In The DOE Its Ideology First And Children Last.

It has been about six months since the NYC public schools have had a new Mayor and a long term educator as Chancellor.  However, when it comes to real changes to the damaging Bloomberg education policies, nothing has changed.  For example, the DOE continued to fight "tooth and nail" to require teachers to submit a detailed and formatted lesson plan as part of the teacher's classroom observation.  Even after an Arbitrator upheld the UFT grievance that stopped the DOE from having administrators require such lesson plans, the DOE failed to inform school administrators that they could not require specifically formatted lesson plans. Furthermore, the DOE, in negotiations with the UFT for the new proposed contract demanded a four month time limit on excessed teachers who were not offered a position.  The DOE knew very well that with their existing policies in place that any ATR time limit was simply a termination program.  However, the DOE's Bloomberg ideology did score a win as they did get the UFT to agree to a teacher "caste system" with diminished "due process rights" for ATRs.  It still seems to me that the DOE is still going after teachers with the same vigor as they were during the Bloomberg years.

Under the Chancellor many of the worst policies of the Bloomberg Era has been retained.  First, and foremost is the "fair student funding".  Second, the termination process for teachers found "ineffective".  Third, the continuation of large class sizes, and finally, the widespread use of teachers not certified in the subject they're teaching in with the union's approval I might add.

The few cosmetic changes that Chancellor Carmen Farina has made such as a more stringent qualification process to become a Principal through the Leadership Academy and more parent involvement pales in comparison to the more major flaws in the DOE like making the classroom environment less hostile, a reduction in the amount of paperwork, and the apparent continuation of the useless, money-sucking "Children First Networks" that dictate to principals who to hire (the cheapest and untenured teachers) and push unneeded and useless programs that doesn't work in the classroom.

We may have a new progressive Mayor and a long-term educator as a Chancellor but when it comes to the conditions experienced by teachers in the trenches that has made the classroom a hostile environment, the DOE policies have remained unchanged as its the DOE policy bureaucrats first and the NYC public school students last.