The DOE put out (and @UFT agreed!) that remote teachers teaching students in blended can have up to 68 kids per class! Gonna be great for individualized support.
You must all be pumped about waiting for that last retro payment for 11 years, and getting those 1.3% raises for 11 years and paying for our own PPL, as you have 68 on roster in every class...As your fellow union embers are getting sick and dying.
I will throw it out there. I am 40 years old. The city has a terrible money crunch. I will take an immediate buyout, September 1. No problem. Save my 100k+ forever, my medical and my pension. Make the offer.
Thank you for posting anonymously. This is a long one. From what I have witnessed the past few weeks, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be bullied (anonymously) by these “highly esteemed educators” for simply stating my personal opinion. Sorry, but I dont want to put my name out there publicly during this time AND THATS OK! Don’t shame me, bc the same people who are like “why post anonymous” are the same ones who are on this chat 24-7 and have never had to deal with people screenshotting posts to their admin. 🙄
Here’s my two cents: if we vote to strike, I will vote No. If the vote passes, I will not participate in the safety strike bc my school building has already been deemed safe. Do I care about other schools? Of course I do, but the attitudes of some of its teachers makes me not want to help in any way and just look out for myself and my family. Unity? What unity? The past few days I have seen other UFT members rip their colleagues apart simply for asking the “what if” questions that the UFT has still not clarified in writing!!!! I, for one, do not want to make big decisions based on heresay from this group.
The name calling, the belittling of teachers (many older) on their use of language/grammar etc on a SOCIAL MEDIA post is ridiculous. As if you are all perfect people. Way to go, embarassing your colleague on a public platform. Does that make you feel good about yourself? It’s Facebook, not a college term paper. Yeah, we’re all educators. Maybe some of us are math teachers and English grammar was not our thing. Can you do calculus on the spot right now? Just asking.
Good luck finding colleagues who will support you on this cause when you continue to treat your colleagues in this manner online or offline. I’m planning to take a break from this group otherwise you will all turn me anti-union. I am so shocked at the amount of online bullying I’ve seen the past few days. It’s hard to believe that these are the same colleagues educating our students.
Also, I’ve seen the word “selfish” being used quite often the past few days. Newsflash* it’s okay to be selfish during this time. This pandemic goes beyond what we have ever experienced before. Do what is right for you and your family and don’t feel bad about it or judge others. At the end of day, we are all “selfish.” The “senior” teachers at my school who have stayed on their favorite grade for x number of years not giving younger teachers a chance to teach a different grade - selfish. All the teachers who applied for remote teacher- selfish (including myself). If schools are “safe” everyone should be going in, not just teachers who don’t qualify for accommodations. <~This has definitely caused a great divide, too, in my opinion. Everyone should be able to work from home.
I get the purpose and the why behind the strike. The Union needs to clarify the ramnfications of the strike for its members. In my town hall meeting I just heard the word unity repeated 10x, something about being in charge of snacks/water, and had zero of my questions answered. I, too, am frustrated. PLEASE be kind to your colleagues. YOU DONT KNOW MY PERSONAL SITUATION. I don’t live in a nice house in the burbs or have family to help me out. I can be out on the streets if I’m without 2-3 paychecks. No one wants to go against the union but this is why the UFT needs to answer questions not brush them off!
I will repeat this again. Be kind to your colleagues. Don’t expect them to be there for you when you treat them this way! Why would I want to help someone who calls me a scab, rat, etc for simply asking questions!? Am I not entitled to that? In a public platform for “educators?”
How is it possible mulgrew has backed down yet at meetings they are saying we are striking. how is this helpful? -The strike is almost becoming a reality, we are not asking for crazy stuff however, the Mayor and chancellor have not agreed on any of the demands for a safe in person reopening.
-As of right now, the UFT has not deemed any NYC school safe and the mayor is not having any conversation with the union.
What Michael Mulgrew is thinking and why is necessary: *Temperatures for all staff and students *Comprehensive COVID plan which includes various things including testing. (which they (DOE) don’t have) *Adequate PPE
-Our mayor is saying things that can’t be put into place without the time and planning needed as outdoor learning: which was announced on Monday and he expects a plan by the principals on Friday.
-98 percent of principals in District 9 sent a letter to Cuomo, De Blasio, and Carranza saying that we want to open schools but we need a plan to open safely. District 7 principals sent a letter as well, stating the same concerns.
They (UFT) is asking us:
*We use our social media to put pressure on the Mayor.
*If we do take the vote to go to strike, “I am asking you that we all stick together”
Ramifications if we do take a job action: Taylor law: Court has to deem we are going against the Taylor law but since no union has gone on strike for health and unsafe work conditions, we won’t know until we go to court if we are going against the Taylor law.
More specifically it was said that: “It is not an unlawful action IF there is a reasonable bonafide fear of imminent threat to safety and health. We would go to court immediately if we have to take action”
A more clear answer about HEALTH INSURANCE if we go to strike and it is found we are violating the Taylor law: Short term HEALTH INSURANCE is not affected. It is only affected if this goes long term.
Q: What is a long term strike???? A: Insurance gets pay quarterly so long term is beyond 3 months. After 3 months there is a possibility we lose coverage.
What have they found so far by inspecting schools? *Inspectors have found children’s masks in high schools and in elementary schools they have found high schoolers masks *Some schools have the electrostatic machines to do the cleaning but do not have what they need to put into them.
-Regarding setting up your classrooms: “I am not going to tell you not to go but if your school is deemed unsafe right now why would you go in and set up your room?” “If you go in now and you get COVID that’s on you” **Personal thought: (I’m thinking they are referring to that you are not supposed to be in the building right now and won’t be covered by the union since technically the school year doesn’t start until Sept 8 for staff - I could be wrong)
-Thoughts on outdoor learning: It is NOT logical. Why? Weather, multiple schools in one location with one yard, not enough time to plan, etc.
-Every school in June/ July received “COVID planning money” to pay people per-session to plan and barely any school did so.
-The majority of parents are with us because no parent want to put their children at risk by opening schools unsafely. There is an uptick on children contracting COVID. The youngest child that has contracted the virus: is a 10 months old baby.
**The UFT is urging that we keep putting pressure on the mayor. We are not ready to open the buildings and we STILL have a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to safety, blended learning and so on.
Personal note: I hope these notes were helpful and we can stay united for what is to come, whether we strike or not AND whether the job action is found unlawful or not. We are ALL on this together and we should support each other in any way possible. It is okay to disagree but power is in numbers, if we want to make a change, we must make the change happen. I personally do not think the Mayor or Chancellor is considering the safety of anyone (children or staff).
Nothing left to do now but hope the plan fails and Cuomo steps in.
James's Q&A was really an impassioned plea for militancy, for a membership that would have a little guts. I guess he imagined that if only we would show a little nerve and stay home for a couple few days our leadership would have no choice but to call it a job action and get behind us.
When Mulgrew backpedaled and James tried to adjust to his walking back his use of the S-word, we knew something was dishonest. The law of contradictions told us that a strike could not be and and at the same time not be a strike. That the vagueness, and duplicity, the fancy dance ambiguity and history about what exactly a job action was, had been, was now an inherent weakness manifesting itself in James's language and, though he won much applause for his Q&A From a Dissident, even from himself, it was more revisionist history and legal mumbo jumbo than anything a true dissident would write. A dissident UFT member is still a member of the establishment that weakens us.
Thank you James for all your great work but you really don't understand the membership well. We are by and large a bunch of wimps who can't speak truth to power because we love our oppressors.
We are a weak union and the members know it. A weak bread and butter union, ours is now weaker and willing to take bread without butter.
Our collective bargaining is circumscribed by laws and policies we can do little about.
The argument that we have power because we are in a union city or a democratic state is a total misreading of the power structure. It weakens us not the other way around.
And we are not Chicago. And we are not LA. We are NYC and we are weak.
The only option we have is to strike and we will not employ that option because, as James explained, it will work. We wan't the problem. We want to suffer. We want to hold on to what we can and never risk anything. We are union weak.
Most members are more concerned about how we will look if we strike. Won't we look selfish. Unemployment is 40% in the Bronx. 20% in NYC. In 23 of the last 24 weaks 1,000,000 people filed for unemployment. That's a Depression. see TIME here---->The Next Global Depression Is Coming and Optimism Won’t Slow It Down https://time.com/5876606/economic-depression-coronavirus/
Should teachers, who have not lost jobs, who have just come off a long vacation, agitate for better working conditions during a depression?
YES! It's the perfect time to do it. But our members don't see it that way becasue they are so disconnected from the community. We are as bad as the cops. We are members who don't love our communities, who don't care about our people, who are in it for the pensions and the pay check and the summers off.
To everyone’s saying see you should’ve pulled dues. Pulling dues does nothing if it doesn’t guarantee the leadership will start doing what we want. We have no idea if we pulled does would Mulgrew finally listen, who knows? But what is certain is that the union is weaker if everyone pulled dues. So the better option is to overthrow the current leadership by voting them out.
Why do teachers keep complaining about mulgrew yet keep paying mulgrew when they have the option not to and keep voting for him when they have other options?
And again ATRs get screwed because we still don't know what schools we're going to and don't know what we'll be doing. We still don't know the protocols for the school. All I keep getting are emails for interviews for positions in Brooklyn where I'll get my head blown off.
OK. So. Principals have been telling us all day these guidelines are impossible to follow. Now UFT admits they are impossible.Their statement: "Even with this agreement, we don't have the number of teachers needed to get the job done."
Helpful details here. Noteworthy that the DOE's chief academic officer is taking questions on a plan that has not been released or explained publicly but which reporters are reading due to leaks from schools
What are the class size limits for fully remote classes? For Fully Remote Teachers, the class size limitations as per the contract shall apply. The total number of students for whom a fully remote teacher may be responsible shall be up to the full class size limitation in accordance with the contract. For example, in High School: 34 students and 5 classes = 170 students.
After what has transpired the last few weeks, i emailed my principal and told him that if we dont go full remote, i will be retiring on the first day of school. Have to do it.
I agree with jenn. Im not quite old enough to retire, strongly considering resigning. Im already feeling sick to my stomach. This can get very dangerous, very quickly. Nobody seems to care. The uft as abandoned us, as has the mayor.
You keep saying that we dont know if opting out would do anything. what has paying done. How long you gonna wait? You are stick for another year. let me know in june how the uft helped us.
The fact that mulgrew gets destroyed in every negotiation with de blasiot the idiot, or simply bows down, says everything. How are those dues doing for ya? At least do something. I email the mayor, governor, uft and media everyday.
how do full remote, who do not have to pay for gas/parking dry cleaning, etc get to sleep later, get less work then those who risk their life commuting and entering a school building each day?
3:23. I fear my safety going in. I fear my safety crossing the picket line as well. I will let everyone here know that if you cross the picket line I will not hold it against you in any way. You are making the best decision for you and your family and I would never be upset at anyone for that.
Jenn...do what's best for you. HOWEVER if you can just mask up for a few days (call in sick a few days) i think the matter will work its self out and everyone will be full remote. Again do what you have to do but if it were me, i wouldn't resign the first day or week. The bozos will shut ot all down. Wear double masks and create a boundary around your desk with masking tape. Im really praying for all of you people. Stay strong.
This document takes the cake! I have never seen or heard of directives so filled with contradictions, illegalities,confusion and stupidity. There will never be any agreement on an interpretation and no one will know what the f is going on. If you asked whoever wrote this for explanations they too would be incapable of explaining. Total mumbo jumbo gobbledygook and it proves more than anything the total absurdity and unworkability of this blended learning model.
The uft doesn't say a word about this. Just keep jetting us around. NYC Releases Instructional Guidance For Public Schools, Principals Call It "Batshit Crazy" - Gothamist, Yikes! Pay attention @UFT @UFT_BKOffice @FollowCSA Too little too late @NYCMayor @DOEChancellor
Ok, so I'm forced to unsafely go to work and then get 68 per period. While others sit home, sleep late, do whatever...? Ya know what? Fuck the uft. I will have my own strike.
I'm not going to argue about opt out. I already opted out. I can't imagine how much sicker I would feel if I was paying $62 per check and getting abused like this.
I think it is clear at this point that action needs to be taken by each individual. The uft will jerk us around and leave us to struggle and die like in March, and like the last 2 decades.
I am hoping and assuming that this is a nonsense document, designed to conform to and appease the internal dialogue at Tweed, and maybe City Hall [but I don't think City Hall is paying attention to any educational details.]
It looks like the arrogance and laziness of those in power won out. They are exposed for not planning and trying to foist this mess upon an entire city at the last minute. Maybe they will also succeed in destroying their credibility and possibly some careers too. They barely survived the catastrophe of March, and then instituted a "pass everyone" plan for K-12, and now, strike three, they want to push forward an unplanned, unsafe opening.
Let's hope this plan fails miserably, and let's hope everyone survives it.
I was open minded about the Mayor and the Chancellor, but they have abused thousands of loyal teachers - for one thing, using their positions for the pet project of attacking their own school system as a hotbed of systemic racism. Many of us knew, that there were not many experienced and skilled planners and leaders at Tweed, and they mainly continued Bloomberg era policies out of inertia, while having beautiful lunches and retreats, and giving themselves big raises.
This pandemic has exposed many things - on the national level, and also here on the local level. Mainly it has exposed incompetence, lies, laziness, and poor leadership.
For veteran teachers, maybe we get an early retirement package out of this mess.
Until then, I will be getting ready to mask up deal with it/
Mulgrew is the UFT. Someone, anyone, (especially you Arthur Goldstein, who are always blasting it from your podium) prove he isn’t. He’s signing our rights away and locking us into slave labor agreements worse than those Bloomberg once proposed ( 75 plus in a class) and caused mass outrage.
So, we have two weeks -- less, let's count today as done -- to figure out a) how many more teachers we need and b) find them and c) assign them to the city's 1800 schools.
We don't need an investigation in order to simply hammer this round narrative peg into this square narrative hole
James, after this MOA, are you still endorsing this strike vote? How are teachers supposed to trust this union with all these back room deals/bullshit agreements ??? Unity is a bunch of thugs, liars...Today, Unity CL threatened staff..if you cross pickett line, Your tires might be slashed or you might get beat up...Mulgrew makes decisions without asking members. Who wants to be in a union like this????
I still can't figure out how this is supposed to work? If I have to report for live instruction...How many classes am I teaching? Are they all live, in class, or live in-class and remote? When will I meet the remote teacher that is supposed to be working with me? Is that teacher assigned to my school?
Blended remote, yours schools can designate the majority of you. This way you can be home and be considered blended remote, you will teach all the blended kids when they are home.. Up to twice the amount of kids to! Easy way to make sure all the kids are covered!
What are the class size limits for blended remote teachers? For Blended Learning Remote Teachers, the total number of students a blended learning remote teacher shall serve per teaching period shall not exceed a number that is twice the contractual class size limitation as per the CBA.
Leave it up to the DOE so make this so convoluted that it's easier to do the remote and in person than it will be to work with someone else.
If you needed any more proof that this is job is babysitting, this is all about pushing kids into schools without any improvements over the Spring remote learning plan, and no guidance on adjustments to be made with the regular curriculum.
Does anyone else feel that “virtual content specialist” is just one more person we have to deal with and plan with? I already plan with ICT, ENL, and other subject colleagues. Also, now, 4 different remote teachers? And will I have four different virtual content specialists to deal with for all four of my classes? Since it’s optional, I will dismiss them or opt out.
I have to wear full PPE to dodge all the BS flying around. The mayor is lying, the chancellor is lying, Mulgrew and reps are lying, school construction authority people are lying, school preparedness people are lying, and school building administrators are lying.
How is it possible to have such incompetent people is such powerful positions? There should be a Federal investigation into the NYC DOE.
I never thought I would say it, but the way the NYC DOE has handled the CoVid crisis has made me pro-voucher.
A Memo for Fall 2020 and for an ultimately a fall from grace. The benefit of doubt will no longer be applied to anyone about anything. Think for yourself, do not trust Mulgrew.
11th hour "guidance" leads to chaos. NYC principals union today: "Many school leaders will be forced to abandon their carefully considered plans and communicate to their superintendents that their school simply doesn’t have enough staff to begin the year" on Sept. 10.
NYC principals ask what they should tell families: "How can they pledge to deliver a quality education,worth the risks of attending school during a pandemic, when they’re not even sure they have enough teachers?"
New from the principals union: "Regrettably, the DOE has now created a potential staffing crisis with just two weeks to go before the first day of school." https://documentcloud.org/documents/7047644-CSA-Letter-on-Staffing-Shortages.html
Chalkbeat New York "Staffing has been and will continue to be something that we are monitoring closely,” said Linda Chen, the department's chief academic officer.
“The math would indicate to you that is going to be a variable we need to solve for.” https://ckbe.at/3gBhVbE
My colleague called a hospital and asked how she should get a teacher rapid test. The worker defeatedly told her that she’s the third teacher to call today, her supervisor knows nothing, and that on her list of accelerated testing personnel, teachers are MIA.
Right. Because using 1.1 million children, their families & our colleagues as guinea pigs is totally a good course of action. Reminder the mayors plan includes kids eating indoors 2 meals a day.
“The DoE tells FOX 5 NY it will provide transportation to all students, but that it may not be possible to provide transportation through a conventional mode like a bus. The agency is exploring the possibility of giving out MetroCards.”
@UFTUnity get your isht together already! Enough of the games- either fight for an end to austerity cuts - Cuomo- and ed reform because we all know the buildings been unsafe fr decades or step aside! Black Lives Matter!
Can everybody stop with the calendar and observations? Now is not the time for that. We have much bigger problems and safety issues. The calendar is the same as every other year. Christmas in on 12/25.
Last night at a #BronxStrong town hall organized by @MOREcaucusUFT , parents voiced MANY concerns with @NYCMayor 's plans and how they have not been given the chance to be heard. His claims that the "majority" of parents want schools open are false. This is getting outrageous.
“Mayor says indoor dining will depend on how school reopening goes” https://ny.eater.com/2020/8/27/21404598/nyc-indoor-dining-schools-de-blasio-coronavirus
Schools should start remote on time, then slowly phase in. The lower grades should begin first the gradually add more grades. It's better than everyone going in at once. While phasing in the reopening of schools, the DOE and the city could monitor COVID cases.
Nevada man becomes first in the US to catch COVID-19 twice
The 25-year-old man, of Reno, experienced a sore throat, cough, headache, nausea and diarrhea — and first tested positive for the COVID-19 on April 18, according to a study published to the website SSRN Thursday, which has yet to be peer-reviewed.
His symptoms had resolved by April 27, and he tested negative for the virus twice in May, the study says.
Then on May 31, he sought treatment again for the same symptoms, in addition to a fever and dizziness, according to the study.
Lol. CNN guest Dr. Rob Davidson says that social distancing isn't as big of a concern at the March on Washington as it was last night at President Trump's speech because "this is a public health crisis they are marching against. Systemic racism has taken so many lives in this country"
Not being able to visit my dying grandmother in a NY hospital & our family not being able to say our last goodbyes at her funeral was also a public health crisis to our family yet The cuomo Brothers didn’t give a damn.
Mr. Mayor, You said today that public education is the most important thing to you...
Can we stop the endless crime and shootings before teachers and students start traveling throughout the city? Must we all get shot or robbed or walk over needles and urine and blood on the way to a school building? Mr. Mayor, when asked what specific things you have done to stop the violence you said it's because of Covid. Have class in the street with all those safety hazards?
"So New York stopped prosecuting turnstile jumpers, and now folks are smashing windows in the subways. Has there ever been a more delicious vindication of a venerable policing policy than that? The theory was simple enough: Fix one broken window in a public space, and your work is done. Ignore it, and soon enough, you have more broken windows. Many more." But hey, we have the lowest amount of inmates ever. Sounds like the graduation rate, but I'll get to that later...
Mr. Mayor, you again said today that parents are on your side. This is false. Parents didn't care enough to fill out your survey and you assume that they all chose your side. Am I understanding that there is no requirement for students to get tested for Covid? 800,000 parents didn't even bother filling out the remote learning survey. I'm going to bet my life that there are no asymptomatic students? The medical professionals, I thought, said testing is a must. Offering testing is not guaranteeing students have been tested. My school has no supply fan. We are told to open windows. If all we need to do is open windows, how are 185,000 dead and almost 6 million infected in this country? Seems like an easy fix for everyone. We could've avoided a lot of suffering.
Since the Covid decision seems to have been made, even after sending us into infected buildings in March and getting many of us sick and hiding information, despite the fact that almost no students will be showing up and most teachers prefer remote learning and safety is being at least partially ignored and pretty much every school that opens has to immediately close due to widespread infection...Can we discuss grade fraud?
This is why we should go into schools and get infected with COVID. We need to babysit and give fake grades, of course. Keep that graduation rate high, by any means necessary. Wonder why we don't trust the NYCDOE...?
Summer School This was part of an email chain sent which a Supervisor saw and commented on. When seeing this, he asked if this was the grading policy and said it should be discussed in private. I wonder why.
Teachers have openly said and are putting in writing that they are passing students with failing averages well below 65. I'm talking about averages in the 20s.
"I have a student with a 29 average. If they completed all the assignments but had an average below 65, I just passed them all."
"I just dropped all the low grades so the average went up to 65."
"I just deleted all the assignments they were missing so the average went up high enough to pass."
"I dropped the lowest scores, in some cases dropped a unit, and dropped or curved the end of semester test."
Well, how can they fail? Sounds like our expectations are sky high, as usual. That was sarcasm. You can go into Edmentum, write anything, get a 0 on every test, but since you "completed" everything, you pass. Fraud? Wow. Unfortunately, this is the norm. This happens all year. Repeatedly reaching out to the UFT and DOE has gotten staff members nowhere. However, the powers that be continue to tout the graduation rate. I guess an 18-21 year old student unable to write a proper sentence isn't all that important. They got that diploma. How is that showing care for the students and how is that setting them up for a promising future when they know they can choose to not show up, not do work, be completely unable, but get the same credit? What is the DOE attendance policy again? Students passing with under 15% attendance? Please alert me to expectations and standards. Perhaps DOE standards need to equal those of THRIVE NYC. They do pay two million dollars for 14 employees.
The combination of principals demanding everyone pass, the DOE continually lowering standards and teachers fearing retribution if they don't meet a certain passing percentage has us all confused. It leads to undeserving grades, credits and diplomas. How exactly does a packet make up for missing 90% of class time? How can you decide that a certain amount of students should pass a class before the class takes place? Why does a teacher get called in for failing too many but no teacher ever gets called in for passing too many? Reality doesn't matter, just hit the number. Make everyone look good.
Please let us know, with specifics, what is expected from students. How can we ensure that they deserve to get a good job, hold that job and be a productive member of society? There used to be right and wrong, where has it gone?
To all included in this email...
For the safety of staff and students, I ask that we start the school year remotely. ALL OF US.
For the good of NYC, I ask that we make the streets safe.
For the good of our future, I ask that we come together and decide upon fair and appropriate grading expectations.
We don't want to strike. We want to work...REMOTELY We don't want widespread infection We don't want overloaded hospitals
Jp, You're letter is AMAZING. I hope your colleagues back you. Knowing the DOE, they may come after you for admitting to grade fraud. The UFT will side with the DOE. We all know what you wrote is true but how many will stand with you to say grade fraud is the unspoken expectation of the mayor? Even if you have to stand alone just know that I and im sure many others stand with you. If you face any retribution, please share it on this blog so that we can support you.
92 comments:
Not a chance remote teachers stick to that schedule.
Dues payers? Are you there?
The DOE put out (and @UFT agreed!) that remote teachers teaching students in blended can have up to 68 kids per class! Gonna be great for individualized support.
You must all be pumped about waiting for that last retro payment for 11 years, and getting those 1.3% raises for 11 years and paying for our own PPL, as you have 68 on roster in every class...As your fellow union embers are getting sick and dying.
de blasio saying it is safe is like cnn saying peaceful with a huge fire behind them. This is where the uft is supposed to step up.
I will throw it out there. I am 40 years old. The city has a terrible money crunch. I will take an immediate buyout, September 1. No problem. Save my 100k+ forever, my medical and my pension. Make the offer.
Where is the vote on these requirements? This is essentially a new contract.
Where is the new preference sheet for teachers? I never agreed to anything but in person teaching.
If there was any point in union recent union history where we could fight and terrify the DOE, this is it.
Mulgrew loves wearing his kneepads around the DOE.
I think it's too late to withdraw from dues for the school year.
The next thing we'll be screwed on is the observation system.
I thought if I reported five days a week, I didn't have to do blended learning.
What did other teaching unions in the state agree to?
I wish there was some way to expose all the dirty dealings behind the scene.
The membership is cattle.
James, happy you changed your mind and told people not to opt out after what has gone on since March?
The uft really divided us.
Thank you for posting anonymously. This is a long one. From what I have witnessed the past few weeks, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be bullied (anonymously) by these “highly esteemed educators” for simply stating my personal opinion. Sorry, but I dont want to put my name out there publicly during this time AND THATS OK! Don’t shame me, bc the same people who are like “why post anonymous” are the same ones who are on this chat 24-7 and have never had to deal with people screenshotting posts to their admin. 🙄
Here’s my two cents: if we vote to strike, I will vote No. If the vote passes, I will not participate in the safety strike bc my school building has already been deemed safe. Do I care about other schools? Of course I do, but the attitudes of some of its teachers makes me not want to help in any way and just look out for myself and my family. Unity? What unity? The past few days I have seen other UFT members rip their colleagues apart simply for asking the “what if” questions that the UFT has still not clarified in writing!!!! I, for one, do not want to make big decisions based on heresay from this group.
The name calling, the belittling of teachers (many older) on their use of language/grammar etc on a SOCIAL MEDIA post is ridiculous. As if you are all perfect people. Way to go, embarassing your colleague on a public platform. Does that make you feel good about yourself? It’s Facebook, not a college term paper. Yeah, we’re all educators. Maybe some of us are math teachers and English grammar was not our thing. Can you do calculus on the spot right now? Just asking.
Good luck finding colleagues who will support you on this cause when you continue to treat your colleagues in this manner online or offline. I’m planning to take a break from this group otherwise you will all turn me anti-union. I am so shocked at the amount of online bullying I’ve seen the past few days. It’s hard to believe that these are the same colleagues educating our students.
Also, I’ve seen the word “selfish” being used quite often the past few days. Newsflash* it’s okay to be selfish during this time. This pandemic goes beyond what we have ever experienced before. Do what is right for you and your family and don’t feel bad about it or judge others. At the end of day, we are all “selfish.” The “senior” teachers at my school who have stayed on their favorite grade for x number of years not giving younger teachers a chance to teach a different grade - selfish. All the teachers who applied for remote teacher- selfish (including myself). If schools are “safe” everyone should be going in, not just teachers who don’t qualify for accommodations. <~This has definitely caused a great divide, too, in my opinion. Everyone should be able to work from home.
I get the purpose and the why behind the strike. The Union needs to clarify the ramnfications of the strike for its members. In my town hall meeting I just heard the word unity repeated 10x, something about being in charge of snacks/water, and had zero of my questions answered. I, too, am frustrated. PLEASE be kind to your colleagues. YOU DONT KNOW MY PERSONAL SITUATION. I don’t live in a nice house in the burbs or have family to help me out. I can be out on the streets if I’m without 2-3 paychecks. No one wants to go against the union but this is why the UFT needs to answer questions not brush them off!
I will repeat this again. Be kind to your colleagues. Don’t expect them to be there for you when you treat them this way! Why would I want to help someone who calls me a scab, rat, etc for simply asking questions!? Am I not entitled to that? In a public platform for “educators?”
How is it possible mulgrew has backed down yet at meetings they are saying we are striking. how is this helpful?
-The strike is almost becoming a reality, we are not asking for crazy stuff however, the Mayor and chancellor have not agreed on any of the demands for a safe in person reopening.
-As of right now, the UFT has not deemed any NYC school safe and the mayor is not having any conversation with the union.
What Michael Mulgrew is thinking and why is necessary:
*Temperatures for all staff and students
*Comprehensive COVID plan which includes various things including testing. (which they (DOE) don’t have)
*Adequate PPE
-Our mayor is saying things that can’t be put into place without the time and planning needed as outdoor learning: which was announced on Monday and he expects a plan by the principals on Friday.
-98 percent of principals in District 9 sent a letter to Cuomo, De Blasio, and Carranza saying that we want to open schools but we need a plan to open safely. District 7 principals sent a letter as well, stating the same concerns.
They (UFT) is asking us:
*We use our social media to put pressure on the Mayor.
*If we do take the vote to go to strike, “I am asking you that we all stick together”
Ramifications if we do take a job action:
Taylor law: Court has to deem we are going against the Taylor law but since no union has gone on strike for health and unsafe work conditions, we won’t know until we go to court if we are going against the Taylor law.
More specifically it was said that: “It is not an unlawful action IF there is a reasonable bonafide fear of imminent threat to safety and health. We would go to court immediately if we have to take action”
A more clear answer about HEALTH INSURANCE if we go to strike and it is found we are violating the Taylor law:
Short term HEALTH INSURANCE is not affected. It is only affected if this goes long term.
Q: What is a long term strike????
A: Insurance gets pay quarterly so long term is beyond 3 months. After 3 months there is a possibility we lose coverage.
What have they found so far by inspecting schools?
*Inspectors have found children’s masks in high schools and in elementary schools they have found high schoolers masks
*Some schools have the electrostatic machines to do the cleaning but do not have what they need to put into them.
-Regarding setting up your classrooms: “I am not going to tell you not to go but if your school is deemed unsafe right now why would you go in and set up your room?” “If you go in now and you get COVID that’s on you”
**Personal thought: (I’m thinking they are referring to that you are not supposed to be in the building right now and won’t be covered by the union since technically the school year doesn’t start until Sept 8 for staff - I could be wrong)
-Thoughts on outdoor learning: It is NOT logical.
Why? Weather, multiple schools in one location with one yard, not enough time to plan, etc.
-Every school in June/ July received “COVID planning money” to pay people per-session to plan and barely any school did so.
-The majority of parents are with us because no parent want to put their children at risk by opening schools unsafely. There is an uptick on children contracting COVID. The youngest child that has contracted the virus: is a 10 months old baby.
**The UFT is urging that we keep putting pressure on the mayor. We are not ready to open the buildings and we STILL have a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to safety, blended learning and so on.
Personal note: I hope these notes were helpful and we can stay united for what is to come, whether we strike or not AND whether the job action is found unlawful or not. We are ALL on this together and we should support each other in any way possible. It is okay to disagree but power is in numbers, if we want to make a change, we must make the change happen. I personally do not think the Mayor or Chancellor is considering the safety of anyone (children or staff).
Let me get this straight
Mulgrew allowed the mayor to force us all in to dangerous buildings and travel
And he agreed to make classes double size, 68 per class
What did we get?
I told you all to opt out, yes, it is too late. You can opt out, but dues wouldnt come off until next summer.
JP said to email, who has done that? Nobody or very few.
I wouldnt worry about observations, i would worry about dying.
Go ahead
mmulgrew@uft.org
jhinds@uft.org
lbarr@uft.org
sroberson@uft.org
msill@uft.org
bdeblasio@cityhall.nyc.gov" ,
"nycchancellor@schools.nyc.gov" ,
"speakerjohnson@council.nyc.gov" ,
"MTreyger@council.nyc.gov" ,
"BKallos@benkallos.com" ,
"District7@council.nyc.gov" ,
"yrodriguez@council.nyc.gov" ,
"salamanca@council.nyc.gov" ,
"BGrodenchik@council.nyc.gov" ,
"dromm@council.nyc.gov" ,
"bclarke@council.nyc.gov" ,
"eulrich@council.nyc.gov" ,
"slevin@council.nyc.gov" ,
Oh, by the way, to make matters worse, the idiot teachers are already going in, for free, to set up their rooms.
Checkmate!
Nothing left to do now but hope the plan fails and Cuomo steps in.
James's Q&A was really an impassioned plea for militancy, for a membership that would have a little guts. I guess he imagined that if only we would show a little nerve and stay home for a couple few days our leadership would have no choice but to call it a job action and get behind us.
When Mulgrew backpedaled and James tried to adjust to his walking back his use of the
S-word, we knew something was dishonest. The law of contradictions told us that a strike could not be and and at the same time not be a strike. That the vagueness, and duplicity, the fancy dance ambiguity and history about what exactly a job action was, had been, was now an inherent weakness manifesting itself in James's language and, though he won much applause for his Q&A From a Dissident, even from himself, it was more revisionist history and legal mumbo jumbo than anything a true dissident would write. A dissident UFT member is still a member of the establishment that weakens us.
Thank you James for all your great work but you really don't understand the membership well. We are by and large a bunch of wimps who can't speak truth to power because we love our oppressors.
We are a weak union and the members know it. A weak bread and butter union, ours is now weaker and willing to take bread without butter.
Our collective bargaining is circumscribed by laws and policies we can do little about.
The argument that we have power because we are in a union city or a democratic state is a total misreading of the power structure. It weakens us not the other way around.
And we are not Chicago. And we are not LA. We are NYC and we are weak.
The only option we have is to strike and we will not employ that option because, as James explained, it will work. We wan't the problem. We want to suffer. We want to hold on to what we can and never risk anything. We are union weak.
Most members are more concerned about how we will look if we strike. Won't we look selfish. Unemployment is 40% in the Bronx. 20% in NYC. In 23 of the last 24 weaks 1,000,000 people filed for unemployment. That's a Depression. see TIME here---->The Next Global Depression Is Coming and Optimism Won’t Slow It Down
https://time.com/5876606/economic-depression-coronavirus/
Should teachers, who have not lost jobs, who have just come off a long vacation, agitate for better working conditions during a depression?
YES! It's the perfect time to do it. But our members don't see it that way becasue they are so disconnected from the community. We are as bad as the cops. We are members who don't love our communities, who don't care about our people, who are in it for the pensions and the pay check and the summers off.
Maybe if these were threatened we would wake up.
Maybe. Maybe not.
To everyone’s saying see you should’ve pulled dues. Pulling dues does nothing if it doesn’t guarantee the leadership will start doing what we want. We have no idea if we pulled does would Mulgrew finally listen, who knows? But what is certain is that the union is weaker if everyone pulled dues. So the better option is to overthrow the current leadership by voting them out.
Why do teachers keep complaining about mulgrew yet keep paying mulgrew when they have the option not to and keep voting for him when they have other options?
And again ATRs get screwed because we still don't know what schools we're going to and don't know what we'll be doing. We still don't know the protocols for the school. All I keep getting are emails for interviews for positions in Brooklyn where I'll get my head blown off.
Nice work uft. Great agreement.
OK. So. Principals have been telling us all day these guidelines are impossible to follow. Now UFT admits they are impossible.Their statement: "Even with this agreement, we don't have the number of teachers needed to get the job done."
Helpful details here. Noteworthy that the DOE's chief academic officer is taking questions on a plan that has not been released or explained publicly but which reporters are reading due to leaks from schools
68 kids a class * 5 classes = 340 kids
@3:23
Take care of yourself.
What are the class size limits for fully remote classes?
For Fully Remote Teachers, the class size limitations as per the contract shall apply. The total number of students for whom a fully remote teacher may be responsible shall be up to the full class size limitation in accordance with the contract. For example, in High School: 34 students and 5 classes = 170 students.
After what has transpired the last few weeks, i emailed my principal and told him that if we dont go full remote, i will be retiring on the first day of school. Have to do it.
I agree with jenn. Im not quite old enough to retire, strongly considering resigning. Im already feeling sick to my stomach. This can get very dangerous, very quickly. Nobody seems to care. The uft as abandoned us, as has the mayor.
You keep saying that we dont know if opting out would do anything. what has paying done. How long you gonna wait? You are stick for another year. let me know in june how the uft helped us.
For those who have young children like myself, the only option left is to apply for a leave and take 2/3 of my salary.
The fact that mulgrew gets destroyed in every negotiation with de blasiot the idiot, or simply bows down, says everything. How are those dues doing for ya? At least do something. I email the mayor, governor, uft and media everyday.
Nicely negotiated, uft.
NYC Releases Instructional Guidance For Public Schools, Principals Call It "Batshit Crazy"
They're right. UFT educators have been saying this all summer. 2 weeks before we're set to start the school year, but the uft still let it happen.
Cuomo-writes book on how to deal with covid after having the worst results in country
Mulgrew should write a book on negotiating
And stupid teachers just keep taking it. What the fuck is wrong with all of you?
how do full remote, who do not have to pay for gas/parking dry cleaning, etc get to sleep later, get less work then those who risk their life commuting and entering a school building each day?
3:23. I fear my safety going in. I fear my safety crossing the picket line as well. I will let everyone here know that if you cross the picket line I will not hold it against you in any way. You are making the best decision for you and your family and I would never be upset at anyone for that.
@4:01 ...I believe this has been James' point. Vote for change. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.
TWO TEACHERS FOR EACH CHILD (quote De Balssio) SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN
Jenn...do what's best for you. HOWEVER if you can just mask up for a few days (call in sick a few days) i think the matter will work its self out and everyone will be full remote. Again do what you have to do but if it were me, i wouldn't resign the first day or week. The bozos will shut ot all down. Wear double masks and create a boundary around your desk with masking tape. Im really praying for all of you people. Stay strong.
This document takes the cake! I have never seen or heard of directives so filled with contradictions, illegalities,confusion and stupidity. There will never be any agreement on an interpretation and no one will know what the f is going on.
If you asked whoever wrote this for explanations they too would be incapable of explaining.
Total mumbo jumbo gobbledygook and it proves more than anything the total absurdity and unworkability of this blended learning model.
Does anyone reasonably know how far reaching 9000 teacher layoffs would take us years wise? back as far as 2017? 16?
Did the batshit crazy DOE release the school calendar yet? haha
A global pandemic and the DOE wants to reopen schools to increase community spreading of the deadly virus! Holy BAT SHIT Batman!!!
The uft doesn't say a word about this.
Just keep jetting us around. NYC Releases Instructional Guidance For Public Schools, Principals Call It "Batshit Crazy" - Gothamist, Yikes! Pay attention
@UFT
@UFT_BKOffice
@FollowCSA
Too little too late
@NYCMayor
@DOEChancellor
Ok, so I'm forced to unsafely go to work and then get 68 per period. While others sit home, sleep late, do whatever...? Ya know what? Fuck the uft. I will have my own strike.
Two women slashed outside New York Public Library in Midtown...good luck getting to school
I'm not going to argue about opt out. I already opted out. I can't imagine how much sicker I would feel if I was paying $62 per check and getting abused like this.
I think it is clear at this point that action needs to be taken by each individual. The uft will jerk us around and leave us to struggle and die like in March, and like the last 2 decades.
I am hoping and assuming that this is a nonsense document, designed to conform to and appease the internal dialogue at Tweed, and maybe City Hall [but I don't think City Hall is paying attention to any educational details.]
It looks like the arrogance and laziness of those in power won out. They are exposed for not planning and trying to foist this mess upon an entire city at the last minute. Maybe they will also succeed in destroying their credibility and possibly some careers too. They barely survived the catastrophe of March, and then instituted a "pass everyone" plan for K-12, and now, strike three, they want to push forward an unplanned, unsafe opening.
Let's hope this plan fails miserably, and let's hope everyone survives it.
I was open minded about the Mayor and the Chancellor, but they have abused thousands of loyal teachers - for one thing, using their positions for the pet project of attacking their own school system as a hotbed of systemic racism. Many of us knew, that there were not many experienced and skilled planners and leaders at Tweed, and they mainly continued Bloomberg era policies out of inertia, while having beautiful lunches and retreats, and giving themselves big raises.
This pandemic has exposed many things - on the national level, and also here on the local level. Mainly it has exposed incompetence, lies, laziness, and poor leadership.
For veteran teachers, maybe we get an early retirement package out of this mess.
Until then, I will be getting ready to mask up deal with it/
Mulgrew is the UFT. Someone, anyone, (especially you Arthur Goldstein, who are always blasting it from your podium) prove he isn’t. He’s signing our rights away and locking us into slave labor agreements worse than those Bloomberg once proposed ( 75 plus in a class) and caused mass outrage.
So, we have two weeks -- less, let's count today as done -- to figure out a) how many more teachers we need and b) find them and c) assign them to the city's 1800 schools.
We don't need an investigation in order to simply hammer this round narrative peg into this square narrative hole
I am still in the process of having my doctor write me a letter for an accommodation to work remote.
Why? Theirs should mirror brick and mortar.
The uft has told us loud and clear, we are on our own.
There needs to be another Town Hall soon to keep members informed about what is going on from the union's perspective.
Well said
James, after this MOA, are you still endorsing this strike vote? How are teachers supposed to trust this union with all these back room deals/bullshit agreements ??? Unity is a bunch of thugs, liars...Today, Unity CL threatened staff..if you cross pickett line, Your tires might be slashed or you might get beat up...Mulgrew makes decisions without asking members. Who wants to be in a union like this????
I still can't figure out how this is supposed to work? If I have to report for live instruction...How many classes am I teaching? Are they all live, in class, or live in-class and remote? When will I meet the remote teacher that is supposed to be working with me? Is that teacher assigned to my school?
Blended remote, yours schools can designate the majority of you. This way you can be home and be considered blended remote, you will teach all the blended kids when they are home.. Up to twice the amount of kids to! Easy way to make sure all the kids are covered!
What are the class size limits for blended remote teachers?
For Blended Learning Remote Teachers, the total number of students a blended learning remote teacher shall
serve per teaching period shall not exceed a number that is twice the contractual class size limitation as per the
CBA.
Leave it up to the DOE so make this so convoluted that it's easier to do the remote and in person than it will be to work with someone else.
If you needed any more proof that this is job is babysitting, this is all about pushing kids into schools without any improvements over the Spring remote learning plan, and no guidance on adjustments to be made with the regular curriculum.
Does anyone else feel that “virtual content specialist” is just one more person we have to deal with and plan with? I already plan with ICT, ENL, and other subject colleagues. Also, now, 4 different remote teachers? And will I have four different virtual content specialists to deal with for all four of my classes? Since it’s optional, I will dismiss them or opt out.
I have to wear full PPE to dodge all the BS flying around. The mayor is lying, the chancellor is lying, Mulgrew and reps are lying, school construction authority people are lying, school preparedness people are lying, and school building administrators are lying.
How is it possible to have such incompetent people is such powerful positions? There should be a Federal investigation into the NYC DOE.
I never thought I would say it, but the way the NYC DOE has handled the CoVid crisis has made me pro-voucher.
A Memo for Fall 2020 and for an ultimately a fall from grace. The benefit of doubt will no longer be applied to anyone about anything. Think for yourself, do not trust Mulgrew.
Ok, another day has passed. Where do we stand? Tuesday is September 1.
Wow, I miss the Bloomberg 2007 contract, 7% for less than 2 years. We couldn't dream of a deal like that now.
2007 was also a year early and included $750 signing bonus
11th hour "guidance" leads to chaos. NYC principals union today: "Many school leaders will be forced to abandon their carefully considered plans and communicate to their superintendents that their school simply doesn’t have enough staff to begin the year" on Sept. 10.
NYC principals ask what they should tell families: "How can they pledge to deliver a quality education,worth the risks of attending school during a pandemic, when they’re not even sure they have enough teachers?"
What a fucking mess.
New from the principals union: "Regrettably, the DOE has now created a potential staffing crisis with just two weeks to go before the first day of school."
https://documentcloud.org/documents/7047644-CSA-Letter-on-Staffing-Shortages.html
Chalkbeat New York
"Staffing has been and will continue to be something that we are monitoring closely,” said Linda Chen, the department's chief academic officer.
“The math would indicate to you that is going to be a variable we need to solve for.”
https://ckbe.at/3gBhVbE
I do not understand why the calendar for NYC public schools has not been released. The schools in the surrounding area have their calendars.
On top of all the stress, the MTA may raise fees.
My colleague called a hospital and asked how she should get a teacher rapid test. The worker defeatedly told her that she’s the third teacher to call today, her supervisor knows nothing, and that on her list of accelerated testing personnel, teachers are MIA.
Right. Because using 1.1 million children, their families & our colleagues as guinea pigs is totally a good course of action. Reminder the mayors plan includes kids eating indoors 2 meals a day.
Danielson's rating on every single domain the DOE Instructional Guide for Blended and Remote Learning= INCREDIBLY INEFFECTIVE.
“The DoE tells FOX 5 NY it will provide transportation to all students, but that it may not be possible to provide transportation through a conventional mode like a bus. The agency is exploring the possibility of giving out MetroCards.”
Flood the subway with people. Sounds safe.
For crying out loud
@UFT
@UFTUnity
get your isht together already! Enough of the games- either fight for an end to austerity cuts - Cuomo- and ed reform because we all know the buildings been unsafe fr decades or step aside! Black Lives Matter!
Can everybody stop with the calendar and observations? Now is not the time for that. We have much bigger problems and safety issues. The calendar is the same as every other year. Christmas in on 12/25.
Last night at a #BronxStrong town hall organized by
@MOREcaucusUFT
, parents voiced MANY concerns with
@NYCMayor
's plans and how they have not been given the chance to be heard. His claims that the "majority" of parents want schools open are false. This is getting outrageous.
“Mayor says indoor dining will depend on how school reopening goes” https://ny.eater.com/2020/8/27/21404598/nyc-indoor-dining-schools-de-blasio-coronavirus
This proves we are an experiment. Insane.
Csa says schools are too dangerous
Csa says there will be a severe teacher shortfall
Principal says come in next week to set up classroom
Teachers say yes
Uft Dr says don't go in we are striking and it is unsafe
Mulgrew no longer talking strike
Every school system that open, closes with widedpread infection
De blasio says you can't eat indoors until 2021
Cuomo says you must wear masks
De blasio says students can take off masks to eat indoors on classroom
Cuomo says follow the science
Confused?
District 29 Principals in Queens make a big statement in joining other districts in Manhattan and Brooklyn with a call for delaying NYC schol opening.
3:24:00 PM I don't see anything about long-term or short-term or health insurance in the Taylor Law. Citations please.
Uft said it, quinn
Schools should start remote on time, then slowly phase in. The lower grades should begin first the gradually add more grades. It's better than everyone going in at once. While phasing in the reopening of schools, the DOE and the city could monitor COVID cases.
If there is a teacher shortage, why am I still an ATR?
Another day has gone by, where do we stand?
Someone makes sense...Where is Mulgrew?
Head of police union demands Mayor de Blasio resign by ‘sundown’
https://nypost.com/2020/08/28/head-of-police-union-demands-mayor-de-blasio-resign-by-sunset/
The DOE is engaging in an insane unethical experiment. Just like the unethical experiments done by our enemy during World War II
Mulgrew, nice job. Yells about a strike...But teachers not wanting to strike.
Csa says nothing about strike.
We look like fools.
Nevada man becomes first in the US to catch COVID-19 twice
The 25-year-old man, of Reno, experienced a sore throat, cough, headache, nausea and diarrhea — and first tested positive for the COVID-19 on April 18, according to a study published to the website SSRN Thursday, which has yet to be peer-reviewed.
His symptoms had resolved by April 27, and he tested negative for the virus twice in May, the study says.
Then on May 31, he sought treatment again for the same symptoms, in addition to a fever and dizziness, according to the study.
Lol. CNN guest Dr. Rob Davidson says that social distancing isn't as big of a concern at the March on Washington as it was last night at President Trump's speech because "this is a public health crisis they are marching against. Systemic racism has taken so many lives in this country"
Not being able to visit my dying grandmother in a NY hospital & our family not being able to say our last goodbyes at her funeral was also a public health crisis to our family yet
The cuomo Brothers didn’t give a damn.
NYCDOE-Crime, Covid, Grade Fraud
Good morning,
Mr. Mayor,
You said today that public education is the most important thing to you...
Can we stop the endless crime and shootings before teachers and students start traveling throughout the city? Must we all get shot or robbed or walk over needles and urine and blood on the way to a school building? Mr. Mayor, when asked what specific things you have done to stop the violence you said it's because of Covid. Have class in the street with all those safety hazards?
"So New York stopped prosecuting turnstile jumpers, and now folks are smashing windows in the subways. Has there ever been a more delicious vindication of a venerable policing policy than that? The theory was simple enough: Fix one broken window in a public space, and your work is done. Ignore it, and soon enough, you have more broken windows. Many more." But hey, we have the lowest amount of inmates ever. Sounds like the graduation rate, but I'll get to that later...
Mr. Mayor, you again said today that parents are on your side. This is false. Parents didn't care enough to fill out your survey and you assume that they all chose your side. Am I understanding that there is no requirement for students to get tested for Covid? 800,000 parents didn't even bother filling out the remote learning survey. I'm going to bet my life that there are no asymptomatic students? The medical professionals, I thought, said testing is a must. Offering testing is not guaranteeing students have been tested.
My school has no supply fan. We are told to open windows. If all we need to do is open windows, how are 185,000 dead and almost 6 million infected in this country? Seems like an easy fix for everyone. We could've avoided a lot of suffering.
Since the Covid decision seems to have been made, even after sending us into infected buildings in March and getting many of us sick and hiding information, despite the fact that almost no students will be showing up and most teachers prefer remote learning and safety is being at least partially ignored and pretty much every school that opens has to immediately close due to widespread infection...Can we discuss grade fraud?
This is why we should go into schools and get infected with COVID. We need to babysit and give fake grades, of course. Keep that graduation rate high, by any means necessary. Wonder why we don't trust the NYCDOE...?
Part 2
Summer School
This was part of an email chain sent which a Supervisor saw and commented on. When seeing this, he asked if this was the grading policy and said it should be discussed in private. I wonder why.
Teachers have openly said and are putting in writing that they are passing students with failing averages well below 65. I'm talking about averages in the 20s.
"I have a student with a 29 average. If they completed all the assignments but had an average below 65, I just passed them all."
"I just dropped all the low grades so the average went up to 65."
"I just deleted all the assignments they were missing so the average went up high enough to pass."
"I dropped the lowest scores, in some cases dropped a unit, and dropped or curved the end of semester test."
Well, how can they fail? Sounds like our expectations are sky high, as usual. That was sarcasm. You can go into Edmentum, write anything, get a 0 on every test, but since you "completed" everything, you pass. Fraud? Wow. Unfortunately, this is the norm. This happens all year. Repeatedly reaching out to the UFT and DOE has gotten staff members nowhere. However, the powers that be continue to tout the graduation rate. I guess an 18-21 year old student unable to write a proper sentence isn't all that important. They got that diploma. How is that showing care for the students and how is that setting them up for a promising future when they know they can choose to not show up, not do work, be completely unable, but get the same credit? What is the DOE attendance policy again? Students passing with under 15% attendance? Please alert me to expectations and standards. Perhaps DOE standards need to equal those of THRIVE NYC. They do pay two million dollars for 14 employees.
The combination of principals demanding everyone pass, the DOE continually lowering standards and teachers fearing retribution if they don't meet a certain passing percentage has us all confused. It leads to undeserving grades, credits and diplomas. How exactly does a packet make up for missing 90% of class time? How can you decide that a certain amount of students should pass a class before the class takes place? Why does a teacher get called in for failing too many but no teacher ever gets called in for passing too many? Reality doesn't matter, just hit the number. Make everyone look good.
Please let us know, with specifics, what is expected from students. How can we ensure that they deserve to get a good job, hold that job and be a productive member of society? There used to be right and wrong, where has it gone?
To all included in this email...
For the safety of staff and students, I ask that we start the school year remotely. ALL OF US.
For the good of NYC, I ask that we make the streets safe.
For the good of our future, I ask that we come together and decide upon fair and appropriate grading expectations.
We don't want to strike. We want to work...REMOTELY
We don't want widespread infection
We don't want overloaded hospitals
WE DO NOT FEEL SAFE
PLEASE HELP US
William Saroyan,
Without pressure.
The work doesn't get done at all.
That's the double talk. No bueno. Wishing you and your family peace.
JP
Great letter. Facts
Anyone see on nbc just now that 20% of teachers put in papers for retirement
Jp,
You're letter is AMAZING. I hope your colleagues back you. Knowing the DOE, they may come after you for admitting to grade fraud. The UFT will side with the DOE. We all know what you wrote is true but how many will stand with you to say grade fraud is the unspoken expectation of the mayor?
Even if you have to stand alone just know that I and im sure many others stand with you. If you face any retribution, please share it on this blog so that we can support you.
Thanks. I sent it to James, the media, mayor, chancellor, cuomo, district council, NYSED, UFT...And no response.
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