http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/01/30/its-un-american-for-children-to-not-be-able-to-get-an-education/‘It’s Un-American for Children to Not Be Able to Get an Education’
by James Parks, Jan 30, 2007
In his State of the Union address, President Bush called for reauthorization the No Child Left Behind Act but did not mention that children in New Orleans whose lives were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are being left further behind because his administration and state and local officials have bungled the recovery effort.
Just last week, 300 New Orleans school children were shut out of schools and denied an education they badly need because the city says it doesn’t have enough space or teachers. So, instead of studying in classrooms, 300 students are sitting at home waiting for space to open up in schools. All the while, more students are coming into the city daily as families who left after Katrina are beginning to return home.
What makes the lockout of school children even more outrageous is that the city’s school enrollment is less than half of pre-Katrina levels and there are thousands of unemployed school teachers in the city who lost their jobs or were forced to retire when local officials closed schools to gut the teachers’ union. Shortly after Katrina, some 4,900 public school teachers, mostly members of the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO)/AFT, and 1,900 support staff were forced to retire or just lost their jobs.
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Maria Alexander says children in New Orleans have a right to a decent education.
A broad coalition of unions, civil rights, religious and community groups is demanding the city, state and federal governments bring the city’s teachers and school professional staff to the table so they can help create a quality school system.
Brenda Mitchell, president of UTNO, says 17 months is more than enough time for officials to get their act together and provide a decent education for children:
It is a public outrage and criminal that the student victims of Hurricane Katrina are not only being left behind, they are also being shut out and denied the educational foundation that they so urgently need to start to rebuild their lives after Katrina.
It’s un-American for children to come into a place and not be able to get an education.
The policymakers need the voice of the teachers and the school employees at the table. We could tell them what’s really happening in the schools.
FULL story at link.
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