Schools

Teacher Support, New Hires and A Job Well Done: Hits from the Board of Education

A short meeting on Monday didn't mean there wasn't anything to talk about.

Just a few snippets from the Board of Education meeting on Monday night at . Below you'll find the Ferndale Education Association president asking for support of teachers, an update on the layoff and recall list for teachers, early enrollment numbers from K-12 and a shout out to the custodial and maintenance staff by the Ferndale superintendent for the work done during the Labor Day storm damage and the subsequent outage.

Ferndale Education Association president says teachers need support

Ferndale Education Association President discussed recent "actions taken by the governor" that have impacted the morale of teachers.

"The party of small government is taking control from our school board and our bargaining rights," he told the Ferndale Board of Education Monday night. He said that the state is trying to take away benefits and pensions and increasing room sizes though financial cuts. "They are giving us less and asking us to do more with less," he said.

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"Teachers of the FEA wake up every day and think of the best way we can serve our students," he said. "We're getting sick of being the scapegoats for the financial problems of the state. … I know that the teachers of the FEA have the support of this board and the community at large. I hope we stand united against these attacks."

Early enrollment numbers

The school was aiming for 500 students for this year and it got close to that, reported Director of Pupil Services and Community Relations Stephanie Hall on Monday. The school has, in this early stage, enrolled 498 students.

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"It's interesting how they get there," she said of the students enrolling in UHS. "Most of them these days say they hear about UHS through word of mouth. They know a teacher, or know a student or know a graduate. And when they heard it on the radio, it reminded them."

The Ferndale Public School was running promotional radio advertising for UHS to get the word about the school.

Hall also reported that so far this year 719 new students in K-12 have enrolled, which includes 164 new ninth- and tenth-grade UHS students and 188 kindergarten students.

Ferndale district teacher layoffs, recalls and new hires

Ferndale Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Henry Gold reported to the Board of Education on Monday that there were four K-12 teachers, one alternative education teacher, three UAW paraprofessionals (which are teacher or classroom aids, essentially), and three secretaries still laid off.

The district laid off 64 K-12 and alternative education teachers at the end of the last school year but about 90 percent of those teachers, Gold said, have been brought back.

However, due various resignations leaving vacancies, six teachers have been hired to fill those spots. Gold said that because of various certifications, the teachers that continue to be laid off aren't necessarily able to fill these vacancies. "There is always a question of certification, subject and grade levels," Gold said, when weighing layoffs and filling vacancies.

The teachers that have been hired are:

  • Amanda Goodson, , English
  • Linda Grand, , Social Studies
  • Leslie Handyside, University High School, Math
  • Matthew Lalone, , Math
  • Rudolph Montano, , Social Studies
  • Beth Srigley, , English

Ferndale superintendent commends staff for work during power outage

Ferndale Superintendent Gary Meier commended the custodial and maintenance staff for staff members' work dealing with the . The storm came through the area on , knocking down dozens and dozens of trees, bringing down several electrical poles and lines and cutting power to the majority of the city. The cleanup and restoration effort lasted even for the Ferndale Public Schools district from Tuesday, Sept. 6, to Wednesday, Sept. 7.

"I'd like to thank the maintenance and custodial staff (for their work) during the storm," Meier said on Monday. "(They) cleaned up all of our sites on the first day. Dee (Petri, Ferndale Public Schools' Transportation and Maintenance supervisor,) and that crew should be commended on the work they did."

Meier said that there wasn't any significant damage to Ferndale schools except for . A tree was uprooted near the school and damaged part of the building.

Got a school story? Email Ferndale Patch Editor Terry Parris Jr. at terry.parris@patch.com.


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