Monday, October 03, 2016

The Truth About The ATR Pool.



























I am sick and tired of reading erroneous media articles about ATRs on how they are "bad or unwanted teachers" and that there should be a time limit to be hired for a permanent position without attempting to understand the obstacles placed by the DOE on the ATRs in obtaining a permanent position.  Let's speak the truth about the ATR pool.

First, one can be an ATR for their entire career and the DOE cannot impose a time limit on them.  The ATRs are protected by the union contract and for all the abuse our union leadership has allowed the DOE to do to us.  Field supervisors, rotation, forced placements, reduced due process rights, and general disrespect.  The one thing they will not cede to the DOE is an ATR time limit.  Even if our union leadership tried to give the City the right to impose an ATR time limit, New York State civil service law would stop them in their tracks as it requires that any layoff would be seniority based and if the DOE tried to layoff ATRs they would be in violation of civil service law and in particular State Education Law 2588 which Mayor Bloomberg tried and failed to get rescinded. I know of an ATR who has been an ATR for a decade and he expects to retire as an ATR a decade from now.   Finally, if the union did allow for an ATR time limit in a future contract (highly unlikely) all other City and State unions would immediately file a lawsuit calming it violates State law and make our union a pariah to the rest of the unions.

Second, the majority of ATRs were excessed due to closing schools (162 under Mayor Bloomberg) or reduced classes in their subject area.  Only 23% were ATRs due to 3020-a discipline charges and had won their termination hearings.  The ATRs were people unlucky enough to have picked a school targeted for closing by the Bloomberg Administration (32%) or in a subject area program that was either eliminated or reduced (39%).

Third, schools don't like picking up ATRs for two reasons, their salary and seniority not that they are "bad teachers".  That is a myth started by then Chancellor Joel Klein and continues under the news media, deformer organizations, and E4E.  The DOE, for their own political purposes use this propaganda to keep the ATR pool a thousand plus strong year after year and is willing to waste $100 million dollars or more to suit their ideological philosophy..

Fourth, the Fair Student Funding (fsf) used by the schools penalizes principals who hire veteran teachers.  The faf  forces principals to hire the "cheapest and not the best teachers" for their schools.  Its little wonder that the average ATR has 23 years of experience and 53 years of age since they are too expensive for many schools to permanently hire.

Fifth, the rise of the Leadership Academy Principals in which are taught to be the CEO of their school and they don't want veteran teachers who have institutional memory on what its like to effectively and collaboratively run a school . There are fewer and fewer instructional leaders who appreciate the institutional memory and classroom experience veteran teachers bring with them.

Finally, the DOE promotes an "education on the cheap" policy with school budgets 14% below what fsf requires, limiting Regents Science programs to 4 classes of instruction instead of five as the rest of the State has, putting too many students with IEP's in ICT classes, and make sure they have the maximum contractual limit on class sizes, all to save on teachers they need to hire. In addition, schools rather give their existing teachers a sixth class or put teachers not certified in the subject area than hire an additional teacher.

So when you hear or read that ATRs are "bad teachers" you just need to read this post to know the truth,

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

The UFT needs to speak up to the facts and publically acknowledge them. When DeBlasio went into office and referenced us as inferior teachers who would be counseled out, Mulgrew (who was present) said that diminished due process who help those who aren't suited to teaching find another career and put it into the contract. Wouldn't that have been an excellent time to educate the mayor, Farina and the media? Go back to central funding and ATRs will be hired, because they are far superior to inexperienced and new teachers. I don't say that to offend new teachers, but it's wrong to put inexperienced teachers into the classroom when better is available. How can the city hire 5700 new teachers, when there are over 2000 ATRs without a permanent position? This game should be stopped and the truth told.

Anonymous said...

Institutional memory? They want robots who read scripts. earn credits from Relay Graduate School and have not had an independent thought in years.

Abigail Shure

Bronx ATR said...

The best post you've ever written. Clear and concise, with a point by point analysis. The next time I read another crappy article about ATRs, I'm sending this post. It should be read aloud at the next annual UFT ATR meeting.

Anonymous said...

Chaz, thanks again for your insightful analysis of the ATR situation. There is too much misinformation about ATRs floating around and our union is no help in dispelling the inaccurate rumors.

I tell every ATR I encounter and direct them to read your blog to find out the truth.

Anonymous said...

The UFT, DOE, Principals etc. are not concerned about putting the "best and not cheapest" teachers in front of kids. Billionaires agenda includes giving only "smart, talented" kids a good education. All others will eventually be given robots/computers to teach them once they abolish the public school system. Until then, kids deemed "less than" will get newbies/inexperienced cheap teachers because they don't matter to the powers that be. If they accomplish their goal of destroying the public schools, then the Education Laws can be legally rewritten and there will be no Constitutional protections for anyone, teachers and students included.

In the meantime, do you really think that Mulgrew or anyone in the DOE cares if poor kids get a good teacher? Think again.

Anonymous said...

I know people who would love to be ATRs, despite all the disrespect, especially since the rules reverted. In my school the paperwork is maddening, the bosses are vindictive sweatshop drivers and the kids are 5-10 grade levels behind - no joke there. I see the ATRs come in smiling. They sit quietly in the lounge, cover classes as babysitters when necessary and go home on time with no lesson planning to fill their nights and weekends (curriculum creation really).

I want that.

Michael Fiorillo said...

Your blog provides an essential service for this much-abused group of teachers.

Chaz said...

Thank you Bronx ATR and Michael Fiorillo for your supportive comments. They are greatly appreciated.

Mota said...

This is a great educational article. It provides us with the type of hope we need every morning to continue doing our job.
It is an assurance that we are protected by law.By having this information in mind our optimism and determination should continue.

Anonymous said...

Chaz if you keep writing articles like this I will be forced to video tape the ATR guidance counselor at my school making top salary doing literally (I mean literally) nothing. She has basically taken over the lounge and goes online all day. The life of an ATR.

Chaz said...

Anon 7:43

Let's see, a Guidance Counselor who will only be in your school for 6 weeks and cannot be assigned students because she will not be there for the school year and you blame her? How about blaming the idiotic DOE for a rest of talent.

Shame on you for blaming the victim.

Anonymous said...

749 is clueless witht hat comment. Social worker and guidance counselor atrs are given any work so of course they will be sitting online all day. DOE is moronic allowing them to be atrs and not placing them.

Anonymous said...

I'm an ATR teaching 5 classes out of license every day. The school I'm in doesn't have a guidance counselor. There's vacancies all over the place, but the DOE has created this to purge the system.

Chaz said...

oops should read waste of talent.

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:49

Not to be mean, but your anger is misplaced. This ACR Absent Counselor Reserve is not....

Oh never mind, you just wouldn't understand.

Anonymous said...

I am an ATR social worker and the comments made by that jerk on post 7 49 are a fake post in order to stir up hatred among us all. Remember people there are cruel miserable people out there who will say or do anything to get people to pit up against each other. Chaz's response that the social worker counselors will be in school for 6 weeks is spot on and the reality is why does the DOE still implement this system with their social emotional employees who are here to help a needy student population starving for attention, guidance, love, respect and HELP. However, the idiots swirling around want to "video" the social worker in the lounge and the video will prove what? It only proves how much hate we have in society and inside the schools unfortunately. And, ultimately it will prove how incompetent and dysfunctional the doe actually is!

Anonymous said...

The numbers tell a very different story and certainly add to the senseless DOE "ideology". In NYC the NYCDOE employs 75,000 teachers and 1200 of these teachers are in the ATR pool.
1200 / 75000 equals 0.016 percent. With such a fraction of the work force in the pool why is there so much hoopla and why aren't these people put into the classrooms?? Bizarre living in 2016 NYC


Anonymous said...

I'm one of those GC'S ago sit in a lounge and do nothing but surf the Web. Do you really think that an educated professional prefers to sit and do nothing? Get a clue. If you are ignored by administration what would you expect a person to do? Gotta keep yourself sane.

Anonymous said...

7:49 sounds suspiciously like the lonely troll....