Teachers Speak Out at Education Hearing
Teacher on Tenure Plan: 'I don't think teachers are being respected'
Teacher tenure was front and center Tuesday at the first in a series of hearings on Governor Malloy's $128 million education reform plan.
More than 100 people signed up to speak at the hearing which went into the evening hours.
Several teachers along with the two teachers unions spoke out against the portion of the plan focussed on tenure.
Seventh grade science teacher, Joan Flannery drove all the way from Stamford to attend the hearing.
"I don't think teachers are being respected," Flannery said. "That's what the bottom line is."
Governor Malloy wants to create a system where teachers are constantly re-evaluated in order to earn tenure.
"My belief to reform teacher tenure is no way a slight to good teachers," Malloy testified to the education committee. "Let's be honest, there are still teachers in the classroom who don't belong there."
Flannery said the current standards are strict enough when it comes to evaluating teachers.
"Four years is a long time to find out if teachers are good or not," Flannery said.
The state's teachers unions are skeptical of parts of the plan as well.
They have come up with stricter standards of their own.
"One of the concerns we have is the linkage between certification and teacher evaluation," Connecticut Education Association Executive Director, Mary Loftus Levine said.
The group representing the more than 160 school boards across Connecticut agree with the Governor's plan to reform teacher tenure rules.
"It's time for change, it's time to reinvent the wheel with it," Connecticut Association of Boards of Education President, Lydia Tedone said.
Education hearings continue on Wednesday.
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