Teachers still needed?

[Wao nahele kane]

Is there still a need for qualified teachers on the Big Island?

E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[Carey]

Yes. For many, it is a very demanding job, and the hours and pay for the DOE teachers are one of the lowest in the nation. (The planned furlough days will achieve this low point).

There website for the DOE is:
http://doe.k12.hi.us/personnel/TeachingInHawaii/

Charter schools also hire, many outside of the DOE, the site:
http://www.hcsao.org/hicharters/profiles

Kamehameha Schools also hire, and you do not have to have blood quotient to teach. Their job site:
http://www.ksbe.edu/careers/

ETA: Hawaii Island is one of the Teach for America sites & there are many other programs, to try to get teachers here for at least a couple of years. That may give you some insight on the teaching conditions.

Hope this helps. I am a sub with the DOE schools here, I may be able to answer some questions.

[Wao nahele kane]

Thanks Carey,
I'll pass this on to our temporary neighbor who's been looking for a teaching position for 9 months now and is willing to move to a place like Hawaii and take a pay cut but not to a remote village island in Alaska.

Edit to add -
If you wouldn't mind... could I pass on your e-mail? You can write me directly and I'll pass it on to her if that's ok.
She would probably like to talk to some-one who's working there already.


E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[csgray]

I recently met with someone from the UHH education department about mentoring a student teacher next year. She said they had an administrator from the DOE come talk to this year's cohort and he said he wasn't sure if ANY of the new teachers who will graduate in the next few years will be able to get jobs in Hawaii, due to the budget cuts for education. A number of teachers were laid off this year at Hilo, Waikea, and Pahoa, including math, science and special education teachers (who have always been secure specialists). Most charter schools also cut staff, the one I teach at cut all our part time positions and the teachers who are left are covering those classes now. I would hesitate to move here now as a teacher looking for work, but 4 years ago it was a pretty safe bet.

Carol

[Carey]

Right now it is hard to tell what will happen. Most likely non-tenure teachers will continue to be on very shaky footing, but I am also looking at the response that some teachers are having to the potential of the new lower salary, due to the furloughs. I do feel that Kamehameha will have an even bigger draw for many of the islands best teachers, and charter schools may have a better standing, too.

Time will also tell how the furloughs transition into test scores. I cannot imagine that the days off will have a positive test score impact & will probably cause test score drops, esp. in the schools that can least afford it. Those that are nearing the end of restructuring are heading into the potential of dramatic staffing changes.

[csgray]

Charter Schools are being HAMMERED this budget cycle. Our per pupil funding was less than half the DOE allotment this year, and we have to fund our facilities too. Next year our funding drops even farther. Different charter schools have handled that drop in funding different ways, some cut pay and others have cut positions which means fewer people are teaching more classes. Next year looks really grim for charter schools and several small ones may not make it through this year. The legislature slashed our budgets up front and restoring our funds isn't part of the furlough ending discussions; it is hard not to think that some of the powers that be are using the state funding issues as a way to kill the charter schools. It may be that some teachers will get fed up and leave, but mainland school districts are slashing positions too, I think it would be hard to get a job there too.

Carol

[JerryCarr]

The DOE and legislative treatment of charter schools (the only segment of public education in Hawaii showing any significant advancement) is scandalous. They have never equitably funded them and are using the budget crisis as an excuse to do even worse. It is shamefully evident that the powers that be see the charters as competition for their failing model of education.

[BigIslandPapa]

What is it with Governors and Legislators? They have so many assistants for everything, but when it comes to cutting budgets, do they cut their own operational budgets? No! Hell they need their royal butt wipers & piss boys!!! Screw the education system, social services, and anything that the general public would need!

The State of California is doing the same thing to the state workers, two Fridays a month furlough, cut education to the bone, and is taking every dollar possible from the local counties and cities to balance the budget, but not eliminating the mandates to the same local counties & cities. They all also kept their operational budgets with the royal butt wipers and piss boys, luxury cars & Arnold flies from Los Angeles to Sacramento every day to work...guess who pays for that?

Aloha & Mahalo

Terry

[csgray]

Bob H,
Your post consists of just cutting and pasting an article (twice!) with only a tangential relationship to the original topic and no comment or insight from you. This doesn't really add to the discussion and we are all capable of finding and reading news releases on our own. Do you have anything of your own to say on this topic?

Carol

[BobH]

Aloha Carol,
This original thread was started because a Teacher wanted to know if teachers were in demand on the Big Island. The concept of furloughs go a long way in answering that question and it is an ongoing discussion and one that has not been answered yet.

I took the post down because it apparently upset you not only because of the mistake I made for posting it twice but because of the topic. The topic of furloughs has been an important part of this thread with you even referring to them in previous posts. Teacher Furloughs have created a major problem in the Hawaii School District and may very well cause hundreds of teachers to be laid off. If that happens then teacher demand in Hawaii and the Big Island may go down.

It appears that the Teacher Union in Hawaii is more concerned with retaining bodies than getting students (kids) taught. The Hawaii School District is being strangled by the Teacher Union. It doesn’t appear to me that the kids have anyone standing up for them.
It also appears that because of all the unwillingness on both sides of the argument that hundreds of students will be leaving the Public system and trying to go to private school. This will force more layoffs in the public system and perhaps create a few openings in private schools.

As it stands right now with the Teacher Union and The State of Hawaii, there may very well be less demand for teachers in 2010.

I suppose that if there were unlimited funds for edcuation funding there wouldn't be a problem, but then on the other hand, Hawaii ranks at the bottom when it comes to ranking systems nationwide and there hasn't always been a funding problem. The botton line is the sytem is broken and the kids are suffering.

Best!
BobH