MPS teachers resist plan to move specialists back into classroom jobs

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) teachers are resisting one of the biggest changes the district's new superintendent has made so far. The teachers' union backed a walkout Tuesday afternoon at Riverside University High School. 

The Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association (MTEA) continues to protest Superintendent Brenda Cassellius' approach to filling dozens of vacant classroom teaching jobs. 

She's moving 40 teachers, currently in specialist roles, back into full-time classroom positions.  The teachers' union says Cassellius has been disrespectful in the way she's gone about pursuing the changes.

"MTEA has made Superintendent Cassellius aware of our concerns and the problems with her plan, and she has gone full steam ahead," MTEA President Ingrid Walker-Henry said, "And what you are hearing from her is a result of not listening."

To fill 40 of the district's vacant positions, the district is asking 180 teachers currently based out of central office to reapply for their jobs. From that pool, administrators will pick 40 for reassignment to a full-time classroom.

"She's forcing 140 people to re-apply for the job they already hold," Walker-Henry said.

About two dozen teachers and staff walked out of Riverside around 3:30 p.m. after the final bell. The teachers affected are in roles that travel from one school to another.

Some focus on assisting students with severe needs, such as impaired vision, while others serve as coaches in specific subjects like reading. Those demonstrating maintained the specialist jobs are important too. 

"What we do, is we have a vision teacher who will be assigned multiple schools, but since they're assigned multiple schools, they're considered 'central office,'" Alix Hughes, a special education teacher at Riverside, said. "And that's why it can be told to the public, 'Oh, we're cutting central office staff,' even when we're cutting teachers of braille."

Last week, in an extended interview with CBS 58, Cassellius defended the plan. She said the specialist roles were a "luxury" compared to the hundreds of openings for everyday classroom instructors.

"We have 231 classrooms right now that do not have a permanent classroom teacher," Cassellius said. "I was hopeful that more of them would've chosen to go back to the classroom, rather than re-apply for their positions."

Cassellius added she wishes she had more time to "socialize" the plan with the teachers' union. However, added she stands by the decision, pointing to the district's national testing scores that rank among the country's worst.

"I think that the move was necessary," she said. "You know, our children are scoring at a level of proficiency that is just unacceptable."

"We need to have more certified teachers in our classrooms, and the folks we have at district office are experienced, certified and excellent teachers."

The union maintains the district should instead focus on recruiting new teachers for those jobs. They say the specialists are vital in their current capacity and added those who are moved could choose to either instead retire or find work in another district.

"We all want teachers in classrooms," Hughes said. "I want more math teachers. We all do, but this is not going to result in more teachers in classrooms, and if you believe it is, you've been lied to and you've been misled."

Crystal Salo Hoffmann, a special education teacher at Riverside, said she was optimistic that with enough pressure, Cassellius will revisit the decision.

"I am hopeful, because these teachers are impacting students, and that is what we are here to do," she said. "We are here to impact the lives of students, so I'm really hoping the administration hears that."