ATRs and Health

I'm hearing that ATR teachers who have not been able to find a job within one year will be offered a "voluntary" severance package under Unity's new contract. Consequences for declining the "offer" are not specified. If the UFT and the City do not agree on a number, the amount of severance pay will go to arbitration.

Health benefits are up for future negotiation under this agreement. We will not have a vote on any such changes. Think 1.5% of your salary for health costs and adjust the "raise" accordingly, if Mayor Mike has his druthers.

We will have no say whatsoever if we vote yes.

Consider mayoral control and ask yourself whether Randi has agreed to support its renewal in '09. What other motivation would the mayor have to settle with her?

NEW CONTRACT AGREEMENT

From the UFT Hotline:

UFT President Randi Weingarten announced that the union and the city have reached tentative agreement on a new two-year contract that would give every educator at least a 7.1% raise and boost the most experienced educators' salary to more than $100,000. The pact, which includes a $750 cash payment and a $1,000 longevity increase for educators who stay in the system for five years, brings the total cash value to more than 8%. It also includes raises to keep pace with rising drug costs, enhancements to extracurricular activities and no givebacks. Randi said, "This settlement, if ratified, will mean that between 2002 and 2009 teacher salaries will have risen by at least 40%. Finally, we are making real progress." She also noted that settling the contract a year in advance of our current contract's expiration date will give members added certainty and stability. Under the agreement, which must be ratified by the members, educators would receive a 7.1% increase over 24 months ending in October 2009. Members would get a 2% raise beginning October 13, 2007, and another 5% effective May 19, 2008. The contract would expire October 31, 2009. Details and examples of the pay raises are available elsewhere on this Web site.

Thanks to Just a Cog

Important Updates...

A DoE guy I know tells me the contract is all but signed....that's unfounded gossip, but it's an election year for Unity....If it's true (and I think it is), look forward to another few years of August conferences and perpetual potty patrol.

Looks like there won't be any wife-swapping in China.

But there may be some House-swapping closer to home.

So whatever you do...

Don't forget to VOTE!!

Paved with Good Intentions

I go to the guidance counselor to say that Jaihi doesn't understand what's going on in my class. She should be in a lower level. If she stays with me, she'll certainly fail.

The counselor removes her glasses, looks me in the eye and says, "Ms. Laconic teaches the lower level. Jaihi is better off failing with you than passing with her."

Why, yes of course. What piercing insight she has. I'm a master teacher and what on earth does Ms. Laconic know about anything anyway?

Juan just arrived in the country five minutes ago and hasn't got the remotest notion what's going on in my class. I tell his guidance counselor.

He sighs and says, "Well, Mr. Educator, the only class I can put him into is Ms. Laconic's, and we all know he'll learn more failing with you than passing her class."

That's right. This guy is keenly perceptive. I'm king of the world. Kids benefit from the proximity of my aura even if they don't know what the hell I'm talking about. That Ms. Laconic is not worthy to touch the hem of my garment.

A few weeks later, it's report card time. I get called into my supervisor's office.

"Mister Educator, I'm very disappointed to see only 62% of the students in this class passed. While we would never say pass a certain percentage, because that would be wrong-headed, short-sighted and unethical, at least 70% should pass. What is it you are doing wrong?"

The hell with guidance counselors. They know nothing. Jaihi and Juan can go to Ms. Laconic's class, along with everyone else who's got no chance to pass.

The Testers Speak

We pay them. They know everything. And they're ready to test our kids on it, too. Don't mess with them, or they'll send your kids to summer school. Maybe they'll make them repeat a grade. Their awesome power knows no bounds.

But wait--could the testers make a mistake? Could they make ten thousand mistakes?

"It's a bummer when we get something wrong," said John Katzman, CEO of the Princeton Review, which has a $5.4 million contract with the city this year to provide the tests.

Whoa. Bummer, dude. Totally bogus. Like, that sucks, man.

Anyone besides me wonder how many mistakes these geniuses didn't catch?

Thanks to Schoolgal

Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Screen

Chancellor Joel "El Exigente" Klein doesn't play favorites. He just calls 'em as he sees 'em.

That's why he went out of his way to condemn the NEST-M school. He does not care for the selection process. It's failed to meet his exacting standards for objectivity. Klein's criticism, of course, is totally unrelated to the parents successfully having fought his proposed placement of a billionaire's charter school in their building.

His removal of the NEST principal, despite the fact that her school was excellent by all accounts, is also completely unrelated. When the parents protested, and were hauled away by the police, it had nothing whatsoever to do with their actions. The chancellor adores parental involvement. The impending audit of parent association finances is just a coincidence.

Furthermore, the fact that the billionaire's charter was placed in the very best facility the city had to offer was another coincidence. What NEST should have done was let absolutely everyone and anyone in, and let the building swell to 250% capacity (and growing), just as my school has. After all, no one's died in a fire, and no one's been trampled to death in my building.

Not yet, anyway. But the point is you don't see us rejecting students for any reason whatsoever.

Lo siento, Maria

Maria's very pretty. All the boys watch her. Me, I don't know what to do with her.

She's very polite, very charming at times, copies the homework assiduously, and always apologizes for her frequent latenesses.

"Soh-ree, Me-tell."

She's trying to show respect, saying "Mister" as though it's Seňor.

Maria doesn't like writing. Whenever writing comes up, she sighs loudly, and says "Ay, Meee-tell."

"How did you do all that homework if you hate writing so much, Maria?"

"Me-tell, I no copy."

You see? She knows I know, so she heads me off at the pass. If she used a fraction of that cleverness to study, she'd probably be passing.

I can't move Maria down a level because she's already passed. Maria is accustomed to smiling rather than working her way through classes. Her experience just won't allow her to see how disappointed she's going to be with me (if she doesn't start studying).

Where Does that Buck Stop?

The Daily News offers more detail on the short piece I posted the other day.

The UFT has stopped the science teachers involved from speaking with the DoE. Good move.

So who will Mike "Accountability" Bloomberg blame for this? Will it be supervisors who told the teachers to change grades? Can the teachers prove this was done?

Or will the teachers take the rap entirely, a la Abu Ghraib, where no higher-ups got more than a slap on the hand?

One thing's for sure--it isn't Mayor Mike's fault, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the mania over standardized testing. Despite his very public request that we judge him on school progress, we've all come to learn that nothing is his fault, or Chancellor Joel Klein's fault either.

It appears they're congenitally incapable of error.

Thanks to Schoolgal

The Secret of My Success

You really need to get one of these. I work in New Jersey a lot, and I found one in a teacher supply store out there. Sometimes when I take it out, I tell the kids it's my seven-dollar chalk holder, that Miss Laconic doesn't have one, and that I, therefore, am a better teacher than she is.

If you're looking to prove you're a better teacher than I am, better buy two. They're guaranteed for life. They're really heavy, really easy to write with, you can drop them on the floor, and the chalk will still be in one piece.

I broke one a few months back but I didn't try sending it back, being the lazy slob I am. Fortunately, I passed by the teacher store, got another one, and no one caught me using one of those cheap two-dollar excuses for chalk-holders they sell at Staples.

If New Jersey is not on your dance card, lucky you, you can get one here for fifty cents less than I did, smart shopper that you are. And I don't own stock in the companies that make or sell it, either.

Y'all Come

Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas is initiating a teacher-exchange program with Taiwan. If you feel like trading places, this is your chance. Well, if you're in Arkansas.

It's odd that programs like that haven't reached NYC, where there are thousands of folks from Taiwan. Perhaps it's because we've invested so heavily in vital projects like the cell-phone ban, giving away athletic fields, and making sure no public school kids attend PS 109.

Thanks to Schoolgal

Easy as Pie

Low exam scores?

Just change 'em.

That's the way to leave no child behind.

Not Just Whistling Dixie

Teachers in LA are rumbling about a strike. While "The Mayor and the Admiral" (and wouldn't that make a great sitcom) bicker over who's in charge of what, the United Teachers of Los Angeles have brought back former UTLA president Wayne Johnson.

Current president AJ Duffy, despite having enabled mayoral control, is talking tough about his demand for a 9% raise (and for you NYC teachers, a "raise" is when you get more money for doing the same job). And Johnson may be the right person:

"He was a toughie. He was very, very, very tough," recalled former school board President Roberta Weintraub, who negotiated with Johnson in 1989.

"There was no question we were outflanked. He didn't back down on anything. He's a tough negotiator. He was a firebrand at that point. What I remember is he was a very strong negotiator, someone determined to get what he wanted to get - at any cost."

On this coast, the entrenched, patronage-ridden Unity-UFT is not only unwilling to fight--they don't even want to ask for better working conditions or raises that beat cost of living.

Thanks to Schoolgal

Be Vewy Quiet....I'm Hunting faw Wabbit

I am constantly hearing about the UFT's new hush-hush contract proposals. Unity, the party that has controlled my union for 50 years, has decided to share its demands with members. It's made the remarkable request that said demands not be put into writing. Nonetheless, by using word-of-mouth, it hopes somehow to share the demands with teachers.

Who it hopes to hide them from is anyone's guess. Why it hopes to hide them is a little simpler.

Chaz says, and I agree, that financially we'll be bound by the DC37 agreement, which brings us almost (but not quite) to cost of living. We are, therefore paying millions of dollars to patronage employees so that we can continue to make marginally less each year for the next few years. That's worth hushing up, I suppose.

Perusing the Executive Board Agenda (and why they put that in writing is anyone's guess), I can't help but notice the largely innocuous non-economic proposals:

1. If accusations of corporal punishment or verbal abuse are ruled to be unfounded all records relating to such accusations shall be immediately expunged.

2. Provide procedures on a school/district/regional level for the identification and elimination of paperwork/data collection that is excessive, unnecessary, redundant and/or that diminishes instructional time.

3. When the DOE, region or a school introduces, promotes or directs use of an instructional methodology (e.g. balanced literacy) it shall be responsible for providing training and materials and otherwise enabling the teachers to satisfactorily use the methodology. Any costs incurred by teachers shall be reimbursed by the DOE.

4. Per session teachers shall be paid for all athletic and non-athletic extracurricular activities for all time actually worked.

5. Extend the terms of leaves of absence to serve in non-conversion charter schools to 5 years.

Naturally, I'm excited about the prospect of more training. Doubtless most city teachers weren't satisfied with the two days in August and wish to come in earlier for even more.

And it's comforting to know if I'm falsely accused of some grotesque offense, my records will be expunged. However, Unity's stacked bargaining committee is still OK with me being on unpaid suspension for three months while Tweed makes up its mind. Should I default on my mortgage and lose my home as a result, I'll have the dubious consolation of knowing my record will still be clear. Most other Americans are still innocent until proven guilty.

And what of the ATR assignments? Should Mayor Mike decide to rename my 250% capacity school, I, along with 50% of my colleagues will be out of a job and sent to sub indefinitely. Does anyone need to establish that I'm a bad teacher to do that? Absolutely not.

Is there anyone who doesn't believe ATR teachers are wearing targets on their backs? Is there anyone who doesn't believe that Klein (or someone else) will make dismissing 1,000 subs at full salary a talking point for breaking the union? Is there anyone who really believes Klein (or any principal) wants to hire 20-year vets in place of malleable newbies?

My sources say Unity doesn't want to ask for too much, because they feel this administration would then demand givebacks. In the past, their timidity has not produced rewards for us. Were inaction a virtue, John Kerry would be president and we'd have parity with our Nassau counterparts. The huge gap in teacher tenure it's enabled by refusing to deal with the ATR issue (which they think is just fine) will continue to go ignored.

Is asking for little or nothing is a sound negotiating strategy? So far, all it's won us is more work, fewer options, and a "raise" that didn't even match inflation (For those who've never seen one, a "raise" is actually receiving more money for doing the same job). Should we now jump for joy over a new contract, simply because we lose less with fewer givebacks? Or should we do something proactive?

For the salaries Unity makes (which are now even higher, and don't take into account DoE salaries or double pensions), I ought not to have to ask. If they were actually doing what we pay them for, their salaries wouldn't even be an issue.

I'm going to make sure my chapter sends a message to Unity saying it's time to stand up. I hope you'll do the same.

Another Faculty Meeting?

Of course not. You remember what happened at the last one, and we don't want to talk about it any more. No, it's the Carnival of Education, hosted this week by The Median Sib.

Next week's carnival will be right here at NYC Educator. You can send your contributions to nyceducatorATgmailDOTcom (there's a link on the upper right hand of this page), or use the handy dandy submission form.

Submissions are due by next Tuesday, November 7th, at 6 PM EST.

Where's Your Report Card, Beav?

Yesterday morning I left a half-hour early, so I could get to work a half-hour early. I was meeting with a parent whose daughter was failing not only my class, but all her others as well. I know this because I spent one period yesterday collecting her grades and attendance records.

The parent, who hadn't seen his daughter's report card, explained to me that his schedule precluded coming during my free periods. I went out of my way to accomodate him and he just blew me off. I mean, why not? It's only his daughter's education. It's not like he's missing American Idol, or something important.

So, as my principal would inquire, how am I failing to help this kid? Maybe it's because I don't follow her around to make sure she doesn't copy homework. Maybe it's because I don't run into the building from my trailer between periods and find her, then escort her to her classes so she doesn't cut. Maybe it's because I didn't quit my night job, go to her house twice a week, and tutor her so she wouldn't fail every single test I've given. There are so many things I could be doing wrong.

Deputy Chancellor Alonso says lack of parental involvement is no excuse. It has to be my fault. After all, it would take just as much effort to give her a 65 rather than a 55, and it wouldn't cost me a dime.

The thing is--I think this girl's in my class because that's precisely what her last teacher did.

Uncle Joel and the Parents

Let's see, the DoE bounced the NEST school's principal after the parents successfully fought off the arrival of the Moneybags Charter School. Then, they installed a principal who caused a bunch of those troublemakers to be hauled off in the paddy wagon.

Now, they're doing a friendly little audit on those nasty folks who dared involve themselves in the school their kids attended.

Is something going on here? Nah. It's just a coincidence.

Doubtless parents all over the city are saying, "Gee, I want to get more involved in my kid's school too."

Thanks to Schoolgal

A Rough Halloween

Jolanta Rohloff, the principal of Lafayette High School who unilaterally changed hundreds of student grades, is in the hot seat again. The Alumni Association is pressing for her dismissal. They say it's "nothing personal," which is reminiscent of the characters in The Godfather who would come over, kill you and stuff, and declare it's "only business."

Apparently the school is so awful no one wants to go there. But don't worry, Ms. Rohloff. Hang on for a few years and this administration will make sure every school is just as awful as yours.

Ms. Rohloff is the perfect Klein-era principal, in my view, utterly obsessed with appearances. A few months back she offered teachers $114 bucks each to clean up their classrooms when DoE bigwigs came to visit.

Update: Check out the comments to see who's in the high-powered Lafayette Alumni Association. They ought to rouse the attention of Joel "Society" Klein.

Thanks to Schoolgal

It's All About Taking Care of Your Own

In order to run the schools more efficiently, Mayor Mike is leaving a lot of special needs kids behind. Everyone knows you can't just squeeze those kids into classes with 39 kids. But if you fail to classify them, you can just dump them anywhere and worry about it later, hopefully after 2009.

The DoE denied any wrongdoing, which must be true since they never do anything wrong. After all, according to Deputy Chancellor Alonso, any and all problems with kids are the fault of teachers.

Meanwhile, Mayor Mike's gazillionaire buddies are getting tax abatements on their condos, because people like that simply aren't accustomed to doing without:

Celebrities, including Calvin Klein, Natalie Portman and Derek Jeter, save thousands of dollars in property taxes each year under a tax-abatement program dating back to the '70s that is currently under review.

"It really squeezes the middle class," Queens homeowner Jerry Iannece said.

Iannece, who has a $700,000 Colonial in Bayside Hills, pays $4,192 per year in property taxes. That's almost double what Portman pays for her $5.8 million Manhattan condo.

City records indicate the "Star Wars" queen shells out $2,341 in property taxes a year, instead of $28,653, for her posh digs in architect Richard Meier's Charles Street building.

"People who are scraping their pennies together to buy a home for their families have to pay full property taxes, while millionaires get a break," Iannece said.

Clearly Mr. Iannece doesn't understand NYC policy. Teaching in a crumbling trailer behind a 250% capacity school, I get an excellent firsthand look at who is and is not important in this city. If my school were run by a billionaire, I've no doubt we'd see a huge difference.

Bloomberg thinks the tax-abatement program should be extended, but hopes to throw some scraps to working people in the form of "affordable housing."

He shouldn't bother. Those ungrateful bootless and unhorsed never appreciate anything.

If They Can...

...then we can too. Check out what the Jamaica High School UFT chapter resolved. Then bring the resolutions to your school.

Everything has to start somewhere.

What's a Teacher to Do?

Are we assigning kids books that are too difficult? Is that what the problem is?

Do teachers get assignments in college and doom their hapless students to suffer through Beowulf just as they did? Or is this all a tempest in a Starbucks cup?

Should we let kids read graphic novels? Classic Comics? Cliff Notes? Cereal boxes?

Or is there a middle ground?

Thanks to Schoolgal