Newport teachers and school administrators will meet tomorrow (Thursday, July 11) at noon in a mediation session, both hopeful of resolving a dispute over the layoff of 16 teachers and displacement of 45 others.
The session, said Jennifer Azevedo, deputy director of the National Education Association Rhode Island will be held at NEA headquarters.
The teachers were miffed that they were not consulted in what has been described as a “district reorganization,” which they say is required by contract.
Initially, the teachers went to Superior Court, seeking a restraining order, filed several grievances and unfair labor practice charges.
Both sides agreed instead to seek what Azevedo had described as arbitration/mediation, not sure what form it would eventually take. They selected Associate Supreme Court Justice Frank Flaherty, to serve as arbitrator or mediator.
At issue, Azevedo said, is the teachers demand to have a say in what the Newport “schools will look like for next year.”
The Teachers Association of Newport (TAN) had filed the restraining order, grievances, and unfair labor practice charges, over the displacement and layoff of more than 20 percent of the teaching workforce.
Those displacements and layoffs were the result of what School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain characterized as a district reorganization.
Much of it has to do with the sharp rise in multi-language learners in the district from 5 percent of students in Newport a decade ago to nearly 20 percent now, according to the latest version of the Kids Count annual factbook. There are also state standards relative to MLL certified teachers.
TAN had previously characterized the issues as a lack of communication, failure to honor seniority requirements and procedures included in the teachers’ contract, the elimination of jobs they see as critical for students, the lack of professional training opportunities.
“We want the superintendent to have a conversation with the union about the plan,” Azevedo said. The union has maintained that failing to include the union in the conversation is a violation of its contract.
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