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February 28, 2011

City releases list of possible teacher layoffs by school

by Anna Phillips, at 12:57 am

City officials released a list Sunday showing how many teachers each of New York City’s public schools could lose to layoffs this year if the state’s current seniority law does not change.

The release comes at the same time that the state legislature is considering a bill that would end the current “last in, first out” layoff policy, which requires districts to dismiss teachers based on seniority. The list shows how Mayor Bloomberg’s planned-for 4,675 potential layoffs would be distributed across its nearly 1,600 schools and the city’s different neighborhoods. The list was first reported by the New York Times.

No teachers who work in special education, bilingual special education, English as a second language, or speech improvement would be laid off. Math and science teachers would also be less affected than their colleagues who teach other subjects. About 3 percent of math teachers would be laid off, whereas 9 percent of social studies teachers would lose their jobs.

More than half of the school employees who would be laid off under this plan are elementary school teachers. The layoffs carried out under this plan would also disproportionately affect newer schools. Of the 20 schools that would lose the greatest percentage of their teachers, all of them were opened between 2007 and 2010.

While most schools would lose at least one teacher to layoffs, about 320 would not have any teachers laid off.

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew denounced the city’s decision to release the list.

“This is more fear-mongering from Mayor Bloomberg and it is clearly the mayor’s strategy to create a panic among parents, teachers and communities,” he said. “Not only is this fear-mongering irresponsible, with a $3 billion budget surplus he doesn’t need to do layoffs at all.”

Department of Education spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz said the list reveals how hard some schools with many newly hired teachers will be hit.

“This arbitrary standard means that some schools will lose up to half of their teachers, just because they have chosen to hire teachers new to the profession,” Ravitz said. “There is a better way to do this — we can change the law and keep the best teachers for our kids.”

Schools with the greatest percentage of possible layoffs:

  1. Columbia Secondary School: 14 of 20 teachers
  2. Brighter Choice Community School: 5 of 8 teachers
  3. Spruce Street School: 3 of 6 teachers
  4. High School for Excellence and Innovation: 6 of 12 teachers
  5. Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship: 8 of 16 teachers
  6. Brooklyn Brownstone School: 5 of 10 teachers
  7. The Academy of Talented Scholars: 7 of 14 teachers
  8. P.S. Q290: 3 of 6 teachers
  9. Rockaway Park High School for Environmental Sustainability: 2 of 4 teachers
  10. Cornerstone Academy for Social Action: 17 of 36 teachers
  11. East Fordham Academy for the Arts: 7 of 15 teachers
  12. Khalil Gibran International Academy: 4 of 9 teachers
  13. Young Leaders Elementary School: 10 of 23 teachers
  14. Esperanza Preparatory Academy: 11 of 26 teachers
  15. KAPPA International High School: 13 of 31 teachers

Schools with the greatest number of possible layoffs:

  1. New Rikers Island School: 21 of 69 teachers
  2. Sunset Park High School: 20 of 51 teachers
  3. P.S. 157 Grove Hill: 20 of 58 teachers
  4. P.S. 86 Kingsbridge Heights: 20 of 119 teachers
  5. New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math: 19 of 95 teachers
  6. Cornerstone Academy for Social Action: 17 of 36 teachers
  7. P.S. 1 Courtlandt School: 17 of 53 teachers
  8. P.S. 58 School of Heroes: 17 of 66 teachers
  9. Pioneer Academy: 16 of 41 teachers
  10. P.S. 139 Alexine A. Fenty: 16 of 71 teachers
  11. P.S. 85 Great Expectations: 16 of 101 teachers
  12. P.S. K134: 15 of 40 teachers
  13. P.S. 239: 15 of 66 teachers
  14. P.S. 176 Ovington: 15 of 73 teachers
  15. P.S. 70 Max Schoenfeld: 15 of 94 teachers
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  • Pogue

    The layoffs are bogus. The money is always there if they want it to be. But, if we do let the corrupt mayor get his way…TFA’s first, please.

  • JEFF

    Natalie…nobody asks you this question but I will…what methods have been developed to fairly determine who the best teachers are? Do you want to give that power to your cadre of Leadership Academy Principals so many of whom don’t know the first ting about supervision and wouldn’t know a good teache3r from a poor teacher. Just wondering.

  • I noticed that…

    Why isn’t the media asking the mayor about the surplus money that can be sued to avert layoffs? Is the mayor hiding that money under his mattress or is he planning to use the money to plug in the shameful budget sham created by CityTime? CityTime is culpable as Enron, Tyco, Bernie Madoff, and the mayor – $700 million in the hole!

  • I noticed that…

    Oops, darn these fingers!
    “Why isn’t the media asking the mayor about the surplus money that can be used to avert layoffs?”

  • I noticed that…

    Reminder to everyone in NYC: Teachers Contract (Article 17 D1) as agreed upon by the DoE and the UFT.

    “If a Citywide excess condition causes a layoff of staff in any licensed position,
    applicable provisions of law will be followed to determine the staff members to be laid off, without fault and delinquency with the understanding that said member of staff is to be placed on a preferred list for reinstatement to his/her former position.”

    The mayor knows about this provision; he refuses to use it. He’s supposed to negotiate with the union leadership to determine in which license to do layoffs in. The mayor must stop with the fearmongering! I’ll say it again, THERE’S A SURPLUS IN THE BUDGET! NYC, THE MAYOR IS HIDING IT AND REFUSING TO USE IT!

  • Ulev007

    What a freakin JOKE! Where’s Cathie Black and her opinion as the chancellor? In a normal, helpful world, would’nt the chancellor of a school system be on the teachers side? PUPPET BLACK! Can someone make a puppet of Ms. Black?

  • Other District 13 Parent

    “By releasing the list, the department hopes to draw more parents to its corner by reminding them that virtually no school would be untouched._–says the NYT. What is it that parents are expected to do? Through what channel does the city expect to hear our voice?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Antonio-Gumbotz/100001042329678 Antonio Gumbotz

    The teachers Gravy Train is OVER !!!
    Why don’t the GREEDY UNIONS and TEACHERS learn the words GIVE BACK
    It is a shame that many kids go to school stupid and get out even dumber !!!

  • Tim

    I’m pretty sure we’ll ALL be able to hear the primal barbaric screams coming from NEST parents today!

    In all seriousness, the only way the city will hear our voice is via lawsuit. It’s not a happy feel-good coincidence that cuts to special ed/ELL/speech instructors are off the table.

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, it looks like most of the desirable high-achieving schools in districts 26, 2, 3, 15, etc. have a comparatively high rate of senior teachers and will be less affected by potential layoffs. And it is funny how the media is rushing to the defense of the inexperienced teachers at bad schools when they are so eager to bash these exact same teachers when it comes to reporting/editorializing on charters or the colocation wars.

  • Mitch

    “teachers Gravy Train” is possessive. You should have written: “teacher’s Gravy Train.” Unless you meant “teachers” in the plural; in which case you should have written “teachers’ Gravy.” But, I guess you are one of those “kids” you ranted about.

  • Mitch

    “teachers Gravy Train” is possessive. You should have written: “teacher’s Gravy Train.” Unless you meant “teachers” in the plural; in which case you should have written “teachers’ Gravy.” But, I guess you are one of those “kids” you ranted about.

  • Mitch

    Unless LIFO is repealed, Mayor Bloomberg is not laying off a single teacher. Lat year schools were denied 33% of their midyear adjustment because, as Ms. Photopoulos stated in a memo, they DOE had not accounted for a 1% increase in enrollement. The point being that teacher staffing is driven by the number of students in the classroom. The last time I looked, enrollment has not decreased, so why should the number of teachers the system needs decrease? This is especially true in a school like mine where we were told we did not have the right proportion of teachers to students, and therefore had to take ATRs to correct the proportion. The layoff thing is a red herring.

  • 2112

    Perhaps this is a bit of a stretch, but we need to follow the money.

    Educators4Excellence clearly is a charitable entity. I am sure they have cleared $250k in donations in what is the demarcation line for a 501(c)3 to make public, disclose its donor list. Once the donor list is had one can than see if any of Uncle Mike’s shell “foundations” have donated to E4E. I think more about this can be found over at the IRS, form 990, appendix D.

    This could be worth looking into for the highly respected reporters here at Gotham.

  • Other District 13 Parent

    Confused here. So I am reading that schools will lose the # of teachers able to teach in their schools, but then I am reading that junior teachers will be laid off to be replaced by more senior teachers. Is that if there are layoffs & then money is found? The whole theory of politically posturing aside, what is the real hypothetical situation?

  • Dm

    I’m a teacher that would like to get on this gravey train that you’re writing about. Where do I catch this train? Is it down on Wall Street? Is it at Tweed? I can barely pay my bills on my teacher’s salary. I need some gravey. Maybe Bloomberg or Gates will give me hundreds of thousands of dollars to say that teachers should be shamed and flogged in public for breathing. Show me the gravey train Mr. Gates and Bloomberg. I’ll say anything for a quick buck.

  • Dm

    I’m a teacher that would like to get on this gravey train that you’re writing about. Where do I catch this train? Is it down on Wall Street? Is it at Tweed? I can barely pay my bills on my teacher’s salary. I need some gravey. Maybe Bloomberg or Gates will give me hundreds of thousands of dollars to say that teachers should be shamed and flogged in public for breathing. Show me the gravey train Mr. Gates and Bloomberg. I’ll say anything for a quick buck.

  • http://twitter.com/flyingmonkeyair Nigel Parry

    Shameful, as we spend half of the federal budget on war, that this money is not being cycled back to creating life that matters. This country is stone deaf to the obvious.

  • 10-year Teacher

    I guess you’re offering to help me pay the $75,000 of college debt I accrued when I was required to get my masters degree for this gravy train. Or maybe you can pay me back for the $3,000 worth of books, paper, and pens I bought for my classroom because my school couldn’t afford it. Or how about you just work the hours for me–about 70 or so a week without an extra cent. But I guess you couldn’t because you can’t even use correct grammar or punctuation.

  • Connor53

    d13 parent…..the system in place affords more senior teachers to keep their jobs even if the deck is shuffled to accomodate student numbers in buildings which might lose several teachers. So for example a 1st yr teacher might be laid off but if that position is one in need of being filled a more senior teacher in the same subject area would be shifted thru the system to fill that void. Any clearer?

  • I noticed that…

    This is when we need for GS to ban people like Mr. Gumbotz (which reminds me of the blog hacker of last year) who’s clueless to the plight of teachers and the children they love to teach to. Schools will be devastated by the mayor’s draconian cuts, where the mayor wants to bust the union by laying off teachers, which Cuomo said are unnecessary. If I were making over $250,000 a year like the deputy chancellors and deputy mayors and they don’t have teach to one child, then toot-toot, get on the gravy train. If I were making $400,000 a year, let’s like Eva Moskowitz, who does not want a special need child or an ELL in her charter school, then blow the whistle of that gravy train and don’t stop until the sauce is thick.

    But, NYC teachers, compared to the suburbs and Long Island districts, are still underpaid by $15,000-$20,000. So Gumbotz, your message has been derailed!

    Stop insulting the children of NYC by saying that they “go to school stupid”. I don’t appreciate that and no parent should accept your comment.

  • Venezines

    So your suggestion is keep kids stupid?

  • Hevia99

    Who are the best teachers????

  • http://twitter.com/SoBronxSchool Bronx Teacher

    Anyone under 30, single, and from an elite college.

  • JW

    Why is it projected that 9% of social studies teachers will lose their jobs? That’s a core subject just like math, English, and science. It’s also widely known within public schools that special education and ESL teachers are often the weakest teachers. Strange that their positions will be kept, while the core for the majority of students will be cut.

  • parent

    The school my youngest child attends in District 26 will not be affected at all by layoffs. Those teachers have been there for years and years. However, maybe it is not such a bad idea to get some senior teachers into low income schools. They don’t chose to work at these schools and maybe they can make a difference there.

  • insiderknowledge

    What about the tax abatement gravy train being ridden by the mayor and other wealthy homeowners in nyc? A-rod will pay $1500 on a 6 million condo. Without the abatement he would be paying $60,000. This costs the city almost 1 billion in lost tax revenue yet there is not one person talking about this. Time for the rich to pay their fair share..

  • CC

    Millions have been spent by Tweed over the past few years on ARIS, a computer data-base used for tracking students and their test scores. Millions has been spent on consultants who never interact with our kids. Millions spent on contracts with McGraw-Hill, again for a testing apparatus that has resulted in little or no improvement.
    “Education used to be a state and local function. Unfortunately, since the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001–02, the levers of power now are in the hands of federal officials. With both Republicans and Democrats now advocating policies that endanger the future of public education, the situation seems dire indeed. Unfortunately, many of our nation’s wealthiest philanthropies and individuals embrace the misuse of testing and accountability and the advance of privatization.
    The odds against us seem overwhelming, but we cannot afford to do nothing. We must take action. At present, the Obama administration is embarked on a course of action that many find repugnant. The Race to the Top is built on the foundation of No Child Left Behind. It emphasizes high-stakes testing, judging teachers by their students’ test scores, closing low-performing schools instead of helping them improve, and promoting a huge increase in private management of public schools. As I explain in the book, these approaches will narrow the curriculum and promote teaching to the test, which will rob children of the opportunity for a good education. Furthermore, none of these strategies has a solid research base, none has been proven effective in practice, all have the potential to disrupt students’ education, demoralize teachers, and shatter communities. The burden of these policies will fall heavily on low-income, minority communities, but many other communities will be affected as well.” –Diane Ravitch
    For more please see NYU Professor Diane Ravitch’s article and website for more information: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/26/grading-the-education-president/tests-from-the-top-down
    http://www.dianeravitch.com/articles.html

  • Queens teacher

    I don’t think so. I’m over 30, married with 4 kids of my own and am a damn good teacher!

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