more stuff in your mailbox v. 1 no. 1

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!


2/4

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?


4/4

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

100

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