Jan 17, 2007 12:00 PM
“Tenure is a vital protection for teachers to be able to do their jobs. New York courts have held that tenure fosters academic freedom and protects teachers from arbitrary dismissal. Tenure helps stop incompetent principals from scapegoating teachers or forcing them to change test scores, as happened at Wagner and Kennedy high schools. It allows teachers to speak up about class size, safety and the lack of services to special needs students.
“The UFT and the city have made great strides in raising teacher quality over the past several years. The mayor just last week called New York City’s educators the best and brightest teaching force anywhere; when it comes to teacher quality, the real issue in New York City and across America is to keep the good teachers we have. Indeed, in the crucial area of retention, the DOE's own statistics show that of the 8,932 teachers hired in the 2000-2001 school year, 44.6% left by their fifth year. “All the administration did was to use the State of the City address to announce it will use existing contract provisions to evaluate new teachers. If the mayor and chancellor want to work together on teacher quality issues, let’s work on the things good teachers tell me they need, such as lowering class size, making safety important and giving educators the latitude to tailor instruction to the needs of their students.”