It's no secret that the educational legacy of Michael Bloomberg is a failure. His tenure is marked with ever rising class sizes, closing schools, a shrinking school budget, low teacher morale, and an obscene funding formula that penalizes schools who dare to hire a highly experienced teacher. All this and there still has been little or no student academic achievement, a widening racial/income academic achievement gap, and abysmal "college and career readiness" scores.
Besides all the Mayor's failures, the one that stands out the most is the wasting of $160 million dollars annually on excessed educators including teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, secretaries, and Assistant Principals by rotating them from school to school. Presently, there are over 2,000 ATRs/ACRs rotating in their school Districts and over 1,000 more temporarily covering long-term leave positions and signing "provisional contracts" that will not be renewed at the end of the school year due to the money issue. This is known as the ATR crisis.
The ATR pool is populated by highly experienced teachers with over 90% being over 40 years of age and at least 10 years of experience. Among them are some very "highly qualified teachers" who have either been excessed from their closed schools. or were reassigned by vindictive principals who claimed the teachers were either incompetent or committed misconduct but the independent 3020-a Arbitrator ruled differently and found only minor infractions and sent them back as an educator. The DOE then retaliated by making them an ATR as its more important for Tweed to maintain their ideology than what's best for the students. Once Bill de Blasio becomes Mayor and selects a new Chancellor, the union should negotiate with the Administration to end the ATR pool and the cisis. Listed below are my ideas.
First, Impose a hiring freeze in school districts that have excessed teachers in the subject area where the vacancy is. There should be "NO EXCEPTIONS"!
Second, Provide incentives to principals tro hire ATRs similar to the November 2008 incentives that allowed schools to pick up highly experienced ATRs for "newbie" prices.
Third, Have the DOE penalize principals who try to hide their vacancies by removing from the school's budget funding for the hidden vacancy. This will encourage principals "to do the right thing". This was tried previously in 2010, but the DOE failed to enforce it and the union looked the other way rather than taking any action.
Fourth, Eliminate the illegal, discriminatory, and immoral "fair student funding formula" that is the primary cause of the ATR crisis. Have the educator budget revert back to a separate budget and the teachers be treated as a unit regardless of the salary. This will go a long way in giving students "highly qualified teachers" that they need and deserve.
Fifth, to mitigate "forced placements" keep the "provisional assignments" and it only becomes permanent when borh the Principal and the educator agree that ir's a good fit at the end of the school year.
Finally, eliminate the illegal and unfair "red flags" on teacher files when the independent Arbitrator ruled against OSI and SCI substantiation of charges not found to have been true in the 3020-a hearings.
I must point out that in the unlikely event that the City refuses to deal with the ATR crisis, the union should insist that the New York State Civil Service law be reimposed as part of the next contract with "bumping" that goes with it.
Realistically, by putting the ATRs back in the classroom, the City will save money, experience reduced class sizes, have more "highly qualified teachers instructing students, and getting rid of the Bloomberg legacy of hiring the "cheapest" rather than the "best" teachers for the classroom. Now that's really "children first"!
There are hundreds of atrs in some subject areas - it will take a long time to place all of us - how will that work. Atrs must be given a choice as to where they end up - if we are forced to go somewhere permanently I would rather rotate. I would not take a full time position in at least 75% of the schools that i have seen . They are poorly run and the principals are out to get everyone. who needs that?
ReplyDeleteHow about a school made up of ATR teachers?
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree with the idea that
ReplyDeleteat there are competent members of the ATR pool and something needs to be done,, there are also a couple of inaccuracies in this piece. Firstly, there has been a hiring freeze for the last two years for the majority of schools. Second, no teacher's individual salary comes up on a school budget. The year after hiring, the average cost per teacher goes up, but everyone at the school costs the same price. Lastly, the red flags are for cases that were founded or still an open investigation. There are no flags in the system for staff members who were cleared.
As an administrator who does have many concerns regarding the policies in place, I agree that there should be alternatives that make more sense. Instead of hiring new people to work at Central, I wonder if members of the ATR pool could be a part of initiatives that could support schools. One example would be to have the mayors chronic attendance initiative expanded by using teachers interested in participating from the atr pool. These teachers could be provided with a group of students that they support throughout the year and mentor. The school and the doe could split the cost.
If more people were working together to that kept children, not politics at the center, more of our young people would have the support that they need.
Chaz, thanks for putting this out there and I hope our new mayor elect Mr. Diblasio reads your information. The ATR fiasco which was planned by Bloomberg and klein and makes no sense what so ever but bloomberg opted to continue to waste the resource. But the question is why? Why waste great resources when you are trying to use the best and brightest? These educators in the ATR pool are some of the finest educators but bloombergs DOE choose to not utilize them? Guidance counselors, social workers all of whom can be helping our needy student population are being wasted by rotating them from school to school on a weekly basis!!! Teachers can be utilized to lower class sizes around the city but the DOE chooses to rotate the teachers from school to school weekly!! Schools are without libraries yet there are ATR librarians out there also rotating from school to school to school?? The stubborn mentality of soon to be out the door mayor bloomterd, has resulted in the students losing out but mikey bloombucks still thinks he is the education mayor.
ReplyDeleteThe creation of the so called "fair student funding" has been the problem here. This bogus system has forced principals to hire cheap educators rather than the best educators. Instead, before this bloomberg/klein evil creation, revert back to the central funding!! We all know now how mikey bloomcrap closed schools to create this insane pool. If our chancellor walcott puppet was a real chancellor he would have convinced mikey blooms to eliminate the atr pool and get the educators back into the classroom and counselor offices!!! Instead, the puppet chancellor did nothing but repeat whatever mikey blooms said....What a sad ending to a puppets life.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who reads anon 6:09 should get an understanding of the type of administrators we now have in our system. The admins blog is an attempt to act like a know it all and we don't really know what goes on behind the door. As an admin one should know how badly the schools are in desperate need of staff but this admin wants to have all the atrs work with attendance teachers!! And, there has been a hiring freeze in the past 2 years?? Where did this one get their diploma?? Yes, these are our admins in the nycdoe. I bet this one is a graduate from the doe leadership academy...lol omg
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:22pm
ReplyDeleteThey're 5,000 teaching positions that are vacant at the end of the year due to retirement, termination, and resignation. Whikle there are 3,000 ATRs. I believe almost all ATRs will have a position.
For those that don't central should make them a "push in teacher" in their continent specialty until a position opens up.
Anon 6:09
ReplyDeleteYou must either be a "Leadership Academy Principal, a Network leader, or an ideologue at Tweed.
First, THERE IS NO HIRING FREEZE!!!!!
Even when there was one many principals found ways to get around it and receive exemptions from the DOE.
Second, The hiring of a senior teacher will increase the average scghool salary and reduce the Principal's budget for other items accordingly. Let me show you how it works.
Mid sized school with 60 teachers and an average teacher salary of $70,000. The Principal hires a teacher making $100,000.
$70,000(59/60) + $1000,000 (1/60) =
$70,500 Take $70,500 x 60 = $4,223,000 up $23,000 from the previous budget of $4,200,000. Therefore, in the second year the Principal will have to pay an extra $23,000 in his budget if he was to hire the teacher.
Third, how ignorant of you to think that the DOE investigator's substantiation of hearsay accusations is more important than an independent Arbitrator's decision when real and relevant evidence is presented, reviewed, and analyzed. What country do you live in Iran or the United States?
I guess "due process rights" are not relevant in your warped world.
Finally, if you're a Principal, I bet you staff is full of "newbies" and you care more about your budget and control than the students of your school. What a shame.
UFT has tried all the strategies suggested by Chaz under Bloomberg but the problem remains contemptible.
ReplyDeleteTweed policy re ATRs has always been to remove them from the payrolls and that intent never dies out and consequently, the Chancellor’s Office relentlessly sabotaged any agreements worked out with the UFT to hire the ATRs. ATRs are meted out all of the following: U, verbal abuse and/or corporal punishment, sexual and insubordination charges and ultimately forced resignation or retirement, among others.
Would there be any problem if we return to the way it was before Bloomberg? Remember, new teachers continuously entered the system without causing ATRs. New schools were built without closing others. There were “Houses” inside the large high schools.
It seems that members have not carefully read Article 18 of the teachers’ contract. We should make an effort to understand the plan put into place by the UFT to prevent the emergence of today's ATR pool. We should improve Article 18 to begin with. Let us hope a new mayor and chancellor will eliminate the ATR phenomenon. ATR pool does not exist any place on earth.
fsmedu
UFT has tried all the strategies suggested by Chaz under Bloomberg but the problem remains contemptible.
ReplyDeleteTweed policy re ATRs has always been to remove them from the payrolls and that intent never dies out and consequently, the Chancellor’s Office relentlessly sabotaged any agreements worked out with the UFT to hire the ATRs. ATRs are meted out all of the following: U, verbal abuse and/or corporal punishment, sexual and insubordination charges and ultimately forced resignation or retirement, among others.
Would there be any problem if we return to the way it was before Bloomberg? Remember, new teachers continuously entered the system without causing ATRs. New schools were built without closing others. There were “Houses” inside the large high schools.
It seems that members have not carefully read Article 18 of the teachers’ contract. We should make an effort to understand the plan put into place by the UFT to prevent the emergence of today's ATR pool. We should improve Article 18 to begin with. Let us hope a new mayor and chancellor will eliminate the ATR phenomenon. ATR pool does not exist any place on earth.
Peace
fsmedu
My feeling is although you are 10000000000 pct right, Chaz, sadly, the DOE and the UFT are both in the belief that the ATR rotation is good.
ReplyDeleteTo the Anonymous poster who claims there is a hiring freeze, wake up. Join reality. Chaz is right. Principals always find a way to hire who they want and the hiring freeze was a farce. Now, there is no freeze.
De Blasio must take budgeting away from principals and have it legally drawn up that principals are not allowed to hire neophytes. I do not believe that will occur.
I believe the ATR saga is here for a long, long time
wow what an incompetent arrogant administrator - the exact kind of person that is pervasive in the system and for whom I do now want to work. Why don't you go spend your days calling houses to get truant kids to come to school - better yet drive over and pick them up yourself. Thanks but no thanks - put me in a classroom where I belong. You can go to you know where.
ReplyDeleteanon 6 :09
ReplyDeleteYour comments are disturbing by suggesting to have atr educators work on "attendance". Are you suggesting that we are going to pay these prestigious seasoned professionals to chase absent kids? Our elite teaching force with most seasoned educators to be sent somewhere to work on attendance with class sizes all over NYC busting through the leaking ceilings!! Are you kidding me? You must be from the failed leadership academy - Im sure of it. The tone of you comment is beyond disturbing and you are the problem with people who are not thinkers but followers and you have followed under the influence of the political idiots who know nothing but the gain of their own. Shame on you and you should write a clarification or apology
I am a licensed social worker who enjoyed counseling a full caseload of mandated students up until this September when I was relegated to the demeaning status of rotating ATR. I must spend five days at each designated school where I am either told to sit in a teachers' lounge or merely asked to phone a few absentees. I read my paper or my Kindle to pass the time. There was another social worker with far less seniority at the school from which I was excessed but she was retained because her SBST salary came from the central budget while my RSCP salary cost the Principal big bucks. I don't think this is fair. Do you?
ReplyDeleteThe comment earlier about ATR's who would like to work outside of the classroom to improve attendance. This brings up something that is never mentioned. An excessed teacher loses their building seniority (correct me if this is not so). Unless they called back to their previous school they must start over again in another school (even if regularly appointed). Comp time positions as far as I know we partly if not entirely based on building seniority. There may be some ATR's that would be interested in something like this. There were a lot of comp time positions in my old school (Jamaica High School) and it is disappointing that teachers including myself would never have the opportunity to even apply for one the way things are going. My greatest concern is with the first comment that ATR's will not be given a choice about placement (if that is what the union and city agree to do). We as ATR's need to be as vocal as possible on this issue.
ReplyDeletehey anon 6:09 am,
ReplyDeletewhat are you smoking? it must be some potent stuff.