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Wednesday, May 11, 2022

The NYC Department of Education Adds Insult To Injury: Wants To Hire Teachers For Remote Teacher iZone 2022-2023

 



After hundreds of teachers asked for religious or medical exemptions from getting the COVID vaccine and were summarily fired or suspended without pay and their fingerprints put into the problem code database permanently blocking them from getting paid for any DOE job in NYC, the teachers found the ad posted below on INDEED and other employment websites.

The teachers who requested an exemption are good teachers, yet punished for not getting vaxxed. They all worked from March 2020 to June 2021 remotely, or in their schools, without a problem, until Eric Adams and the NYC Department of Health issued the COVID Mandate which ordered everyone to get the vaccine or be terminated. most tried to Grieve, got denied at Step 1, then either denied at Step 2 or blocked from Step 2 by the UFT. No one was given a 3020-a arbitration, although the Contract with the UFT says that no one's salary may be reduced in any way until after they go to a full hearing with an arbitrator, face their accusers, and tell their story.

And now the Department wants to hire new teachers to work remotely, exactly what the unvaxxed teachers wanted to do.

Now those teachers who are left in NYC - after many have fled the State - will have to sue to get their jobs back and/or their names cleared, which could take a long time and use a lot of money that these educators don't have.

What an insult, Mr. Banks and Mayor Adams!

See also:

The New York City Department of Education's "Problem Code" is an Unlawful Flag on an Employee's Fingerprints

In NYC the Absent Teacher Reserve and The Rubber Room Are Both Strategies For Unlawful Denial of Tenure Job Protections

The OPI Problem Code and How To Get Off of It

Betsy Combier

betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ Blog

TEACHER VACANCY CIRCULAR NO 4 CENTRAL REMOTE TEACHERS iZONE 2022 2023

NYC Department of Education

2,207 reviews

 

Remote

Remote

Full-time

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Job details

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

TEACHER VACANCY CIRCULAR NO 4 CENTRAL REMOTE TEACHERS iZONE 2022 2023

·         Posted Date: May 6, 2022 Deadline: Jun 3, 2022

·          

·         New York United States

VIRTUAL

Job Details

(SUBJECT TO BUDGET AVAILABILITY)

POSITION:

Teacher - Central

Remote Instruction Teachers

License/Eligibility Requirements:

New York City licensed Social Studies, Science, English, Foreign Language, Math and Health tenured teachers in High School Grade Levels.

Office:

iZone

Location:

82-01 Rockaway Blvd, Ozone Park, NY 11416

Or other DOE offices

Remote Teachers

Position Summary:

Virtual Learning Classrooms aim to partner teachers from around the city with students to provide them with increased access to courses not available in their home schools, including, but not limited to Electives, AP Courses, and Foreign Language courses. This posting is for teachers interested in teaching in this full time program from September 2022 - June 2023. Remote instruction teachers will deliver instruction to and communicate with high school students in other locations using internet and required technological platforms. Please note that while students will not be in the same location as the teacher, this is an in person teaching position.

Remote Teachers are licensed teachers of high school grade levels who teach students virtually. Remote teachers will teach students in the following subject areas: Advanced Placement Subjects (Including but not limited to, AP Psychology, AP Spanish, AP US History, AP World History, AP Government, AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science Principles and A, AP Environmental Science, AP English Language and Literature, and AP Seminar), electives (Including but not limited to, Forensics, Health, Media Literacy, Financial Literacy, science electives, Computer Science and Business) and Foreign Languages (Including but not limited to, Spanish, Chinese and French). Other subjects may be added. Students may be enrolled from multiple schools simultaneously, but total class size will not exceed contractual limits. Remote Teachers will be expected to participate in 10 sessions of professional learning workshops including an online course leading to a Learning Management System certification to occur during July and/or August prior to commencement of position with remaining on-going professional learning during the year and will be paid at the per session rate for work beyond the contractual workday/work year. Remote teachers will perform required duties (including corresponding with home school staff, planning for remote instruction and assessment, communication and conferencing with students and/or parents). Duties and responsibilities are intended to emulate traditional teaching paradigms and create an equitable learning experience.

Reports to:

DIIT iZone Supervisor

QUALIFICATIONS:

·         Minimum of four (4) years of teaching experience as a regularly appointed teacher. Knowledge of the common core standards as it relates to course.

·         Extensive knowledge of the New York State and City Standards, meets Advanced Placement requirements (as appropriate) and is licensed in subject matter.

·         Demonstrated expertise in an online learning environment designing and implementing standards-based instruction that specifies clear learning objectives, includes engaging activities and authentic assessments to measure mastery.

·         Willingness to promote online dialogue to deepen the learning experience.

·         Demonstrated ability with written and oral communications emphasis placed on the delivery of digital presentations.

·         Demonstrated ability to use online learning, communication and other edtech tools as appropriate.

·         Can differentiate instruction for individuals or groups of students based on instructional data and analysis as well as student characteristics.

·         Can sustain and document flexible teaching schedules, which account for asynchronous and synchronous activities that are student-centered and maintain high standards for student engagement and success.

·         Selected candidates will be asked to facilitate a demonstration lesson or planning activity to demonstrate aforementioned qualifications.

PREFERRED SKILLS:

·          

·         Demonstrated skill in team building, group dynamics, and facilitating collaborative learning.

·          

·         Proven history of being a self-starter who works well without constant supervision.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

·         Demonstrate competency in using data from assessments and other data sources to modify content and guide student learning.

·         Modify engaging content and appropriate assessments in an online environment.

·         Provide quality instruction to students using asynchronous and synchronous teaching methods (I.e. asynchronous = discussion forums, group work, written and digital assignments, posted content. Synchronous = online classrooms, webinars, chat rooms).

·         Employ student-centered instructional strategies that are connected to real-world applications to engage students in learning.

·         Facilitate and monitor online instruction groups/discussions to promote learning through higher-order thinking and group interaction.

·         Provide a variety of ongoing and frequent teacher-student, teacher-teacher, and teacher-administrator interaction with participating schools.

·         Provide prompt feedback, communicate high expectations, and teach to diverse talents and learning styles.

·         Online communication between students and teachers is a significant component of this program to mimic in person communication. Therefore, teachers are expected to respond to student emails and grade assignments within 2 workdays, as well as monitor and respond to discussion postings daily during the school week.

·         Regularly share with home school(s) student data including but not limited to grades and attendance. This includes the use of school selected platforms and systems.

·         Incorporate and comply with FERPA, AUP and communicate privacy guidelines to students.

·         Select and use a variety of online tools for communication, productivity, collaboration, data and performance analysis, presentation, research, and online content delivery as appropriate to the content area and student needs.

·         Use communication technologies in a variety of mediums and contexts for teaching and learning.

·         Apply technical troubleshooting skills (downloading plug-ins, uploading assignments, etc.)

·         Participate in all professional development and peer mentoring exercises throughout the duration of service.

·         Develop key relationships in order to work closely with home school staff, students and parents of participating schools, guidance counselors and central iZone staff.

·         Participate in activities to identify best practices, address challenges and assess efficacy.

WORKING CONDITIONS & LOCATION:

·         The maximum class size of a full virtual course not exceed UFT contractual limits.

·         Teachers shall not be assigned more than twenty five (25) teaching periods per week and may teach up to five (5) remote classes; however, the maximum number of distinct courses shall not exceed three (3).

·         Teachers must confer with students synchronously during programmed periods each week, as well as be available for asynchronous teaching approaches including but not limited to office hours, individual and small group conferencing and providing direction for independent student work. Facilitate learning through supplied curriculum that teachers may supplement.

·         Teachers are expected to teach in person from 82-01 Rockaway Blvd, Ozone Park, NY 11416 or other DOE office.

Hours:

As per Article Six of the Collective Bargaining Agreement

Salary:

As per UFT Contract

Work Year:

As per Article Six of the Collective Bargaining Agreement

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Please be sure application includes cover letter, resume and your 6-digit file number.

Please send application via email to the following email address: iLearnNYC@schools.nyc.gov with the Subject line: “Fulltime Remote Teacher application.”

Applications will be accepted through:

JUNE 3, 2022

An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender(sex), military status, unemployment status, caregiver status, consumer credit history, prior record of arrest or conviction(except as permitted by law), predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above - noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non - Discrimination Policy.

Hiring Insights

Job activity

Posted 3 days ago

NYC Department of Education

3 days ago

original job

 

Monday, April 18, 2022

Time To Change the Endless Teacher Evaluations That Make No Impact on Student Outcomes

 


Dear readers,

I think that Peter Greene (see below) has a point that needs to be addressed in New York City by the Department of Education VIPs - the attorneys, mayor, Commissioner, and all others - who have put into place a fraudulent teacher discipline procedure that punishes teachers who receive "developing" or "ineffective" ratings on their formal and/or informal observations.

I have posted my opinion on this blog many times on the way principals, assistant principals, and evaluators (remember PIP+?) rate teachers on observation reports and then charge them with 3020-a and pursue their termination. I have collected most of the decisions made at 3020-a since 2007, and I have found that most arbitrators agree with the assessment/rating given by the school administrators. The ratings are taken as evidence and fact, not opinions. I think this needs to be changed: arbitrators must stop finding ratings credible without looking behind the numbers and at all circumstances in the storyline.

At 3020-a, we at Advocatz always go into the backstory of evaluators - who paid them, is there any animosity between the administrators at the school and the teacher, etc. The evaluator is there to create a paper trail of incompetence for the administrator and must agree with whatever the principal wants the evaluator to write. Teachers/staff often tell me that the evaluator may say "Well done!" at the end of a lesson but never put that in writing or put something completely different in the actual observation report. Often, the evaluator knows that if he/she puts his/her honest opinion in the report (i.e., that the teacher is terrific), then he/she may be fired - it's the evaluator's job at stake or yours. You, the teacher, won't win.

And then along came Charlotte Danielson and her teaching rubric, which was erroneously used as a benchmark for rating teachers, and failed miserably to point to any standard of good teaching, only the whim of an evaluator who wanted a teacher fired. Evidently, Ms. Danielson herself was not happy with the way her rubric is used in New York City. 

The problem is, the NYC Department of Education will not admit to any wrongdoing, and never allows anyone to suggest changes in the way their business is done.

Nonetheless, what needs to be done 

New research shows that endlessly evaluating teachers has made no impact on student outcomes.

BY , Progressive.org,

 

For several decades, everyone from President George H.W. Bush to then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton believed it was possible to measure outcomes (“deliverables,” some called them) to separate the educational wheat from the chaff. Teachers would be held accountable for real data—numbers generated by tests.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) had its bipartisan birth in 2001. Central to the law was not only to collect test scores but to break them down by subgroups. This meant that, at least on paper, Black students or low-income students would not have their struggles hidden in a school average score. 

“Effective” schools would be those that pulled high test scores from all students. NCLB had data and a deadline: By 2014, all schools would have all students scoring above average on the Big Standardized Test. This was, of course, a statistically impossible goal.

The Obama Administration moved past the unachievable goals of NCLB, but held onto the belief in data. Tests would be used to collect data, and that data would be used not only to judge schools but also to evaluate individual teachers. Students across the nation would take Common Core-aligned tests, and then teachers would be judged on the results.

Educators like me were subjected to complicated professional development programs, where we learned that models could predict what students would have scored in some parallel universe with an imaginary “neutral value” teacher.

The plan was, as one presenter told me, like predicting the weather. And if the student scored higher or lower than their hypothetical counterpart, that difference could be chalked up to either the teacher’s credit or blame.

Education reformers were convinced they had unlocked the secret of identifying good and bad teachers and, as a result, revitalizing schools. Once identified, “good” teachers could be moved to struggling schools that needed them, incentive programs could be created to pay the better teachers, and “bad” teachers could be fired.

Position papers like “The Widget Effect” called for a future where teachers could be differentiated by their ability to improve student achievement. Critics of public education complained that teacher evaluations produced too many satisfactory ratings, and a new system of high-stakes testing would “toughen” the evaluation systems.

This new system would mimic the stack ranking of industry giants like Microsoft, where employees were ranked according to desired metrics. The bottom rung of the employee ladder would be dropped, and the company could fire its way to excellence.  


But, as a recently released working paper from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University underscores, the “massive effort to institute high-stakes teacher evaluation systems” had essentially no effect on “student achievement.” Though high-stakes teacher evaluation was supposed to raise test scores all across the nation, student achievement—measured by test scores—barely budged.

“Following the data,” it would seem, has led us far astray. The experiment has failed.

Why? I can think of several reasons.

Reducing the job of teaching to “get students ready to take a single math and reading test” was insulting and demoralizing. It was not what teachers had signed up for. Instead of using professional expertise and autonomy to create instruction to meet the many varied needs of students, teachers were increasingly required to deliver test prep.

The high-stakes testing also had the effect of warping education. Another new working paper shows that by focusing on math and reading, schools actually reduced education in other subject areas.

High-stakes testing also led to upside-down schools—schools that, instead of helping to meet all students’ needs, were now there to serve the need to produce test scores. More fundamentally, however, the very premise of the test-driven system was flawed: The notion that a great teacher is always a great teacher in all schools for all students on every day of their career doesn’t reflect reality

It’s more akin to any other human relations-based role. I might be a great partner for my spouse but not a great partner for every other person on the planet. My “spousal effectiveness” is not a static quality that can be measured like height or hair color. It is the same for teacher effectiveness.

Beyond that flawed premise, the single biggest problem with this data-based system is that it runs on bad data. The tests themselves are a black box. Teachers in many states are forbidden to see the content of the test and, therefore, can never know where their students came up short. Worse yet, since not all educators teach reading or math, many teachers were evaluated based on the scores of students they didn’t teach.

The data that was intended to drive the system came solely from the student tests, and the tests are not good. Questions are often poorly designed; one famous bad set required students to answer questions about a talking pineapple. A poet found herself unable to answer test questions about her own poem; how could students be expected to do any better?

Standardized test results were supposed to provide useful data about student learning, but they are closely tied to the wealth and whiteness of families. To try to turn test scores into more usable data, value-added scores (based on a formula used for farming) were introduced, but these turn out to be random and unpredictable—the data is so bad it has been thrown out by courts.

Still, supporters have argued that higher test scores mean greater success in life. That’s a dubious finding—correlation is not causation, and socioeconomic background is a good predictor of both test scores and life outcomes. Nor does evidence support that raising a test score raises a student’s life outcomes, which would be a far more important insight. It is no wonder that a system running on junk data has produced undesirable results.

In the meantime, private industry giants like Microsoft dropped stack ranking, realizing that it bred a bad workplace atmosphere, stopped innovation, and could not always be trusted.

And yet, there are still education reformers who cling to this high-stakes testing teacher evaluation model.

Current discussions about learning loss due to the pandemic often assume that high-stakes tests must serve as the best measure of what students are missing. Amid our current pandemic disruption, some are still suggesting that high-stakes testing remains our best bet.

But we have tried to guide education with high-stakes standardized testing data for two decades now, and yet we still have little evidence that this approach actually works. It’s the great irony of the modern school reform era—we must follow the data, except when the data shows that our systems don’t work.

English teacher for a few years. Blogger at Curmudgucation.

READ MORE BY PETER GREENE

Sunday, April 17, 2022

UFT Press Releases and Current News From the NYC Department of Education on COVID

 

Mike Mulgrew, UFT President


New York Teacher

UFT reacts to change in vaccine mandate for athletes and performers

 
 Press Releases

On March 24, 2022, Mayor Adams announced that athletes and performers would no longer be subject to a COVID vaccine mandate.

In response, a UFT spokesperson issued the following statement: 

Vaccinations are a critical tool against the spread of COVID, and the city should not create exceptions to its vaccination requirements without compelling reasons. If the rules are going to be suspended, particularly for people with influence, then the UFT and other city unions are ready to discuss how exceptions could be applied to city workers.

Related Topics: Coronavirus
The UFT has compiled answers to our members' most frequently-asked questions about the upcoming 2021-22 school year. We will continue to update this page as more information and guidance is determined

Coronavirus Hub 

The UFT is consolidating all the information about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on New York City public schools in our coronavirus info hub.

Rapid tests to be distributed ahead of Spring Break: Both staff and students will receive additional at-home rapid test kits prior to the start of the spring break vacation and are strongly encouraged to use the kits prior to returning to school on Monday, April 25. See the latest Principals Digest excerpt for more information. 

Update on masking for students aged 2-4: Mayor Adams announced that students younger than five and the staff that work with them should continue to wear face masks in school due to a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases across the city, and not go mask-optional on April 4 as previously stated. We will inform you when additional guidance is released.  

Masks will now be optional for K-12 students and staff as of Monday, March 7: Face coverings will become optional, indoors and outdoors, on NYC public school grounds and on school buses, for K-12 students and staff. Pre-K staff and students will be required to remain masked indoors. Anyone who chooses to wear a mask may continue to do so. See the updated DOE guidance on face coverings » and our safety FAQ »

School outdoor mask mandate lifted: As of Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, masks will no longer be required when outside on school grounds. Read the DOE's message to families » and the DOE's guidance on face coverings » 

Increased in-school testing: Beginning Feb. 7, schools will test the larger of either: 10% of the school’s student enrollment in grades 1-12, up to a cap of 250 students; or, 20% of the school’s unvaccinated student population. This change allows schools with a high student vaccination rate to test a larger number of students every week. Up to 10% of staff who wish to be tested will continue to be able to get a PCR test from the testing team each week. See the DOE's guidance on COVID-19 testing in schools »

Spring break arbitration decided: UFT members who worked over spring break of 2020 will receive a vacation day — a brand-new type of day that members have never had before — for each day they worked. Read the arbitrator's decision »  Read our FAQ »

Time off for boosters and children's vaccines: Members may take up to four hours off for travel and receipt of a booster vaccine, or to accompany a child to receive each vaccine dose without a charge to CAR balances. Read the memo »

Guidance from the DOE