Today, August 1, was traditionally the day when teachers could start spending their Teacher's Choice money for supplies for the upcoming school year. However, I didn't get a celebratory text from the UFT this morning or an email nor did my wife who is still very much active. I looked on line and I didn't see anything either. The DOE Teacher's Choice page is gone and the UFT has information from last school year.
Did this program just quietly end? Apparently not as a reader sent us a comment with a link that said that the City Council passed the funding for Teacher's Choice at last year's level.
Why no information then from the UFT or the Department of Education?
26 comments:
An article from UFT on July 5 says:
"The New York City Council passed a city budget on June 14 that increases overall education spending and boosts funding for four UFT education programs and initiatives.
The new $89.15 billion spending plan, announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council leaders on June 11, also carries over last year’s big increase to Teacher’s Choice, continuing funding for the program at $20.35 million."
Hopefully, this means the program wasn't eliminated, though I do agree it is strange that the UFT and the DOE haven't said anything about it for this year.
Source: http://www.uft.org/news-stories/city-boosts-spending-uft-priorities
Maybe it's just me, but I have a lot bigger fish to fry than to worry about when Teachers Choice kicks in. We have a little more than a month till the next school year starts. Will there be a reduction in the number of observations and an end to Danielson? UFT needs to throw us a bone before the school year starts in a big way.
You are correct that there are bigger fish to fry but if the DOE and UFT can't get something as straightforward as Teacher's Choice kicked off on time one has to wonder what is going on.
Danielson is not going anywhere no time soon....that is wishful thinking....and if does go the way of the dinosaur in the foreseeable future, it will be replaced with another rubric-based evaluation system. S and U will NEVER come back....NEVER....get used to it....
Thanks Language Teacher. We have linked to the article you sent us and changed the post to reflect the information you found that I should have gotten this morning. Google let me down. Can I blame them? I put in UFT Teacher's Choice 2018-19 and nothing new came up. Searched in several different ways. Glad you found it and sent link.
S and U will never come back because we teachers won't demand it. If there were a rebellion in the schools, we could get the whole evaluation system repealed across NYS. Cuomo is moving left to knock off Cynthia Nixon and he will have to continue left if he wants to have any chance of winning the Democratic nomination for president of the US in 2020. We actually have a bit of leverage to get evaluation killed but we have to demand it from below.
UFT won't do it top down. Mulgrew loves his matrix. I think the UFT can get two observations because the State Education Department will take a rating with just two observations as that is the law but getting rid of Danielson would require us mobilizing for it. We've tried with our petition to repeal the evaluation law but we need to get into many more schools. Help us please.
To get parental leave (a benefit DC37 negotiated as part of their new contract while also setting the pattern for salaries of all public unions), the UFT postponed our new contract to November. So there will be nothing new until then and probably not until next year. I do hope they looked at the calendar for this year. It is horrible for high school teachers again with rating day the last day and many sent out of the building to grade all day with monetary penalties to schools whose teachers do not grade.
1- I already started my TC buying today. It's always August 1. It really should be earlier, like July 1, as the Back-to-School sales have already been going for weeks.
2- Why the hatred towards Regents scoring? You get out of your building and away from admin. Most importantly you get to network and commiserate with the other teachers in your subject. Honestly those days are the highlight of my year. Plus, distributed scoring is worth at least 2 grand in Per Session when you score Per Session, and the Per Session is almost always at the same site you go to for Day Scoring.
If there is no Teachers Choice, look for even more to opt out of the Union.
TJL regents scoring sucks. They almost always send you to some g-d forsaken place where there is nowhere to park. Not everyone can count on public transportation. Every time I go to score, I end up losing money because I spend exorbitant sums to commute.
Contract extended to the middle of February 1:59.
Just become an ATR. All of us were barred from grading this year. Anyone know why? Where was the UFT on this? I think it’s because we are only considered babysitters.
Grieve it when denied.
No hijacking posts please. The topic is Teacher's Choice. Stay close at least.
I agree. We should have been told by now the exact amount of teacher's choice by now. No guessing games.
I spend hundreds over the Teacher's Choice amount on school supplies. To many of us, the amount doesn't matter. I do agree, though, that if the UFT cannot get the small things right we are doomed when it comes to the large things.
We are doomed? No kidding. How long have we known that?
For what it's worth, in 2015 we didn't get the mass e-mail from LeRoy Barr until August 3rd regarding Teacher's Choice.
Good to know TJL. Thanks.
I called the DOE phone number for Special Projects on August 1st, and was told that the City Council had not approved Teacher's Choice funding, that I should not buy anything until the announcement was made at the end of the week (meaning today, 8/3), that there was a possibility we would not receive funding. So frustrating- so many sales have come and gone and I've already spent quite a bit out of pocket. There's enough to be done over the next few weeks that having the $250 would make it easier! Wish they would just make an announcement.
....Am I the only one who never buys ANY supplies out of pocket and dreads TC spending?
Yes you are alone, from my experience. Thank goodness your students’ families are rich and have all the supplies they/you need. Try a Title 1 school. But beyond basic supplies there’s always more to add to your students’ experience to make it more engaging, enriching and fun. And if you’re not spending on your students, are you expanding your professional development with books and professional associations? Spend that TC!
The person who said Teacher's Choice is a waste is not alone. I think some mainly high school teachers would concur.
I called the phone number on the UFT page for the DOE Special Projects- the woman I spoke to said that the Teacher's Choice spending period started on August 1, 2018.
Sounds better. Did you get the figure? How much do we get?
HI, i know this is an old post. But do we have teacher choice this year for 2019-2020? It's past Aug 7th, and no email from doe and no post on UFT website about teacher choice.
Yes it was made permanent by City Council. Why they don't give us the amount I have no idea.
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