MIDDLE COLLEGE AND CARDOZO TOP HIGH SCHOOLS FOR EXPERIENCED TEACHERS IN QUEENS

Unity's Gene Mann publishes The Organizer and often it is a source for some very useful information.  In the latest issue he lists the high schools in Queens that have lowest percentage of teachers with five years experience or less and then the schools with the highest percentage of newer teachers.

Not surprisingly, among non-phasing out schools Middle College High School and Cardozo topped the list of schools with the fewest newer teachers. Middle College only had 4% of its teachers in their first five years.  MCHS was followed by Cardozo at 7% newer teachers, Fredrick Douglass Academy VI at 8%, Robert F. Kennedy at 10% and Martin Van Buren at 11%.  The only surprise on the list for me is FDA VI. I interviewed there last year and was not at all unhappy to leave.  Apparently, however, they are doing something right to keep the senior people on board.

On Tuesday I had my one year anniversary at Middle College so I can report without reservation that having a supportive administration makes all the difference in the world for experienced teachers. Teachers flock to this place even though the commute from anywhere outside the western Queens area isn't easy and the parking is atrocious. In my year there I have not heard of people looking to get out. Instead, I hear of teachers staying on even after they are eligible to retire. I have friends at Cardozo who have reported similar stories. Back in the days when teachers were somewhat respected by the central Board of Education, having a stable teaching staff was considered a positive for a school.

Leading the list of high schools in Queens with the most newer teachers is Maspeth High School with 94%.  They are followed by Queens High School for Language Studies at 82%, Energy Tech at 72%, the High School for Community Leadership at 67% and Pan American at 66%.

I don't know much about four of the schools on the list but the High School for Community Leadership is one of the schools that replaced Jamaica High School.  This blog previously reported on the trouble their principal has had. It is not a surprise that veterans would not be looking to work there.