The faculty voted 195-21 that Ben Sherman is the wrong individual to lead our school. A No Confidence vote was held Thursday and over 90% of faculty rejected his leadership.
90% no confidence vote against Principal Ben Sherman under 2019 working conditions is pretty impressive.
I have one unanswered question:
What has the leadership of the UFT, which has known about problems the staff at Forest Hills has had with Principal Sherman since at least last school year, done to reign him in?
UPDATE: Forest Hills HS Chapter Leader defends UFT response.
Adam C Bergstein
said...
Listen, I
know everybody wants to point fingers and accuse & blame the UFT for not
being proactive. However, the UFT has totally backed and supported this vote of
no confidence since I brought it to them. Also, the union is bringing all of
this information and the vote results to the DOE. There are already meetings in
place for next week. So I know it’s easy just to say that the union doesn’t do
anything for its members but they are fighting for the staff. However, there’s
a process and they just can’t barnstorm the DOE with pitchforks and tell them
that the principal is inept and incompetent. And yes, I know a lot of staff members
want to the union to be more aggressive, But we are in the midst of a
bureaucratic process. This is a formal vote that now gets presented to
politicians and the Department of Education. The doe will always circle the
wagons and protect their own, no matter how bad or inept these individuals that
run schools are. At this point we need to go through the process, however,
frustrating that might be for members.
Adam C Bergstein
Chapter Chair
Forest Hills HS
Adam C Bergstein
Chapter Chair
Forest Hills HS
45 comments:
The UFT has a deal with the admin union. This proves it.
UFT has done nothing to stop any of the out of control principals. It is every school for themselves.
Union Fucks Teachers = UFT
Its The Uft that conducted this vote. Three cheers for the chapter leader!
Ahhhhhh, WV House just voted 53-45 to kill the ed (pro-privatization) bill. STRIKES WORK...Just not for the uft.
The number one priority for NYSUT and UFT should be the right to strike without Taylor Law penalties. Instead what do we get more APPR bullshit and tax caps jammed down our throats
The Union has allowed Dwarka to destroy and harassed veteran teachers just to make it a diploma mill school. Unity is part of the problem
The Uft just wants everything to ‘go away’
They also feel that ‘most principals are good’ and Sherman and dwarka are the exceptions.
A few years back I dropped off a resume after school and Sherman told me ‘how dare you come into my school uninvited. No one and I mean no one does this’.
Security escorted me out.
When I told thisbto the Uft, I was told ‘well, this is a place you wouldn’t want to work so he made it easy for you’
QUESTION: Are the names of the teachers who signed the No Confidence vote available for the principal to see? It seems like career suicide to vote "no confidence" against this dude.
Secret ballot. 90% means there is safety in numbers.
Listen, I know everybody wants to point fingers and accuse & blame the UFT for not being proactive. However, the UFT has totally backed and supported this vote of no confidence since I brought it to them. Also, the union is bringing all of this information and the vote results to the DOE. There are already meetings in place for next week. So I know it’s easy just to say that the union doesn’t do anything for its members but they are fighting for the staff. However, there’s a process and they just can’t barnstorm the DOE with pitchforks and tell them that the principal is inept and incompetent. And yes, I know a lot of staff members want to the union to be more aggressive, But we are in the midst of a bureaucratic process. This is a formal vote that now gets presented to politicians and the Department of Education. The doe will always circle the wagons and protect their own, no matter how bad or inept these individuals that run schools are. At this point we need to go through the process, however, frustrating that might be for members.
Adam C Bergstein
Chapter Chair
Forest Hills HS
Thank you Adam for being fair minded and understanding the proper process that has to take place. This is not the forum to point fingers at UFT or anyone else. James, is always constantly putting his nose in school situations that are none of his business!
This only proves we all need to opt out. How do we opt out?
Unity has let many Leadership Principals destroy reputations and careers while Unity looked the other way. Dwarka is still in charge
What about retro, 1% raises over 11 years, no legit transfer process,loss of 8.25 tda, ignoring student discipline code...and more?
has anyone organized anything against dwarka?
or just b***tched about her anonymously online?
Adam, We put your comment in the main part of the posting. All I can say is the DOE would not be able to circle the wagons and protect so many administrators if the UFT did not let them get away with so much before doing anything to fight back.
In the dwarka/Howie Kwait relationship, who wears the pants?
I am a teacher at Forest Hills and I agree with Mr. Eterno that the UFT has been a prominent failure under Mulgrew and Unity's leadership or lack thereof. They allow widespread corruption by the central office, superintendents, and Principals. They allowed schools to be reorganized and closed. They allowed for the creation of ATRs, They allowed for that horrible evaluation system. They allowed horses asses like our current Principal to be put in charge of what was a high quality school and drive it down the tubes. The list is indeed long. Our school is clearly not the only one that is suffering, but let the revolution start here. The cancer has spread throughout the whole system. While I respect the enormous task Mr. Bergstein is dealing with at our school, I am not in love with his accommodating style at times. Sisyphus task might be easier. The teachers, parents and students deserve better. We want these schmucks (principals and supes) out. Let's have it begin with Sherman. All our dues do for us is to elect Di Blasio, Cuomo, and Schumer
What about schools with high teacher turnover every single year?
The union has failed us. That will be the plight of all schools in the future.
Unity is a disgrace.
Anybody heard of Brooklyn Institute for liberal arts? Numbers look good but bad things on internet written about principal.
417, Terrible, don't go there. Almost half staff left last year, same thing year before. I got out right away, place sucks, staff hates it, very uncomfortable.
What';s the deal with the teachers having to do all this stuff? UFT should come in and take care of it all. That's why we need to opt out. That's the only way we make them do what we need them to do. We have our own jobs, let them do theirs.
It's the doe, we are gonna get fucked by doe and uft. We all know it. Look at the open market fraud.
Im confused because I always hear that administrators rarely get fired compared to teachers but the ATR pool is full of thousands of teachers who were not fired many of them for disciplinary reasons. So there doesn't seem to be a double standard to me.
The ATR Pool is full 9f older teachers that are being discriminated against.
Mr. Bergstein, I do not think you know what barnstorm means
Don’t act like you have an infinite amount of time on this earth. You don’t. None of us do. Why waste any of your time and energy on not being happy. Choose happiness.
I'd be a whole lot happier if teachers were afforded the respect the profession deserves.
I'd be alot happier if teachers and principals are afforded the respect they deserve.
Teaching is difficult, so is being a principal. You can't make everybody happy.
Administrators dont create blogs about incompetent teachers, we would likely be in an uproar if that were the case. I feel we should be mindful of the same. There has to be a better way than online mindless insults of admins.
I take it you are our CSA reader or a CSA supporter. We welcome dialogue.
I believe it would be illegal to have a blog exposing subordinates. It is perfectly legal and proper for a union to expose bosses who the union rank and file believes are abusing their authority, particularly if the Superintendents do nothing to reign in principals who are mistreating staff.
UFT members don't have the power to stop principals from harassing us. Principals have almost complete authority over our livelihoods. With power, should come accountability.
Sadly, the pendulum since Joel Klein has swung toward administrators having almost complete power over schools with very little accountability beyond test results and promotion numbers. It has led to unwanted consequences including fraudulent grades, many incidents being swept under the rug and all kinds of harassment. UFT official response has been weak.
The grievance process is very slow and mostly ineffective. DOE internal processes are quite bogus. Sadly, there is no other way to reign in abusive administrators than to expose what they do in public. A principal out to destroy a teacher can bring in a student, influence a kid to say something , make a phone call and the teacher's life is ruined.
There was once a Chanellor in the 1990s named Joe Fernandez who told principals to settle their issues in their buildings and only bring the most egregious incidents to the Central Board of Ed. It does not work like that today. Many UFT members are almost totally defenseless.
James, I'm a teacher, my spouse is an admin. I see both sides of the coin. Freedom of speech could apply to both sides. The same way your blog, which is not the UFT, can bad mouth admin, vice versa can apply. It's pointless and unbecoming if admins started blogging.
One can argue although not jusfiable, its because of high accountability that some admins take liberties in order to meet acceptable data marks for their superiors.
Sometimes as a school leader you have to make decision that you believe even at times when staff might not. That doesn't make you non collaborative or abusive. Too many times Ive seen you hastily post blogs about admin because a handful of teachers complain to you. You may be right about some and you have been wrong about some. You might find this hard to believe but there are times when the principal may be right about an issue and the staff is wrong.
At the end of the day, I've never seen your blog change any admins approach. You probably mean well, I dont have all the answers but there he to be a better way.
Read the latest posting. Forest Hills is featured in Queens Chronicle and the Unity chapter leader is quoted all over the place. Staying silent and trying to work things out behind the scenes does not always work and the union needs to go public when necessary. My phone goes off too many times from too many different schools for me to believe this is an isolated problem.
I have nothing but respect for so many administrators who work collaboratively with staff. However, I oppose unfettered principal power. It does not work.
Punching up against an administrator who a union feels is not adhering to the contract is a perfectly acceptable union technique. Punching down when an administrator has the power to discipline someone is not.
I would argue that you are wrong that we have had no impact as principals we have played a role in exposing have been removed from schools and others have pulled back after we published on behalf of teachers who spoke up.
It is DOE that needs to change. Imperial principalships with speed dial to DOE legal has not improved NYC education. Checks on principal power from staff and parents are necessary.
Tell CSA to read NY Teacher. You won't find a discouraging word about principals there
I agree
I recently heard from an insider from that school she is training New Principals....that witch is protected and I dont know why??
Until teachers and parents choose their admins there will always be a top down horror story with people like Juan Mendez making the choices.
So what you are saying..is that you are being attacked by higher state officials within the education system too.... So why don't you grow a set of BALLS and fight with teachers so we get a decent system that is on the level...Principals have NO BACK BONES to defend their teachers... all they seem to do is jump on the wave and RIDE THAT BLOOMBERG REFORM...you can take your comment and stick it where the sun don't shine..I'm sure that's where your Paycheck goes as well..
Listen Missy, just because your hubby is admin. doesn't make it right for you to tell Mr. Eterno blogging is pointless and unbecoming....HELLO!!! The system is CORRUPT..and how administrators supports the system is truly disgusting and if they didn't.. they too will be out of a job...this has nothing to do with freedom of speech...this system is corrupt and you and your hubby know it! Principals and A.P.'s need to grow some BACK BONES and level the system out untied with teachers..but I'm sure his paycheck is keeping him away from doing so....why don't you have your hubby put his money where his voice is and use his platform to expose such corruption.. Wake up lady! Its doesn't matter unless its happening to you.. Administration all they do is ride that BLOOMBERG REFORM WAVE!
This may be a start of something.
Yeah, sure.
You sound like a stake holder..you should be thanking him...Mr. Eterno uses his platform to expose the ugliness and corruption of the UFT and new Administrators...this whole education system is CORRUPTED!!!!!!! THANK GOD FOR ETERNO...if we had MORE Chapter Leaders like him in service..teachers would still have their jobs!!! And students would get the education they deserve NOT this social promotion crap!FIX THE SYSTEM you so worried about what Eterno posts on his blog...what have you done to level out the system besides cash in your PAYCHECK!
You guys against smoking weed and all the other bad behaviors might be cultural elitists. Who are we as mostly white Europeans to tell others how to act in our white privileged society. Shame on us
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