Last hired, first fired

Both Chris and Elaine Zapata are relatively new teachers in the Hayward School District. Just after having their third baby and buying a house, they both received reduction-in-force notices.

The news is "stomach-turning," says Chris Zapata, a Hayward Teachers Association member who's in his third year of teaching physical education at Tennyson High School and is also working on his teaching credential and his master's degree. He's been told there's a good chance he'll be rehired despite the fact that the district is facing a state takeover. Last year, he got a pink slip and was rehired.

Elaine Zapata, who's in her third year as a librarian at Glassbrook Elementary School, says her school is looking at eliminating library programs during teacher prep time, as well as music and physical education programs.

Despite the devastating news, they are trying to remain optimistic. In an effort to cut expenses, they have canceled their cell phones, home repairs and a Disneyland vacation, and have put the purchase of a computer on hold.

"It's sad to see new people being laid off, because we have fresh ideas," says Elaine Zapata. "It's important to have teachers who are seasoned. But having new people with new ideas and new energy is also a good thing."

Layoffs affect longtime educators when programs are cut (nurses, counselors, librarians, and art and music teachers, for example) as well as longtime teachers who have transferred to a new district and have little seniority. However, it's those who are new to the teaching profession - like the Zapatas - who get the majority of RIF notices because they are low in seniority and, in many cases, still working on a teaching credential or trying to comply with federal requirements.

This year, 4,908 California teachers were given layoff notices, which is far below last year's figure of more than 20,000. Despite the lower numbers, districts will likely rehire a smaller percentage. Last year districts overreacted, laying off more teachers than necessary due to uncertainty about the budget and then rehiring nearly 90 percent. (No figures are available on how many temporary and probationary teachers were let go.)

This year, it is a different story, since districts have had a somewhat more accurate budget projection.

"We hope that 50 percent of pink slips will be withdrawn," says Beverly Tucker, Associate Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel for CTA. "But that will still leave many people without jobs. It also depends on what happens with the state budget. But, overall, districts are being much more realistic this year."

When Christy Koenig began teaching, she was told there was a teaching shortage. Like many new teachers, she was surprised to receive a pink slip.

"It was tough," says Koenig, a first-year teacher at Dickson Elementary School in Chino. "This is the profession I want to be in and the school I want to be in."

A member of Associated Chino Teachers (ACT), she is one of 243 to get RIF notices in Chino, which had the fifth highest number of RIFs in the state. "It's discouraging, but I'm hoping it will work out. I'm holding my breath. Even though I don't know what's going to happen next year, I still put my heart into this job. I'm still here until 5 or 6 o'clock each night. I am still passionate about this job."

If she is forced to look for a teaching job elsewhere, it will be especially stressful since she is also studying for CSET. She received a clear credential in a waiver program, but recently learned that she will have to take CSET to be considered "highly qualified" under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as No Child Left Behind).

Claudette Dugbartey-Smith, a math teacher at Chino High School, just passed CSET. Even though she has been teaching for five years and has a master's degree in education, she is lower in seniority than other fifth-year teachers because she just cleared her credential, and her previous years of experience do not count.

To protect herself in the event she's not hired back, she's planning to go back to school to get a certificate in actuarial science, which will allow her to assess risk for insurance and financial planning companies. She is also sending her resume off to headhunters. Still, she's sad about her present state of uncertainty.

Her school is in the midst of restructuring and just received a three-year grant to divide students into smaller learning communities. "I happen to be on the leadership committee for that. It's tough to be working on changes for the future and knowing that I might not be here to see it happen."

While she worries about her future, she is also worried about her students. "I will get another job," she says. "But some students have every one of their teachers on the RIF list. Has anyone thought about what that's like for students? In high school you build relationships with teachers. Teachers are supposed to be there after students graduate to offer recommendations, advice and moral support. And these students might have these people wiped out of their lives forever. That's terrible."

In the San Mateo Foster City School District, the counseling program is being eliminated. Most counselors who have teaching credentials will be reassigned to the classroom. However, Bowditch Middle School counselor Nancy Smith, who has been with the district for five years, might be out of a job by May.

Students come to her when they are being bullied, sexually harassed, targeted for racial slurs or contemplating suicide. When students lose interest in school or fail to turn in homework, she takes them aside and tries to find out what's wrong. She works with students on anger management issues if they can't get along with teachers and classmates.

Sometimes students just need someone to talk to because they don't fit in. "In the best of times, middle school can be very challenging for lots of kids because of the pecking order. Most kids are not at the top of the pecking order and it can be painful."

She worries about what will happen to students when she and other counselors are gone. "I think it will be a less safe environment for them. They can go to teachers for support, but teachers already have an overwhelming job with academics. I hope students don't lose their safety net."

The district eliminated eight middle school counseling positions to save approximately half a million dollars, says Smith. "It seems short-sighted to me that they would do that in terms of dollars and cents. Gay students who have been harassed - and other students - have taken school districts to court and won numerous times when no one has been there to advocate for them. The next time there is a lawsuit, God forbid, and the district loses, it could cost much more than $500,000."

Harry Pabley, a first-year special education teacher at Hayward High School, also received a RIF notice. "To lay off special ed teachers when schools don't have enough to begin with doesn't make sense," he says. To save money, he predicts, his district will hire long-term substitute teachers, who may not have specialized training.

Pabley, who is working on his teaching credential, has received excellent evaluations. "I would say that I have classroom management down pretty good. I'm strict but I have mutual respect with the kids. Maybe it helps that I'm young. Because I'm 26, I'm pretty much in the same generation they are. I listen to their music, wear the clothes they wear and have good bonding with them. They think I'm a cool teacher - until I give them homework."

He is trying not to panic. "My principal said to sit tight. My union people said to sit tight. I would love to come back here. But the future holds what it holds.

"I do know one thing: No matter what, I want to remain a teacher."