Wednesday, September 07, 2011

BRIEF ATR SUMMARY

ATRs

About half of the UFT staff from Jamaica High, and I'm sure many other closing schools too, were recently placed into excess because of a steep decline in enrollments caused by student transfers, graduation and the lack of a grade nine class in our phasing out schools However, that does not mean excessed teachers have no rights. Absent Teacher Reserves need to know that they have not been abandoned by us, no matter where they might be assigned. Some people I know have already found positions while many others are assigned temporarily as ATRs.

Under the agreement reached last June between the DOE and UFT which the Jamaica Chapter opposed, the DOE can reassign UFT ATRs on a weekly basis within the district. This is horrible treatment of these professionals that is educationally unsound as ATRs being moved around on a weekly basis can never develop any kind of rapport with students. However, this nomad provision does not mean the DOE can assign teachers to duties that would not fall under a teacher's job title. Therefore, it should be a maximum of five classes and a professional assignment and no more each day in secondary schools. ATRs are still entitled to a prep and a duty free lunch. If there are problems, let the UFT know about them. Let this blog know too.

If a teacher or other UFT member is offered a full time position and asked to stay for a year as a provisional teacher, understand that this assignment would only be for the remainder of this school year and that next June if a principal doesn't like that teacher's work, the pedagogue will remain as an ATR. Conversely, if the teacher doesn't like that school, he/she can demand to stay as an ATR. It is a mutual consent doctrine.

The DOE always had the right to permanently assign teachers but they generally don't do that these days as far as I can tell. Last June's agreement does allow for teachers who are filling in for a long term absence or leave to be able to decline to be used in a particular position if it becomes an official vacancy.

The DOE has the right to send ATRs on interviews during the regular school day.

The DOE does not have the right under current conditions to assign anyone out of his/her district/superintendency. For example, a high school ATR in Manhattan should be assigned to a Manhattan High School and not to an elementary school or a middle school (unless it is to a school such as a 6-12 school listed in the high school district). Also, an elementary or middle school ATR excessed from District 28 should not be assigned to a school in District 26.

Finally, anyone in excess should know that according to contract Article 17 B Rule 8 that there is a right of return to the school in which the person is excessed. Feel free to use the sample letter below that all excessed teachers should send.

Date____________________________

Dear Principal______________________________________:

As per Article 17B Rule 8 of the UFT Contract, I would like to exercise my right of return should a position in my license area, _________________________________________, become available. Please inform me immediately if there is such a vacancy so that I can be placed in it.

Sincerely,

____________________________________________

Sign Name

_____________________________________________

Print Name

Email me with questions or concerns. I know this gets complicated but I hope it helps.

Sunday, September 04, 2011

ATRS OF THE CITY NEED TO JOIN TOGETHER TO STOP THE MADNESS

If you haven't already done so, then go on over to the NYC ATR Teacher blog for some real honest insight into the life of an Absent Teacher Reserve. The post about the latest so called DOE job fair is deeply moving. I can confirm from information I have received from other people who were there that NYC-ATR's post is absolutely accurate. Basically, at this time many ATRs appear to be on an informal "Do Not Hire List." Here is an excerpt of the blog piece:

The saddest thing I saw was a male teacher about my age, who had two kids with him, about the ages of my older two. His name tag said, “Technology and Computer Science” and his kids kept pointing to tables saying, “What about this one, Dad?” or “This is a high school, Dad, how about here?” and he kept answering, “No, they don’t want me, they don’t want me.” My heart broke for this man, and my anger flared at a system that throws people on the trash heap like day-old bread.

The ICE UFT blog has been complaining since before the ink dried about how the ATRs were left with third class gypsy status by June's UFT DOE agreement that will allow the DOE to redeploy ATRs to different schools every week this fall.

My phone has been ringing every day and text messages and emails have been pouring in from friends who are ATRs and can't find jobs. Remember, my school is phasing out so roughly half the teachers were excessed in June.

It's time to get these people together at more than just job fairs.

BUILDING BRIDGES ON RADIO MONDAY at 6:00 PM; RALLY TO OPPOSE SCHOOL LAYOFFS WEDNESDAY AT 4:00 P.M.

If you are anywhere near a radio or a computer tomorrow, then tune in at 6:00 p.m. to WBAI's Building Bridges show. WBAI is at 99.5 FM or on the web at http://www.wbai.org. The show is hosted by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg. Tomorrow's Labor Day special runs from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm.

At 6:00 pm there will be a panel discussion on education that will feature Mark Torres, Brenda Walker, Clarence Taylor whose recent book is called Reds at the Blackboard, and ICE-GEM's Yelena Siwinski.

On Wednesday at 4:00 pm ICE is one of the cosponsors of a rally at Tweed (52 Chambers Street in Manhattan) supporting our colleagues who are facing layoff. Here is the media advisory.

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 2, 2011

Contacts:

Mona Davids, New York City Parents Union,

Protest and Rally Against Egregious School Staff Layoffs

Who: Coalition of parents, teachers, labor and community leaders including the New York City Parents Union, Local 327-DC 37, United Federation of Teachers, Coalition for Public Education, Grassroots Education Movement, Class Size Matters, The Mothers' Agenda New York, NYCORE, Teachers Unite, Independent Community of Educators, New York Charter Parents Association and OurSchoolsNYC.org

When: Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Time: 4:00PM

What: Protest & Rally Against Egregious School Staff Layoffs

Where: New York City Department of Education, 52 Chambers Street

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Manhattan Borough Pres Scott Stringer and PEP Rep Patrick Sullivan at Tuesday's Press Conference on Verizon Contract

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_q3KqERrVc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EsKXwhTy-s

Monday, August 29, 2011

The Verizon Battle Continues Tuesday at 11 am

NEWS CONFERENCE

11am, Tuesday, August 30^th

Make Verizon Pay Back the Money it Made from a Fraud on our Schools and Settle a Fair Contract with its Workers

What: Education advocates, labor unions, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and other elected officials will join together to demand Verizon pay back its ill-gotten gains from our schools and settle a fair contract with its workers.

When/Where: 11am, Tuesday, August 30^th in front of the Municipal Building.

Background:

On August 17th, the Mayor’s PEP approved a $120 million contract with Verizon. According to the Special Investigator for the Schools, Richard Condon, Verizon knew about and profited from an overbilling fraud scheme[1]. Verizon’s direct profits in the scheme were at least $800,000, according to the investigator, but the PEP approved the contract anyway.

The fight is not over: Verizon should pay back the money it made off of the scheme and make the schools whole through a restitution – and settle a fair contract with its workers. This issue also deserves more scrutiny from the NYC Council, which Councilman Cabrera has promised.

Verizon has contradicted itself on the schools contract, allegedly telling some members of the PEP and the media that it may pay back its proceeds from the scheme. Verizon also sent a letter to the PEP denying its role in the fraud and falsely claiming that the Schools Investigator’s report did not say that Verizon was aware of the fraud.

Verizon is demanding massive givebacks from its workers, including: freezing pensions for new and current workers; raising health care costs by thousands of dollars for current and retired workers; cutting benefits for workers injured on the job; and shipping more jobs overseas.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s representative, Patrick Sullivan, was one of four PEP votes against approval of the controversial contract. Borough President Stringer, CWA, education advocates and other elected officials (list in formation) will call on Verizon to pay back the money, make the schools whole, and settle a fair contract with its workers. Please join us!

[1] http://gothamschools.org/2011/04/29/report-on-thieving-doe-consultant-damning-for-ibm-and-verizon/

Friday, August 26, 2011

Editorial in Queens Chronicle on Equal Education Access

There is a newspaper editor that understands education and the American ideal of equality of opportunity. Read the Queens Chronicle's editorial on the disgusting inequities in Queens schools that calls for fairness for all students. Here is an excerpt.

Failing, charter, specialized, zoned, achieving — whatever a public school is labeled as should not matter when it comes to making sure every student has equal access to resources and a chance to graduate with the skills needed to succeed in college, should they want to attend.

This is not happening in Queens, and Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott should be ashamed.

The editorial makes sense for sure.

Brian Jones and Diane Ravitch on Democracy Now

Watch and enjoy Democracy Now as Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez interview two people, Diane Ravitch and Brian Jones, who know the facts when it comes to education. We need a real war on poverty and not more standardized testing to improve education.

Also, the UFT was on the losing side in court on the release of the flawed teacher data reports.

We need to support every teacher if the union is not successful in the last appeal and these stupid reports are released.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

NYSUT Wins in Court on Teacher Evaluations

Some positive news for a change from Albany as a judge invalidated some new state education regulations on the teacher evaluation system. It looks like administrators will not be able to use one test to make up 40% of a teacher's evaluation.

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2011/08/24/judge-rules-invalid-some-aspects-of-teacher-evaluation-regulations/

Judge rules invalid some aspects of teacher-evaluation regulations

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/79051/nysut-claims-victory-in-court-ruling/

NYSUT claims victory i n court ruling

http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/mediareleases_16923.htm

Ruling on teacher evaluations a win for education

NYSUT Media Relations - August 24, 2011

ALBANY, N.Y. August 24, 2011 — New York State United Teachers said today a state Supreme Court ruling on teacher-principal evaluations is a significant win for the state’s public education system.

“This decision upholds the role of practitioners and the value of collective bargaining,” said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. “We are pleased the judge has upheld the statute as NYSUT interprets it. Today’s ruling is good for students and for teachers.”

Download: The Ruling (PDF)

NYSUT, Iannuzzi said, remains committed to a fair, objective and transparent teacher-principal evaluation process that uses multiple measures — a process upheld by the courts.

Iannuzzi added the union is hopeful the state Education Department will be at the table in collaboration with NYSUT in order to proceed in the context under which the statute is written.

NYSUT, the state’s largest union, represents more than 600,000 teachers, school-related professionals, academic and professional faculty in higher education, professionals in education and health care and retirees. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, Nationa l Education Association and the AFL-CIO.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Back from Vacation

My family and I spent a couple of weeks in Jamaica WI so now I'm catching up on what is happening back home.

My take on the Verizon strike is that it still has the potential to be a very significant accomplishment. While management was out for substantial givebacks in areas such as health benefits, they have not been successful. The company was following the Scott Walker Wisconsin tactic of union busting and it did not work. Yes, the workers returned to work without a contract but the old contract will carry on indefinitely until a new agreement is reached. This private sector union through its militancy won the status quo doctrine that public employees in New York have under the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor law. Please sign the solidarity statement as this story is far from over.

Meanwhile back at the schools, the ATR situation is worse than ever as June's agreement is implemented. You can read all about it in this Times article. I personally know so many good people who are stuck in ATR limbo, which is third class citizenship for teachers. I hope the ATRS continue to highlight their plight to the UFT leadership and demand that something is done to stop the week-to-week movement of these people who have done nothing wrong but because their schools or programs have closed or shrunk or budgets were cut, they are looking for a job. DOE slapped the UFT and the ATRs by allowing principals to hire new teachers and leave ATRs in the ATR pool. As for layoffs of non UFT school personnel, they are totally unnecessary but occurring currently.

Teacher and activist Michael Fiorillo has an excellent suggestion on the Common Core Standards: "I propose that heretofore everyone refer to these as the Microsoft-Pearson standards, as it is the companies (in the guise of their 'non-profit' foundations) that are creating them." I like the idea. The billionaire boys club, as Diane Ravitch refers to them, really has no business making public education policy.

My former colleague Brett Rosenthal has written a piece for the Washington Post Valerie Strauss blog comparing his current suburban school with his previous school: Jamaica High School. It is interesting reading. I told one of my friends yesterday that we have spilled oceans of ink describing the inequities at Jamaica High School but the mayor and chancellors refuse to listen. We truly need to put the public back in public education.

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS RALLY & MARCH & A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE FUTURE

Almost on a whim, my wife Camille and I decided we would pack up a bag and head down with our two year old daughter Kara to DC for the Save our Schools rally and march on Saturday July 30. We are very happy that we made the trip. Some news reports have even been ok.

Thousands of people were willing to make the trip from all over the country to stand together in the DC summer heat and humidity to stand up for public education. What a great feeling there was in that heavy air.

As many people have already said, it was a pleasure to see teachers, parents, students and activists united in support of our embattled public schools. It was a personal thrill for me to finally put faces to names such as George Schmidt, publisher of Substance in Chicago. Meeting School Gal for the first time was also a pleasure. Also, it's always fun to hang around with the New York GEM crowd and of course parent activists such as Leonie Haimson and Khem Irby.

We met educators who are willing to stand up for themselves from places like Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, the state of Washington, Washington DC, Louisiana and other areas. I recall Randi Weingarten telling the UFT Executive Board just a few short years ago how there was not much happening around the country. She couldn't say that now.

It was also exciting to see the leaders of Save Our Schools turn down an invitation to the White House during the four days of activities. In addition, we know we have support from celebrities like Matt Damon and Jon Stewart. Now that we have left DC we can't allow the momentum of the SOS march to stop.

People have asked what's next and even though we couldn't stay to plan for the future, there are ideas worth pursuing. Since the number of public educators is in the millions and most of us are completely at our wits end because of high stakes testing, No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, we might want to start contemplating using the economic power that we have to our advantage.

I believe we need to hurt the people who want to destroy public education (Koch brothers, Waltons, Gates, etc...) in the only place that they care about: their wallets. Collectively, this national movement of educators, students and parents can do it.

After reading NYC Educator last week, I listened to urbane folk singer Billy Bragg's appearance on Democracy Now. Bragg recently wrote a song called Never buy the Sun about Rupert Murdoch's troubles caused by the newspaper phone hacking scandal in England. The only heroes he found in the Murdoch affair are the people of Liverpool who have been boycotting the Sun (daily edition of the weekly News of the World paper that Murdoch recently shut down) for two decades after the Sun printed lies about a football tragedy. Many of the rest of us willingly buy up Murdoch's garbage. We do have the power of the purse if we choose to use it. As I found out last Saturday, there are many of us out there who can spread the word to many others.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Strategic Error Boxes-Out Class Size Reduction Complaint for Second Major UFT Legal Setback in Past Week

In an apparent miscalculation in the choice of proper forum for which to seek a remedy the Appellate Division, First Department this week, turned back a UFT/NAACP initiated lawsuit seeking proper allocation of Contract for Excellence funds toward class size reduction. Just a few days ago, the UFT/NAACP legal team was defeated in an attempt to stop the co-___location of charter schools.

Late last year Bronx Supreme Court Justice John Barone denied the DOE’s motion to dismiss the proceeding. The City appealed and last Thursday the Appellate Division dismissed the lawsuit.

Contract for Excellence is a special State funded program which developed as an outgrowth of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit in 2003, and tied additional state education funds to certain criteria, including lowering class size. A plan is put together, each year since 2007-2008 by the DOE and submitted to the Commissioner of Education for approval. Upon approval the funds are released.

Within the Contract for Excellence legislation are provisions for parents and others to complain about the plan and its implementation. When it became apparent through a City comptroller audit that class size reduction promises were not being met and the additional funding was going to principals to spend how they wish, parents and others began to complain.

Despite the fact that the law requires complaints to first proceed to the state Commissioner of Education the UFT/NAACP legal team decided to commence litigation in Bronx Supreme Court citing a New York Daily News article as proof of the futility of following this statutory route. The Appellate Division held that an allegation that a secret deal was made with the State Education Commissioner does not obviate the need to follow the statute’s review process and that the Commissioner's decision could be reviewed in Court.

Although the guidelines for the Contract for Excellence funding allocations have not been published for this year it is almost certain that the money will not go to class size reductions next school year. We will keep you advised.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Bargaining With the Devil: How UFT Attorney Miscalculation Led to the Recent Charter School Victory

Riding high from their school closing victory in the Supreme and Appellate Courts last year the UFT and its co-plaintiffs started to see that their interpretation of these decisions were not the same as the DOE’s. Seeing that the DOE was going ahead with its charter co-locations in most of the 19 schools prevented from closing, UFT counsel sent the court a letter on May 28, 2010 complaining that the DOE was not following the Court’s decision.

Specifically UFT counsel asked for a conference with all sides to stop the co-locations arguing that the invalidated PEP vote also prevented the co-locations. The DOE appeared to believe that the decision only invalidated the PEP vote that closed the schools.

A conference was held and on July 14, 2010 a letter “agreement” was submitted, which, incorrectly relied upon by the UFT, seemed to answer their concerns. The letter agreement laid out a plan to provide services to the affected schools.

As usual the UFT claimed a great victory and everyone went on their merry way until it became clear that the DOE had not given up its plan to close most of the schools originally planned and co-locate charter schools.

The UFT cried foul and based their claim of swindle on the letter agreement which they started to call a stipulation. Few, if any of the services “promised” in the letter agreement were provided or were provided so late in the year that they could not prevent the closing of the schools or the co-locations.

By May 2011 the UFT assembled its prior co-plaintiffs and decided to commence a lawsuit with a request for a temporary injunction to stop the DOE from the closings and co-locations. A temporary restraining order was consented to by all parties on June 21 pending a decision by the Justice Paul Feinman.

Then, on July 21, 2011 Justice Feinman issued his opinion right after the State permitted the DOE to close the schools. He denied the injunction paving the way for DOE celebration.

What went wrong?

As hinted at above the bottom line, relied on by Justice Feinman, was that the DOE never really agreed to provide the services of the letter agreement as a condition before closing the schools. Justice Feinman relied on Joel Klein’s affidavit which clearly claimed that if there were any conditions he never would have agreed. Adam Ross, a UFT attorney, admitted, “Thus, while Defendants are correct that the Agreement does not foreclose the DOE from ever seeking to close these schools, their contention that their promise to provide specified supports for these schools in the 2010-2011 school year (Klein Aff., pp6) is completely irrelevant to any further decision to close is incorrect.”

Feinman made clear in his decision that there was never any representation, implicit or otherwise, on which the UFT could reasonably rely that the DOE waived any of its authority to co-locate or close the schools. To grant the injunction, Feinman ruled, would relegate students in these allegedly failed schools to an inferior education.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Good Summer Reading on Failure of Business Model in Education & Other News and Commentary

My colleague Marc Epstein has written a piece showing how the business model has failed in public education but as usual there is no accountability for failure. Like everything else, accountability is for little people.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-epstein/which-business-model-is-b_b_909695.html

While I was away on vacation, the news was depressing as a judge sided with the city and will allow charter co-locations in public schools and school closings to continue. The judge did leave a window open to continue the suit but this fall will be a disaster for kids in many closing schools as Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters pointed out.

Then there is the related issue about what is likely to happen to the kids who are currently enrolled at the closing schools. At Jamaica HS, they are planning to allow only the high-achieving kids in the Gateway program to transfer into the new selective small school in the building, called Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences . For most of the rest, they will either be forced to drop out, be discharged to GED programs, or given sub-standard “credit recovery” programs, and never be allowed to graduate with a real HS education. A recent summary shows what happened at Tilden HS when it closed. 44 Haitian students fell between the cracks; they “came to the United States in search of better educational opportunities, but they didn’t find it.” There is no evidence that DOE has learned anything from the past and will do anything different in the future.

I don't know who the person was who confronted a deputy chancellor at the DOE happy hour celebrating the court ruling that will leave thousands of children behind in separate and unequal schools but those of us at Jamaica and Paul Robeson thank you.

It was good to see the parents fighting back on charter co-locations in a new lawsuit filed yesterday.

The march to Save our Schools is Saturday in DC. Great news that wounded education activist Norm Scott will be there.

The DOE has also told principals how they will implement the new ATR agreement. In their video they inform principals that they can still put substitutes into positions and don't have to hire ATRs to fill vacancies.

We hate to say we told them so again and again but each time the UFT makes a deal with the DOE, the DOE subsequently does everything they can to not abide by their part. Shouldn't the UFT learn by now?

Saturday, July 16, 2011

UFT Fiddles While Large Numbers of Probationers Are Denied Tenure

Back in November 2010 Mayor Bloomberg and then Chancellor Klein announced "sweeping changes" to the tenure system in the New York City school system. They claimed that tenure was a "rubber stamp" process and needed to be overhauled to assure high quality teachers remained in the system.

Where was the UFT in all of this? Right behind Bloomberg and Klein. In fact Mulgrew "welcomed" the new, overhauled process and help bring in the new evaluation system that was made a part of it.

Then in December the principals were given general guidelines based on "Framework for Teaching" developed by Charlotte Danielson and a rubric. They were instructed to use these guidelines in making tenure decisions.

The UFT either supported the guidelines, as Weingarten signaled in February, or remained silent and complacent. In fact UFT borough offices began to hold information sessions where superintendents were invited to "explain" the new rules to probationers. These included a mandated portfolio, prepared by teachers up for tenure, in which they highlighted their probationary accomplishments within the rubric.

By May 1, the DOE imposed deadline for principals all recommendations and portfolios were to be submitted to superintendents for final review.

Then the surprise. Although it was common knowledge for almost two years that rates for extensions of probation and probationary terminations were geometrically increasing the UFT stood by and did nothing fearing that if they attacked the new rules they would somehow be perceived by the public that they were protecting incompetent teachers.

Reports from all over the city came in which proved that the "new rules" were a sham. Superintendents told teachers that if they worked in poorly rated schools they were not eligible for tenure. Teachers were told they did not have enough time with their last principal to be properly evaluated or their portfolios did not make the grade even though many of them were not even reviewed.

With all of the evidence in what does the UFT do? It makes a Freedom of Information Request to determine the number of teachers affected by irrelevant criteria in end of probation decisions. Mulgrew's letter demonstrates how fearful the UFT is of the DOE. The fact that the letter went out to Chapter Leaders instead of the entire membership and that they waited until the middle of the summer to start their feeble attack clearly indicates they have no real interest in changing the DOE tenure policy both in its design and in its implementation.

A note on tenure…

We have explained before, in this blog, what tenure is and what it isn't. Briefly stated the law defines tenure as that period of time, usually 3 years, where a teacher has performed satisfactorily. Tenure fundamentally changes the employment rights of a teacher from being an "at-will" employee while under probation and fired for any or no reason at all to one that is entitled to a due process hearing where the DOE must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the teacher should be fired before an arbitrator.

Education Law 3012 provides, in relevant part: "At the expiration of the probationary term…, the superintendent of schools shall make a written report to the board of education …recommending for appointment on tenure those persons who have been found competent, efficient and satisfactory, consistent with any applicable rules of the board of regents adopted pursuant to section three thousand twelve-b of this article. ...Each person who is not to be recommended for appointment on tenure, shall be so notified by the superintendent of schools in writing not later than sixty days immediately preceding the expiration of his probationary period."

The statute provides that tenure decisions must be made solely on a teacher's competence, efficiency and satisfactory service. The part of the statute which refers to State Regulations only refers to the new, 4 part, evaluation system, effective September 2011 which make no mention of probation or tenure at all.

So why is the UFT so conspicuously absent in the face of such a radical change in working conditions for so many teachers? Perhaps, their lawyers believe that since tenure is not a subject of bargaining there is legally little they can do. While, admittedly, legal avenues are limited although there are actions that can be brought if the Union knew or cared about its members.

Now, we must wait for a FOIL request to be filled (they can take months or even years) and teachers who have provided competent, efficient and satisfactory service must serve additional probation time or be terminated.

Monday, July 04, 2011

A Failing School? Not to These Students

ON EDUCATION

A Failing School? Not to These Students

Librado Romero/The New York Times

In February, the Bloomberg administration placed Jamaica High School on a list of 22 failing schools it planned to shut. No new pupils will be accepted this fall. In three years, when the last of its current students graduate, the school will close.

By MICHAEL WINERIP

Published: July 3, 2011

Enlarge This ImageEveryone knows Jamaica High is a bad school. The past two years, it has received D’s on its report card from the city and been labeled persistently dangerous by the state.

Librado Romero/The New York Times

Muhammad Ahmad at the Jamaica High School graduation last week. He received a full scholarship to Clarkson University.

Enlarge This Image

Librado Romero/The New York Times

Afsan Quayyum, valedictorian. He plans to start an engineering program for degrees from Queens College and Columbia.

In February, the Bloomberg administration placed Jamaica on a list of 22 failing schools it planned to close. The mayor and his schools chancellors have sent letters encouraging students to enroll elsewhere, and the shrinking of the student body has led to a decline in financing, squeezing the juice out of Jamaica High.

There was no money for lab lessons in advanced biology, which upset Doreen Mohammed and Tonmoy Kabiraj, who hope to be doctors. Courtney Perkins’s advanced math class did not have graphing calculators until eight months into the school year. The last music teacher was sent to another school, which really frustrated Mills Duodu, who plays violin, trumpet, drums and piano.

City officials have vigorously fought a lawsuit brought by the teachers’ union seeking to save the 22 schools, 15 of them high schools. In May, the schools chancellor, Dennis M. Walcott, called the union’s position “unacceptable” and vowed to “defend the honor of our students.”

This surprised Afsan Quayyum and Doreen, who graduated from Jamaica High, in Queens, last week. They did not realize their honor needed defending. Afsan, the valedictorian, plans to start an engineering program this fall that will give him a bachelor’s degree from Queens College in three years, and another from Columbia University after two more. Doreen, the salutatorian, has a full scholarship to Columbia.

Their classmate Gerard Henry is struck by all the people he meets who have never stepped inside Jamaica High yet are sure it is a living hell. “If I say, ‘My name is Gerard Henry and I just graduated Jamaica High School,’ they say, ‘Oh my God, you’re one of them?’ If I say, ‘My name is Gerard Henry and I’m going to Columbia next fall,’ they say, ‘Oh my God, you’re one of them?’ ”

It is puzzling how a school can be labeled failing and yet produce Afsan, Doreen and Gerard, not to mention Mills (who is heading to Denison University in Ohio), Kevin Gonzalez (Stony Brook University), Courtney (Howard University), Nujhat Choudhury (University of Alberta) and two top math students who are best friends: Muhammad Ahmad (Clarkson University) and Mohammad Khan (City University’s Grove School of Engineering), known throughout the school as “the Mohammads squared.”

Of course, it is possible that such seniors are the exceptions. As James S. Liebman, the Columbia law professor who developed the city report card, wrote in an e-mail: “Good high schools aren’t satisfied when just a few kids get into strong colleges. They aim for all kids to do so.” Education Department officials point out that the graduation rate at Jamaica has stayed at about 50 percent for years.

But it is also possible that the deck has been stacked against Jamaica High, that the 15 “worst” high schools have been packed with the students with the worst problems. According to an analysis by the city’s Independent Budget Office, these schools have more poor children (63 percent versus 52 percent citywide), more homeless students (6 percent versus 4 percent), more special-education students (18 versus 12). For 24 percent of Jamaica High students, English is a foreign language, compared with 11 percent citywide.

The “worst” high schools are sent the eighth graders who are the furthest behind: their average proficiency score on state tests is 2.6 out of 4, compared with 2.9 citywide, and more of these students (9 percent versus 4 percent) are over age, suggesting they have had to repeat grades.

It is no big mystery to Doreen why Stuyvesant High gets A’s on the city progress reports while Jamaica gets D’s: “Only the smartest kids are accepted,” she said.

Jamaica High’s enrollment has fallen to about 1,000, a quarter of what it was in the mid-1970s. No new pupils will be accepted this fall. In three years, when the last of its current students graduate, the school will close. Four new small schools will take over its storied building.

Each administration wants to be remembered for pioneering something or other, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg long ago chose small schools and charters.

James Eterno, Jamaica’s representative to the teachers’ union, has been portrayed in the news media as a man who cares more about preserving jobs than — as the mayor never tires of saying — “putting children first.”

That is not how Kevin Gonzalez sees it. For Kevin, Mr. Eterno is the United States history teacher who stayed late to tutor his students, helping Kevin earn a top score of 5 on theAdvanced Placement test.

Doreen and Gerard definitely feel put first. Jamaica had no college adviser this year — until October, when Mr. Eterno stepped in. “Before Christmas break he stayed late to make sure everything was perfect to send to the colleges,” Gerard said. “Mr. Eterno went way beyond.”

After Doreen was accepted to Columbia, she spoke with people at the admissions office. “They told me how Mr. Eterno kept calling them about me and faxing them stuff,” she said.

Last Tuesday, students did not have to be at the graduation ceremony until 9 a.m., but Doreen was up at 4:30 getting ready. To ensure she was out of bed by 6, Nujhat set two alarms, “my cellphone and my mother.” When Afsan was asked if he was nervous about delivering a speech, he said: “A little, but I’m fine now. I’m fine. I got my confidence back.”

No Jamaica High band is left to play “Pomp and Circumstance.” But Clayton Ezell, a senior, belted out “The Star-Spangled Banner” as if he were Robert Merrill standing at home plate in Yankee Stadium.

The third-ranked student in the senior class, Tonmoy, whose father was a professor in Bangladesh but drives a taxi in New York, gave a speech about the need to see the glass as half full.

After the ceremony, the parents lingered: it was hard to tell that their children had attended a failing school. Muhammad Ahmad’s father, also named Muhammad, said his son’s full scholarship to Clarkson was a sign that the family plan was working. The father had been an accountant in Pakistan, but he, too, drives a cab here. “My job here is not a recognition of my dignity,” he said, “but I am supporting my kids to a great future.”

Of course, it is still possible that Jamaica High is a failing school. The two D’s may be deserved. But it did not fail Afsan, Doreen, Courtney, Nujhat, Gerard, Mills, Tonmoy, Kevin or the Mohammads squared.

E-mail: oneducation
@nytimes.com

A version of this article appeared in print on July 4, 2011, on page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: A Failing School? Not to These Students.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A DELEGATE ASSEMBLY THAT LEONID BREZHNEV WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF

UFT President Michael Mulgrew took dictatorial control of the Delegate Assembly to new depths that one time Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev would have been elated with. The issue at the special DA today was the worst part of the new agreement with the City-Department of Education that will permit the DOE to reassign Absent Teacher Reserves to new schools every week.

The low point of the meeting was not the agreement that contained some positives including a no layoff agreement and new procedures to help ATRs get hired. The nadir was that the president had to be forced before he would allow anyone to speak in opposition to his new agreement. When he opened up the floor for debate, multiple loyalty oath signing members of his Unity Caucus heaped praise on him for preventing layoffs. (Unity members must sign a statement saying they will support the decisions of their caucus [political party] in public and union forums.) We certainly agree that not having layoffs is an excellent outcome. Only after a Unity person moved to close debate did I stand and raise a point of order so I could have the opportunity to defend the Absent Teacher Reserves who in the new agreement are being shoved to the back of the bus if they can’t secure a position.

Roberts Rules says, "Debate of a question is not ended by the chair's rising to put the question to vote until both the affirmative and the negative are put;" I read this clause verbatim to the Delegates. Roberts Rules goes on to say, "A member can claim the floor and thus reopen debate.” That is exactly what I was attempting to do. Mulgrew passed to the UFT's parliamentarian who the president noted is paid for by the UFT. (By the way, I read Roberts Rules closely tonight and a point of order [procedures not being followed] takes priority over a motion to close debate.) The parliamentarian abruptly ignored Roberts Rules and told Mulgrew he had to have a 2/3 vote to let someone speak against the motion (the ATR and no layoff agreement) at this point. Mulgrew then improperly asked that the rules be suspended to allow someone else to speak. He got the vote to suspend the rules which was ridiculous but at least we thought were going to be heard.

We were still muzzled, however, as President Mulgrew for some reason did not call on me but instead called on a delegate from my school who yielded his time to me. That wasn't good enough for the president who at this point quickly said the delegate couldn't yield time to me and called on someone else who didn’t speak at all about the ATRs. What is the president so afraid of? Were 900 or so members of the Unity Caucus going to vote against their leadership and side with me because of my rhetorical skills? I doubt it very much. At least the DOE gives us two minutes to speak at their Panel for Educational Policy meetings before they cast aside what we say.

Mulgrew didn't even afford me any time to make the important points I made in tonight’s earlier piece. Leonid Brezhnev would have been so happy with the way our union conducted its business.

CITY BUDGET BEING BALANCED ON THE BACKS OF UFT'S ATRS

We have an agreement between the UFT and the city that eliminates the possibility of over 4,000 layoffs this year. We also gain increased hiring opportunities for Absent Teacher Reserves to be hired provisionally and to get considered for positions at reduced costs to principals. In exchange the UFT has agreed to suspend sabbaticals for 2012-2013 and to allow the DOE to move Absent Teacher Reserves who are not lucky enough to secure a permanent position from school to school on a weekly basis.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew's report at tonight's emergency Delegate Assembly highlighted the no layoff part of the agreement, which we are all happy about. Nobody in their right mind wants to see over 4,000 teachers lose their jobs. Mulgrew also thanked everyone for doing work with the state and city council. He told us the mayor said he wanted non seniority layoffs. He talked about opposing the mayor with the city council. He didn't, however, talk for too long about the part of the agreement that dealt with Absent Teacher Reserves becoming nomads.

The new agreement forces each principal to interview at least two ATRS per semester if they have vacancies and they are supposed to hire ATRS for vacancies and leave replacements. I don’t quite understand what happens if they interview two and don’t like them. Can they then hire someone from outside or give the classes away in a secondary school as a sixth class for special per session pay or to substitutes? UFT leadership believes these new procedures will lead to a big reduction in the ATR pool. I hope they are correct because anyone unfortunate enough to be left behind in the ATR pool risks becoming a teacher gypsy.

The agreement on page three contains the following ominous clause: "An Excessed Employee/ATR shall be assigned to a school within his/her district/superintendency each week. A 'week' shall be Monday through Friday, or shorter if the work week is less than five(5) days." Then there is clause C which says: "An Excessed Empoyee/ATR shall be notfied no later than Friday (or the last work-day of the week) if he/she will be assigned to a different school the following week and, if so, to which school. An ATR who has not been notified that he/she has been assigned to a different school by Friday shall report on Monday, or the first work day of the work day of the work week, and for the duration of that week, to the last school to which he/she was assigned." In other words, if a teacher does not find a permanent job on his or her own, buy a good GPS.

Besides the obvious problems of ATRS not having stability from week to week and not being able to bond with students, or know which person in each particular school to go to in order to resolve issues with payroll or their sick bank days or other items, this makes it virtually impossible for ATRs to do any per session work (extra activities for money that are pensionable.) We are truly worried that ATRS will now become third class citizens.

One of the worst parts of the horrible giveback laden 2005 contract was the loss of placement rights for members whose schools close or are excessed because their school or program is downsized. Since then, there has been a pool of teachers ranging from the hundreds to thousands called ATRs who have no permanent job and must substitute. Under current rules, ATRs usually stay in a school for a year and then can be reassigned. It is not a very professional existence but we are told by UFT leaders that at least the ATRs have jobs. In 2008 the DOE and UFT came to an agreement to allow principals to hire ATRs and only get charged on their budget the cost of half of a starting teacher for seven years. (The teacher still gets full pay.) The UFT predicted this would basically end the ATR problem but it didn't. The reasons ATRs are not hired are either because they have obscure licenses or they are activists who are not going to say, "How high?" when a principal tells them to "Jump!"

UFT Secretary Michael Mendel told me the ATRS will have a much greater chance of getting a full time position under this new agreement. Again, I truly want him to be right but I fear he might be wrong. The subsidies didn't lead to the withering away of the ATR pool and neither will this as I see it because unfortunately some principals don't care about cost as much as they care about control. Furthermore, having teachers do coverages is much cheaper than hiring someone they don’t know.
Balancing the budget on the backs of ATRS is not quite as awful as balancing it on the backs of newer teachers who would have been laid off but it was totally unnecessary. With Bloomberg’s poll numbers on education sinking to "Bushian Post Hurricane Katrina" levels, the UFT was holding all of the cards and should have insisted that to save money that the DOE should be compelled to place all of the ATRS into positions in their districts. That would save some money for sure as it would eliminate the ATR pool if DOE was not allowed to do any new hiring until every ATR in a license in a district was placed. Any remaining ATRs could cover classes in an individual school so as not to create the potential chaos that this agreement could bring.

Teacher bashing continues. When firehouses close, the firefighters aren't blamed and they are sent to another firehouse. When police precincts redeploy whole precincts because of corruption scandals, the clean cops who worked in the corrupt precinct don't have to apply to other precinct captains. They are transferred. Only teachers face the indignity of having to pound the pavement to seek a job because a program was downsized or closed.

President Mulgrew said this union leaves no educator behind. This is not totally true as the ATRs have certainly been left to basically fend for themselves.