UFT

UFT was proudly represented at the Gay Pride March.

Now it is time for them to step up and represent its members, particularly the ATRs the same way.

See Any Good ATRs Out There?



English classes with no teachers even though it is the middle of October.
Kids having a different teacher every few weeks.
Good English ATRs wanting jobs.
Teachers with the look, not young and attractive.
Some even known to this school.

It is sad when Principals will choose no teacher over one that is not deemed perfect.

The ATR





Told to cover a class in his license area until a regular teacher can be hired. 
Did a great job with kids in his class.
Not even given a chance to apply for the job.
The teacher hired, a newbie straight out of college, can't control the group.

Told to cover a class where kids have no work to do, and receive no credit for being there.
There is no incentive for them to do the right thing.
Class meets in the cafeteria where the kids are used to running wild.
Kids can't even be controlled by administration or deans during lunch.
Kids don't behave.  ATR worries he will be "U" rated.  He has good reason to worry.

Not making waves, doing whatever the administration asks.
No permanent job in sight.
He worries about what his future will hold. 
He is afraid he will never be a teacher with a classroom again.
No one will give him a chance.
Thrown away like the flowers sitting on his dining room table.

Destroying The Will To Teach



Gina has been an ATR since the beginning of ATRS. She was a highly respected teacher at a school that was closed down. The school wasn't closed because of its failure rate. It was closed because the city decided the services offered to students there were no longer necessary. Needless to say, something very valuable to the students of NYC was lost. Gina felt sad as she packed her books and lessons and left the place she called home. She knew she would miss this population and she knew they would miss her, a caring adult who filled both an educational and an emotional void in their lives. She didn't think she would have any problem finding a new position. She had impeccable references. She was 40 years old and had been teaching for 14 years.

The first school Gina was assigned to had an opening in her license area. The AP of the department offered her the job. Before she had a chance to accept the Principal pulled back the offer. She spent the year there as a highly paid sub and spent many hours in the cafeteria reading and playing on the school's computer. Although Gina was a sub, she developed a strong relationship with many of the students and was able to help many navigate through difficult situations.

Year 2 had a similar start. Several months into the semester she got an offer to teach at another school in the district. She jumped at the chance to be a real teacher again. Unfortunately the Principal didn't see her as a permanent member of the department and requested she sign a provisional employee statement. At first she refused. This act of defiance put her on the shit list. In June she got a letter stating there would be no job for her in September. The Principal also sent her off with a U rating although the AP of the department wrote excellent observations every time he saw her teach.

Year 3 began in a brand new school where everyone, even the Principal was under 30. She was assigned one regular class and subbed other periods. She got to know the kids and developed strong attachments to them. A month into the semester she moved to another school in hope of getting a permanent job. The new school turned out to be more difficult than she anticipated. It was a school slated for closure. The Principal was a Leadership Academy graduate with no experience and the kids ran rampant. In spite of all this, she loved her students and made a difference in their lives. She was not hired back for year 4.

Year 4 has Gina going to a different school every two weeks. At first she enthusiastically went on interviews, determined still to find a permanent position. School after school let her know they didn't want her, some after a three minute interview. She has now given up all hope of ever being in the classroom.  She has changed her mindset and no longer frets about not teaching.  She happily accepts the bimonthly checks while doing little.  The system destroyed a good teacher.  The kids took a major hit because no one would give her a chance.

Just In

Pictured above is a building on a man made island, near the Verrazano Bridge that was used to house immigrants passing through Ellis Island but unfit for American soil.  They sat here until passage could be arranged home.

Presently the island is inhabited by harbor seals and other wild life.  The DOE plans to send teams of ATRs here to rebuild the building which will then be used as the new rubber room for teachers whose scores are not quite good enough. 

Blame The City



Two ATRs--both good teachers who became ATRs through no fault of their own.

Both went on hundreds of interviews and even got jobs.  Unfortunately for the students, these jobs only lasted one year before they were excessed and then replaced with either no one or another ATR, often an ATR out of license,

This went on for years. the teachers went from school to school filling vacancies, not starting until well into the semester.  Both got rave reviews from their supervisors before they were placed back in the ATR pool.

One still believed in the system and wanted a real teaching job.  She took one in a school that will be closed down.  While other teachers in the department had 25 -29 in a class, her classes had 34 each.  Ten minute teachers roamed the halls, entered her classroom and told her what she was doing wrong.  She was threatened by the students.  There was no discipline.  She couldn't believe she ended up in this place and vowed, when she re-enters the ATR pool to never take a job like this again.

The second one got smarter, earlier.  She finally realized that she can collect her full paycheck without the work and aggravation.  She has resigned herself to being a very highly paid hall monitor and concentrates on meeting interesting people as she roams from school to school every two weeks.  She has vowed not to take a job unless it is permanent and not in a school threatened with closure.  She misses teaching but she wants to remain safe and to keep the paycheck coming.

Two great teachers being kept from the students, permanently disillusioned by a system that failed them and the children they love.  A big loss to everyone. Like the felled tree, the teachers have been deemed useless.

Limbo Lower Now



The Principal of a Bellerose HS is advertising for an earth science and general science on Craig's List.  This guy would rather take someone from an Internet listing than hire an ATR.  Amazing how low these Principal's will go to avoid ATRs.  I know an ATR with the license for the field being advertised who has not even been able to get an interview.  How low can they go?

Thanks to Chaz

ATR Saga Continues



The saga of two ATRs continues...

Man has been sent to the school woman was in last year and wanted to remain in.  It is far from man's home but very close to where woman lives.

Woman has been released from the insane principal but is now in an school that is extremely difficult for her to get to.  This school would be a simple commute for man.

The only purpose any of this serves is to demoralize and make miserable the lives of ATRs.  Shifting them around weekly, or monthly insures they develop no attachment to any school.  Not only are the teachers hurt, the students are being hurt as well. ATRs teach and help students daily but being moved around they will lose the opportunity to bond with kids who need an adult to bond with.  But, what does the union and the city care?  Misery will cause some to leave, and that is the ultimate goal of Bloomberg and company.

Saga Of Two ATRs



In 2008, both teachers were ATRs at school A.

Woman was an ATR because her school was closed down. Somewhere, not in the real world, politicians and businessmen decided the very special population this school serviced no longer needed special services.

Man was an ATR because his position as a mentor teacher dried up. He only got the position as a mentor because he was deemed an outstanding teacher. Now he can't get a teaching position anywhere.

In 2009 man and woman found jobs at school B, where the principal is known to have a few screws loose. But, they worked hard. Woman got satisfactory observations from her AP, but nut job principal U rated her anyway. She was forced to find a new job in September. They just didn't click. Man got along well with loony bin principal but June came and he was told to hit the road. He knew he could stay and grieve but crazy principal promised him a U rating if he stayed. He decided it would be best for him to leave.

Now comes 2010, both have jobs in schools that like them and they like. They are sure they have found homes. Woman gets passed over for an appointed position in January but is recruited by another school with promises of a real teaching job. Man is also recruited by a school and also promised a permanent position. June came and both were excessed again.

It is now 2011. Both woman and man are back with the principal who belongs in a straight jacket. Principal let them know loud and clear they weren't wanted. They went to the union, begging and pleading to get into another school, any other school. Woman got out. Man is stuck.

Why is it so hard for anyone outside of education to see how impossible it is for ATRs to get jobs back in the classroom? Why isn't it obvious that the city is doing everything possible to get rid of them?

Question: Where is the justice?



The XXX department of a certain high school has at least five new hires this term.  Many are brand new teachers, straight out of college.

What happened to placing ATRs before new teachers were hired?

Can these youngsters, still wet behind the ears be so superior to every ATR out there?

Will the media keep berating ATRs because they haven't found classrooms when in truth, no one will even give them a chance?


Answer:  There is none.

Shuffling The Deck

The more you shuffle a deck of cards, the more useless they become. Casinos discard decks after a few hours of play.

The DOE is in the process of shuffling ATRs. Teachers from school A have been moved to school B and the ones in B are now in A. The DOE does not want them to get comfortable. They know new environments are often unnerving. They can't fire the ATRs so they are using psychological warfare, hoping this constant shuffling will wear them out and they will retire, like the decks of used cards.

Something Smells

Two ATRs got jobs at a nearby high school. The principal asked them to sign letters stating they knew they were provisional employees and could be excessed in June. In fact, she insisted they sign. They worried about signing and called the UFT. The UFT said, "Don't worry, the letters mean nothing." The teachers signed but were not happy about doing so.

Last week both teachers got excess letters. They called the union. The union said, "Stupid you, why did you sign those letters?"