NYC Chancellor Richard Carranza Cancels Spring Break, Infuriating Teachers and Parents

NYC Chancellor Richard Carranza

Below is the e-letter sent out by Chancellor Carranza and the Office of Personnel Investigations (OPI) on April 4, 2020. 

What parents and teachers want to know is:

How are homeless kids getting instruction, if they do not have computers and/or they don't have wireless access to the internet at their shelter?

How is the Department of Education measuring actual learning, achievement and student outcomes?

My experience has shown that the NYC Department of Education is not proactive. The Mayor and Chancellor are reactive, meaning they lack the strategic planning to handle the future, whatever that brings.

And we may never know the exact facts of the success or failure of the remote learning set up and currently mandated by the Mayor and Chancellor. The Mayor and Chancellor buy into the theory that hiding unfavorable information is a good thing. In fact, for almost 10 years I saw charges on the Specifications in 3020-a disciplinary hearings where an educator was charged with making "the NYC Department of Education look bad". If an arbitrator found the person so charged guilty, then he/she could be terminated.

More on this in a future post. 

Stay safe everyone, stay home and wash your hands, protect your loved ones and everyone else in your community. We are in this together. If anyone wants to contact me, I am available here:
betsy.combier@gmail.com.


Betsy Combier, betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials 

Message from the NYC Department of Education: 

From: Chancellor Richard Carranza <NYCChancellor@schools.nyc.gov>

To: Chancellor Richard Carranza <NYCChancellor@schools.nyc.gov>
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Sat, 4 Apr 2020 00:56:32 +0000
Subject: Spring Recess

Dear Colleagues: 

These are unprecedented times. And throughout, all of you—and especially our dedicated school-based staff—have demonstrated incredible determination and resilience in the face of our ongoing work to transform our school system.   

  

Throughout this process, we have approached all decisions on the status of our schools with utmost care. That means leading with the health, safety, and continuous learning of our students and staff at the forefront of our minds, while also operating with flexibility and patience.   

As you know, our system has already transitioned to remote learning. As the coronavirus pandemic persists in New York City, and social distancing remains an imperative for all New Yorkers, we must take a new approach to Spring Recess, originally scheduled for Thursday, April 9 through Friday, April 17, 2020. 

  

For the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers, the City and the State are in agreement that schools must continue to offer remote learning, including during days that were previously scheduled as breaks. As a result, our schools will continue with remote learning through the time originally scheduled for Spring Recess. 

We know that dynamic educators across the City and throughout the school year already bring creativity and flexibility to their instructional programs. Next week, we will release resources to schools that will focus on maintaining education, engagement, and enrichment opportunities for students throughout the time originally scheduled as Spring Recess. 

As with all weeks of remote learning, we will continue to act throughout this time with a clear commitment to community support, educational development, and learning wherever it happens—which right now is in hundreds of thousands of homes all over the City. As we know, staying home also helps keep all of us safe as the presence of coronavirus persists. 

  

Our objective is to maintain the exciting and enriching aspects that Spring Recess provides at a time where we as a City are staying home and our children will continue to remotely learn.  

  

DOE will issue additional guidance in the week to come for Spring Recess, including “theme” days (e.g., wellness, world language, computer science, college and career readiness, etc.) and virtual educational resources (e.g., museums, libraries, and cultural institutions).   

We know that many New Yorkers will observe religious holidays (e.g., Passover, Good Friday) in the weeks ahead. Any students and school staff who individually wish to observe those holidays may do so. Staff may request time off for religious observance and use accrued leave for any time taken. If staff request to take days, these requests should be granted in accordance with Chancellor's Regulation C-606 and applicable collective bargaining agreements/contracts. Please note that April 9-10 will not be considered “days off” for the school system. 

  

We recognize this may feel like a disappointment to many students and schools as we have all been working tirelessly in our transition to remote learning and very reasonably want a break. Many of our educators are parents themselves, and this has been an especially challenging time for them.  

  

We hear you and recognize that need. That is why we are looking for ways to offer students and school staff with more opportunities to reset and recharge in the weeks ahead. We have finalized arrangements with our union partners at this time to provide four additional leave days to school-based staff who otherwise would have had Spring Recess. We will have additional details to share about these arrangements in the week ahead. 

While it will be difficult for us now, I know we all can do our part by continuing to provide meaningful opportunities for learning, growth, and engagement with our students throughout the previously scheduled Spring Recess. 

  

Our educators and students have shown valiance throughout these unprecedented times. We are asking for even more now. We thank all of our educators for the sacrifices they’re making in advancing the health, safety, and wellbeing of our city.

Please also see this letter from myself and Dr. Oxiris Barbot, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, with important updates, health guidance, and information. 

We are confident that continuing remote learning will help ensure that families adhere to social distancing in the coming weeks, which is imperative to slowing the spread of the virus and keeping ourselves and our neighbors safe. We will have more updates to share soon on the schedule for the rest of School Year 2019-20 as well. We will keep you posted every step of the way. 

In unity,

Richard

Attachments area

NYC DOE Press Office Issues A Press Release on ATRs

Wow. The press office is really impressive. Even though almost everything written in the press release below is false, I'm sure that many people believe what it says. One laughable point:

"Reducing the ATR pool and helping qualified teachers find permanent positions and helping those unfit for the profession move on to other careers continues to be an important priority for the Department".

If you believe this, I have a bridge to sell you.

What the heck does "helping qualified teachers" mean??? and what about "find permanent positions"?

The Department has no idea who is 'qualified' or what that means. They could not care less. DOE policy: A good teacher is a teacher who is under 30 years of age, asks no questions, and has a low salary. This is always a subjective judgment, seen through a prism of dislike, retaliation, budgetary concerns, etc. There are no facts or data in observations. (Elentuck v Green). Qualified means different things to different people. If you don't like someone, nothing this person does will be good, effective, professional, or proper.

The Department is helping someone? Quick - get on your computer and email me this story, because this is news to me.

Oh, I see, the Department is helping 'qualified' teachers find 'permanent' homes. How? In secret? No one knows about this. Quick - go to your computer and email me, this is news. Does this mean that the people at OPI (Office of Personnel Investigations) at 65 Court Street have stopped putting everyone who is charged or who has an allegation of wrong-doing, on the "problem code" list? I don't know about that. Quick, go to your computer......

No one is getting permanent positions unless you just graduated from Teaching Express, the new, 2-month course for young people under the age of 30. The Department of Justice is looking into the age requirement, so get your teaching license quickly. Signing up and paying the fees are easy - everything is paid for by David Welch, soon to be fighting in New York City for the end of tenure.

David Welch

'...helping those unfit [to teach] move on to other careers....' is an interesting concept. I wonder what exactly the Department is referring to? Other careers at the homeless shelter spooning food onto the paper plate? Driving a taxi? Who is unfit to teach, and how do you [the DOE] establish this "fact". Send them to me, I will help them appeal and fight. Ironically, the Department might be telling the truth on this one. They are 'helping' people get out of teaching by discontinuing anyone who asks a question about LODI or special education, and charging tenured teachers with anything anyone can make up.

The numbers of ATRs and the money "saved" is, at this point, hearsay. After countless calls to DOE administrators, no one knows how many people are ATRs. Oh, yes, I forgot: "there is no ATR pool over the summer". So, over the summer you are once again a tenured teacher!!! Yay, now back to that bridge you said I could sell you, let's chat.

Betsy Combier
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
President, ADVOCATZ
betsy.combier@gmail.com
I fight to win 
                                                     NYC DOE PRESS RELEASE ON ATRs

Education Reporters,

I want to update you on the first phase of our effort to reduce the size of the Absent Teacher Reserve pool. As part of the new contract with the UFT, if eligible individuals in the ATR pool decided to leave, they got a severance pay-out that was a sliding scale based on years of service up to a maximum of 10 weeks of pay. In the one-time window to take the package that ended this week, 115 people in the ATR, including 97 teachers, opted for a severance package. The average compensation afforded to each was 9 weeks of pay.

Reducing the Size of the ATR Pool:

The deadline to apply for the buyouts was Monday, August 4. As of this spring, there were 1,131 teachers in the ATR pool, with around 1,300 including all UFT titles. Please note that there is no ATR pool over the summer—a new one is established each year when the school year commences. Based on those leaving the ATR as a result of these packages, we expect to begin the coming school year with a smaller ATR pool than last fall. Note: the ATR is historically at its highest point in the fall, as the hiring process is still underway. At the beginning of last fall, it stood at nearly 2,000 teachers.

Cost Savings:

These buyouts represent significant long-term cost savings for the Department. On average, employees who took the compensation package earn $93,000 annually and as a group, when fringe benefits are included, the cost of maintaining these teachers in the ATR would have totaled $15 million in the coming year alone. Instead, the Department anticipates paying around $16,000 per employee for a one-time cost of $1.8 million total.

Further Tools to Reduce the ATR Pool:

Reducing the ATR pool and helping qualified teachers find permanent positions and helping those unfit for the profession move on to other careers continues to be an important priority for the Department. The severance package represented the first step in our new procedures to reduce the ATR pool, and over the coming months, we will move forward with other measures to further reduce the pool based on tools in the new teachers’ contract, including:

· The DOE is facilitating interviews and introductions to help ATR teachers re-enter the teaching force. Principals retain the power to hire or decline to hire a teacher from the ATR. There will be no forced placements.
· If a teacher from the ATR fails to appear at interviews or fails to accept a teaching position he or she is offered, the teacher will be deemed to have resigned from the school system.
· Starting later in the fall, the DOE will assign ATR teachers to schools with vacancies where they can be used on a temporary, provisional basis to cover classes and be considered for the vacant position. Principals can remove ATR teachers from these assignments at any time.
· If an ATR teacher in a temporary, provisional assignment in a vacancy demonstrates documented problematic behavior more than once, the DOE will initiate a special 3020a process to expedite disciplinary action including potential termination.

Here is a quote for your use from Chancellor Carmen Fariña: “We're developing a world-class school system, and to do that, we need world-class teachers educating our students. We are pleased that through this educator's contract, we were able to develop a process that is mutually beneficial for the DOE by reducing spending and for the teachers who have chosen to leave. And we are doing so while respecting mutual-consent hiring. There is no forced placement of these teachers.”

Thanks,
Devora
Kaye Devora <DKaye6@schools.nyc.gov>

Please read Eric's post on hiring teachers on Craigslist:
Sunday, August 10, 2014

Principals Continue To Advertise For Teachers Outside The DOE Approved Process.