The City Pulls All Stops To Get "Select" Newbie Teachers Hired While Trying To Kick ATRs To The Curb.

The DOE has shown once again how they will go to great lengths to get "newbie teachers" hired while making it difficult for schools to hire better qualified ATRs.  In today's Gotham Schools there is an article that showed how the DOE welcomed these "newbie teachers" with cookies, drinks, presents, and put them on the top of the list for vacancies. The DOE even brought in a musician to serenade these "select newbie teachers".   Many of these teachers may have graduated high in their class but can they teach?  Obviously, many, maybe a majority of these "select teachers" will be long gone from the New York City schools in five years and the City will be forced to find and train replacements at the expense of the students.

On the other hand, there are over a thousand ATRs floating around the NYC Public Schools and few are offered positions , except as long term replacements in hard to staff areas like science and special education.  The ATRs who do get jobs are usually the untenured or ATRs that have less than five years experience and are relatively inexpensive.  As for the highly experienced and relatively more expensive ATRs?  They have a less of a chance of getting a vacancy then a snowstorm in April, thanks to the "fair student funding fiasco".  This is especially true in the Bloomberg small schools where most of the teachers are recent hires and the average teacher salary is $55,000.  Therefore, for a Principal to hire a teacher making $85,000,  He or she would need to come up with the $30,000 difference. Is it any wonder that Principals would be reluctant to hire a teacher who is going to put a dent into his or her budget?  While some of the best schools have an average salary of $80,000 or more, many schools run by "Leadership Academy principals" experience massive teacher turnover and cannot afford or want an ATR "quality teacher", even if it's what's best for the students. Just last year, the ATR job fair was a joke with few schools represented and even fewer administrators with the authority to offer positions.  In one case, a school sent a Secretary to take names of ATRs to screen them for a possible interview.  What a joke and a disgrace!

It's too bad that the DOE is so shortsighted that recruitment is more important than retention to them. When I keep reading that the DOE puts "children first", I must laugh because the real truth is that the students of the school is put last when it comes to hiring qualified teachers.