With DC 37 caving into the City and setting a pattern with a 7.42% raise over 44 months that's what it looks like UFT members will get once we get a new contract.

The Crack Team has gotten together and is willing to endorse such a pay raise but the support is conditional. Conditional upon what The Crack Team wants in return. This shall be known as The Crack Team's contract demands.

All ATRs must be placed. Not force placed, but rather intelligently placed. Each to the best of their abilities and each to a school in which the ATR can thrive and work in an environment that is conducive to the growth of said ATR and the school's students.

End Fair Student Funding. Mulgrew has said that the UFT cannot bargain budgetary demands. The Crack Team calls bullocks! When there is a will there is a way.

Bye-Bye Monday PD. A complete waste of time. There is no real professional development occurring.  I'd much rather watch hours upon hours of Kathy Griffin.

ATRs must be observed and rated as per diem substitutes are. In lieu of all ATRs being placed, ATRs must be treated as the DOE sees us. As nothing more than substitutes. Treat us the same way.

End Field Supervisors. If the above is impractical than do away with the field supervisors. Create with the UFT a truly transparent and fair method of observing and rating the ATRs. However the guiding philosophy must still be Teaching for the 21st Century.

Two observations per year for tenured teachers. I'm getting tired of meeting teachers from all over New York State and looking at their faces as I share with them we have 4 observations.

Bye-Bye Danielson. 'Nough said.

Discipline must be scaffolded. The contract states a "Counseling Memo." How often is a counseling memo used? All discipline at the school level should and must begin with a counseling memo. Too much mundane bullshit is settled with a letter to the file.

Clearly define what one needs to attain tenure. Too often now newb teachers are left in the lurch with subjective decisions on whether or not they will receive tenure.

All letters to file can be grieved. This was an injustice was this ended. Not being able to grieve all letters to the file just gave principals the ability to pile on the mundane crud.

Ability to face your accuser. Principals testifying by telephone? So much is missed when one can't see body language.

Principals held accountable. It is time that these principals are treated and subjected to the same methods as teachers are. Principals who are sued should stop being indemnified.

Bye Bye lawyers. Better uses for these lowest of pond scum can be put to better use by keeping the Trumps out of prison.

Bye bye 75% of the dead weight at Tweed and 65 Court St. McDonald's has been using computers to place orders. Stop and Shop has more self check out registers than manned ones. It's all the same.

Supply all ATRs with M&M's. Once a month all ATRs receive a bowl of M&M's, but there is a caveat. No bowl shall contain blue M&M's (Thanks to Van Halen for that idea).

If these demands are enacted (And any others I have missed) The Crack Team can live with the shitty raise.

On February 20 I wrote this piece on yet another besmirchment on a fellow ATR. The results are in. No one is happy other than the field supervisor.

The ATR, who henceforth will be known as Schlomo , met with the FS and his DL on February 26. The meeting lasted about 10 minutes and basically he was verbally requested on November 29, 2017 to have lesson plans for each grade. Schlomo then showed the FS the lesson plans on December 21, 2017. Now, take that last sentence and don't forget it. I will get back to it in a moment.

On both dates that the FS spoke to Schlomo about his lesson plans there was a caveat. The principal wished to see the plans. OK, fine.

The FS, in the discipline letter, blabbered that it was requested that Schlomo show his lesson plans to the principal. Mind you, the FS gave notice to Schlomo of the discipline meeting on February 15.

However, the FS actually cast eyes upon the lesson plans on DECEMBER 21, 2017 A FULL 46 DAYS before notifying Schlomo of a discipline meeting!!!

Why, oh why, could not the FS have either a) Say to Schlomo, "let's go see the principal together and show your lesson plans", or b) say, I'll do you a solid and share with the principal that you have the lesson plans, or c) clearly state in writing that he was supposed to physically bring the lesson plans to the principal?

See, there is a hitch here. At no time did Schlomo ever receive anything in writing as to the subject of his lesson plans. All direction was done verbally. On Schlomo's part there he was not sure if the principal was to seek him out or vice versa in regard to the lesson plans. It was a mix up. Why not just give a counseling memo? Why have to proverbially kick someone in the head with a steel tipped boot while their down? Mistakes happen. He was not purposely insubordinate. He was not trying to pull a fast one. He did not put a child in danger. Geez, it was a misunderstanding!!!

The last two school years Schlomo received an S on his rating sheet. Thus far this year he is treading water.

In the fall the FS informally observed him with a Kindergarten class and guess what? It was unsatisfactory. Of course this brought out the dreaded PLAN OF ASSISTANCE. 

But it gets goofier. Just this week the FS did another informal observation, again with a Kindergarten class (Thank God it was first thing in the morning!). Let's see how this goes.

Anytime you meet with a FS and you do not receive anything in writing, take notes (or audio), and the minute you get home memorialize the meeting in an email and write something like this....

Dear FS, 

This morning when we met you told me to do X,Y, and Zed. Yada, yada, yada.

Thank you very much.

Love,

The ATR.

It's all about covering your buttocks.

More from the files of "You Can't Make This Shit Up!"

An ATR that I know is meeting in a discipline conference with his field supervisor when we
get back on February 26.

This ATR is a damn fine teacher. He is very smart, comes prepared, keeps to himself, the kids love him, the teachers dig him. Doesn't rock the boat, keeps to himself, crosses at the green and not in between, posts no bills.

The previous two school years he has received a Satisfactory rating.

Until this year.

This ATR's field supervisor this past November gave him a U rating on an informal observation. Along with this came the usual improvement garbage.

Dear field supervisor sauntered into the school this past Thursday, February 15 to meet with him.

The usual blabbering spewed forth from the field supervisor until the ATR was blindsided.

He received notice to meet with field supervisor and UFT rep on the Monday we come back.

Why? Because the ATR never submitted his lesson plans to the school principal.

The ATR claims that the principal NEVER ASKED once to see his lesson plans. I believe him.

I also know of this principal, this principal is a damn fine principal and treats all staff with respect and does not have "gotcha" bone in their body. Same with the school's AP's.

Something smells here.

First, giving this ATR such short notice for a meeting is not cool. Especially, when he decided to partake of the district rep in attending the meeting with him (time was of the essence Thursday to contact the DR!)

Second, is the field supervisor assuming that the principal asked for the lesson plans? Has the field supervisor communicated with principal?

This is the first meeting in nearly three months with the ATR. At their last meeting she asked him to keep a set of lesson plans for each grade. At what point since November has the field supervisor followed up on her request? 

The ATR feels confidant. The ATR has the DR going in with him. The DR is a good person. That the ATR is not using the chapter leader is not an indictment against the CL. In my opinion, every ATR should use the District Rep when called to a discipline meeting. It's logical.