In the DOE's never ending quest to artificially raise the graduation rate of the high schools, Tweed has come up with the idea of splitting summer school into two three week sessions and giving the students double credit if they take both sessions. It is bad enough that many of the students don't have to show up during the year and are given "credit recovery courses" to artificially inflate the high school graduation rate. Now the DOE has quietly approved "credit recovery" for summer school by allowing students to get full credit for a semester by showing up for just three weeks. Students that show up for the entire six week course will get credit for both semesters or double the credit that summer school had previously allowed.
Over the years the DOE has approved the "credit recovery program" without so much as a guideline on what is "credit recovery". Principals, who are under pressure to raise graduation rates have gone to great lengths to use whatever means that are necessary to push out students to artificially raise the graduation rate and increase not only the school grade but to receive a financial bonous to the Principal as well. For example, the Principal at Lehman High School was accused of doing just that. I am sure every struggling high school in New York City can look at their own school and see abuses of the "credit recovery program". While the State has promised to look into the practice in New York City, So far the State has done little or nothing about these abuses. It is more important to artificially raise the graduation rate then to give a student a meaningful education. It is all about the numbers not about the quality of education.
Tweed's "children last" continues.
It's all about the $$$$. We are creating a nation of illiterates. That is exactly what people like Bloomberg want--people to serve them without question.
ReplyDeleteAppearances count to Tweed. Apparently little or nothing else does.
ReplyDeleteSo, let's see, 3 weeks of half day school to take the place of 4+ months of instruction. Where is the media and general public outrage over this? How did this guy get re-elected? I hate to be crass, but are people that stupid nowadays?
ReplyDeleteTo change the subject, what do people think about the ultimate fate of the ATRs?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the chances they are placed in positions in the end?
I've long stopped listening to our "union".
TALKING ABOUT ATRS? READ MY CASE--IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO PLACE US ANYWHERE
ReplyDeleteOn June 16 20010 I received a letter from the principal stating "....... In the event you do not receive notification of a new assigment by the reporting day for the teachers, you will continue to report to your current assigned location until you are properly placed....."
On June 21, 2010 I received a 2nd. letter stating ".... You should not report back to the prior school to which you were assigned in June 2010 unless Open Market indicates that school as your ATR location for September 2010. Once the school year begins, if you are still in excess, you are still expected to be proactive in seeking a new, regular assignment outside of your temporary ATR placement...If you have questions.......contact HR 718-935-4000."
The first letter seems to be from my principal. The second one is on the school letter head but orders from the DOE.
What is more bad luck for ATRs is that the ATR incentive agreement is going to expire on November 15, 2010. I don't know who is going to give a job to the ATR teachers without this incentive. No principal will be willing to pay the salary of a senior teacher. Please reread the bottom part of this email -- It is clause #5 of the ATR Agreement that will expire on 11/15/10.
5. Until November 15, 2010 a school that hires a centrally-funded ATR to
fill a regular position (other than a school from which the ATR was
excessed) on or after November 1st of the calendar year in which they were
excessed, in addition to being charged in accordance with ¶ 4 above, central DOE
will credit the hiring school’s budget one-half of the starting teacher
salary that would otherwise be paid by the school under ¶4 above (To read the complete agreement go to the UFT web site).