One of the most humbling aspects of being a teacher is the observation process. I fully understand why NYC teachers want the number of annual observations reduced to the absolute minimum proscribed in the NYS law which is two. I agree with everyone that this should be addressed in contract negotiations as NYC's 4-6 mandated observations per year is outrageous.
What can a teacher do if he/she is working for a vindictive administrators who is determined to use the observation process to get a teacher or a group of teachers? Here, we call it "Weaponized Danielson" as the Danielson Framework we are judged on is often misused. The answer is we can do planty to fight back if the supervisor is not technically competent but that response changes to much less if the administrator knows what he/she is doing.
UFT's Team High School put out a "Cheat Sheet" on how teachers can successfully challenge poor observation reports and other problems with APPR or Annual Professional Performance Review. The process is called an APPR complaint.
I read the Cheat Sheet rather closely and concluded teachers can only challenge technicalities. This conlusion is based on experiene with APPR complaints too. If the administrator didn't follow the procedures correctly, the teacher can have an observation report pulled and not used against him/her. For example, if the administrator does not give a pre or post observation conference on a formal observation, an APPR complaint should be sustained. If the supervisor fails to stay for the entire period for a formal observation, it can be challenged. There are multiple technicalities the principal/assistant principal must adhere to or the teacher can file a successful APPR Complaint.
Remember, an APPR Complaint must be filed within five school days of receiving an observation report. Don't wait as that is a fast turnaround time.
APPR complaints go to the Principal and then the next step is to a neutral arbitrator. Here is a link to a UFT official APPR Complaint form.
What if the principal/assistant principal follows the rules but lies? Then, options are much more limited. The UFT Cheat Sheet says this:
***Disagreeing with a principal’s scoring of a
component is not cause for an APPR complaint.
Disagreements on substance should be, in the
event of an overall Ineffective rating, addressed
though a rating appeal.
Good luck challenging supervisory judgement in a rating appeal. The Department of Education believes in supervisor infallibility and arbitrators normally don't deal with substituting their judgement for the judgement of a supervisor. We have a high burden.
What the union should be doing, and would be doing if we had a strong union, is challenging the entire evaluation system in court and lobbying strongly to scrap it. (We have a petition asking for it to be repealed; see right side of page.)
A legal challenge was taken up by Long Island teacher Sheri Lederman, represented by her husband Bruce, against an earlier version of the APPR system. Lederman won as the judge ruled her ineffective Measures of Student Learning rating was "arbitrary and capricious" si it was thrown out.
Arbitrary is defined by Dictionary.com as: "subject to individual will or judgement without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion."
Capricious is defined as: "subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic."
I think those two words kind of describe the evaluation system as a whole and the way the Department of Education specifically manages the NYC schools.
Nobody should have their career ruined by this awful system. Take action to fight back individually if necessary and collectively.
If anyone has questions about observations or APPR complaints, email us at ICEUFT@gmail.com or contact the UFT.
17 comments:
Observation reports are hogwash.
The whole observation/evaluation procedure does not lead to the improvement of instruction.
Albert Shanker was aware of this.
http://source.nysut.org/weblink7/DocView.aspx?id=709
Now what about the current UFT leadership?
The system is a scam, 19 year old students cant write a sentence. Why discuss this?
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.
59 year old teachers can't write a sentence, especially the negative commentators on this blog.
Wont get it back even if everyone stays. You dont seem to get it, we get bad deals with full membership, as that deal was with full membership.
Any admin worth his or her salt knows exactly how to target a teacher via Danieslon. A vindictive admin would never mess up a good chance to fuck over a teacher on a technicality and that is exactly why we need to get the impotent UFT to push the legislature to gut the current evaluation system and bring back S/U. Until that happens we are going to continue to suffer in purgatory.
For sure,the current evaluation system is a weapon. But remember,it was handed to management by the UFT. It wouldnt be in place if the union wouldnt allow it.
Hey dummies,still going to pay dues to this UFT scam?
Can't change it without members coming together to change UFT, not abandon union.
You do not seem to get. Thr UFT 8s complicit of trying to get rid of experienced teachers. They have caused this abuse.
I know this sounds cliched but we are the union. Leaving a union makes our situation worse and not better. Screaming from within the union for change is a much better alternative unless you can start a better one.
The one person I know who had a successful rating appeal only got it because the AP wrote in the obs report a phrase that directly correlated to a different rating in the rubric.
The real problem is the Danielson rubric itself. It calls effective teaching things that are not necessarily good teaching at all. A crappy teacher who puts the students into groups 100% of the time (regardless of the topic or lesson), has the students "talk to each other", provides 3 different handouts/worksheets, and has a 4-page typed lesson plan full of administrivia, is guaranteed "Effective" regardless of the content of the lesson and the knowledge of the subject. Meanwhile, a lecture by Einstein himself would get an Ineffective. In fact every course on MIT Open Courseware is filled with lessons that would be 1's across the board when any parent in this City would give one of his appendages to get his kid into MIT and receive that instruction.
This school year, for the first time in NYC, principals will be evaluated based on the Multidimensional Principal Performance Rubric (MPPR).
http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachers-leaders/practicerubrics/Docs/MultidimensionalPrincipalPerformanceRubric.pdf
http://calendar.nycenet.edu/EventList.aspx?fromdate=4/9/2018&todate=4/9/2018&display=Day&type=public&eventidn=23483&view=EventDetails&information_id=51002
Norm had Charlotte all figured out back in 2011:
https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2011/10/charlottes-web-beatdown-goes-on.html
It's enlightening to check out MIT OpenCourseWare:
https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
www.youtube.com/user/MIT
Although many professors and instructors at MIT prefer the lecture approach, there are some who conduct interactive classes:
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-05-introduction-to-probability-and-statistics-spring-2014/instructor-insights
And here are some traditional lectures:
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-01-single-variable-calculus-fall-2006/video-lectures/lecture-3-derivatives
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5-07sc-biological-chemistry-i-fall-2013/module-i/session-3
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/economics/14-01sc-principles-of-microeconomics-fall-2011/unit-1-supply-and-demand/introduction-to-microeconomics
Here's a lecture with some student participation:
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-031j-energy-decisions-markets-and-policies-spring-2012/video-lectures/lecture-3-u.s.-energy-problems
The UFT needs to stop discriminating ATRs.
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).
I want to determine/Dennis Sanchez the license of a former Rating Officer. He was removed from his post for "conduct unbecoming a Teacher."
The UFT and the DOE have REFUSED TO REVIEW HIS LICENSE. He was re moved from the CHancellor's District in l999.
Good comment. It is important to Note the names of the Rating Officer that do this work. You will find that are better at this "dirty work" than others. Additionally, certain administrators "take a shine" to the Administrative Hearings the DOE is want to conduct.
So, then....let's compile a list. Hearing Officers who approve "rubber stamp" the most hostile personnel acts and Admministrators...who make the most evil personnel acts.
We make a list of Teachers...and former Teachers....who observe these kangaroo proceedings.
Will the Public Advocate help to review the DOE licenses held by Dennis Sanchez?
Will the NYS Education Department...Division of Processional Licensing...review all professional licenses allegedly held by Dennis Sanchez?
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