Private School for Special Education Faces Teacher Job Actions

A school that accepts special education students from Delaware, Chester, Philadelphia and surrounding counties is facing possible job actions by its teachers.

Teachers at the Elwyn Media campus yesterday authorized their bargaining team to call for "job actions" if there is no progress in negotiating a new contract. Their old contract expired June 30, and negotiating sessions since then have been fruitless.

The private school teachers are represented by the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), which represents a majority of the state's public school teachers as well, including all districts in Delaware and Chester counties.

PSEA representative Jerry Callahan said the teachers at Elwyn do "outstanding work" with students of all ages, but that the school has ongoing difficulty hiring and retaining staff because the low salaries and wages Elwyn pays are far below what public schools in the area pay.

As a result, Callahan said, almost one in five teachers at Elwyn is not fully certified to teach special education. He said public school districts in Delaware and Chester counties pay tens of thousands of dollars in tuition for special education students who attend Elwyn. Callahan said the sending districts may not be aware that many of Elwyn's teachers are not fully certified, a situation that could lead to legal difficulties not only for Elwyn, but the sending public school districts. Parents of special education students who find their children are not being taught by certified teachers may seek legal remedies as a result.

Callahan said the resolution adopted at Tuesday's teacher meeting did not specify what job actions were to be taken, but that all possible job actions were discussed.