More on Passing Klein's Lemons

Our recent piece on the passing of Klein's lemons Garth Harries Leaves DOE as Ed Notes Helps Pass Klein Lemons elicited this response from Baltimore which also has one of Klein's lemons, though at least this lemon actually spent a decade teaching and never seemed as bad as the others.

Greetings from Baltimore (thanks for the lemon)

Hi Norm,

I like reading your blog. We in Baltimore have been dealing with one of your castaways and ... well ... misery loves company.

But the latest news is simply delightful, sure to warm your heart.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.morris11jun11,0,1358252.story

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/education/blog/2009/06/brian_morris_and_baltimore_sch.html


UPDATE:

Thanks, Norm.  Incredibly enough, it gets even better:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-te.morris12jun12,0,6392849.story

Baltimore Union Elections: Referendum on Andres Alonso?

It's really hard to generalize with so few teachers voting. With even worse turnout than we had in NYC last year (22% of working teachers voted) only 16% of Baltimore teachers voted to re-elect incumbent Marietta English to a 5th term. English captured 609 votes, while Sharon Blake had 342 votes. A total of 1,042 votes were cast, representing just 16 percent of the 6,400-member union.

But the two candidates seemed to take different stands on school leader Andres Alonso who left the NYCDOE last year to run the system in Baltimore. We predicted at the time that as a follower of Joel Klein he would alienate the teachers.

From the Baltimore Sun, May 12:
The election is, in some ways, a referendum on the leadership of city schools chief Andres Alonso, who is finishing his first year on the job. English called for Alonso's ouster last fall when the union and the school system were in a dispute over teacher planning time. Asked what the biggest difference is between her and Blake, English replied that her opponent is "pro-management."

"I think there needs to be an effort [by] the union leadership to work collaboratively with the system," Blake said.

For what it's worth, the teachers who were interested enough to vote chose to vote against management.

Articles posted at Norm's Notes.

Go Baltimore - More Alonso

DB has been tracking events in Baltimore where Klein Klone Andres Alonso seems to be meeting a bit of resistance from a union that did not think "it is all breathtakenly possible."*

DB comments: "The union has some balls in baltimore and so does the city council,"

What Alonso needs is a 30 person public relations team.

Baltimore Sun

Council eyes resolution to back teachers over impasse

October 16, 2007

A dispute between the Baltimore Teachers Union and the chief of the city school system spilled into the City Council last night with the introduction of a nonbinding resolution supporting the union in the impasse. Read more...

*Randi Weingarten's comment when BloomKlein announced Children First (read Last).

Andres Alonso Alienates Baltimore Teachers

It took Andres Alonso about 2 minutes of leading the Baltimore school system to alienate the teacher union - following the Plan. Expect the same to happen in Washington with another Klein acolyte running things. Note that teachers are fighting back by refusing to work the extra hours. After working in NY as Klein's assistant, Alonso is unfamiliar with unions that aren't interested in collaborating.

City Teachers To Picket Over Planning Time

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore city school teachers concerned about their contracts are planning to set up what they call informational pickets. They said the goal of the picketing is to put pressure on the administration to sign on the dotted line. City teachers agreed over the summer to work only those hours called for in the contract, refusing to take part in before- and after-school activities. The teacher's union is currently vowing to go a step further by setting up informational pickets this week outside at least three schools. "It will inform the public. We will be asking them to contact the school board in support of us, and let them know that teachers in Baltimore city are working without a contact, and they are to support this effort," said Marietta English of the Baltimore City Teacher's Union. The union said the main sticking point in the contract is teacher planning time. City School Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andres Alonso said that the contract dispute really boils down to a simple request by the administration. "The board and I have asked for one planning period a week to be used for common planning time or professional development at the discretion of the principal. I hear I'm trying to take away planning time. That's ridiculous," he said. "We are talking about planning time, time that is precious to teachers and time that they need to plan their lessons to mark papers to get prepared for the next class," English said. The union said that until there's a new agreement, teachers will continue to work by the terms of their old contract. WBAL TV 11 News learned that the Baltimore city teachers union is not pleased with the school board or Alonso. The union said it is prepared to take a vote of no confidence as it relates to the contract controversy.