Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Non-Profit Does Not Mean Non-Profitable


Today's Newsless Courier announces that CCSD has signed a contract with The New Teacher Project (TNTP) [ see their website http://www.tntp.org/ ] to recruit "enough good teachers" for school years 2007-08 and 2008-09. Admirable goal, that.

Who cannot sympathize with Stall High School's principal (and students) as they limp through this school year minus three math teachers? Who cannot help but notice that the schools listed to benefit from this recruiting are the "usual suspects."

Noticing the numbers, however, forces the reader to contemplate this: for every teacher short of 90 each year that is not recruited, TNTP will pay back the district $1500; however, each teacher being successfully recruited (assuming 200 over two years) will cost the district $5500.
DO THE MATH: that's $4000 NOT paid back to the district per recruiting shortfall.

Of course, TNTP is a non-profit. What would be profit is paid out in salaries, expenses, and bonuses. Let's not assume that it is not a money-making venture! And exactly what WAS Nancy McGinley's connection to them? The article says "[she] worked with TNTP in Philadelphia." As an administrator? As an employee of TNTP? As a teacher? Not clear, Diette.

According to the article, "half of the money [that's $550,000 by my count] will come from the district, and officials want to collect the other half from the community." [italics mine] So far the district seems to have collected $40,000 of that other half, meaning another half-a-million dollars will either be raised from the community OR be paid by the district, since the contract was signed before even 10 percent was raised from the community.

Good luck. I hope someone, or several someones, has deep pockets!

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