resources 
to help districts prepare for and recover from emergencies. Districts can also call the TSLAC State and Local Records Management Division at 512-421-7200.
