School Report Card Unfair, Township Education Association President Says

Angel McDermott thinks Gloucester Township is penalized for disadvantaged students.

Township Teacher Contract Still Not Settled

UPDATED at 2:59 p.m. Friday. Both sides have met with a state fact finder.

A sea of red shirts are now a familiar staple at Gloucester Township school board meetings. District teachers turn out in force wearing red to remind the board and the public they've been working under the terms of an agreement that expired almost a year ago. Angel McDermott, president of the Gloucester Township Education Association, the teachers union, said both sides have met with a fact finder in recent weeks, but the impasse is not settled. "We're now in a holding pattern waiting for a written report from the fact finder," McDermott said. "It is a waiting game, we're hanging in there doing what we need to do to underscore the importance we play in this district so the board is aware of all we do, not just during contractual hours." …

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midschteach

10:47 pm on Monday, May 6, 2013

Quite frankly, there are a multitude of reasons for a lack of student performance. Amazing isn't it, how everyone blames us, the teachers for everything? Sounds incredibly close to needing a scapegoat. Have you every considered the time that we give up with our families in order to help educate and raise yours? Or how much you DON'T see of your child in a classroom? I remember when I was a child…   more ›

Township School Report Card Unfair, Education Association President Says

Angel McDermott thinks Gloucester Township is penalized for disadvantaged students.

The news that seven of 11 township schools received a failing grade in state education evaluations this month was not taken lightly by district administrators. Interim Superintendent John Bilodeau said the district will implement the Star  program in all three Gloucester Township middle schools in an effort to improve performance. The program evaluates each student individually and measures progress that way. He said the cost of the program had prevented the district from implementing it in all three schools previously but he fought for it now to address achievement shortcomings. But the president of the township education association, the teachers union, thinks the township isn't getting a fair deal from the state in student assessments…

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Deadlocked: Gloucester Twp. Teacher Negotiations Still at Impasse

Fact-finding is coming up in two months, but could an informal meeting before then bridge the contract settlement gap? Only if the school board and teachers union can actually agree to meet.

It’s become something of a routine by now. At every recent Gloucester Township school board meeting, a contingent of red-shirted teachers shows up. Usually someone talks about the stalled teacher contract negotiations, sometimes not. But in truth, the board of education and the Gloucester Township Education Association (GTEA) teachers union are treading on unfamiliar ground. The two sides agree on very little, except this: No one can remember the last time negotiations took this long or progressed to this point. “We have never been to this stage,” GTEA President Angel McDermott said at the Jan. 28 board meeting. “In my 16 years as president (and) my six years as negotiations chair before that, we have never reached this stage. This is new …

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Teachers Protest Lack of Contract Outside Board Meeting

Gloucester Township Public Schools teachers have been without a contract since July 1.

Roughly 100 Gloucester Township Public Schools (GTPS) teachers picketed outside of the district's Erial Road administration building Monday night prior to the GTPS Board of Education's reorganization meeting. The teachers have been working without a new contract since their last deal with the district expired June 30, 2012. "The members wanted to make sure the board knows we want a contract," Gloucester Township Education Association President Angel McDermott said. Many of the teachers who showed up to protest the lack of a contract were carrying signs that read, "Settle a fair contract." The teachers' union wants to resume contract talks with the board and could have a presence at the board's next meeting later this month, McDermott said…

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GTEA Raises $2K for Sandy-Ravaged Schools

The Gloucester Township Education Association fundraiser aims to help schools rebuild from Superstorm Sandy.

Gloucester Township Education Association President Angel McDermott issued the following press release regarding GTEA's Superstorm Sandy fundraiser at the Deptford Barnes & Noble on Saturday, Dec. 8: During this season of giving and thanksgiving, the members of the Gloucester Township Education Association (GTEA) and the Gloucester Township Support Professionals Association (GTSPA) are giving back to those in need. When Hurricane Sandy hit, GTEA members wanted to know what they could do to help. During their November Council meeting, President Angel McDermott was talking about Hurricane Sandy Relief efforts when GTEA representative Charles “Chip” Pildis came up with the idea of a bookfair at Barnes & Noble to help schools replenish books …

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Viewfinder: GT Teacher at Workers Rally in Trenton

The president of the Gloucester Township Education Association is in Trenton today to protest the proposed pension and health benefits reform bill.

Angel McDermott, president of Gloucester Township Education Association, is among the thousands in Trenton today to protest the pension and health benefits reform bill being considered by the Assembly. The Senate approved the reform package, supported by both Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney, on Monday. Here are a few crowd shots McDermott sent GT Patch from outside of the State House.

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