Download - MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox V. 1 No. 1
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7/29/2019 MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox V. 1 No. 1
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Under the new rules, if you get rated ineective
automatically get a rating of ine
this twisted system, 40 is greater than 60
Measures of Teacher Performance will be based
First, section 8J of our current contract points to
characteristics of good teaching in which teach
plan, teachers will be evaluated on rubrics that ju
us not just by our own behavior, but by the bod
Under article 8J, satisfactory, tenured teachers ca
set their own goals and methods for
demonstrating professional growth, and
request a onetoone preobservation
option exists and we are now required to h
Section 8E of our contract states that Th
organization, format, notation and other physica
aspects of the lesson plan are appropriately with
component 1e calls upon evaluators to rate our
John Antush & Peter Lamp
Read the full version of this article and SIG
THE PETITION FOR A MORATORIUM
ON THE NEW TEACHER EVALUATION
PLAN online: morecaucusnyc.org/newslet
MOREs chapterbuilding committee can
NY State Education
Commissioner King has
imposed a new teacher
evaluation plan that reduces
educators to a single number
based largely on students testcials have
suggested that 10 of
teachers will be rated
ine
20 of Measures of Student
scores measuring changes in
our students standardized test
scores, and another 20 will
be local measures
administration committee
menu, subject to a principals
Eventually, the growth scores
section will be 25 points and
60 of Measures of Teacher
Performance will be based on
observations using the
NewEvalSystem
ViolatesOurRights!
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What are some
scheduling/contractual
issues that chapters should
look out for at the start of
the year?
HS/IS/MS teachers should
have no more than 25
teaching periods/week,
including one prep and one professional
activity with no more than 3
consecutive teaching periods and no
more than 4 consecutive assignments;
elementary teachers should have one
prep a day and in 8 period schools
one professional period a week. All
schoolbased UFT members areentitled to one dutyfree lunch period
the length of a normal teaching period.
Teachers should have no more than 150
minutes per week of small group
tutoring with no more than 10 students
per teacher. Administrators should keep
the number of rooms assigned to the
absolute minimum administratively
possible. Probationary teachers should
ask for assignments in their license
area. Teaching out of license mightresult in an extension of probation.
Check for class size violations class
size limits vary with grade and Title I
status, and special education status.
What steps can a UFT
chapter take to rectify
these issues?
Every chapter should hold a
chapter meeting within the
this meeting, you can discuss how toaddress any issues collectively. You can
knowledge of the violation. You may
also consider chapterwide actions, such
as: a signed letter to admin; wearing
stickers to address an issue; using
consultation, staand SLT meetings to
address issues.Rosie Frascea, Delegate, Intl
High SchoolFuversion & other Q&As:morecaucusny.org/newsletter
1. For which of the following snafus isPearson responsible since 2000?
a. In 2013, 2,700 NYC students werewrongly told they werent eligible for theGifted & Talented program because ofproblems with the test.
b. In 2012, NYC was pressured to void theresults of the infamous "pineapple and
the hare" question which was also on 6other tests since 2004.
c. In 2012, a Pearson scoring error inMississippi impacted 121 students,
graduation.d. In 2000, Pearson used an answer key
with six wrong answers to grade 47,000tests of Minnesota students. As a result,8,000 students were told they failed
when they had actually passed.e.All of the above.
2. Which of the following did NOThappen as a result of McgrawHill9.6 million contract to grade highschool Regents Exams?
a.At least 80 tests were lost.b. Scoring delays prevented students
from receiving diplomas atgraduation.
c. Errors and inconsistencies in gradwere reported all over the city.
d. A colossal amount of money andtime was wasted.
e.A fairer grading system wasimplemented.
Megan Behrent, FDR High S
Have an idea for Take the TestWrite to testing@morecaucusnyc
TAKE THE TEST!
ANSWERS:1.e2.e
MOVEMENT OF RANK & FILE EDUCATORS WWW.MORECAUCUSNYC.ORG
In New York Citeachers, parentstudents andadministrators aexperiencing thnegative impact
policies that linhigh stakesstandardizedtesting to everyaspect of theschool communAttaching highstakes to tests
impacts the ways in which community members relate to each other,including decisions about the school budget.
New York City based parentgroups such as Change the Stakes, Class SMatters, Time Out From Testing and Parent Voices New York have buicoalitions that reach beyond the city, to the state and national level. Bycollaborating with educational researchers, they have organized to takestand against high stakes standardized tests. They also have launchedcampaigns such as the opt out movement, where parents exercise theirlegal right to opt their children out of standardized tests. In NYC, thismovement grew from 6 students opting out in 2012 to over 300 in 2013
Jia Lee, parent and teacher, PS 36
Learn about the movement against high stakes standardized test
visitchangethestakes.orgor write to [email protected].
ASK A
CHAPTER
LEADER...
COMMUNITY VOICES
Q
A
Q
A
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Teachers Raise Their Voices
In just two months over 20,000 teachers from
around the country joined a group called BadassTeachers, using Facebook to organize and take
action against corporate education reform.badassteacher.org or Facebook.com/groups/NewYorkBATs/
AFT and St Louis District Work Together
to Fire Teachers
This should be the model and not the exception,
Weingarten said. http://tinyurl.com/stlouismodel
NYS Sending Student and Teacher Data to
inBloom, Inc.
nbloom, Inc. collects private student and
teacher data and stores it in a cloud. Parents
and teachers have no way to opt out. After
protests, 4 out of the original 9 states that
agreed to this have reversed their decision.
NY is currently the only state that provides
student and teacher data from all of its
districts. http://tinyurl.com/inbloominc
Join MOREs Ed News listserv! Write to:[email protected].
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
MOVEMENT OF RANK & FILE EDUCATORS /MORECAUCUSNYC
WHERES OUR CONTRACT?
The next mayor will have an unprecedented opportunity to win pens
and health care changes from the Citys labor unions. The questionWill the next mayor continue to hold the line or capitulate?
October 2013 will mark ourfourth year without a newcontract.The imposition of a newevaluation process makes it even moreurgent that our union begin a campaignto mobilize for a contract that restoresour job protections.
We deserve more.for contractual protections against the
new evaluation model, real wageincreases, an end to the formal use ofsnapshot and informal observations,contractual protections against abusivesupervisors, due process for untenuredteachers so that all have a clear path totenure, teacher control over curricula,and the right to permanent placementfor all ATRs.Negotiating alone wont cut it.UFTers should be discussing a range of
of MORE StuIn Your
Mailbox! In these dire times
for public education and
teacher unions it is crucial to
have a wellinformed union
membership capable
of addressing thecomplex issues we
face. The purpose of
this newsletter is to
open discussions on
a range of issues aecting the
lives of UFT members, their
students and parents. We want
to inform, organize and, when
necessary, mobilize the
membership. Our newsletter
will try to balance union newsyou can actually use with
attempts at satire and humor.
Some articles are abridged with
links to the full version online.
While MORE makes use of
social mediaFacebook,
possible actions, including: picketinoutside schools, holding district andborough protests, and citywide actithat disrupt business as usual.Our working conditions are ostudents learning conditionsMORE is dedicated to social justiceunionism because we understand thgood contract is not only about our
rights as educators. Attacks on tenumean attacks on our ability to standfor our students and speak out whewe see injustice. Evaluations attachto test scores mean narrowed test pcurriculum and learning environmethat are toxic and alienating. A goodcontract for teachers means a bettelearning environment for students.
Participate in MOREs contractcampaign! Write to:[email protected].
Mayor Bloomberg, August 8, 20
EDITORIAL Twitter, our blog and a varietlist serves hard copy, print
media distributed to mailbox
in the schools is a crucial me
of bringing debates and
activities directly to UFT
members who aren't already
plugged in.
We need your helpget our message ou
Please help distribute
this newsletter in you
school and pass the w
about MORE to your colleag
in other schools. If you have
idea for our newsletter, cons
contributing to it. If you're
interested in MORE, please
know that you are welcome t
join in any of our activities. Omeetings are open to all, so
COME ON DOWN!
Have a comment or idea foMORE STUFF...? We wanhear it! Send your [email protected] by Robert Rendo
WHY ARE WE
PUTTING
MORE STUFF
IN YOUR
MAILBOX?
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DEMAND MORE FROM YOUR UNIONThe Movement of Rank and FileEducators MORE, a caucus of theUFT, was founded in the spring of2012 by a diverse group of unionmembers. In response to the sharplyescalating assault on public education,teachers and our unions, MORE membersbelieve that our union needs to educate,organize, and mobilize our colleagues to
more eforward alternative ideas and strategies to
those oered by the UFT leadershipsUnity Caucus, which has run the UFT
In too many schools, UFT members aredisconnected from their organization, andfeel that it oers no way for them toand
foremost trying to rebuild the UFT from
Our slogan our students learning conditionsour belief that the defense of unions isare better for educators and for students
hand with the struggle against inequality,
Some of our members have been teachers,counselors, paraprofessionals, and otherschoolopen to all UFT members, regardless ofpolitical or organizational a
been able to attract hundreds of UFTmembers to our forums, listservs, andactions, and thousands voted for therebuild this union we will need hundrtheir schools, districts, boroughs, and
you will distribute copies of thisyou will considerjoining MORE,and participating
The time is nowto demandMORE from
your union!
SEPTEMBER
3pm
OCTOBER
New Teacher Evaluation Plan
3pm
NOVEMBER
3pm
Moratorium are due
UPCOMING EVENTPD GAME: YOURE FULL OFBALONEY BINGO!
meeting,
PROFICIENT
TENURE
20
MENT
METRIC
INEFFECTIVE
40
MENT
COMMONCORE
EFFECTIVE
MORE STUFF IN YMAILBOXis the newsletter of th
File EducatorsEditorial Coective:in alphabetical orderMegan Behrent, Don DoyBrian Jones, BiLinvie,Norm Scott
Brian Jones & Norm Scott
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