2015/05/26 – The deadline imposed by a local union chapter of teachers in Jackson Public Schools has come and gone, and Superintendent Cedrick Gray has said he will not meet with the group because they refuse to include other stakeholders.

The Jackson Federation of Teachers released a report earlier this month including information from a survey of around 1,500 JPS employees who alleged inconsistent reporting procedures and inadequate disciplinary actions for students who commit infractions.

Anonymous teachers and employees shared stories of students bringing weapons to school and assaulting and stealing from teachers.

The union submitted the report to the district and attended a school board meeting asking for three school board members to work with members of the group to examine the issues raised in the report.

The superintendent, however, said he will not meet with the group because they refuse to include other teacher organizations.

At the time the report was released, JPS spokesperson Sherwin Johnson said Gray and other district leaders have met with the group previously on several occasions, though the group’s president disputed that in a May 15 letter to Gray.

“We met jointly (with the Jackson Association of Educators) eight months during the 2012-2013 school year … During the 2013-2014 school year I met only once one-on-one with Dr. Gray which was in May, 2014. Our April 30, 2015 meeting was at Dr. Gray’s request, regarding survey results.”

The Jackson Association of Educators is a group of teachers, administrators and support professionals in JPS.

The district maintained it was “taking a more comprehensive approach to addressing the challenges that involve parents, students, teachers, faith-based communities, businesses, partners and organizations like Parents for Public Schools, Alignment Jackson, and the Jackson Council of the Parent Teacher Association (JCPTA),” Johnson said in an e-mailed statement after the report was released.

“When it comes to creating, changing, or revising District policy, the superintendent and Board of Trustees prefer a process that is inclusive of the ideas and input from various community members and groups,” Johnson continued.

Johnson also noted the district has begun revising the student Code of Conduct and is soliciting responses from students and parents.

The survey highlighted the following key findings: a majority of workers feel their environment is “out of control” on a daily or weekly basis; nearly 46 percent say student discipline issues lead them to consider leaving their job; and 42 percent said they haven’t received adequate training to deal with discipline issues.

According to the district, discipline incidents have been reduced by 1,000 since the previous academic year.

Source: The Clarion-Ledger 

Kate Royals