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Too lazy today to put up stepstreet photos (maybe later), so looking at searches again. There are many searches that bring people to jd2718 because what they are looking for is here. That’s great. But there are also searches that get here by mistake. Why not try to help them out?
Holidays and Union Stuff
1. new york city government open yom kippur. Schools are closed. Alternate side parking regulations are suspended. Careful however: meters must be fed. (got that from NYC’s official website). Everything else, I believe, is open, but I am not certain. Anyone want to confirm or correct me?
2. Do I get off work on Columbus Day? Yes, if you are a NYC teacher you get October 9 off. (That’s a Monday). You can check the Board of Ed calendar directly.
We don’t get November 11, Veteran’s Day off. It falls on a Saturday. Either at the last Exec Board or Neg Comm meeting UFT President Randi Weingarten spoke about making a fuss about getting Vets Day off when it falls on a weekend – we really should.
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The length of our school year is wrong, too long. 11/11 is part of it. The new contract adds two days. But how can we not have a defined length of year? I think 2006-2007 will be 3 days longer than 2007-2008. Deserves more investigation, and short of that, deserves more attention. Here’s a little I wrote last month.
3. How to grieve. Can a u rating teacher resign? and so forth… All of these sorts of questions should go through the union and not be answered by individual research. Do go and read the relevant sections of the contract. (Article 22 is “Grievances.” Article 7 is “Programs…” Careful that not all grievances are handled in the same way, and not all grievances have the same deadlines.) That is always a good thing to do. But it is not a substitute for speaking with an expert.
For grievances your chapter leader should be able to help (if complicated, after consulting with the District Rep or other UFT personnel with specialized knowledge.) In the case of anything to do with U-ratings your chapter leader will connect you with people who specialize in U-ratings.
JD2718 
Jonathan:
The next contract should limit the school year to 183 days , like many of the suburbs have. No more, no less. This would solve the Veterans day and before Labor Day issues. The 183 day limit should be one of the many issues that we don’t back down on in the next contract.
As for the “U” rating issue, people should be made aware that it is DOE, not an independent arbitrator, that determines if the “U” is upheld. Therefore, only 2% of the “U” ratings are reversed. Not an optimistic outlook for these teachers.
There was group of questions about resigning with a U pending, and I don’t know the answer to them.
I think we should have a defined year (and the shorter the better). It appears we have not ever had a set number of days in New York City. 190 is clearly excessive. I would take any defined number under 188 as an improvement.
First though, I would like to figure out how variable our year really is as currently defined. I can get from 187 – 190, but someone needs to take a better look. I may be missing something.
What does the “U” rating really mean? It is an internal rating within DOE. Unless you get two consecutive “U” ratings, the DOE can’t charge you will a 3020a unless it is due to sexual miscounduct, corporal punishment, or covected of a felony. Even after two consecutive “U” ratings the DOE must prove their case in front of an independent hearing officer, not an easy thing to do proving incompetance.
I assume that the “U” rating goes through unless a deal is worked out with the principal as part of the resignation process.
I don’t know, and with a topic so important, it is better not to hazard an informed opinion. There are U-rating specialists; they should be consulted.
There may be crucial differences between tenured and non-tenured teachers.
Again, with such important questions, those of us who do not know with certainty, we should be careful not to offer guesses.
The latest contract was disasterous for new, untenured teachers. The fact that teachers are unable to grieve letters in their files invites a situation where many young teachers will be shown the door. Even more important is that many young people and especially career changers, will not want to go into the teaching profession if this unbelieveably dangerous rule is not overturned.
I am myself a probationary teacher who has had the misfortune of being in the wrong school with the wrong principal. My case is currently being appealed, but as of today I cannot teach. My big fat “U” has made finding work virtually impossible. I spent years of my life and thousands of dollars to become a teacher and right now that is wasted.
Principals are not held up to strict standards when it comes to rating their teachers. This allows them to fabricate lies about the people in their staff that they want removed.
This is the biggest issue. Not class sizes. Not money. Teachers are no longer have rights in the workplace.