I guess this is considered a victory by the UFT to get the Department of Education to follow the Contract and only require two informal observations for tenured teachers rated effective last year. Not being rated in 2019-2020 in the middle of a pandemic is no longer going to be held against teachers. Now, how about a maximum number of observations in the Contract like many other districts in NYS have? I would push for that.
Dear ______, After weeks of negotiations, the DOE has agreed to change its position that the lack of ratings in 2019-20 should be a determining factor in the number and type of observations that teachers are required to have this school year. Under the teacher evaluation system, if a tenured teacher received a rating of Effective for the previous two school years, that teacher would only need a minimum of two informal observations for the current school year. However, because teachers did not receive a rating for the 2019-20 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOE instructed principals in September that tenured teachers rated Effective would need one formal and one informal observation this school year. The DOE has now agreed that any tenured teacher rated Effective for the 2020-21 school year will receive a minimum of two informal observations. (As before, members can request a formal observation if they wish, but it is not required.) No change has been made to the number of observations required for teachers rated Highly Effective (two informal observations) or teachers rated Developing (three informal observations and one formal) for the 2020-21 school year. If you are now eligible for two informal observations, but have already had your initial planning conference with your principal, you will not be required to have another IPC but you should let your principal know that you’d like to receive two informal observations instead. Remember that observations cannot occur before the IPC is held. Read the DOE summary and FAQs about this school year’s policies and see more detailed information below. Sincerely, |
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| Michael Mulgrew |
| UFT President |
Total bullshit. The UFT did not do a single thing. DOE wanted as many observations as possible to make teachers lives miserable. The CSA is the union that got this done because they hate the paperwork and time required for so many observations.
ReplyDeleteYes, remember it's a minimum of 2 observations. I know some principals that want to do 6. The UFT should put a cap on number of observations instead of just a minimum. All they did was not require a formal observation.
ReplyDeleteThere SHOULD be a cap. And a teacher should have the right to demand an observation to replace a crappy one. The formals are a safe way to go for those of us that refuse to teach the crappy curriculum (HMH, Teachers College, CODEX, etc…) and teach our own stuff as God intended. Why go to school for teaching if you’re just handed a scripted curriculum?
DeleteThe UFt is a failure. Mulgrew is a pompous ass.
ReplyDeleteHow about tenured teachers who were asked to teach subjects that they did not have a license to teach due to the pandemic? A decision was made for these teachers by higherups not to be rated in ADVANCE without informing teachers of the consequences for this year.
ReplyDeleteThese teachers were given no rating in ADVANCE resulting in 1 formal and 3 informal observations this year for tenured teachers. Where is the UFT?
I like formal observations. You can control when and where.
ReplyDeleteBoth the UFT and CSA have known for many years that observations are a waste of time.
ReplyDeletehttps://solidarityuft.org/?page_id=7760
I agree with 8:27.i like control.a nasty admin might pick a bad class or bad time of the day, whereas a nice one who knows your strengths will let u shine.i don't care if they stay long.im old school and that was the norm and expectation.when they do drive by, they miss a lot.like one dummy who couldn't credit me for a component she wasn't looking for that day or missed cuz she left too soon.
ReplyDeleteCurrent admin says it's 10 min but stays whole time.i don't mind, cuz it's better for me.
8:27 and 11:10 : you are missing the point. The issue is not whether one prefers a formal observation- that is fine. The issue is that the DOE is telling tenured teachers who were informed they would not be rated in ADVANCE and were not told of consequences. These tenured teachers many of whom have never received a rating lower than effective are being informed that it it is mandatory for them to receive one formal and three informal observations which would be the same as untenured teachers. THIS is the issue
ReplyDelete@5:19 I was responding in general, not to your specific post. Not even sure how many teachers are affected by what you wrote.
ReplyDelete5:19: The issue is that Principals can make up how ever many informal observations they want teachers to get tenured or untenured. The UFT should put a cap on the number of observations administration can do instead of a minimum. Principals can keep doing informals on you until they finally catch you with one bad observation.
ReplyDelete1:35 that is yet ANOTHER reason why I prefer formal observations. They are worth more which could certainly counter a couple of bad informals.
ReplyDelete