All over the City, ATRs who rotate were handed their "unsatisfactory" ratings by the ATR field supervisor, otherwise known as the field assassin. Many of these "U" ratings are undeserved and are based upon "flyby" observations that have little relevance to a real observation.
Too many times do I hear that ATRs are being observed and rated in classrooms that they have no knowledge of the students or their academic abilities. Moreover, quite a few ATRs are being rated and observed outside their subject area. Finally, the field assassin's "plan of assistance" is a farce and offers no real support to the ATR. In fact, its used as a weapon to terminate the ATR.
The field assassin claims they are there to assist the ATR in landing a permanent position and to support their pedagogy. However, the truth is very much different. Many of the field assassins impose impossible standards on the ATR, like requiring Danielson and Common Core requirements and demanding differentiation in the lesson plan when the ATR has no clue what the academic abilities of the students are. Further, they demand "rigor" but if the lesson is too difficult for the students, the field assassin "U" rates the lesson. Of course, if the lesson lacks "rigor", the lesson is "U" rated for not being rigorous enough. A no-win situation.
To back up the field assassin's "U" ratings is their fraudulent "plan of assistance" that talks about differentiation, classroom management. and effective teaching but offers no real support to the ATR. The "plan of assistance" is used as a tool to not only "U" rate but terminate the teacher under section 3020-a. While both the DOE and UFT agree that "Teaching for the 21st Century" should be used to determine if the ATR is "satisfactory" or not, neither organization appears unwilling or unable to tell the field assassins that and they go about their business to unfairly "U" rate the ATRs using almost impossible standards for them to meet.
How in the world can an ATR be expected to control student learning or behaviors if they don't know the students names or have any ownership over their grade? Moreover, many field assassins actually ask the classroom teacher to leave the room which in many troubled schools is a signal for the students to act up and refuse to do the assignment. Finally, its very obvious that some field assassins are harassing the ATRs with multiple observations, just hoping and waiting for the ATR to slip up so they can start the "plan of assistance" tool for supporting termination in the 3020-a hearings down the road.
The UFT leadership must demand that the field assassins be eliminated and that ATRs be placed in schools where vacancies exist. However, I'm not holding my breath waiting for our disconnected leadership to do what's right for it's members. That would be too much to ask.
It seems that the attacks by the DOE on ATRs are much more vicious under DiBlasio than they were with Bloomberg. Farina is running the DOE and as such this has to be under her direction, with the approval of her lap dog Mulgrew. Did anyone ever find out what that secret meeting was with the DOE and UFT?
ReplyDeleteThe solution is a complaint to the EEOC initiated by the UFT Solidarity Caucus and the New Action Caucus. We need to draft a complaint, and have all ATRs sign it. Unity and the DOE are working together in the discriminatory practices against veteran teachers. It is age discrimination and harassment.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be something we can do to stop this unfair harassment! These observations are not only unfair but just plain ridiculous. How can we stand together and stop this!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBloomberg wanted to fire teachers, but could not due to civil service law. That's why ATR status was created. Well years later, the people he left in the DOE have finally figured out how to get rid of us. Go after teachers using failed APs who don't have permanent positions. Then get them to observe ATRs in front of unknown, sometimes hostile students, an holding lesson plans to near-impossible standards. Add to that the degrading behavior we are subject to, and ATRs will either quit, retire early, or be removed via the 3020a process. Stark did his hit job on me, and I got a U rating from that inbred illiterate. That the UFT doesn't care what happens to us is suicidal to them. After all, who is left in 10 years? De Blasio and his pet monkey Farina certainly know they can do what they want, knowing Mulgrew won't even complain. At least Bloomberg had the decency to be upfront about wanting us gone. Red Bill doesn't even care.
ReplyDeleteThe contract Weingarten negotiated in 2005 effectively got rid of seniority, thus creating the ATR pool. Bloomberg may have wanted to fire us, but it is Weingarten who left us with the inability to grieve observations and decimated seniority.
DeleteWe need to find out using FOIL is there on incentive to go after veteran teachers, and expose to the media. We need to stop complaining and start filing lawsuits.
ReplyDeleteFoil will be impossible to prove.
DeleteThe media dosent care/is against teachers.
Good luck with the lawsuit.
How many actually got a u?
ReplyDeleteThe EEOC does NOTHING for you. As a matter of fact, in my experience, they actually took the part of a vindictive lying POS AP. They might as well have been his personal attorneys. Four members of one department brought EEOC charges against this AP for various forms of harassment, and none of them were even granted hearings. All received lambasting letters from EEOC. This vicious POS AP walked, nothing happened to him, while 2 of the 4 complaining teachers became ATRs, with one eventually being terminated completely unjustly.
ReplyDeleteThere are some reports that in the schools that they pushed out the most experienced staff, the regents scores have plummeted. Eventually the DOE of NYC discriminatory policies are going to backfire them.
ReplyDeleteThis system is full of abuse and corruption.
ReplyDeleteHow many of these ATRs knew to make secret audio recordings of the observed lessons and of all meetings with the field supervisors?
ReplyDeletewww.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/new-york
Walter Haverstock's ATR tales are very insightful.
Here's an example:
http://wdhaverstock.blogspot.com/2015/04/chap-86-atr-supervisor-covers-her-ass.html
And he is not afraid to post the full contents of observation reports:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5FF0GavQlCwOS1PTERva1FTSU0/edit
It seems that there's a widespread message amongst principals and APs to demean and demoralize ATRs. They empower payroll secretaries, paras and even school aides to be the contact person for us at these sites. Can we please unite as ATRs and file something, do SOMETHING to get respected in this system?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteI was given a "C" on my end of year rating, signed by someone I have never met or heard of. I received it via e-mail with nothing checked off, how can I be rated if I have yet to "teach" a single class this school year?!?!
ReplyDeleteI have to ask,
DeleteWhat the heck is a C rating?
I just joined this blog through iceuft. I am an ATR since Dec 1, 2014. I am in my 12th year at DOE as a dance/yoga teacher with a dance license. Financially I must work 4 more years. I have a masters in Performance from NYU and another in Energy Medicine. Received my U last week and am up to support any efforts needed to expose/empower ATRs. Please keep me posted. I am grieving my U rating but know it will not be overturned if things are the same historically where virtually no U's are changed.
ReplyDeleteFile a EEOC complaint.
DeleteATRs need to continue banding together. The ATR Alliance is growing. www.atralliance.org
ReplyDelete