By all accounts Mary Mouring was a fantastic teacher. Her students' test scores markedly improved over the year. She even won an Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in southern California. But Mary was one of the first teachers laid off by her district -- just because she was a relatively new hire. Mary was the victim of the "Last In, First Out" policy for lay offs, which relies on seniority to decide who gets pink slips. It didn't matter that Mary's students improved or that she was recognized as a fantastic teacher by the University of Southern California and the Education Consortium of Central Los Angeles. Mary's story isn't fair to her, or her students. Most states in the U.S. use this same policy. Now, with budget cuts threatening up to 160,000 teacher jobs, more students risk losing great teachers like Mary. Join the fight to ensure great teachers get to stay in the classroom where they belong »
