Friday, March 20, 2020

BROOKLYN TECH TEACHERS TELL CHALKBEAT OF DOE CALLOUSNESS IN SENDING TEACHERS TO WORK THIS WEEK

This was up at Chalkbeat NY last night.

New York City teachers streamed onto their campuses Tuesday through Thursday for training on moving instruction entirely online during a citywide school shutdown. In some cases, they walked in without any official word on whether they might have been exposed to someone with the new coronavirus.

City health officials have stopped publicly confirming instances of COVID-19 among school communities, as cases have skyrocketed to more than 3,600 as of Thursday morning in New York City.

But the principal of Brooklyn Technical let his teachers know on Monday afternoon that at least one person from the school community self-reported testing positive for the disease. Still, the staff at the country’s largest brick-and-mortar high school had to report for duty as they spent three days training to transition to remote learning. 


The Tech teachers then spoke out to Chalkbeat. They used their names and went on the record.

“I feel like the DOE really let us down,” said Katie Moylan, who teaches Advanced Placement U.S. History, Advanced Placement macroeconomics, and world history at the school. “We’ve been left out to dry.”

And another:

“There is so much to clean and disinfect,” said Sujay Sood, who teaches Advanced Placement Language and Composition at Tech.  
Sood said the training that teachers have been asked to complete involves webinars and could easily be done online, eliminating the need for them potentially to expose themselves to the virus by traveling to campus or being inside the building together.
“We don’t understand why teachers are being asked to commute from the five boroughs,” he said. “It makes no sense. It’s callous disregard for the wellbeing of teachers.” 
The DOE's pathetic defense:
A spokesperson for the education department said that school buildings were being “deep cleaned” every day and defended the decision to continue to ask teachers to show up in person for training.

“Our teachers are best suited for success in a remote learning model by first participating in in-person training and meetings while practicing social distancing,” spokesperson Katie O’Hanlon wrote in an email. 
In the Chalkbeat article, there is no request for a quote from UFT President Michael Mulgrew. Here is some of what Mulgrew said in telling parents that the buildings weren't safe last Saturday:
Because of his irresponsible decision to keep the public schools open, Mayor Bill de Blasio can no longer assure the health and safety of our students and school communities.

The mayor is recklessly putting the health of our students, their families and school staff in jeopardy by refusing to close public schools. We have a small window of time to contain the coronavirus before it penetrates into our communities and overwhelms our health care system’s capacity to safely care for all the New Yorkers who may become gravely ill.
After schools were closed for the kids, Mulgrew was perfectly fine with sending his members into buildings that had coronavirus in them. We would practice social distancing. Here is what the latest science says about the spread of the virus. 
The new coronavirus can survive on hard surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours and on cardboard for up to 24 hours. To prevent transmission, keep surfaces clean.


In addition,  people can be asymptomatic and still be carriers.
Does anyone trust a DOE deep cleaning? Why weren't teachers and other UFT members told to work exclusively from home all week? The best the UFT would do is tell members they would not be disciplined if they worked from home instead of outright saying that buildings might not be safe so do not go in. We can certainly talk about getting sick days back if a member worked at home. We will recommend grieving and/or going to court when the time is right.

DOE, with the backing of the UFT and CSA, sent employees into what were probably contaminated buildings for no good reason. I tried to convince people to stay home but I do not have the outreach of the UFT.

Is worrying about the Taylor Law's anti-strike provisions being invoked where the UFT would lose automatic dues checkoff more important to Mulgrew than protecting the health of members? Under these circumstances, the anti-strike provisions were not going to be implemented in my opinion. I agree with the Brooklyn Tech people that the DOE didn't care about our wellbeing.  As for the UFT, did they do enough?

For today, Friday, UFT members are supposed to work from home.  Check in please.

Stay safe!

36 comments:

  1. I love how everyone is saying Stay home, stay home, stay home, but go to work if you're a teacher. I was a high risk case, so I stayed home. You were nuts if you went to work. Don't worry about your CAR. You won't have a CAR if you're dead.

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    1. @10:54am: Precisely. Take care of yourself. Why is this such a hard concept to follow for some people?

      Delete
  2. Pretty sure quite a few teachers over 50 got sick over the week cuz of de Blasio, Carranza and Mulgrew. James u see that HuffPo piece by Emily James? She writes we won't forget this. You bet the rank and file will. Just like how they forget the culprit is mayoral control.

    What happened to getting rid of it?

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  3. I did go into my D75 site, although in our area most who chose worked either alone or with no more than 3 people in the room, plenty of wipes and sanitizer available. However, what was very alarming was that the Gen Ed building did not follow social distancing protocols allowing crowds of parents and kids into the building for meals and technology instead of handling it at the door. A CROWD of parents congregating and chatting in small vestibule area without a care in the world instead of waiting outside and letting say a group of 8 or 10 in at a time! This sent fear and chills down the spine's of staff working in building.

    Yes, many young, able bodied teachers without children stayed home but guess who showed up? The Veteran Educators showing dedication to schools and working for the students we serve, always the last ones standing, the last breed of our kind yet the very same employees who get very little respect or acknowledgement. Well, we shall see in the future how much loyalty to students will be paid from the next generation of educators.

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  4. It is so simple - report you have symptoms and stay home. That is following the rules. If they ask for proof send them a snot tissue.

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  5. Cuomo tried very hard to reduce "density". Yet De Blasio sent 100,000+ school employees coming to and leaving from their schools, creating a lot of extra "density" unnecessarily, for three days.
    This was not only very dangerous for those 100,000+ school staff, but also very harmful to the general public. De Blasio should be blamed for the spread of the corona-virus.
    As of this week, we have so many confirmed cases in NYC, at least partly should be attributed to last week's "density" and crowdedness created by 1.1 million students still going to school. Our Mayor should be accountable for all of those.

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  6. Correction to an earlier post. Trump said states can cancel standardized testing and that tests won't go into a school rating. AP exams will be given on-line and will only be 45 minute exams. Easy way for kids to cheat.

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  7. Comment with your Google account if you’d like to be able to manage your comments in the future. If you comment anonymously, you won’t be able to e
    @3:30. Regents are 8n NY state. Are you saying trump canceled state exams? Sources?

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  8. Where did you read that NY regents exams were cancelled?
    Deblasio should be held accountable, he honestly should be brought up on criminal charges. He knowingly disregarded what health experts said and put OUR HEALTH at risk. Employees all over were told to work from home for weeks BUT SCHOOLS REMAINED OPEN. EVEN AFTER THEY CLOSED, WE WERE STILL MADE TO REPORT. WE ARE NOT FIRST RESPONDERS. HE IS A DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING AND I HOPE KARMA PAYS HIM A VISIT SOON. WE SHOULD SUE THE CITY AND HIM PERSONALLY START A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.

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    1. Where is all this outrage and threat of a class action lawsuit at being "forced" to pass students with minimal attendance?
      Just do what you're told...as usual.

      Delete
  9. How about holding Mulgrew accountable for not sticking up for teachers?

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  10. @12:54:00 PM

    Absolutely. DeBlasio almost certainly ACCELERATED the spread of the disease by making that many school employees go to their schools. The number of cases are growing exponentially and the city is running out of ventilators right now. The mayor must be held accountable for the loss of the life that was unnecessarily worsened by his recklessness and lack of care for public safety and health. Unacceptable.

    Mulgrew is responsible too. A class lawsuit is sorely needed.

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  11. @ 4:36

    Because when it all comes down to the nitty-gritty, he, like the vast majority of people who have to make the calls, was concerned with money. He too was aware that if he called a stay at home it would have caused a possible two day penalty for every day taken. If anyone doesn't believe my first sentence then they are indeed naive. It's always about money - always save when the crap hits the fan, people die and then and only then is when it becomes not about the money. Hope everyone is safe and well. Let's hang in there. We'll get through this.

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  12. Nobody was going to get fined two days pay for staying home had the UFT urged members not to report to work this week because it wasn't safe. If NYC went to court to enforce the Taylor Law, they would look like fools when they were telling people at the same time to stay home.

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  13. Since when are teachers first responders?

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  14. Article in Chalkbeat: NYC stopped confirming coronavirus cases at schools, but teachers headed to their campuses anyway
    By Christina Veiga

    This is dangerous. Are the statistics available?

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  15. Easy now...Deblah steps up bravely telling potus to "get the he'll out of the way and let the military do its job."
    Yep the socialists becomes fascists very easily. It's not a big step.
    Like censorship and suspension of freedom of assembly...

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  16. to 7:00

    THERE IS NO WAY THE DOE WOULD HAVE WON THE TAYLOR LAW WHEN THE GOVERNOR AND MAYOR WERE ON TV TELLING PEOPLE TO STAY HOME! I EVEN GOT THE ALERTS ON MY PHONE FROM THAT 392 ALERT THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE STAYING HOME! I REPLIED BACK ASKING WHY NYC TEACHERS WERE STILL WORKING BUT IT GOT KICKED BACK. ABSOLUTELY INSANE. STAY HOME BUT TEACHERS REPORT TO WORK? WHAT ABOUT THE ORDER TO REDUCE THE WORK FORCE AT A JOB TO 50% WHEN 100 OF THE TEACHERS WERE TOLD TO GO TO WORK.
    TEACHERS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TOLD TO REPORT TO WORK THIS WEEK. WE SHOULD SUE THE CITY AND YES

    4:36 MULGREW NEEDED TO GROW SOME BALLS AND SHOULD HAVE TOLD TEACHERS WITH NO UNCERTAIN TERMS TO STAY HOME. FORCE THE CITY TO PROVIDE AN ONLINE WEBINAR AND TRAINING THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE FROM HOME.

    WE ARE TREATED LIKE GARBAGE NOT LIKE THE PROFESSIONALS WE ARE. NEVER FORGET THIS NEXT ELECTION. WE NEED A STRONG PRESIDENT THAT ISN'T WORRIED ABOUT MONEY OVER HEALTH.

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  17. So upset at de Blasio for keeping the schools open. He knew how dangerous it was because look at him now how the city needs to be shut down and that opening NYC schools by the end of Spring break 4.20.20 would be very difficult to achieve. Due to his incompetence, he exposed students, their families, and all school staff to this pandemic.

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  18. Of course, teachers are correct to be outraged over deBlasio’s dangerous leadership and Mulgrew’s timid response (and his deafening silence after schools were finally closed and teachers told to report), but no one forced anyone to do anything. If I had gone in, I would have been angry with myself and perhaps that’s really what’s at issue here. That’s a good thing. It’s a painful reminder that teachers have to start doing their own thinking. It’s also a reminder of what the UFT really is. This reminder can facilitate radical change - not by suing, but by speaking out for your human and contractual rights. If Mulgrew’s allowing you to be sent into biological minefields doesn’t wake you up, nothing will. As some of you start getting sick or worse (and I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen), remember.

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  19. Listening to what was going on earlier this week in europe kept me home Wednesday and Thursday because knew it is a matter of time before the US - NY begins to experience the same. De Blasio is a piece of work. He could not figure it out and had to be pressured into closing the schools. Eventhough schools were 'closed' this week, staff still had to go in and just reading some of the comments from teachers in different sites it has been dangerous to be in school sites. Students were coughing in schools all last week before schools were closed to the students. Unbelievable.... Schools are closed chambers. Coughing and sneezing could be a death wish. The death tolls continue to rise. It's very concerning and de Blasio can kiss my ass. Mulgrew can kiss my ass. Did not go in.
    Did not have to continue to expose staff this way. Now de Blasio is stating that NYC is the 'epicenter' of this pandemic in the USA.

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  20. omg grow a pair to all the scared teachers who didnt go to work past week, Taylor law is not coming for you REEEELLLAXXXX.

    I went in one day which is fine for me.

    @9:07 want a strong president like who pussy Biden? Trump closed the border in January dude! When dems called him a racist as usual, that saved least thousands of lives could you imagine chinese and other countries were flowing in here still! If Obama made this move he would be Times Man of the year again or win the Nobel Prize lol!

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  21. #anon2323: The clown is being directed. He struggles with reading and his speaking leaves too much to be desired. He is only good at throwing meat to his crew in the crowd. You and your crew should try stopping in to Mara Lago or staying at a Trump hotel. He won't give a damn whether you're a crew member or not. He will rent out the place to a mexican convention. Greenbacks dumbazz. No money. No stay. Do you think just because he found a niche in the market "scared white men and racists" that he actually LIKES you. And speaking of calming down, why don't you and the clown get off Obama's strap? I know he is your ruler to which you measure everything but damn do you need to use it every day. P.s. i wish Barack Obama was still President. He was soooo much better. I know that Nobel Prize looks nice in his expensive house on his beautiful mantle. Stay safe love.

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  22. @11:10 AM - That's right! Think for yourselves teachers and staff. No matter what the DOE says, do what is best for you and your family, especially when it deals with your health - life or death situation that this nation is facing. Staff go in without any protective gear. Think.....

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  23. There's an article in The Post by Sue Edelman about several schools in the city that had staff members test positive for Coronavirus yet remained open and staff and families were purposely left in the dark. There should be a class action lawsuit against De Blasio, Carranza and Cuomo for making us go to work in dangerous conditions. Anyway, any teacher who went in last week was just plain stupid.

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  24. The UFT and the DOE evil are useless and corrupt.

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  25. Read the NY Post. Pretty pathetic Doe and uft. They care nothing about our lives. But keep donating my life to the doe and keep paying dues to the uft. You all make me sick. I got home on Thursday feeling nauseas. Who knows what I have.
    'Blood on their hands:’ Teachers say de Blasio and Carranza helped spread coronavirus
    By Susan EdelmanMarch 21, 2020 | 7:07pm

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  26. Will our retro now not be paid because there is no money? How about future raises and contracts? Why did we not do better with a 6 billion dollar surplus?

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  27. We have a useless UFT, and a corrupt DOE evil that treats teachers like shit.

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  28. So, I checked pay portal and for all the wussy teachers spreading fake news, guess what? Pay checks for 3/31/20 are posted.

    We are still getting paid.

    I’m an ATR and am getting paid.

    Paras are getting paid.

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  29. We look to the leaders for guidance. Mulgrew should have told his members to stay home and be safe. Of course he did not. Did he work near more than 10 coworkers this week? I doubt it.

    Deblasio and Carranza should be held accountable as well. They willingly and knowingly REFUSED TO CLOSE the NYC public schools. For work because kids need food and babysitting? WE ARE EDUCATORS-PROFESSIONALS not babysitters. They obviously don't know the difference.

    #SueDeblasioand Carranz
    #HOLDDEBLASIOACCOUNABLE
    #NOMOREMAYORALCONTROLOFNYCPUBLICSCHOOLS
    #BYEBYEBILL

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  30. haha of course we are getting paid, if we were not getting paid 80% teachers not be following through with this online remote learning disaster.

    Brookyln Tech is not the school you want exposing you since it's one of best schools in the city.

    Damn right we getting our retro, it would be hell on earth if 25% plus our per session did not come.

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  31. If you are an ATR with no classes the jokes on the doe. I would gladly teach a full time schedule but the doe would rather have me just cover classes. How can I do remote learning when I have no classes? I'm basically just taking a full paid sabbatical without having to take any classes.

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  32. Make sure all staff inquire about how schools are taking attendance. There are schools that are taking attendance with a staff attendance survey on a daily basis. Report your attendance no matter what status you are.

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  33. 527,

    Screw the doe!

    I’m an ATR as well. I did nothing last week. Was told nothing. Given no logins etc.

    I’ll take a paid sabbatical

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