Sunday, September 02, 2018

Has Anything Changed For The ATRs? No!



























There was some hope that an outsider would be appointed Chancellor and "clean house" at Tweed, eliminate "Fair Student Funding", and require that all excessed teachers be placed before "newbies" could be hired.  Disappointingly, the new Chancellor, Richard Carranza, did none of the above.  While 1,000+ veteran teachers are in the ATR pool, 5,000 "newbies" were hired this school year.

Tuesday, a new school year begins and there are over 1,000+ ATRs, mostly veteran teachers, will find themselves in a strange school for a period of time until the DOE arbitrarily decides to move them to another strange school. Moreover, the ATRs will find themselves observed by both the school administration and the field supervisor while teaching in a strange classroom with students who know that the ATR doesn't control their grade.  Finally, the ATR will have no say in the school they are assigned to.

  • The school has no parking?  Too bad.
  • It takes over two hours by mass transit.  Tough luck.
  • You are assigned to a school without an elevator.  So what.
  • You have a handicap sticker and the school offers no accommodation.  That's your problem.
  • You don't like the school climate?  You have no say in the matter.
We can only hope that the next contract negotiated by t5he UFT will eliminate the ATR pool by placing all ATRs in their subject area before any vacancies can be filled.  Stop with the gimmicks like provisionally placed, teaching out of license,  or giving extra periods to existing staff.

While I can hope for positive change for the ATRs, realistically, I expect.little change for the plight of the ATRs as both the present UFT leadership and the Bloomberg policymakers at the DOE accept the status quo.  Therefore, look for the ATR pool to be unaffected and that's a shame.

39 comments:

Shady said...

I am not sure I totally agree with you. I know many ATRs who had their assignments changed due to no elevator, long commute, difficult / bad situation etc...

Is it easy? NO but has it been accomplished yes. First, the ATR has to speak up, discuss with P, write emails until they get heard and finally resolved. Without making noise nothing is accomplished.

TJL said...

At a minimum the ATR's should be placed in subject and in district. No excuse not to do that.

Some I know don't want to be "force placed" into a school and I certainly understand that. The positions should at least be offered though for someone who's tired of being a glorified sub and rotating to god knows where.

Carranza if you get the chance to talk to him actually has a decent understanding of nuts-and-bolts teaching - a huge improvement over the likes of Joel Klein and Cathy Black - but unfortunately spends all his time on all his political BS. I think he wants to be a politician. He spouts SJW nonsense as much as if not more than DeBozo.

Anonymous said...

WAAAAAAA, WAAAAAA, WAAAAAAAAA cry me a river babysitter. I put up with all of that shit for 6 years. finally I rolled the dice and last year was the best year I had in a long time. while I realize that not everyone can survive if they retired early or just walked away it has to be something to consider. the harsh reality is a group of people have been labeled the way this country labels everything with most having a negative attachment. you are the "ATRS" it has a negative impact. many times I went into a school and had to prove myself over and over again, I paid for educational websites so I have access to material, I was usually the first one at the school, one time I walk in and the AP asks me about the lessons I was teaching fortunately I had a stack of lessons that a carried around, that with some BS and I was golden. I did remind her that I was NOT a classroom teacher but a PE teacher and was more prepared than a lot of her classroom teachers. the final school of my pathetic 24 year career in nyshitty was a school that hired an UN-CERTIFIED PE teacher he was a good kid but really UN-CERTIFIED. talk about a kick in the ass! good luck ATR'S im with you in spirit only now!!

Anonymous said...

The ATR is proof of everything the UFT is and isn’t. It is about maintaining their cash flow while being totally uncaring about those whom they are paid to represent. Its about sticking its head in the sand to ignore everything that’s obvious, which would force change for the better for its members. The only time they do something good is when it indirectly benefits them - parental leave. This Labor Day, if you’re an ATR, make the right decision and stop paying dues to a union that has continually shit on us.

Chaz said...

Shady:

I disagree with you on long commutes and no parking. Very occasionally a sympathetic DOE employee will grant one. I personally know of seven ATRs out of eight who were refused an accommodation.

Anonymous said...

I am part of the excessed staff from a school that did a rehiring. We get placed for a year. So far the teachers and GCs I heard from got pretty good placements. I got placed into Thomas Edison, one teacher got Forest Hills and a GC got into Francis Lewis. ATRs can't get placed into Renewal schools. I know the school i came from hired many first year teachers who are not going to be equipped to teach in a Renewal school. I'm annoyed also that the DOE is hiring all these new teachers while there are all these ATRs. They are wasting tons of their own money. This will be my first experience as an ATR, so I will see what happens. I just hope I'm not looked down on by the staff there. Time will tell.

Anonymous said...

Dude, I have sympathy for ATR’s. The majority of them should have jobs in schools (I have met few that I don’t think should be near students). They are treated like crap for the most part and work hard when they are given classes (not daily subbing), but your list is something most teachers have to deal with.

1. Parking? Hahaha- many schools don’t have any. It’s a problem for all teachers with cars.
2. Many teachers have long commutes- mostly their choice. This is the only one I agree with that teachers with no choice have to deal with this- which is unfair.
3. School elevator? (Or, broken ones.) Last year we had teachers and students who couldn’t get to their classes (admins didn’t care).
4. Handicap? Go back to #3. I won’t even type what they did to (or try to do) to a teacher with cancer, a teacher who just recovered from treatment, a teacher with a child with a terrible illness, a teacher whose parents died…. (the awful treatment didn’t stop until many people found out about it- most of the time it was hushed up for months.)
5. School climate? We have been fighting for years and everyone (high up) knows, but nothing is done. Yes, the UFT comes to the building often-at one point weekly (and tries), but for some reason, my principal is protected. No one knows why he is.

"The school has no parking? Too bad.
It takes over two hours by mass transit. Tough luck.
You are assigned to a school without an elevator. So what.
You have a handicap sticker and the school offers no accommodation. That's your problem.
You don't like the school climate? You have no say in the matter."

Anonymous said...

This is all about age
discrimination

Anonymous said...

ATRs need to start demanding respect and representation from the UFT. Go to the bullshit once a year meetings and start screaming. Go to a UFT's executive board meeting and make a statement about how you are treated. Make them as uncomfortable as possible. You're getting nothing from them any way other than 'You're lucky to have a job.'

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to that guy Asher that was supposed to get ATRs placed?

Anonymous said...

Field Supervisors are getting ready to harass teachers to quit with the blessing of the UFT.

Anonymous said...

If ATR's were provisionally placed during the 2017-2018 school year and received an effective rating from the administration, the school had to hire you. In fact, in my case they did. So tomorrow, for the first time in 8 years, I have the comfort of familiarity and recognition of experience and professionalism. Even though I probably will retire this year, it's still nice to be ending on a high note. Good luck to all!

Anonymous said...

End Danielson's now.

Put the onus of proof that you suck back on the admins.

They use Danielson's like an ideological weapon.

Anonymous said...

The BOED expects teachers to retire in the next two years after the back pay.
The board of Ed thinks if they give a buy out the teachers that will retire
Was going to retire anyway . The board of Ed Thinks most ATR’s will retire
in 2020 When the ATR’s gets the back pay. So no bye .

Anonymous said...

You’re literally one in a thousand. Congrats, I guess?

Shady said...

@9:07 a.m. Come on with your waaa waaa waaa. LOL As a gym teacher ATR how prepared did you have to be? Did you have to have your sneakers tied?

I am here sweating the first day of school barely holding on. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I will have to go back to my old school where the P is trying to literally rape me. Every time I walk by her she slaps my ass or tries to squeeze my balls. She literally has me by the balls and I have 5 years to retire.

She wants to make me her dean again which is still under grievance. She won't give me any classes to teach and at least 1 or 2 periods a day I must go into her office to sit and chat with her while she teases me and sexually harasses me.

This is no life at all. If I was the same man I was ten years ago I would have bent her over the principal's desk and...

Anonymous said...

The Danielson Framework is totally "one size fits all" and should be thoroughly investigated.

Check out Norm's 10/28/11 article, "Charlotte's Web - The Beat(down) Goes On":

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2011/10/charlottes-web-beatdown-goes-on.html

Also, see:

https://tedmorrissey.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/fatal-flaws-of-the-danielson-framework

https://tedmorrissey.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/danielson-framework-criticized-by-charlotte-danielson

www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/who-is-charlotte-danielso_b_3415034.html

www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/teachers-evaluate-their-e_b_4669443.html

https://jd2718.org/2011/10/19/we-are-asking-the-doe-to-cease-efforts-to-implement-changes-in-our-evaluation-system

Those of you who have YouTube accounts may wish to add some enlightening comments to this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzDcYuSsU2E

Shady said...

@6:04 congratulations... well earned & deserved. I hope other ATRs are and were treated just as fairly. I heard from a few they were purposely given developing in order for principal not to keep them. Glad some principals were ethical and did the right thing as in your case.

Anonymous said...

another year same crap for atrs...come to school and watch everyone greet each other asking how was your summer
everyone seems to know one another....me the atr sitting alone wondering when i will have to move my car as the shit hole school has zero parking for its teachers....ok, meeting breaks up....everyone goes to their prospective "places" in the building while me the atr is wondering around school with no one acknowledging me except for the hello how are you.
so the atr wonders some more and is never really acknowledged by any one....
the day drags on trying to find a place in this toxic filled crappy building they call a school...go to move my card...wait a minute there is no card for me...need to find person who "makes" the card. thank you

Anonymous said...

typical scene i saw yesterday...atr teacher and newbie working together in a classroom...the 22 year old neophyte telling the 22 year veteran what to do in the room...where to place things etc. the atr seems like the assistant to this kid who is still drunk from her frat parties.....so the day goes on and finally ends. the atr and the newbie walk out of the building together and say good bye. the atr teacher opens the door to her lexus while the newbie looks for her metro card....its all relevant.

Anonymous said...

THE DOE will have 5% tenured teachers 10 years. ThT is their goal and the union is allowing it. Newbies aren't getting tenure...it's a fact!

Stop paying union dues ASAP and the union will start working for us. Their emails to us are a lot sweeter lately.....did you wonder why???? Snake bastards, that's why!

Anonymous said...

The Union is to be blamed for the targeting of older teachers. The ATR pool is discriminatory.

Anonymous said...

He is pressuring the Field Supervisors to rate the ATRs U thanks to Mulgrew

Anonymous said...

Stark seems to enjoy lying about old ATRs.

Anonymous said...

Field Supervisors are going to be very busy harassing ATRs with U ratings. Stark enjoys his job, also Quail, etc.

Anonymous said...

@ shady maybe a couple of well placed "yessirbosses" will help your cause? if that doesn't work just yell "racist" that seem to work well these days!

Anonymous said...

More abuse and harassment coming from Field Supervisors while they hire newbies.

Anonymous said...

They want newbies because they are cheap.

Anonymous said...

These people should stopped playing games with older teachers.

Anonymous said...

The UFT is part of the ongoing discrimination.

Anonymous said...

Veteran teachers and ATRs are being harassed through 3020A hearings to retire or resign. Most of the time these charges are only an excuse to push older teachers out. Most of the time these charges do violate tenure rights by not being voted in Executive Session of the PEP (Article 2A of Education Law 3020A). Only the PEP can determine probable cause. The UFT, and NYSUT will look the other way, and will blame each other. They are openly pushing experienced teachers out the system with the compliance of the UFT, and by violating our due process. This has all been planned for a long time by relaxing the rules, and making it easier for supervisors to abuse the system. Remember the UFT negotiated in a secret deal to have ATRs observed without having any assigned classes in 2014. Now even a roving ATR Field Supervisor can recommend termination since 2016. This is not a fair game anymore. They can start targeting anyone with no consequences if they are acting in bad faith. They will target anyone outspoken first, and they will go after you until they finish the job. The observation process is being manipulated in a way that a good lesson can turn into a bad one because the UFT will not challenge unfairness, further more they are not following on legitimate grievances. It is shameful to see so many teachers in their 50s, and 60s in the rubber room. All this is happening while they hire less qualified, and inexperienced teachers because of Fair Student Funding agreed by the UFT in 2007. It is just a matter of time before they will start targeting you. It is open season, and these supervisors have a blank check to go after ATRs. Once they start targeting you they will continue, and it does not matter if you had 20 t years or more of satisfactory service. Even the arbitrator will be pressured to rule for your termination because the DOE will not hired him back.

Anonymous said...

It is pure age discrimination with the backing of Mulgrew who agreed to all this nonsrnse

Anonymous said...

ATRs are being rated in another system it is also discriminatory. And not having assigned classes is discriminatory while they hire new teachers. Having our Union negotiate secret deals without voting on it is discriminatory. Being rated by someone we never met is outrageous. Being rated on the first day we meet our students or out of license is abusive. The whole ATR Pool is discriminatory. Etc....
Shameful and ridiculous. The Union is to be blamed for the harassment that we put up with. The Union should be held accountable for the many careers being ruined because of supervisors doing what they want.

Anonymous said...

Many supervisors are manipulating the observation system because they know the UFT will not challenge any lies.

Anonymous said...

These Field Supervisors are lying under oath, and are carrying an agenda.

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Anonymous said...

Our Union is collaborating with the DOE in getting rid of experienced teachers.

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