Speculating on a UFT/Tweed Side Agreement on ATRs

There has been some speculation concerning tonight's UFT Exec. Bd meeting over some kind of agreement with Tweed urging principals to hire ATRs. Will the union leadership, which had been forced by a vote of the October Delegate Assembly into holding a rally (now a candlelight vigil), announce an agreement and cancel the rally?

Will the DOE exempt the school from being charged for a higher priced teachers by suspending the fair school formula that penalizes a school for hiring more senior teachers?

And if so, for how long? What good would it do if it was only for one year?

And what of the teaching fellow RTRs due to be fired on Dec. 5?

If there is an agreement, look under the rug for the bugs because Tweed gives nothing away for nothing. But there is pressure with budget cuts coming to get the ATRs placed. Maybe a face-saving gesture on both sides.

The UFT will trumpet it as a big victory. But if there is any victory, it would be due to the activities and pressures put on the union by the Ad Hoc committee for ATRs and RTRs.

We'll have reports tonight.

Teaching Fellow RTRs Rally at Tweed

Despite a driving drizzle a hardy band of NYC first year Teaching Fellows who have not yet been appointed and are threatened with being fired, losing their provisional teaching certification and being tossed from the Masters degree grad program, attempted to meet with DOE officials at Tweed yesterday afternoon. Marjorie Stamberg from the Ad Hoc ATR committee and Michael Fiorillo from ICE were there to show support. No one from UFT officialdom showed, But they only show if there might be press around. The RTRs do not seem to expect much help from the UFT in defending their jobs.

Kelly Vaughan from Gotham Schools was there to report. (Photo by Kelly)

According to DOE spokeswoman Ann Forte, 115 new Teaching Fellows are still without jobs, down from 139 in mid-October. Teachers tonight told me they are working as substitutes and assistants while they seek permanent positions

Read Kelly's full report here. I'm borrowing Kelly's excellent photo as I only had a video camera. I will put the interviews up if they came out ok.

Robert from ICE posted this on ICE mail:

Although the numbers were modest, the RTR rally today in the rain at Tweed was spirited. We had signs supporting the RTRs and ATRs. Several RTRs were there, including concerned relatives of the one of the RTRs. Members of the Ad Hoc Committee to support the ATRs were also there, as well as members of other groups. Passersby were engaged, and several stopped to talk and get more information. Dan, the coordinator of the RTR group, dressed in the prison suit of a condemned man, gave a speech on the steps movingly pleading the case for a reprieve of the RTRs. Then the entire body ascended the steps of Tweed in an effort to go inside and talk someone in Chancellor Klein's office. Although Tweed is a public building, it is managed by a city agency and Tweed is a tenant of this entity, and security personnel of the management barred the way. A DOE representative was fetched, however, and took material to bring to the Chancellor's office. A reporter for the Gotham Schools blog took interviews.

We must keep up the pressure on the DOE not to fire the RTRs and work to ensure a maximum turnout for the ATR rally on the behalf of the ATRs on November 24.

Robert

RTR Teaching Fellows to Gather at Tweed Nov. 5, Update on Mystery Grievance

These first year teachers hired under false pretences have had enough.

Gather November 5, 2008, 4:15 p.m.

The Tweed Courthouse Headquarters of the NYC Department of Education
52 Chambers Street, Manhattan

RTR Teaching Fellows threatened with firing on Dec. 5 gather at Tweed a month before that date to request a meeting to have basic questions answered.

How much was the New Teacher Project paid to train these people, only to see them fired?

Will these teachers be allowed to keep their certification or will they be barred from teaching after Dec. 5? Or to put it another way: How do you say they are qualified/certified on Dec. 5 but not on Dec. 6?

"We welcome anyone interested in hearing answers about the Teaching Fellows due to be terminated on December 5, 2008 and anyone who is interested in having the relationship between the DOE and the New Teacher Project clarified.

Most importantly we welcome anyone who wants to ask the DOE why it will attempt to circumvent the New York State Taylor Law to lay off teachers who it recently paid a good deal of money to an outside organization to train to teach in our public schools even when they are in dire need (and under state orders) of reducing class size.

Contact cohort16unity@gmail.com for more information.


UFT Commits to Holding Rally Before Dec. 5
Late November or Early December
ABSOLUTELY before December 5th (firing date for RTRs.)


Update on UFT Mystery Grievance -
The UFT hasn't provided any information on their alleged grievance on the behalf of the Teaching Fellows, though some have asked to see it. Either there isn't one or if there really is one, it was a rush job that they threw together at the last second.

SHOW THE FELLOWS A COPY OF THE GRIEVANCE!
TELL THEM WHAT THE TIMETABLE IS AND IF THERE IS ANY HOPE THEY CAN BE RETAINED ON DEC. 5 BASED ON A QUICK TURNAROUND OF THE GRIEVANCE.

The Fellows, after just a few months of exposure to the UFT, are skeptical.

"After repeated requests they still haven't given any information on Alternative Certification issues. We shouldn't have to fight with our union. After all, they should be working FOR us or at least with us (another paycheck yesterday and another $47.27 to them).

"Ask your UFT rep in school for a copy of the grievance. Let them see how many of us are together in fighting for our jobs."