Students of GHS gather to protest teacher surplus

Thu, 14 May 2009 17:43:28 GMT

By Mindy Phuong

Mindy Phuong
Students of "Project Inspiration," a protest created by Jacobs and Tall, gathered in H Hall on April 30 to demonstrate the surplus of teachers.

While many GHS students quickly became frustrated from the decisions that were made, many students became especially upset with one decision: the surplus of algebra teacher Andra Colbert. "She’s the only teacher that I can relate to. I hate math but I actually understood algebra two and from that I know she’s a good teacher," junior Michelle Lee says. Jacobs and Tall wanted to help Colbert keep her position at GHS, establishing "Project Inspiration," where the motto is that "students have a voice too." The girls first came up with the idea of a petition asking to keep Colbert from relocating to another MCPS school. They received 171 signatures. "The people who signed the petition were those who were inspired by Colbert and who wanted her to stay," Tall says. With no expedient decisions made by administration, Jacobs and Tall then decided to have a sit-in not only for Colbert, but for all the teachers that were "surplused." On April 30, "Project Inspiration," was followed by other GHS students who also participated in the movement. Students were located through C and H halls, where they sat along the wall to protest. Administration then took action into dispersing the sit-in, as Assistant Principals Michael Ridge and Traci Townsend requested that the sit-in dismantle. Principal of GHS, Dr. Christine Handy-Collins, came down to the sit-in and read the students their rights from the Student’s Rights Handbook. Handy-Collins claimed that the sit-in was fine, but that it had to be "reorganized and approved." Every year teachers and other staff are "surplused" by MCPS. Being "surplused" does not mean a staff member is fired, but that their position will be moved to another school. According to Human Resources Director Susan Marks, 685 teachers have been "surplused" county wide. These teachers are still guaranteed positions, but must keep that position at another school. The decision is based on schedule requests and staff allocations for each school, as the average cost of a teacher is around $75,000. Although students made efforts to keep their most liked teachers at the school, methods like extra fundraising for teachers in this case will not help.

The Blue & Gold

Students of GHS gather to protest teacher surplus