At the Skinnies

The highlight of the educational season, of course, is the Class Size Matters Skinny Awards. Leonie Haimson organizes them and finds a whole lot of cool stuff happening in education. In fact, I won one year. People are always coming up to me and saying, "Hey, aren't you that guy who won the Skinny award?" I get all "Aw shucks," before coming around and saying, "Yeah, that's me."

The restaurant was okay, and we got a coupon for a free drink. However, they didn't have tap beer so Norm Scott and I ran down the block and found some. Norm picked up the tab, and I'm thankful, but three years ago we drank fourteen-dollar beers at the NY Hilton and I paid. I'm still waiting for someone to buy me a fourteen-dollar beer. But you can hardly find them anywhere. 

This year there were multiple people and things that bore celebrating. First, of course, were the lawyers who gave their time to Class Size Matters. There were up and down stories, but I was very happy to hear of a victory against one of my least favorite humans, Andrew Cuomo. Though Cuomo claims to be a "student lobbyist," he lobbies for less money for schools that most need it. Wendy Lecker and David Sciarra put an end to that plan.

Another victory was rendering School Leadership Team meetings public, and that was led by Arthur Schwartz and Laura Barbieri. When this first happened, I wondered why it was so important. At my school, SLT meetings are not particularly eventful, and I always kind of thought if anyone wanted to watch, well, go ahead. In fact sometimes people did ask and that's exactly what we told them. But things are different elsewhere, and I'll get back to that.

It was amazing and inspiring to see two student journalists from Townsend Harris. Brian Sweeney, their faculty advisor, had nothing but praise for Mehrose Ahmad and Sumaita Hasan, and it was great to see students honored in a forum that usually recognizes adults.

These particular students worked to expose their then-principal, Rosemarie Jahoda, and I don't suppose she'll be sending them a Christmas card. There is, nonetheless, a never-ending supply of shortsighted Leadership Academy principals with little teaching experience and even less regard for either students or faculty. It's really hard for me to understand why the DOE looks at an administrator who's presided over other disasters and says, "Hey, let's give that person a promotion."

A great moment for me was when the CPE 1 parents were honored. Their determination and dedication is an example for us all. I've watched them for months as they showed up everywhere and anywhere to tell their story to everyone and anyone. They broke into song as they were honored. They represent what can be if we are fearless and determined. They are a model, and given Orange Man's plan to make the USA Right to Work, we're gonna need a good model. They attended not only their SLT meetings, but also the 3020a hearings of the chapter leader, like the UFT delegate, facing charges for no reason whatsoever, according to the arbitrators.

Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa was there. Diane Ravitch was there. Representing the UFT as far as I could see, other than Norm and yours truly, were Katie Lapham, Jonathan Halabi, Gary Rubinstein, and Aixa Rodriguez. UFT leadership sent exactly no one to celebrate these achievements. At the Executive Board and the Delegate Assembly they spoke of what a good job they did at Harris and CPE 1, but it appears beyond the pale for them to either celebrate with or give any sliver of credit to spontaneous and independent education activism. 

I don't doubt that leadership helped with both of these situations, but these things don't happen in isolation. The key factor in both these situations was the actors themselves, to wit, the people being honored at the Skinnies. Leadership's role was one of support. To praise itself while ignoring the incredible bravery of the kids at Harris, or the community at CPE 1, is folly, to say the very least.

Therefore, UFT leadership's absence on Tuesday night was beyond disappointing. Come Right to Work America we're gonna need all the help we can get. Activism will no longer be optional, and we will need to not only celebrate it, but also replicate it wherever possible. If we're too timid and cautious to ally ourselves with those who support progressive education, we're gonna find ourselves out on a limb and all alone. It's sorely disappointing that not one UFT official could show, or even assign someone else to show.

I sincerely hope that leadership can be just a little more forward thinking, beginning right now, and I hope to see someone next year representing the union at large. I'm sure there will be similar events before next year, and in case they want ideas, they know where to find me. As for the Skinnies, if they can't scrape up the money to buy a couple of tickets next year, it's on me. Just let me know.

Little things can mean a lot.

The School Paper and Tough Teachers

The New York Post ran a piece Sunday on a school paper that the principal deemed unfit to print. The article includes the actual paper, which I found well-written, especially for a high school paper. I did not detect any anti-school bias beyond mentioning qualities students found undesirable in teachers. It didn't mention any teachers by name or deride anyone in particular.

I did notice, though, that most students surveyed seemed to prefer a "tough" teacher.  That's a difficult term to define. I demand that my students stay awake, do assigned work, show effort, and pass tests if they want to pass the class. Does that make me a tough teacher? I don't know. The Flushing students say that students themselves are the best judges of who is and is not a good teacher. I'm not 100% sold on that either, but there's some truth to it.

Of course, there is the strong possibility that this administration did not favor "tough" teachers. Maybe there is the preference that everyone pass everything no matter what. I can certainly understand that temptation, given the rich history of closing schools in New York City. And if you choose to be a "tough" teacher in that atmosphere, you do so very much at your own risk. 

As chapter leader, I've seen more than one "tough" teacher in trouble. Tough though you may be, given Chancellor's Regulation A-421, you can't really talk tough to kids. Of course much of this is open to interpretation, but if you say, "Good morning," in such a tone that a student takes offense, if the student complains you'll be sitting in front of the principal explaining why you said it this way instead of some other way. I have not been called in on that particular complaint, yet, but I could certainly imagine it happening.

Verbal abuse is very much in the ear of the beholder, so if you're prone to sarcasm, like me, you have to be very careful of what you say, and to whom you say it. I will only speak sharply to students who I know will give it right back to me, and I probably shouldn't even do that. To me, there's a lot of joy in watching newcomers argue with me. But I'd never think of making a sharp remark to a kid who wouldn't give it back.

When I have an issue, I usually take the kid out into the hall. Even that, though, is not 100% effective. A few months ago, I took a kid into the hall and told him point blank to stop sleeping in my class. I pointed at him, and he asked, "What's that?"

"It's my finger," I informed him.

The kid then went on a rant about how upset he was about my finger. The problem was not his sleeping in class, but rather my finger, which I was misusing. What if he'd gone to the principal and said I pointed at him while telling him to stop sleeping in class? Would there be an OEO report? Would I be up on charges? Would there be a piece in the paper stating that I'd pointed at a kid while telling him not to sleep in class?

You never know. Stranger things have happened. So how can you be a tough teacher when A-421 hangs over your head like the Sword of Damocles? How do you know whether saying hello to students might make them feel belittled or ridiculed? Of course, you hope that administrators will see through such nonsense and nip it in the bud. But then you see cases like Monica Garg at CPE 1 putting people up on charges simply because she evidently found them inconvenient, and you wonder.

City agencies seem to regard principals as prophets, perpetually walking down Mt. Sinai holding the Ten Commandments. Any goshdarn accusation they make, no matter how trivial or preposterous, is the living gospel in their eyes.  Fortunately, after a loud and sustained public outcry, Garg was stopped in her tracks at CPE 1.

But how many teachers are sitting around in rubber rooms for equally frivolous reasons? How many are there for being "tough" when the principal's directive was pass everyone no matter what?

CPE 1 Victory Is Model for Us All--Garg Out, Marilyn and Catlin Back

 Update--All charges have been dropped against CPE 1 UFT Delegate Cailin Preston.

The NY Times, though its coverage is kind of terrible, features the remarkable victory of CPE 1. From this article, you'd have no idea that Principal Garg placed the UFT chapter leader on charges for no reason, according to an arbitrator's ruling. You'd have no idea their delegate is still sitting around cooling his heels in some rubber room somewhere.

What readers of this blog will certainly notice is the difference between how teachers and principals are treated in this system. Garg will retain her salary and title of principal, but will have no school to run. She won't face charges. No 3020a for her. She won't have to worry about making some deal with the DOE to retain her job, she won''t face suspension, and she won't face a fine. There is clearly a double standard at the DOE.

The larger story, though, the one the Times does not seem to grasp, is the incredible activism of the CPE 1 community. They stood strong against an abusive and power-hungry principal. They never wavered, despite ridiculous pressure placed on their teachers and even their parents. Not content to simply remove teachers for no good reason, Garg banned several of the parent activists from the school, making it difficult or impossible to meet their children, some of whom had special needs, at their school. I can understand doing this in extreme cases, but this appears to be nothing but abuse of power.

The aftermath here is tough to say. Will UFT Unity take complete credit for this? Probably. That's what they did for Townsend Harris. The fact is we from MORE/ New Action spent hours meeting with the CPE 1 community and tried to address their concerns. We were part of it. Unity was part of it too, but they were also the part that applauded someone who trash-talked the activist parents and teachers at last week's Executive Board.

The fact is that primary credit should go to the CPE 1 community. I spent a lot of time listening to one of the parents in particular, and I rarely see the sort of passion and dedication that came from both them and the activist teachers combined with the relentlessness it took to sustain this. The parents and  teachers who undertook this are fantastic role modles. Many of us are understandably disheartened and disillusioned, and unwilling to take a stand. Perhaps it's natural that many of us need a crisis like this to bring us to our feet. I saw much the same from Jamaica High School a few years ago, though Bloomberg's abuse of power ensured they did not win that fight.

Nonetheless, there is a fight and we are under assault on multiple fronts. Hopefully, your principal is not an insane vindictive lunatic. Maybe your principal is supportive and understanding. But even if that is the case, we are under attack from the lunatics in the Trump administration, who not only want to cut all the federal money that goes toward reducing class size, but also want to privatize public education. Just because that doesn't work in prisons, with health care, or even in education is no reason for them to halt the profits of their BFFs.

And while Governor Andrew Cuomo has been doing his very best impression of Bernie Sanders lately, the fact is he's imposed a vindictive and idiotic rating system on all of us. Who cares if the American Statistical Association says teachers affect test scores by a factor of 1-14%? Cuomo wants to fire more teachers and be a tough guy. And let's not forget Tier 6 or the tax cap. UFT leadership may be warming to him, but he has no moral compass and will say or do absolutely anything to become President. His ambition is the only thing that matters.

And the city, alas, is no bargain either. While it's come around on Garg, and while it can be pressured, the fact is it needs to be pressured. Common sense didn't work. Looking at the situation objectively didn't work. Relentless pressure and news coverage seems to be what finally took the Arg out of Garg.

And that, my friends, is exactly what we need to practice more of. I'm ready.

Are you?

Executive Board Takeaway

Last night was unusual in many ways. Not so unusual, in what's becoming a trend, we had speakers from various schools. The first was the High School of Applied Communication, which appears to have yet another Principal from Hell. Now the thing about Principals from Hell is they are not always universally despised. Sometimes they garner favor via the issue of perks. I suppose, to some extent, this is human nature. But when staff is under vicious attack for no good reason it's particularly egregious.

For example, a new teacher from CPE 1 stood up and defended Principal Monica Garg, who likely hired him. I've known principals I've liked when my chapter leader did not. When I was at John Adams my first principal was named Lou Acerra. He made himself accessible to me, unlike most principals when I was not chapter leader. I would go in, speak to him, and he would either help me or throw me out of his office. I kind of liked knowing where I stood. Now he was very much disliked by my chapter leader. I don't know why that was.

I do know, however, that my then-principal had not reassigned my chapter leader and delegate and made them face 3020a charges. I also know our principal had not banned parents from visiting the school. Whether or not he had done this, I would never have considered going to a union hall to denounce the activities of my chapter leader or activist parents. For my money, there is far too much apathy and far too few people standing up for their own people, and make no mistake I mean union right now. That's why Donald Trump is President of the United States.

It was remarkable to see this teacher complain that veteran teachers did not participate in PD, as though that were remotely the issue at CPE 1. Given the fact that Garg seems to reassign every teacher who speaks up, I can hardly blame them. It was even more remarkable to hear him say he and whatever teachers he may have been speaking for were willing to meet with the veteran teachers, but not off-campus. I'm not sure how teachers specifically banned from the campus were supposed to meet in the school. 

We saw a success story in Townsend Harris. This is a story in which the UFT joined parent and student activists and precluded a very special school from getting a principal much like Garg. This may have been easier because Jahoda had not yet been appointed. But this is a model to be replicated. Disappointingly, I saw a bunch of Unity Exec. Board members applaud the teacher who defended the anti-union Garg. I have to wonder whether they're instructed to applaud everyone except us.

And that's the thing--we are not enemies of the United Federation of Teachers. We believe in union as strongly as anyone in the room, and likely more so. We believe in standing up. If we didn't, we wouldn't show up twice a month to a forum in which we are vastly outnumbered. Someone needs to give voice to rank and file, and someone needs to say things whether or not leadership wishes to hear them. I don't know how many teachers will withhold dues when the chance comes, but I'd say 20% is low. In order to keep that number as low as possible, leadership needs to demonstrate it will act. Refusing to support resolutions for class sizes and against abusive principals is simply not the way to go. Whether they know it or not, it's good that we're there, even for them.

A case in point is the class size situation at my school. If I were not on the Executive Board I would not have been able to advocate for my members. In fact, if I were Unity I would not have been able to advocate for them either, as I'd have been required to support the rather miserable resolution to which we were subject to last Fall. Because I didn't sign the loyalty oath, I can get up and say how poorly the class size regulations have been working out. While it's great that we've won arbitrations that make them a little better, the fact is they are 50 years old. That's a long time to wait for improvement with no renegotiation. And as I told the body, even if we win, even if they have the compliance call tomorrow, we will have fewer than five weeks of relief for the entire year.

That's a pretty hollow victory, if you ask me. They say the DOE will be aware of us next year. Maybe next year we won't have oversized classes. My members can't hang their hats on a maybe. The indisputable fact is that the class size regs have not worked for my school or the three other large high schools covered by the arbitrator's ruling. How many other schools has it not worked for? Your guess is good as mine but given the regs and how they work I'd conjecture it's a whole lot more than zero.

And then there's the resolution we were sent by email. The resolution basically says that we will oppose Janus, and just like almost every other that's come up, I supported it. But there was no emergency, as in a last-minute endorsement. It's blatantly unfair that Unity can bring up resolutions via email. What if, for example, one of us wanted to get up and table it, or speak against it, or amend the guts out of it, as Unity has done to every resolution we've brought without exception?

Clearly there are two sets of rules in the UFT Executive Board--one for Unity and another for everyone else. While we may be far from the majority, we certainly represent the high schools. I'd argue we also represent a whole lot of the disaffected 75% of members who didn't bother to vote in the UFT election. I vote every chance I get, but in a system like this I certainly understand the cynicism that causes members to toss ballots in the trash.

What I don't understand is why leadership at least ostensibly concerned with Janus has utterly failed to show these people why they're wrong.

Playing the Stereotype Game with Teachers

Another day, another story about how terrible it is that teachers get due process. Evidently two teachers are in jail and still drawing salary. How exactly that works I don't know. I'm pretty doubtful they let you leave the jail to go and teach. Maybe they're using their sick days. Who knows? A telltale clue to the validity of the story is the fact that it bemoans the drop in teachers up for termination. Evidently, last year there were 392 candidates while this year there were only 381.

The need to make an issue out of a drop so plainly insignificant suggests to me borderline desperation for something to talk about. This, coupled with the prominent use of Mona David, who started some sort of parent group whose membership is a mystery, who went on an anti-tenure crusade after being dumped from UFT payroll, and also a Students First shill for anti-teacher quotes, suggests to me there's not a whole lot of "there" there.

We're talking about a total of two cases. Many readers of this piece will draw conclusions about all of us because two jailed teachers are temporarily on payroll. That smacks of stereotype, to say the least. To suggest that tens of thousands of teachers have too many due process rights because of this is faulty logic, to put it generously. And make no mistake, there is another side to this story that did not make the article.

I've seen administrative abuse all over the city. I know teachers on the verge of stress-induced breakdowns. In my own building, which is very good relative to others, I've seen some of the most positive people I've ever met walk out rather than continue dealing with the nonsense that passes for an evaluation system. I've seen members have dangerously high blood pressure,  minor cardiac episodes, and even outright heart attacks in the corridors as a result of administrative abuses.

Elsewhere it's worse. Principals run rampant and utterly ignore the contract. There are schools full of newbies, none of whom have the due process rights that would protect them from being fired for no reason. Lately I've been writing a lot about the incredible staff and community at CPE 1. Over there, if you criticize the principal you're up on charges. The chapter leader is up on charges. The delegate is up on charges. Others are up on charges.

Now it's possible they ran around and committed heinous crimes, but we don't even know what most of them are accused of. Given what we do know, though, it's much more likely they're being intimidated and punished for speaking out against an abusive and power-hungry administrator. And hey, not every administrator is as bad as this one. But there's something that happens when you give a little person a little power, and just about every teacher in the city knows what that is.

It could be just a little thing. For example, I was pretty good friends with a former APO. But when she got the administrative job, she changed. She was no longer friendly. I had to make appointments to see her. She was not abusive or cruel. She was just a little aloof. When I had real issues, she gave me real assistance. So she wasn't bad or anything. She was just changed, and in my view, not for the better.

But other things happen too. You may have read the continuing saga of Boy Wonder on this blog. Boy Wonder is every abusive administrator in the city. He's every young and incompetent person climbing to the top on the backs of the people he's hired to support. And make no mistake, he is everywhere, somewhere in just about every school in the city. And despite that, he isn't yet quite as outrageous as the principal of CPE 1, empowered by Carmen Fariña and the DOE to not only make teacher lives a misery, but also ruin one of the most visionary schools I've ever bumped my head upon.

There will always be a handful of outrageous stories about teachers. I know some that the reporters will never hear. But judging all of us by the actions of a few is blatantly stereotypical. People like Mona and the Students First hack might be happy to enact regulations based on stereotypes, but American history is full of such nonsense, and it benefits no one. In fact, I'm sure there are guilty people who've been exonerated in court. Personally I'd rather see that than innocent people convicted. Yet there are plenty of innocent people convicted. How often do we read of people on death row exonerated because of DNA evidence? How often have people been executed for lack of it?

While stories like this one are sensational, while even I can't help but read them, the implications are disturbing to say they least. I doubt any arbitrator will rule in favor of teachers jailed for abuse of children, but who knows? If they do, and they're wrong, I'd determine it's the fault of the arbitrator, not the law.

I'd like to see some paper write a story about some murderer who got off, and then determine that we ought to do away with trials so as to preclude this in the future. Because when I read stories like this one, that's pretty much what I see. I'm completely persuaded that, given unfettered power, Monika Garg would have fired the UFT chapter leader and delegate, among others. In doing that, she'd have destroyed an extraordinary school. I have no doubt that many other administrators would fire many other teachers for no good reason if given half a chance.

It's important we not give them that half a chance.

Update--Two jailed teachers are now off payroll, but new story complains that a teacher charged with assaulting a student is still on payroll.  Holy guilty until proven innocent, Batman!

UFT Executive Board Takeaway

It was remarkable to once again see CPE 1 out in force trying to save their school. Can you imagine what the school system would look like if we were all 50% as activist as they are? People told stories of outrageous abuse and irresponsibility. This is not simply a neighborhood school, but rather one in which the community has a tremendous stake. It's nothing short of disgraceful that Tweed holds that concept in such low esteem and demands they just sit down and shut up while they steamroll the entire concept of a community-driven democratic school.

Activism is not expected of the NYC school community, or even the UFT. It seems like a hot potato that no one knows exactly how to handle. At the request of CPE 1 teachers, we asked to take the resolution full of real problems and real solutions off the table. That request was unanimously denied by the loyalty oath signers, who outnumber us 95-7. It's hard for me to understand why we can't simply say an abusive principal is abusive, explain why, and then demand she be replaced with someone who isn't abusive. It just happened in Townsend Harris, so it's not impossible. Of course, that was also a result of student activism. It's not really reasonable to expect such activism from six and seven year olds.

So now we see there will be a lawsuit and a restraining order. That's positive, but we also know the problem has been quite clear for over a year. This means that until a very public stink was made, there was no lawsuit, no restraining order, and not even a MORE/ New Action sponsored resolution to vote down. The given justification for voting it down, that the UFT cannot negotiate once it takes a position, continues to puzzle me.

We are also looking at the shredded remnants of JHS 145, steamrolled so that Eva Moskowitz could take it over. UFT says it will help excessed and displaced teachers by assisting with resumes and applications. This is helpful, but more helpful still would be saving the school, or even the pre-2005 system in which they would be placed. I'm working at a viable school only because I took advantage of the UFT transfer plan. UFT leaders can tell me from now until doomsday that the current plan is better because there is a larger number of transfers, but had I stayed in John Adams High School I'd almost certainly be an ATR even as we speak. It's positive that newer teachers can transfer more easily, but leaving teachers with years of experience entrenched in the ATR is no victory.

Howard Schoor, who as secretary runs the meetings, prides himself on answering our questions, and once told us that the panel answered all of our questions. This they do, but simply giving an answer is not necessarily tantamount to giving a satisfactory or reasonable response. Here's a case in point:

Arthur Goldstein—MORE—Much to my surprise and delight, Francis Lewis, Hillcrest, Flushing and Forest Hills High Schools all got reasonable rulings about class sizes this semester. The arbitrator ordered, on March 28th, that all schools come into compliance or create classes so as to enable compliance. However, actual compliance is another issue. I know in my school, absolutely nothing has been done pending something called a compliance call, which was supposed to happen last week but did not. A full month has now gone by. I worry the DOE can wait us out five weeks and the ruling will be meaningless. In other buildings, there is simply no space to place new classes. This is problematic, to say the least.

At my school, thanks to the welcome intervention of Elly Engler, we should have some substantial relief in three or four years. In the others, who knows? Mayor de Blasio just asked what would happen if all teachers were to openly criticize every educational policy they disagreed with. I think our schools would be much the better for it, and I think that’s a large part of our job. Our numbers plummeted under Bloomberg, and we’ve just endorsed the sitting mayor. Considering complex issues like class size compliance and DOE gaming of the rules, and that we’re now expanding PreK for 3-year-olds without even counting the cost of new seats—how can we work with him him to not only hire an adequate number of teachers but also provide adequate space for our students, both current and future?

Schoor—Will work with them just like in preK program. 

Not being a mind-reader, I can't say whether or not Howard understood my question. However, I can say with 100% certainty that I didn't understand his answer. Who are they going to work with? What exactly did they do with the pre-K program? How will that help them find seats when there is no budget to do so? If there are no new seats, which old ones will be taken away?

While I did indeed mention pre-K as part of an expanding class size issue, I fail to see what that has to do with the main thrust of my question, which regards high schools. My school and others have finally gotten a strong and unequivocal class size ruling. Four weeks have gone by, five more remain, and none have come into compliance. In fact, it may be physically impossible for some to do so. If that's the case, isn't there another problem altogether? How will working "work with them just like in preK program" begin to resolve it?

In my school I believe there are ways to come into compliance. Yet nothing has been done, and nothing will be done pending something called a "compliance call." When is that going to happen, and what's to keep the DOE from delaying it until the year is finished? And if they can do that, what on earth is the point of class size regulations at all?

I've sat in the principal's office more times than I can count with UFT members accused of violating one rule or another. Sometimes they get letters in file. Sometimes they get counseling memos. Sometimes they are fired. I may or may not agree with these consequences, but they are consequences nonetheless.

UFT leadership is free to reject resolutions we introduce on class size. They're free to pay tribute to those who placed limits in the contract 50 years ago, when virtually none of us were teachers. I certainly share their respect for those who introduced them. Yet, if DOE is able to weasel their way out of them because they haven't provided enough space for students, or worse, by simply delaying meetings, what's the point of these regulations?

I'm glad we're there, and UFT should be glad too. We're facing a right to work nation, and we now have a chance to show members our relevance. Leadership can jump on that train any minute. We're ready and willing to work together.

I can only imagine what went on in the Executive Board before we arrived. My best guess is nothing.

UFT Executive Board April 24th, 2017 CPE 1 in the House

 Secretary Howard Schoor starts meeting.

Guest speakers--

Chris Mott—NYC teacher 17 years, parent of CPE 1 students, CPE formerly a jewel in crisis. Garg has harassed master teachers. Turned school that celebrated parents to one that made them enemies. Daughter afraid to go. Principal lies, hurts students, avoids responsibility. Has seen many admin styles, no adult has poisoned environment like she has. Few parents support her. Making things worse every day. Had previous problems but will not be fixed with this principal.

Supe committed to support Garg. Needs UFT to stand today and get new leader. Will you stand with us?

Yvonne Smith—Feels like she speaks at great risk, because there will be retaliation and has been against others. Taught at CPE more than 30 years. 32 year UFT member. We are under attack. Came there after ten years of day care to enter community of teachers who regularly came together. I am African American, resent racial divide principal has created. Divide growing. We always worked together, celebrated cultures. This happens in a culture that comes together. Under present admin it’s impossible. Please stand with us against this attack. Grateful you came two weeks ago.

Schoor—no taping or recording of this meeting.

Smith—I’ve been accused of speaking badly of teachers but I’ve tried to shield them. I hadn’t gone outside to resolve them. Would like for us to share practice, rebuild community. Please stand and support us in this move.

Sub—Schoor did not ask her to say name--We need you to speak for all teachers. After filling in for Katlin Preston Garg gave me U rating with no observation or substantiation. Union secured reversal immediately. Principal Garg did not want to talk about it. She said I may have observed you doing something unprofessional, but offered no examples. Is that what leader should be doing? Terminating career until that was reversed? Please make sure these actions are dealt with not only individual, but for this entire community. We need you to speak against harassment, retaliation, incompetence. That’s what we need UFT to do.

Tamara Parks—Against abuse of power. Garg was AP at Pan Am International. Principal resigned. Zarka appointed Garg as AP. By end of year one 13 of 30 left, 2 discontinued. Garg caused more to leave. Asked me to stay after or get bad eval. US sued DOE for engaging in discrimination. Principal dismissed, Zarka because guidance counselor. Used to yell at people, Garg did nothing as teachers broke down and cried. Two took health leaves. Garg tried to order teachers to wear uniforms. She changed what I said to students, but I had videoed it. Observation ratings then went up. We cannot allow Garg to destroy city schools. She’s shown her behavior in two schools. We can’t tolerate this. We are strong when united.

Jia Lee—MORE--Supports CPE 1, sister progressive school. Two sides of story, but this is not how we approach problem solving. DOE wants to pretty much destroy school. Divide and conquer, push out vets, to get control. Teacher followed her, Laura Benning, was UFT CL under Garg. Knew her as fellow teacher. Thought she was positive, friend. Turned out to be destructive force. Not surprised at CPE 1. Belittled teachers, raised voice, bullied them.  Teachers felt discriminated against but were untenured. I filed complaint, had probable cause. Garg wrote statement full of lies.

Schoor—We don’t usually comment, but I will. Appreciate solidarity. Heard what you said. We are involved, working with CL. Will file lawsuit. Will file grievance for CL. Will follow through for delegate. President will be here. He has been involved with DOE.

Guest speaker—from Mayor’s office. Cecile Noel

Thanks us. About intimate partner violence. Every 9 seconds woman assaulted. Victims lose work. 91K in NYC, 250 per day. 10% of homicides. Means everyone is likely to know someone impacted. Young people also at risk. 1 in 5 girls reported abuse. Many attempted suicide. 3 of 4 adolescents victimized.

Mayor’s office wants to help. Develop policies to help, raise awareness, and work collaboratively with communities. 5 family justice centers, one in each borough, saw 62K people. Many services available. Free and confidential. Students need to understand there are resources and training available. We have website.

Can affect anyone. No one should suffer in silence. We can all make a difference. Please ask us for training and services.

Minutes—approved.

Mike Schirtzer—MORE—Was motion to table last time. What is process to remove from table?

Schoor—Unless body votes to bring back, it stays there.

President’s Report—Mulgrew arrives 6:26.

Mulgrew—Thanks CPE people for coming. Everyone just keep pushing. Have feeling we will get to good place. We are moving on case and temporary restraining order.

State budget—Takes a few weeks to unpack. Was great piece of work. We got over billion dollar increase, much in foundation aid. Increases in many places. Tuition frozen. Was very good deal.

This morning, mayoral control in news. I say officially we do not support this format of mayoral control. Policy not based on personality. This is bad form. Glad mayor used it for pre-K. Do not want to go back to old school board. When State Senate says no MC without charter cap, we need neither. We will hold to those things. MC sunsets June 30th. Will see where conversations go. Will make sure budge is reality, will be tough to raise charter cap just for MC.

Randi went to public school with DeVos. Was interesting, smart. School in Ohio, high needs, no vouchers, great after school program. Community raises money to feed students. Perfect place for DeVos. School had not met 11K target. People chipped in. Guess who didn’t?

Arizona just made vouchers for everyone. Sad to report. Felt since feds believed in choice, states controlled by GOP would push. New Mexico, Wisconsin, following. Kansas spends 4K per student. Charters in NY spend 14K. Kansas unconstitutional because of tax cuts. Brought in moderate GOP to repeal tax cuts, Governor vetoed. States doing bad things to ed. and labor. Must amp up Public School Proud. Can’t just be we’re right and you’re wrong. Moving largest schools system in positive direction, unlike under Bloomberg. Current DOE believes research matters. Texas good on Public School Proud, outdoing us. Feds don’t want to fight every PTA in US. In September we will make loud noise.

6:35 Mulgrew leaves.

LeRoy Barr—State NAACP town hall meeting. Called for charter moratorium. Called for town halls, on this coming Thursday Harlem Hospital. To speak be there 5:30 meeting at 6.

Friday, High School Awards 5:30 PM second floor.

May 1st—Rally at Foley Square. 5 PM.

5K run May 6 MCU Park.

May 8 Exec. Board, UFT financial report, 4:30 PM will be extended report. EB will hear short version.

Spring conference May 13. Next EB May 8.

Questions

Jonathan Halabi—New Action—PROSE something that we’ve agreed to. One thing important has been collaboration. We have new situation—Have we got a protocol when collaboration is broken along the way?

Jackie Bennett—We have PROSE panel meeting. We do review schools at end year. Talking about whether schools no longer fit. Collaboration is big thing with UFT. If schools get along, you can implement innovation. Can we use PROSE in schools to turn them around? Sometimes no, sometimes yes. Focused on process.

Mike Schirtzer—MORE—Few weeks you promised update on JHS 145. Are many vets, problems with budgets. Any plans to support them?

Schoor—Still looking to see if law was violated.

Rich Mantel—We do have people helping with resumes and applications. Best we can do. Will help and do whatever we can.

Arthur Goldstein—MORE—Much to my surprise and delight, Francis Lewis, Hillcrest, Flushing and Forest Hills High Schools all got reasonable rulings about class sizes this semester. The arbitrator ordered, on March 28th, that all schools come into compliance or create classes so as to enable compliance. However, actual compliance is another issue. I know in my school, absolutely nothing has been done pending something called a compliance call, which was supposed to happen last week but did not. A full month has now gone by. I worry the DOE can wait us out five weeks and the ruling will be meaningless. In other buildings, there is simply no space to place new classes. This is problematic, to say the least.

At my school, thanks to the welcome intervention of Elly Engler, we should have some substantial relief in three or four years. In the others, who knows? Mayor de Blasio just asked what would happen if all teachers were to openly criticize every educational policy they disagreed with. I think our schools would be much the better for it, and I think that’s a large part of our job. Our numbers plummeted under Bloomberg, and we’ve just endorsed the sitting mayor. Considering complex issues like class size compliance and DOE gaming of the rules, and that we’re now expanding PreK for 3-year-olds without even counting the cost of new seats—how can we work with him him to not only hire an adequate number of teachers but also provide adequate space for our students, both current and future?

Schoor—Will work with them just like in preK program.

Marcus McArthur—MORE—Transfer schools—Hearing that DOE thinking about removing admission responsibilities, centralizing so schools won’t be in charge. What is UFT position?

Schoor—First I’ve heard. Will check.

Pat Crispino—What they changed was HS admission under Paul Rotundo. One transfer school turned kid away. Chancellor ruled against that. Will be transfer school superintendent.

Ashraya Gupta—MORE—People’s climate march—Is there UFT contingent? Any buses?

Schoor—In DC, not here. In SI there is a march. We have no plans to hire bus. Seems to be march every week.

Report from Districts—

George Altomare—Labor month poster, calendar, will be film festivals, marches. Please read it. We have to focus on labor education. People’s history important. Only way to win is incrementally.

Anthony Harmon—At last NAACP convention passed moratorium on charters. Was a lot of heat for that. Since then, national NAACP called for hearings. Want to also see what quality public ed. looks like. NY last of hearings before report issued. Please come and tell your story. Open meeting. Will be panels pro public and pro charter. Will also be public comments and questions. 506 Malcolm X Boulevard. Immigration clinic May 13 Bronx UFT office.

Sterling Roberson—UFT with Association for CTE hosting region one conference here 52 Broadway. Educators, admin, ensuring students have pathway to career. Will be networking opportunities. Invites us. Goes along with PSP campaign. Thursday and Friday, registration Wednesday.

Unidentified speaker—Today Holocaust Memorial Day. 54% of American adults never heard of it.

Legislative—Paul Egan—

Moving into city budget season, pushing teacher’s choice, CLS, PLC. Will meet with various council people. Asking for increase in teacher’s choice, but 350K not used. Makes it difficult if we leave money on the table. Make sure you spend it or give it. If you don’t spend it you don’t get it following year.

Other point is Constitutional Convention. You have chance to give up your pension. I would not trust anyone to protect it. We need to vote NO. We need to get word out. Poll, Sienna, says 59% support. Then when they ask there will be opportunity to vote, great deal 5%, somewhat 8%, nothing at all 61%. We need to vote. 42% didn’t in presidential election. Members in same category. Every person with pension should be out voting, getting others to vote.

Resolution—Anthony Harmon—Supports Mayday Rally. Speaks to worker and immigrant rights. A lot of unions will participate, will be constitutional convention conversation. With talks of Muslim ban, immigrant rights, please support.

Passed unanimously.

Mike Schirtzer—MORE--Resolves to remove resolution on CPE 1 from table.

No debate.

Voted down on party lines.

We are adjourned.

Photo by Norm Scott

Unsafe at Any Speed at CPE 1

I sat down today with people from a school we'll call Central Park East 1, and I heard stories. This is a school conceived in democracy, now taken over by a former accountant. (I have nothing against accountants, by the way. Mine is a great guy, though I wish he'd have gotten me a better refund this year.)


Let's say that the CPE 1 principal had hired a former friend upon arrival. I don't actually see any issue with hiring a friend. Maybe your friend is a great teacher. One the other hand, if six months later this friend was up on 3020a charges, it kind of makes you wonder what friends are for.


CPE 1 has a different culture than that of most schools with which I'm familiar. For example, when the former principal left, the school community took it upon themselves to search for a new one. The superintendent found this inappropriate, and told them to cease and desist. In July, current principal Monica Garg was brought in.


The school held a C30 process in September, and the community, which had wanted to be part of the search, was not notified until candidate selection had closed. I've been a chapter leader for eight years and I've been to many C30 meetings. They're different, depending on whether you're choosing a principal or an assistant principal. For an assistant principal, you meet, make recommendations based on what you saw, and then the principal chooses whoever she likes, regardless of what you've suggested. For the principal, you meet, make recommendations based on what you saw, and then the superintendent chooses whoever she likes, regardless of what you've suggested.


Maybe in the past, at CPE 1, it was a meaningful exercise. From my experience, C30 is a pro forma process that attempts to leave you with the impression that you are part of the choice. But really, you are not. Mercifully for the folks at CPE 1, there were only three candidates. I believe I've sat through as many as seven. I wasn't at all surprised to hear the sitting principal got the gig. It was only then that the big fun started.


The new principal, I'm told, did away with classes, reduced the roles of people who'd been valued by the school community, and did not seem to see eye to eye with the school's mission. Therefore, in January, tenured teachers signed a letter of protest to the community. This was sent out through school email, something I'd never do, but was evidently not unusual in their school culture.


Within that month, I'm told, Principal Garg dug through years of files, and started filing investigations. Teachers had gotten pay for summer retreats. Evidently the principal did not approve. We don't know exactly why the CPE 1 chapter leader and others are sitting in the rubber room, but we know the place had changed. A lot of teachers chose not to return this year.


Such practices, evidently, are a big part of the playlist of city-trained principals. Dump all the vets. Kill institutional memory. Let the new teachers know that they need to take a side, either the school leader's side or the one that gets you fired. And make no mistake, probationary teachers are fired for bad haircuts with no due process rights whatsoever.


Of course if you're the sort of person who does things like that, you might as well try to get the teachers who remain to rat out one another. It doesn't really matter whether or not the person you want them to rat out is guilty. If, for example, the UFT chapter leader isn't inclined to rat out a colleague, you can always send said chapter leader for 3020a, you know, to join your former friend.


And it doesn't matter who says it's not true. Let's say, for example, you charge some teacher of some atrocious act against a student. Let's say the principal improperly interviews this elementary student alone. Let's say the young student later denies the charges to the parent and had wanted the parent present at the interview with the principal. In fact, let's say the parent defends the charged teacher against the charges.


That means diddly-squat to the DOE.  Let's say UFT says it's DOE’s job to fix it. Let's say DOE says it's UFT’s job to fix it. What's a school community to do? What if this school community is extraordinarily astute and doesn't buy pat excuses? Let's say it compiles an extensive portfolio of violations of chancellor's regulations and outrageous behavior on the part of the principal. Let's say the schools chancellor, a Bloomberg remnant, is no help at all and speaks to the school community like they are a bunch of spoiled children, exactly the way teachers ought not to speak to students. Let's further say that DOE sent a person to check things out. Let's say that person said the sitting principal has to go, and the Bloomberg remnant chancellor ignored the advice.

I have sat with some of the most intelligent and persuasive people I've ever met, and I'm persuaded that this school was created with a mission that's being perverted by its current leadership. I heard that one of the very first changes introduced was the introduction of test prep. It's like they want to replace a progressive school, a beacon in our community, with a Moskowitz Academy lookalike.


Curiouser and curiouser. At last week's DA I heard Howard Schoor explain that we could not pass a resolution against this principal because once we do that, we can no longer negotiate with the DOE. That's hard for me to understand. Of course I'm just a lowly teacher, and a lowly elected Executive Board representative, so I have no idea what goes on in high-level negotiations between DOE and UFT. 


This notwithstanding I don't understand this UFT-DOE negotiation process at all.Why is negotiation finished once you make demands? I'd always thought that was how negotiation began. But according to Schoor, the UFT cannot do its work if we support a resolution to support CPE 1. That's why we have to, you know, support them without actually writing we support them. Once you write it, evidently, you aren't really supporting them.


Go figure. If anyone better versed than I in the nuance of negotiation can explain why resolving in writing to support our brothers and sisters under attack at CPE 1 would hurt the cause of defending them and preserving their school, I'm all ears.


Inquiring minds want to know. 

UFT Delegate Assembly--We Still Love CPE 1, But We Still Won't Pass a Resolution in Favor of CPE 1

President’s Report

Mulgrew welcomes us.

Says last DA wasn’t happy.

National

Says we did hell of a job at state level.

Randi taking DeVos to a school. Says it’s good. Says he invited her here. Is going to Ohio district that voted 80% for Trump. She proposes to cut their budget. Best thing nationally.

Many budget cuts on horizon. Calls it circus. Who’s got worse haircut, guy in Korea or US? People who think a lot about themselves walk around with hair like that.

Everything is cuts, going after workers, new SCOTUS justice. We will prepare, but when all you see is ed. cuts, and we know Janus, new Friedrichs coming later this year, we have a clear path on what we have to do. What Randi is doing is important. Public school proud important, but Texas is outdoing us. They have sustained statewide campaign. Fought vouchers.

We in NY need to work with other teachers across country to protect and support our schools. Do they want to fight every PTA in US? We will see they do that. PTAs not red or blue. Not political—people love their kids, their kids’ schools, and will protect them.

We have to remain focused here.

State

Good news—was talking about eliminating charter cap and removing geographic cap. Wanted to change regs on use of public school space. Wanted to unfreeze tuition. Went to Albany to educate people that charters asked for freeze. Used to be three year lag. We faced cuts in recession. Charters got increases because they had a three year lag. When it was their turn to get cuts, they froze their tuition. Charters felt they were owed money. Not understood by media.

Also wanted to get rid of millionaire tax. Media was focused on DC. We beat them at every turn. Caps in place. Space regs unchanged. We didn’t unfreeze, and also got rid of their lag. We should get more per student because we have all the challenging students. They can be expensive. Very proud of work of this union. Always Senate GOP opposing us. We asked local GOP to stop voting for this. Visited them, made it happen.

We have 1.1 billion increase for ed. NYC 4.7% increase. Foundation formula helps. Millionaire tax extended two years. 40% increase for NYC Teacher Center. Union dues tax deduction for state of NY. Next challenge is Constitutional Convention. Vote no.

AFL-CIO hired campaign manager for Constitutional Convention. Will not be easy fight. Really bad people working against us. First goal is approval, will say anything to anyone to get it. Will be real fight. From now until end of summer, it’s engage members.

We think it’s important that state keep deals with working people. We will remain diligent. Please remind everyone. Will be heavy push in September.

We are pushing back on ESSA and value added scores. We believe in May we will see changes in CTE regs.

City

Our political action coordinators working hard, need meetings with city council people. City in good shape right now, but everyone keeps talking about what feds will do to us. Many contingency plans. Many potential cuts. State also worried about cuts. Told pols you can’t cut schools once you set up school years. We are at highest funding level. NY State setting up to be anti-Trump place. Rejects idea of rejecting safety net.

Says people tell him governor should burn in hell. Says NY Post in 11th circle of hell. But we talk to them when they call. Look at budget this year, protecting schools. He had a part in it and we helped him get there.

With city budget teachers choice, positive learning and many issues, but wants us to engage. We need to know if our locals will stand with public schools when feds come to destroy us. Worked with city to change lead in water protocol.

We can’t be outdone by Texas. Want to do a lot of grassroots events. School and borough based. We need to make big loud noise in September. Will do UFT van and celebrate. Asks we engage. Asks we engage in Public School Proud.

On May 1st 4.5% pay raise. Will be reflected on May 15 paycheck. Asks we make it clear at workplaces. Ends report 5:02.

Staff Director’s Report

Howard Schoor stands in place of LeRoy Barr. HS awards April 28th, 5:30 PM. May 6, 5K run. May 13th spring conference, Rev. Barber. May 15th, immigration meeting 4-6. Will give advice.

Mulgrew says first Dreamer has been deported.

Questions

CL—On lead in water—PS 289 had high level—worse than Flint—what are our procedures?

Once spigots identified, they are turned off. Schools are informed. Staff should be told. Recommends you see doctor. Asks you be tested. Refer parents to principal.

CL—Now that ELA finished, math coming, teachers told they won’t receive preps that day.

Tell DR they must contact superintendent, if that doesn’t work, contact me. We have rules and laws. There’s a law that says you can go to bathroom, in fact. This is not an emergency. They knew two months ahead of time.

CL—Student led parent teacher conferences—Some teachers volunteered, was flagged in principal’s PPO that not all teachers did it. How do we go forward?

You need SBO, cannot be mandated. That means superintendent is an idiot, doesn’t understand that she has to work with people. We have schools who SBO them. They like them. Cannot be mandated.

CL—After election of Trump many members ushered in Prez. Now they see what we’ve been talking about and feel union pride. How can we keep that going?

Our strategy is to take pride in what we do. Tactic we need is to embrace schools and have communities feel the same. We will deal with Janus. We will attack them on anti-union stuff. Asks they do Public School Proud piece.

CL—mayoral control will come up. Heard you say you are for it with changes. Can you tell me what those changes are? Chancellor not accountable to parents, abusive principals problems.

We are on record. We have a resolution. We want mayor to lose control of PEP panel. We want CEC approval on spaces. NY is only one form of mayoral control. We have most stringent. Doesn’t matter who mayor is, they think if you change it it won’t be control. We decided our form better than school boards. Were not good old days. Funding and nepotism issues. We didn’t get our form, don’t know when it will get done. Union has official position, has been voted on by this DA.

Delegate—NYSUT catastrophic insurance—are we communicating this to members?

Plan hasn’t been open for almost six years. Open period for first time. Gives you additional medical coverage. Has saved a lot of union families. Will put out a blast on this because it’s very important. You don’t know you need it until you do and then it’s too late.

Motions

Paul Egan—DA endorses for Brooklyn DA and Manhattan DA—this month.

Delegate moves for resolution for next month—in support of CPE 1.

CPE 1, wonderful school and community, thrown into turmoil by abusive principal. Targets teachers, families, children. First LIF last Feb., second last Feb, reassigned quickly. All vet teachers under investigation. One found unsubstantiated but SCI wouldn’t use word. Parents working tirelessly to protect teachers, children, culture and school community. Chancellor unresponsive. Teachers need help of union. You said we will bring 800 pound gorilla down, please move this for next month.

Howard Schoor—Asks if it’s same as EB, told no. Says similar resolution came to EB. Voted to table it. Asks you vote against it, not that we disagree. If we pass this we shut down all communication with DOE. We would have to do all these things. LeRoy Barr was there at SLT. We had 15 people there. Names people giving support. Says it is DOE problem to resolve.

Motion defeated.
Mulgrew says we are having conversations. Says it’s nasty situation. We are trying to resolve it. Thinks we’re getting there. Says it was tabled. We’re asking DOE to stop playing games. Says you can write this on your blogs. Says we are standing and doing all we need to do.

Special Order of Business

Parliamentary inquiry—James Eterno—Last two meetings I was out of order. Told last month I could not move to amend resolution. Says he could have.

Mulgrew—will check

Eterno—five speakers in favor of de Blasio, one against, chair should alternate.

Mulgrew asks for inquiry.

Eterno—Says you should alternate with opposition.

Mulgrew says he’s out of order.

Eterno—Can you respect order of inquiry, or taking turns?

Mulgrew—We will continue to select everyone. You don’t think people have right to express opinions.

Support of Andrew Hevesi’s Proposal—Paul Egan asks for support of home stability. Help resolve homeless situation in NY State. 150K homeless kids right now. More than 80K NYC facilities on brink. Would help with rent and keep them in homes instead of shelters. Will save state and city millions. Will save 151 million in NYC in one year. Feds will pick up cost for five years.


Point of info—What is difference between this program and Bloomberg’s program to put homeless into apartments? Present mayor eliminating that program.

Egan—Provides families with income to stay in their own place until they are stabilized.

Speaker stands in agreement. Has two kids in class in shelters. Parents have to bring kids from Brooklyn to Bronx. Asks for support.

Health Care for All—Ellen Driesen—Saw show in DC when they decided to repeal and replace, was great entertainment, but many people are at risk. DC crew wants to eliminate health care for 24 million. Unacceptable. We need to push for single payer. We need to get word out and lobby hard.

Mike Schirtzer—MORE--Motion to amend—additional resolved at end—Resolved that the UFT will not support any political candidate who is against the affordable care act or single-payer system.

Says in Unity there is strength. Says this is no brainer. Says IDC parades as Dems. We ought not to support pols who don’t support us.
Dave Pecoraro—Moves to divide resolved with ACA and single payer.

Says we have reality, fighting to keep ACA alive. Maybe in 2021 we can debate single payer. Says eventually there will be two separate votes.

Mel Aaronson—against both amendments—would make UFT one issue organization. Says we wouldn’t be able to support people who otherwise support us, would make us irrelevant.

question called on all matters by UFT special rep.

First resolved defeated.

Second resolved defeated.

Original resolution passes.

Chair asks if endorsements are timely. No, says Egan.

Initiative on Voter Registration—Janella Hinds—42% of Americans didn’t vote. 6th congressional district engaged people. NYS requires HS students to study government participation. This resolution says we will work with community based organizations and help students to vote. Asks for support.

CL—Rises in support. Was involved in school registration drive in middle school. Says voting discussions very rich.

Passes unanimously.

Paul Egan asks for extension, 6 PM, Mulgrew grants it without vote. For Gonzalez Brooklyn and Vance Bronx.

Gregg Lundahl—calls question.

Endorsements pass.

Mulgrew does raffle. Speaks of raise.

We are finished.