There is little doubt that the DOE is dysfunctional and rather than cooperate and support schools, they instead appoint and protect unqualified administrators. Moreover, the DOE imposes top down policies that have little or no support by school staff. Be it the unfair "Fair Student Funding" or the Charlotte Dainielson rubric. Finally, the NYCDOE has a large legal organization, called the Office of Legal Services who's main job is to fire teachers through the 3020-a process. Many educators call then the "gotcha squad".
Successful school districts have one very important thing in common, that's collaboration. From the Superintendent down to the novice teacher all employees support each other. The school district usually goes out of their way to support the school and the classroom with adequate resources, a culture of cooperation, and an appreciation of all employees. These school districts might have one lawyer on staff or simply contract the few legal issues to an outside law firm. 3020-a hearings are a rarity and usually a fair settlement is negotiated. Students need not worry that their teacher will suddenly disappears and they suffer academically for it.
By contrast. welcome to the bizzaro world of the NYCDOE. The DOE is anything but cooperative. Rather the DOE polices incentivizes principals to hire "newbie" teachers through their Fair Student Funding policy and encourages the pushing out of veteran teachers into either the 3020-a process or eliminate programs to dump them into the ATR pool. To achieve this goal the DOE needs and employs a hundred or so lawyers and support staff to assist principals in getting rid of teachers and apparently money is no object. For the 361 teachers, charged under section 3020-a in 2016, It costs an average of $215,000 to complete a 3020-a hearing, start to finish, and while schools have recession era budgets and are only funded at 90% of what they should be, the bloated DOE Central Bureaucracy just gobbles up more money for themselves.
Every year or two the DOE has a new "flavor of the day" program or policy and pushes it on schools that end up not to work and wastes time and money to implement the failed program. Moreover, NYCDOE appoints Superintendents based more on who they know and not what they know. Teachers have little or no respect for these political appointees and the inferior principals they appoint. Finally, the DOE looks the other way when school administrators commit academic fraud and allows it to continue that allows students to graduate unprepared for the adult world.
In my opinion the NYCDOE practices policies and the disinformation that make the New York City Public Schools dysfunctional and only hurts teacher morale and adversely affects student academic achievement.
I’d love for you or some journalist to expose the amount of money wasted by central DOE. The money spent on the ATR pool is probably nothing compared to the wasted consultants, quality reviewers, and pointless curriculum administrators in worthless Borough Support Centers. Put that money into schools where it belongs. I can’t get paper for my students but the DOE has consultants forcing stupid ideas like student led conferences on schools.
ReplyDeleteCollaboration is very important! Whatever happened to the idea of teamwork? Observations were meant to assist teachers in growing and learning.
ReplyDeleteThe admin who observed us were considered master teachers in the discipline area. It is stressful to be observed but I knew that the process would enhance my teaching skills. Ideas were always shared on how lessons could be made even more effective for our students.
Now everything is punitive with a "us against them mentality"! One day you are in the next day you could be out! Nothing to do with the profession of teaching,
Admin consistently show lack of management/leadership skills, lack depth of knowledge in discipline area, and do not see that students are being negatively affected by all of this.
You left out progressive discipline and counseling memos.
DeleteThe people that are writing the observations are using a subjective rubric in a manner in which it was not meant to be used. They wouldn't be able to teach the classes they are observing. Also, a supervisor going to workshops doesn't qualify someone to instruct an instructor. You need years in the classroom and those years need to be recent.
I have never felt more shitty than right now in my 20 plus years of teaching. The stress, the admins, the kids, are starting to take a toll on me. The current state of affairs in NYC schools is simp;y horrible. We had a bunch of teachers quit last June. I just need to lay low and bid my time. It is so sad but so true.
ReplyDeleteHas there ever been any idea in any profession dumber than the workshop model. Let's make sure that the only person in the room with any knowledge or expertise speaks the least every period If I had just read about this crap instead of living it I would have sworn it was some kind of joke or parody. God bless all of you still struggling against this tide of absurdity. There is peace of mind and relaxation in retirement. Hang in there Your time will come
ReplyDeleteTo 6:09 - You are spot on. The admins at my school literally act as if they are cowboys and we the teachers are cattle to be corralled and sent to slaughter eventually. They would not do any better a job in the classroom than us, yet they act like EDUCATION GODS. They are all-powerful and know all things and you are but a mere mortal in need of penance and correction.
ReplyDeleteTo 1:36 - the 'progressive discipline' we do is that god-awful talking circles fluff. Oh, Dequan is bullying Jose? Let's have a circle or a 'mediation.' I'm sure Jose will feel better when Dequan and his gang are beating him down after school for snitching!
Chaz, you call it like you see it. The elephant in the room, however, is that NYC has been a third world status place for decades now. It is only getting worse. You can only have a first world level of competence with first world people. I know it's not PC, but I have seen things in NYC that I never saw growing up in my 100% American town decades ago.
Progressive discipline refers to teachers. For example if you make a mistake you get a verbal reprimand. The second time, a counseling memo, and the third time a letter to file. Today, they are not practicing progressive discipline. It's an immediate letter to file followed by termination charges.
DeleteMy school has gone down the tubes; the principal has hired all her friends and relatives. Administrators are making flagrant mistakes and they play the blame game. They use harassment and intimidation to resolve the problems. I can't believe I've lasted over 30 years in the DOE-for my own sanity, I have to retire. I'm trying to fatten my pension; although, I genuinely feel that I have wasted my life. The only way I can get back at them is by getting a decent pension and benefits. My revenge is getting out with 34, 35 years in the system.
ReplyDelete@ all of you! I feel your pain, I took the buyout with 23 yrs was it THE best decision NO but reading all the comments and feeling the same way it was the only decision. 3 yrs ago a had a ATR ASSassin named ayo mendez. she was horrible young and clearly stupid. her observation of me was a hatchet job, I only saw her 2 times that year and she gave me my first "U" rating in 20 yrs. the write-up of the observation at best was disturbing, at worst a look into the future. she had miss spelled words, had the amount of students wrong, wrong dates on and on. it was also signed by her stupidvisor mark ryan. I filed a complaint 6 months later I go to court street for hearing and mark ryan meets me in hallway and says ayo mendez isn't coming so I'm changing "U" to "S". I was livid, the only thing the uft rep could do was calm down we won. WE, WE. so what happened to the asshats, NOTHING ayo mendez is still an ASSassin and mark ryan works for the doe on a part time basis. nyshitty doe is a disgrace!!!
ReplyDeleteI can certainly relate to this. This article sums up exactly how I feel. I taught in Richmond Hill High School and was discontinued in my fourth year. The observations that got me and another teacher discontinued were bogus. There was absolutely no collaboration and support between principal Neil Ganesh and his staff (which was one of the reasons he received negative media attention later in the year) The observations didn't even begin until mid way through the year and continue almost until the every end of the year until the number of school days that remained were practically in the single digits. The observations were completely negative but (assuming that it wasn't some gotcha scam which clearly it was) how was I supposed to make these changes in my pedagogy if there was no time that remained in the year? To me me it was absolutely absurd.
ReplyDeleteMany senior teachers have had it and want out ASAP. Many of us who are to old to switch careers, get a job in the suburbs or move within the system to a better school just suffer in silence. I have seen the system decline over the last 20 plus years and it is not going to get better. The only thing for veteran teachers to do is just hold on to retirement.
ReplyDeleteBUSINESS AND EDUCATION
ReplyDeleteA business man walks into a bar and brags about how his blueberries are the best in the country and how his business makes all this money. The business man said to the teacher, "if I ran my business the way you run your school I would be out of business"!!!
The teacher said to the business man: "Tell me what happens when you get a bad or rotten shipment of blueberries and they are all mostly rotten??" The business man replied... " I send them back of course!!!"
The teacher replied to the business man: " Well in the schools when we get a bad shipment of kids we cannot send them back we have to keep them!". Business is very different from education.
6:19 describes how l feel. I plan to go out at 55 with only 18 years in. I may hold on two more years, but at this point, what price sanity?
ReplyDeleteChancellor Fariña hasn't changed anything. It is actually getting worse.
ReplyDelete