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all over but the shouting?

January 11, 2013

Union makes plans to approve an evaluations deal, if one comes

by Philissa Cramer, at 4:21 pm

The teachers union has planned a series of meetings to sign off on a teacher evaluation system in the event that union and city officials agree on one by next week.

The union’s negotiating committee on evaluations, a team of about 150 teachers, is meeting this afternoon with union officials. It’s the committee’s second meeting of the school year.

The union has also moved up a meeting of its Delegate Assembly from Jan. 22 to Jan. 17, the deadline Gov. Andrew Cuomo set for districts to adopt new evaluations or lose state funding. The Delegate Assembly is a large group of chapter leaders and union officials that must approve changes to work rules.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew announced the date change in an email to union members this afternoon. The email stressed that union officials planned to participate in negotiations through the weekend and that there is still a chance that a deal might not come.

“If no agreement is reached with the city, the [Delegate Assembly] will serve as a planning and operational meeting to push back against the mayor as we have so many times before,” Mulgrew wrote.

But insiders say they suspect that a deal is imminent — or perhaps even complete except for the final touches to make it official.

It’s a theory that jives with state education officials’ repeated warnings that the state needs a significant amount of time to review plans to make sure they comply with state law and education department regulations. “If we get an application on January fifteenth, it’s going to be hard to say yes to it by January seventeenth,” Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said in November.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who set the deadline last year, signaled earlier this week that the two sides still had plenty of time. “Ten days can be a lifetime in this business, as you know,” Cuomo said.

State education officials said they would not offer preliminary approval for parts of plans, which could speed the approval process. ”In order for us to review a plan, it has to be signed by all parties,” SED spokesman Dennis Tompkins said today.

It is possible that more informal conversations have taken place to ensure that a plan that is submitted at the last minute is approvable. That’s the only way that an evaluation system approved by the union’s Delegate Assembly late in the day on Jan. 17 could get approval that night, allowing the district to comply with state law.

“It’s all scripted. It doesn’t make any sense if it wasn’t,” said Norm Scott, a union activist who is critical of the union’s leadership. “Every little duck is lined up.”

If, in fact, the particulars of an evaluation system are pretty much set, this weekend’s talks might focus on something different — what the city might have to offer to get the union to sign off on a system that Mayor Bloomberg has said he wants to use to fire more teachers.

Bloomberg did not sound concerned today when he took to the air for his weekly radio appearance, which he has used in the past to attack the union over the evaluations talks. “Six more days, and they’re working on it, right?” host John Gambling asked.

“I think that’s fair to say,” Bloomberg said.

Responding to concerns that the city’s schools could lose $250 million if evaluation talks fell through, Tisch said earlier this week that she was not worried.

“Calm down. Everybody needs to calm down. They’re going to get a deal done,” Tisch told GothamSchools. “The city has led reform for a decade now and it’s really significant for them to continue to lead on reforms of evaluations. And I’m really confident that they’re going to continue to lead with a deal.”

Even if a deal is approved and adopted by Jan. 17, the city could run into a serious implementation issue. Approved plans are supposed to go into effect for this school year, but many city schools are unprepared to produce some required components of teachers’ ratings. Schools have practiced with new observation models, for example, but they have not learned how to measure student growth for teachers in non-tested grades and subjects. And the union has charged that the department has rolled out even portions of the plan that seem mutually agreeable in inappropriate ways.

Micah Lasher, Bloomberg’s former top legislative aide who is now lobbying for new evaluations as the head of StudentsFirstNY, said he thought state officials would be willing to work with the city on its implementation timeline, “if it’s in the spirit of the law.”

The city and teachers unon have had eleventh-hour meltdowns before over teacher evaluations, and one is certainly possible now. But a deal next week would cap off a two-year showdown between the city and union on the issue.

The UFT has at least one more demonstration on its agenda: Mulgrew’s letter invites members to hand out flyers at schools and subway stations on Monday “to engage parents and the community and put pressure on the mayor to get to a fair deal.”

New York City is one of seven districts, out of nearly 700, not to have submitted even a first-draft of its evaluation plan. About 50 districts must submit a revised plan to meet the state’s funding deadline.

Mulgrew’s complete letter to UFT members is below:

Dear colleagues,

Next Thursday is Governor Cuomo’s deadline for New York City and other school districts around the state to submit their plans for a new teacher evaluation system. The governor has said that districts that do not submit plans by Thursday, Jan. 17, will forfeit state school aid. In New York City’s case, we stand to lose upward of $250 million.

The UFT’s position remains unchanged: The current evaluation system is inadequate. Teachers need a new evaluation system — one in which the Department of Education is responsible for supporting the schools, and administrators in the schools are responsible for supporting the work that we do in the classroom.

In the aftermath of the fight you have seen play out in the press, the DOE has come back to the negotiating table. We expect meetings to take place throughout the weekend and into next week, but the outcome of these negotiations is still very uncertain. I am writing to you today so that you and your colleagues can begin preparing for one of two possible scenarios.

If an agreement is reached, we will need to do a lot of work very quickly to stop the spread of myths and misinformation. Communication and collaboration between colleagues will be key. Every school will also need to have a clear understanding about how to proceed.

If no agreement can be reached, it will be because the mayor cannot be brought to accept our position of what a teacher evaluation system needs to be, and he will once again try to blame teachers. If that happens, our work will then center on getting out into our communities to make sure that parents and others know that we, as always, are fighting to make the school system better for the kids we serve.

With all the uncertainty over the negotiations, a lot could happen in the coming days. Earlier today I sent a message to UFT delegates that we have changed the date of our next Delegate Assembly to Thursday, Jan. 17, to align with the governor’s deadline.

If a tentative agreement is reached, it will be up to the DA, the highest decision-making body of the UFT, to decide if we will accept it as a union. If no agreement is reached with the city, the DA will serve as a planning and operational meeting to push back against the mayor as we have so many times before.

We have fought very hard for three years in Albany so that New York City teachers can have an evaluation system that respects and supports the work that we do. An agreement would mean a complete paradigm shift for the country’s largest school system, where every administrator will need to understand that their job is, first and foremost, to help and support teachers.

A great deal of work is being done to make sure our vision is realized, but it will not be easy. We will not come to any agreement unless that vision can become a reality for every school.

We will keep you updated. In the meantime, we will be leafleting outside schools and at major transportation hubs throughout the city on Monday to engage parents and the community and put pressure on the mayor to get to a fair deal. Please talk to your chapter leader to see how you can help.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew

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  • Gregster

    THE SELL OUT IS IMMINENT! I have never been more pissed at the UFT in my entire life. Teachers are going to wake up in the next few days wondering what the Hell happened. This whole thing reeks of a back door deal. Now the UFT is going to pretend that it was the “best they could get” from the DOE. I call BS on that. The best they could do is simply not make deals with the devil and let the rank and file have a say in the matter. 

  • Guest

    I am a delegate and I am 99.9999999999999999999% sure that I will be voted NO on any deal.  It doesn’t matter.  Unity people have sold their soul and will vote yes to their own death.

  • Bob Schwartz

    And I thought Randi Weingarten left the UFT years ago.  This is a total sellout and for what?

  • Guest

    Wonderful!  A new evaluation system that I dare say a good 80 percent of the rank and file know absolutely nothing about in terms of how it will change their careers and stress levels in an already stress filled job.  Unity’s choice to negotiate in secret and leave teachers out of the loop in terms of what they have been negotiating is atrocious!  A 150 teacher panel that is supposed to speak for the 80 thousand plus is even equally wicked in my eyes.  I as a union member have never been asked what I think about any new  evaluation system – never.  My questions pertaining to it over the past year have found nothing but perplexed looks from CLs and delegates – this is unacceptable.  I have absolutely not an inkling of an idea how I as a special education teacher of high school students who write and read on a third to fifth grade level will show growth on a test that is geared to a high school age population.   It is obvious to me that UNITY has wanted to keep its rank and file in the dark.  This is unacceptable yet they ask there FB followers to past “I am the union” as their FB profile picture - Unacceptable again!    Im sure when this is signed, we will hear how its a wonderful deal – please tell the suit telling you this that it doesn’t apply to them due to having absolutely no skin in the game. 

  • BloombergMustGo

    I have honestly tried my best to believe that the UFT was doing what was best for its members.  Despite the garbage being thrown about by “reform” groups, teachers are professionals and deserve to be treated as such.  No matter how hard a teacher works, and the majority work very hard, it is NOT possible to fully control the results of student performance.  It is ludicrous to believe it is.  Students are people not machines.  If that fact were being acknowledged by the imbeciles in the Bloomberg Reich and Cuomo’s Clowns, teachers would be much more cooperative about accepting a new system. 
    However, the fact that Head Clown Cuomo used financial blackmail, and Der Fuhrer Bloomberg has flat out said his goal is to fire teachers makes this a hard pill to swallow.
    It is obvious the UFT is planning to betray its members once again, but this is much more serious than not getting us a couple of percentage points of salary increases.  This means people with families, children, responsibilities losing their jobs over trivial issues.
    As much as it pains me to say it, it seems only two things would serve to stop this atrocity:
    1) Removing Mulgrew and replacing him with a “less politically aligned” president.
    2) A strike by teachers to show the seriousness of this issue.  I think the financial penalties would be overwhelmed by the dangers of this new and irresponsible evaluation system.

  • Nycdoenuts

    You should bring your chapter leader. They’ll need another “no” vote.

  • wise owl

    Let January 17th come and go and let’s call “doom”berg’s bluff. The cuts that will supposedly happen will fall on the new teachers and he is NOT going to cut any of them. This is the reason why there have been so many U observations this term alone. The principals are  desperate to get rid of teachers mid year so that they will have the money to save the new teachers. In addition, senior teachers make the most money so that’s why the principals want to get rid of them.They can get 2 untenured teachers for the price of  one. Untenured= no rights whatsoever And now you have the “perfect teacher” obedient and naive. Has anyone noticed  the  correlation that the higher up the salary scale  the higher the chance of U observations/ratings? Has anyone noticed that U seems to “happen” in a longevity year?  These are MY stats ladies and gents. According to the TRUTH.  Okay,time for a survey.  My favorite question is, “Do you trust the principal at his word?” Strongly agree, Agree, Strongly disagree, disagree. Do you trust the mayor at his word?

  • Former Turnaround Teacher

    We are about to be sold out and our only hope is at the extremely Unity controlled DA. Please everyone, inform all teachers that you know of what is about to happen, and urge them to get thier CL and delegates to attend next Wednesday and vote no!

  • Follow the Money

    It doesn’t seem democratic that something so far reaching and affecting so many lives won’t be coming up for a membership vote. Teachers — I recommend contacting your Chapter Leaders and urging them to attend January 17th’s Delegate Assembly… and voting “NO” until all teachers have had a chance to learn about the details… and decide for themselves.

  • Guest

    Sadly my chapter leader is a UNITY member and would jump off a building if Mulgrew told her to do it.  

  • Jhw41

    Its over and we deserve it. What has 90% of the rank and file done? We claim to be educational leaders yet we are little more than apathetic sheep. Yes Unity leadership has the final say in the sell out but their power flows from our collective detachment. So much for a ‘union of professionals’.

  • Guest

    I think senior teachers should start posting names of great labor lawyers.  

  • Guest

    Most chapter leaders are Unity because when they start attending Chapter Leader meetings they are talked into signing a pledge card to Unity.  They get special treatment and jobs after they retire.  It wasn’t alway the case, but the few non-Unity top people have retired.  

    It’s pathetic.

  • BloombergMustGo

    Sad, but true.

  • T5yuir

    The only way I copuld accept any deal is if everyone teaches. I want to see those network people teach,. I want to see Dennis Wallcott. teach. I want to see the APs and the principals teach. These people are supposed to be the educational leaders. But the majority of them actually hate the classroom and as soon as they could got out of teaching. We as teachers have an absolute right to observe these people. I bet the majority of them would be rated ineffective.   And yet MUlgrew is ready to sell out the membership. And speaking of MUlgrew lets see him teach. I bet you the U stands for U rated teacher.  An absolute sellout by the union.

  • YallAreLaughable

    Oh no!  Accountability!

  • Northbrooklyn

    You know, I’m a CL and no one has asked me to sign anything. Maybe they know better than to do that!
    Of course, I’m going to vote no if it seems like a rushed deal…I want the best for us.

  • chaz

    Just another union sellout that will screw the teachers, especially the 87% rated “ineffective” due to junk science.

  • chaz

    Just another union sellout that will screw the teachers, especially the 87% rated “ineffective” due to junk science.

  • Follow the Money

    Value-added measures have margins of error as high as 50%+. Value-added measures will comprise a large portion of these evaluations. So yes, it IS laughable. Spot on, jolly good show.

  • Vote NO!

    The  UFT  leadership  should  be  ashamed  of  themselves!  What  do  teachers  have a union  for?  I’m  so  tired  of  having  to  forcibly  pay  dues  to  this ” outfit.”  25O  million  dollars  is  NOTHING  in  the  operations  of  NYC  schools.  Not  “one  dime”  is  going  to  make  it  into  the  classrooms.  I  can’t  fathom  why  the  UFT  is  so  afraid  to  walk  away  from  the  table.  They  should  wait at  least  a year,  and  see  how  the  districts  which  approved  this  scheme  are  doing.  This  way  the  City  and  UFT  can  see  where  the  problems  are  arising  before  turning  a  horrible  evaluation  rubric loose on  the  NYC  school  system.

  • Stop discrimination

    The National Education Association denounces blatant age discrimination as more
    and more veteran educators are targeted for negative ratings and dismissal by
    school superintendents and principals. In many cases, school officials use the
    guise of “improvement plans” to harass veteran educators without taking into
    account the countless contributions they have made to public
    education.

    Educators who have been discriminated against because of their
    age can find solace and legal protection in the Age Discrimination in Employment
    Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects teachers age 40 and over against age
    discrimination. Under this act, age may not be the sole factor when a school
    district terminates the employment of a teacher. If a teacher charges a school
    district with age discrimination, the school district has the burden to show
    that some factor other than age influenced its decision.

  • wise owl

    We still don’t have a contract. Let’s keep it that way. The mayor thinks that we get raises every year? Shows how clueless he really is. The only thing that I am going to do with my union dues is use them as a tax write off. $60.each paycheck, $120. per month etc. Do the math. Read my lips” no new evaluation. How about a “demonstration” by ALL teachers young and senior on January 17th!  A strike would be even better! We have no say over where our taxes go but we should have say over where our union money goes. It’s OUR money and WE pay the union to WORK for US!

  • OLDTIMETEACHER

    MR.MULGREW, I HAVE BEEN A TEACHER IN THE DOE FOR 35 YEARS. THIS WEEK I RECEIVED MY FIRST UNSATISFACORY CLASSROOM OBSERVATION EVER. YOU CANNOT AGREE TO THIS EVALUATION SYSTEM.  WE SET THE STANDARDS FOR YOU AND OTHERS TO ACHIEVE THE SALARY AND BENEFITS YOU HAVE NOW. DON’T SELL US OUT.

  • BloombergMustGo

    “The teacher stood in the classroom, face-to-face with his 16-year-old student, who was holding a shotgun.Ryan Heber, 40, talked to the teen, trying to persuade him to end an armed assault in which one student had already been shot.
    Heber had no idea whether the student — whose pockets were filled with ammunition — would put the gun down or pull the trigger.”

    How’s that for accountability, you clown.

  • Guest

    Mr. Mulgrew – in my best polite Brooklyn accent and from one who grew up in the “neighborhoods” – who are you that you can be the be all and end all on teacher evaluations without a word from the rank and file.  Yeah, I know the delgates have the last word – they’re in your “pockets” brother!  Plus, my delegates don’t even attend so how am I who they represent able to have a voice?  I know – you could care less.  Yes, I realize as we speak, nothing public has come out in terms of this “thing” being signed, sealed and delivered, but I have heard little in terms of specifics from you other than we are seeking a “fair” evaluation.    Where did you grow up Mike? Who raised you?   Allowing even 20 percent of something that has been proven to have a margin of error of 50 plus into an evaluation  that will rank YOUR members is insane.  You no longer teach in a system as complex as NYC.  Yes, you once did – but no longer!  Have you forgotten where you come from?  You must have if you’re even toying with the idea of agreeing to this farce of a system.  Play it smart – let it go for another year or two until you see how the other districts fare with it.  That idea proposed by another earlier post is what you call working smart – not hard. Look out for your members and for goodness sake bro – do the right thing!

  • wise owl

     Greetings from a dinasour!  I have almost 25 years and I got a U this week too. and you know why? I spoke up at a union meeting at my school and some “spy” for the principal was there. The next period the principal was in my classroom. And I was laughing and showed that I could not care less. This is war: Show no fear!

  • wise owl

    It’s time that we had a little “recognition” for Unsatisfactory teachers. How about a collection or a party for our “accomplishment”? Schools should do this because we feel left out.  It took me almost 25 years to accomplish getting a U.  Now UFT should start a U-teachers Committee for U teachers only. There are committees for everything else. How about this? There are surely enough U teachers to fill a school auditorium. Next, with all the “meetings” that we have at school these days, dept, PD, etc. there should  U-teachers meetings included as well. Let us “meet and greet” one another. We should be with our own kind, separate and apart from the rest of the staff because the U could be “catching”.I know that I am going to get a U rating in June and I have this to look forward to for the rest of the year.  Let’s hear it for all the U teachers out there!!!! Give yourself a pat on the back!

  • wise owl

    Congrats to me!!

  • wise owl

     Thank you from Wise Owl!!!

  • wise owl

     I wish I knew the names of some great labor lawyers. I belong to a union you would think that there lawyers would be good enough? I am paying union dues, BIG union dues.

  • wise owl

    BloombergMustGo,

    You are the best. You are honest, sincere and understand what the real problems are. You are the type of person who should really be a supervisor. not someone who went to online school and is going to show teachers how its done.

  • Tommiegunzz

    So Walcott is gay, big deal!

  • wise owl

     Tell it like it is !!

  • Kmarc29

    Mulgrew is such a disappointment. Teachers at his old school wonder out loud what happened to him. I guess a double pension and whatever pay out he and Randi got outweighed his morals. He will be booed off stage if by some miracle he finds the courage to return to Grady HS for one of his two faced speeches.

  • wise owl

    Time for  US to do a “survey” on the union!  Where’s my pencil? Where’s my rights?

  • Pogue

    The UFT leadership agreeing to these evaluations throw not only teachers but students and their parents under the reform-driven bus.  

    More tests, in every subject, more often, throughout the school year…Simply to rate teachers.

    In what order do these reforms disrespect and abuse…StudentsFirst, ParentsSecond, and TeachersThird.

  • BloombergMustGo

    Well said, wise owl!!

  • Longway2go

    And to think, education will not be Bloomberg’s worst legacy. This will be: http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/blogs/greg-david-on-ny/2013/01/bloombergs-worst-legacy-the-debt-bomb/

  • T5yuir

    I bet you always voted unity. And here is the sad fact. Even in the face of a u rating and possible loss of your job you would still vote unity. You get what you deserve.

  • SandrineDL123

    By “network people,” do you mean media, ie, people against teachers and for corporate reforms?
    I say: take the lot of them – John Heilemann, Jonathan Alter, the whole bloviating teacher-bashing lot of them – and have them evaluated by testing their audience on how much of their dreck they can regurgitate, and then see if the next year there is a “significant gain” in their regurgitation. (The term “regurgitation” is a bit redundant here, considering the source, ie, vomiting the vomit). This will count for 40% of their yearly evaluation, the rest to be done by Comcast or Murdoch, or Disney or Time Warner, Viacom or whoever holds their reins. If they dont hit the holy data mark, then they simply haven’t added enough value to keep their miserable little overpaid jobs, and they get a swift kick to the curb. And make them take all comers, ie, viewers, and NO excuses about viewer disadvantages or deficits or disabilities. Including home lives. 13% will be able to appeal ineffective ratings=firings. Just like Ms Shuster (Educators4Excellence eval-pal teacher, talkin up that 40% on video), I’m sure they’d be thrilled to throw their professions on the roulette wheel and give it a good spin…  

  • SandrineDL123

    Remember, this is the same Bloomberg who tried to correct his “gaffe” about how he would fire half the teachers if he could (that’s how bad we are and you know which end of the salary scale bad is weighted toward!) by then saying that he believes the education system is no different than real estate. 

    And then we had Randi and now Mulgrew to fight this, as our loyal opposition?

    (Loyal to WHO?)

  • SandrineDL123

    That negotiating team of 150 teachers… What is up with that? Who are they, from whence did they come (get picked)? What has been their input? What are their qualifications? What sort of recommendations have they made? Have any of them been taken into account?

    For the rank and file, this “union” means being kept in the dark and then let out to be led obediently to the slaughter. 

     

  • http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/ Norm

    MORE CLs and Del will be holding a conf call tonight to discuss activities at the DA on Jan. 17 — (Email me at normsco@gmail:disqus I had a great chat with Philissa on Friday. We didn’t agree on
    everything but how great to have someone in the press who has been there
    for ever (and still be so young) and really be attuned to all the ed
    issues.  .com if interested in taking part) –  it looks like at the very least some kind of rally calling for a NO vote in front of 52 Broadway starting at 3:30. And maybe something at the end of the meeting. This is not a partisan affair — Unity classroom teachers will get screwed too so if they look deep into what their leaders are telling them they will find the flaws — consider the real intention of these laws — to find ways to remove high salaried tenured teachers and they will not get protection.
     The fact that there are over 3000 people eligible to attend as Del and CLs but the main room holds only 850 shows you that the UFT only wants the Unity supporters to be there. Putting people on different floors is an insane way to hold a meeting like this. They should move it to a larger space.

    I had a great chat with Philissa on Friday. We didn’t agree on
    everything but how great to have someone in the press who has been there
    for ever (and still be so young) and really be attuned to all the ed
    issues. I did ask her one question: Is this deal good for children? Let’s forget the teachers for a second and think if the removal of a so-called bad teacher based on test scores balances the fact that every single child in the system will be taught to for the narrow view test because only a teacher with a death wish would ignore the implications.

  • Bob12

    The Union is trash! They’ll wait till the last minute for a deal, have the delegate assembly vote without even thinking and we’re all f-ed!

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