Obama Cites Employed Boston Teacher In Jobs Bill News Conference
BOSTON (CBS) - President Obama used the story of a Boston teacher to push his jobs bill Thursday, even though the teacher has a job.
At the beginning of his White House news conference, President Obama told a story of how he recently met Robert Baroz of Wellesley, an English teacher in the city.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports.
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WBZ-TV's Jack Williams reports
"I had a chance to meet a young man named Robert Baroz. He's an English teacher in Boston who came to the White House a few weeks ago. He's got two decades of teaching experience. He's got a Master's Degree. He's got an outstanding track record of helping his students make huge gains in reading and writing," the president said.
"In the last few years, he's received three pink slips because of budget cuts. Why wouldn't we want to pass a bill that puts somebody like Robert back in the classroom teaching our kids?"
But, Baroz is working in the Boston Public Schools this year as a middle school English teacher.
"I've managed to land on my feet, but it's sometimes at the last minute," said Baroz, who is endorsing the President's jobs bill.
He told aides to President Obama that others have not been so lucky in finding a job. He did not meet directly with the President.
"Everybody knows somebody who is a teacher who is not working, or has been impacted. They might be taking on more responsibilities. Their classes might have become larger," said Baroz. "It becomes more demanding for them to meet the needs of the diversity of the children."
He's employed through a U.S. Department of Education teaching fellowship.
On the D.O.E.'s web site, he writes that he's also employed part-time as an English instructor at Mass Bay Community College.
In recent years he's been a provisional teacher in the Boston Public Schools serving as a literacy coach and an instructional coach. However, he was automatically let go at the end of each term.
Baroz says that, over 22 years, he has taught in every grade level from fifth through 12th, in settings from urban to suburban to rural.
