Local Teachers Stage Grade-In to Draw Attention to Proposed State Budget Cuts

If you see your teachers hanging out at the mall this weekend, there is a good chance they're not there to shop.

Instead, more than 100 teachers from Birmingham, Ferndale, Berkley, Royal Oak and Troy are expected to work from the food court at Troy's Somerset Collection this Saturday as part of a "," a demonstration of the work teachers do outside the classroom and after hours while also drawing attention to proposed state cuts to public education.

Scott Warrow, president of the Birmingham Education Association, will be one of the teachers representing the Birmingham School District as teachers grade papers and draft lesson plans from 1-3 p.m.

“It’s our intent to demonstrate that teaching is neither a 9-to-3 nor a part-time job, as some in the state Legislature say,” explained Warrow, who has taught English and social studies at for the past 14 years.

“We spend many hours at home in the evenings and on weekends grading papers, responding to emails and creating lesson plans," he said. "We are also required to pursue six graduate credit hours every three years.

“There has been a lot of teacher-bashing lately, and through this event, we hope to show people how much work we do outside of the school day and how much we care about our students,” Warrow said.

This weekend’s grade-in is one of six being staged this month at shopping malls in Oakland and Macomb counties in response to proposed state budget cuts that could result in an approximately $470-per-pupil funding cut.

“The proposed budget will result in cuts in programming,” says Tony Lucchi, president of the Troy Education Association, who taught for 14 years at Athens High School. “These cuts are creeping into classrooms. In Troy, they could mean an end to our PACE program (Program for Accelerated and Creative Education) for the accelerated learner. It might also mean losing our media specialists.”

In addition to grading papers, the teachers will be at the grade-in to interact with passers-by and to discuss what’s happening in Lansing.

“These cuts will impact every school in Oakland and Macomb counties,” said Warrow. “Birmingham class sizes will increase, program choices will be reduced, jobs will be eliminated, and our students’ ability to succeed in a global economy will be curtailed.”

Grade-ins a true grassroots effort

Teachers in Birmingham and other area school districts proposed the idea for a grade-in after viewing a YouTube video created by teachers in New Jersey who staged such an event in response to state legislation targeting schools for cuts.

“We thought they had a good idea,” said Warrow. “I got together with other union presidents in Oakland and Macomb counties, and we sat down to plan out something similar.”

The first grade-in was held in April at Somerset, while others were held May 1 at Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights and Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi. This weekend’s grade-ins at Somerset and Roseville's Macomb Mall will be followed by similar events May 22 at Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills and again at Twelve Oaks.

Policies at each of the malls prohibit signs or soliciting, so participating teachers plan to wear red T-shirts, some emblazoned with the name of their school district. Some will also wear “Ask Me What I’m Doing” buttons to encourage shoppers to learn more about why they’re working from the mall and to talk about the proposed budget cuts.

“The response has been all positive so far,” Warrow said. “We’re going to malls where community members shop, so we’re interacting with parents who know us and want to listen.”

Warrow emphasized that the grade-ins are not a protest.

“The Michigan Education Association and other groups are protesting in Lansing,” he said. “This has been an entirely bottom-up initiative to show the positive side of what we do.”

Lucchi hopes the grade-ins result in the general public seeing how much teachers care about their students. He also hopes they result in greater awareness of the potential danger to public education that Gov. Rick Synder and the Legislature’s proposed budget cuts could cause.

“This is a very big issue,” Lucchi added. “The proposed per-pupil funding cuts are wrong and reprehensible.

“The grade-ins will allow us to draw attention to the issue at a grassroots level. Individuals can make a difference by calling or emailing their legislators. Otherwise, these cuts could destroy a lot of school districts.”