San Diego Schools' Big Pink Slip Conundrum - voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled: The Education Blog

San Diego Schools' Big Pink Slip Conundrum - voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled: The Education Blog

San Diego Schools' Big Pink Slip Conundrum

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  Photo by Sam Hodgson

  Kelly Granfield (left) coordinates the Academy of Finance at San Diego High School of Business. The program has been lauded, but Granfield's still in danger of losing her job to layoffs.

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From the Reporter

What’s Happening

Kelly Granfield is lauded for working to build up a unique program at the School of Business at San Diego High, but she could still lose her job as San Diego Unified slashes its budget.

Why I Chose This Story

I’ve written a lot about teacher layoffs, but I haven’t zoomed in on a single teacher to tell their story. What’s happening to Granfield is a microcosm of the layoff debate.

The Debate

Everyone agrees this is a problem. But no one agrees on the solution. Should disadvantaged schools be spared from layoffs? Should merit come into play when school districts determine who loses a job?

Posted: Sunday, May 8, 2011 5:30 pm | Updated: 6:59 am, Mon May 9, 2011.

• By Emily Alpert

You can spot the kids in the Academy of Finance at San Diego High School of Business on Tuesdays, crisp in sports coats and suits. They tough out economics classes together and pledge to keep their grades up. They polish their resumes, practice interviews and intern at businesses. They go camping and scope out colleges.

But to Miguel Gonzalez, a once-shy senior who dreams of becoming an economist, being part of the academy, a shared set of classes and opportunities that students have to apply to get into, is more than the suits and the internships. It's even more