A Message from Rich

This has been quite a year. We started the school year with the disastrous implementation of the flawed new teacher evaluation system, a lack of curriculum and supplies, a test-crazy environment and a mayor who had nothing but disdain for both us and our profession. Now, 10 months later, we have a new mayor who actually seems to respect teachers, a chancellor who values educators and does not adhere to the test prep philosophy, a new contract that addresses items such as providing curriculum for the core subjects, improvements to the teacher evaluation system and an increase in salary with retroactive pay. These are things that many of us never thought could or would happen and, yet, they did.

We hope next year will bring more changes for the better. We are starting the year with people who actually seem to want to work with, not against, us. With the DOE’s continued focus on middle schools — as demonstrated by an increase in the number of guidance counselors assigned to middle schools, more arts programs, additional afterschool programs and other ways to help our adolescent students — the 2014-15 school year should continue to be a transformative one for our division.

No longer are we the middle or forgotten “child.” We are at the forefront of change and can be active participants in this process. Without our input and dedication, there will simply be more of the same. We have a voice and must use it. 

During the upcoming school year, I will further expand upon a few initiatives in our middle school division. We will be offering nine workshops for you in the fall semester and 11  in the spring. Our 2nd Annual Middle School Conference is scheduled for February 28, 2015. We are in the midst of planning another UFT 5K Disaster Relief Run/Walk for the spring of 2015. Our middle school chapter leader meetings will now be open to all of you, not just chapter leaders. Topics such as “know your rights” and “the SBO process and programming/reorganization” have been scheduled. Another topic we will introduce next year is “unionism and the importance of labor unions.” This was an excellent suggestion made by two members at our last middle school meeting.

I am always searching for ways to better serve you, expand our division, keep you informed and get you involved in our union. This was the commitment that I made upon assuming the role of Middle Schools Vice President, and I do not take that responsibility lightly. If you have any suggestions as to how I can better do any of the aforementioned, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes for a peaceful and relaxing summer.

Sincerely,

Richard Mantell
UFT Vice President for Middle Schools

Attack on Tenure

A few months ago I wrote to you about the lawsuit Vergara v. California. To summarize, a nonprofit organization, Students Matter, sued the state of California to overturn statutes in the LA County Education Code on behalf of nine students. While the students are the plaintiffs, a Silicon Valley millionaire was the individual who founded Students Matter and bankrolled the case. Seniority, tenure and due process protections for teachers were the target; specifically, the suit demanded that the court declare each of these statutory protections unconstitutional. Simply stated, the premise of the case was that that these laws created a system that leads to the hiring of “grossly ineffective teachers” and protects them from being dismissed. These “ineffective teachers,” Students Matter argued, adversely impacted student intellectual development. Hence, the suit maintained that California’s tenure, dismissal and layoff statutes violated a child’s fundamental right to an equal education under the state constitution. Unfortunately and shockingly, the judge ruled against the state and found that tenure indeed was a problem.

Superior Court Judge Treu ruled that California’s teacher-tenure system discriminates against kids from low-income families. He cited testimony that thousands of California teachers (about 3 percent) who are considered “grossly ineffective” teach primarily at low-income schools. He further stated that the current tenure system “imposes a disproportionate burden on poor and minority students" because “grossly ineffective teachers substantially undermine the ability of a child to succeed in school. … The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience.” Additionally, he wrote that eliminating tenure and other seniority protections for teachers would protect the civil rights of California’s poor children to “basic equality in public education.”

The Vergara decision exemplifies something we know all too well in New York City and endured for over a decade – blame the teachers and praise charter schools. In response to this shockingly poor ruling, educational historian Diane Ravitch said it best when describing Students Matter and other so-called reformers (aka deformers) who supported the case. “Instead of acknowledging that test scores are highly correlated with family income, they prefer to blame teachers and the very idea of public education. If they were truly interested in supporting the needs of the children, the backers of this case would be advocating for smaller classes, for arts programs, for well-equipped and up-to-date schools, for after-school programs, for health clinics, for librarians and counselors, and for inducements to attract and retain a stable corps of experienced teachers in the schools attended by Beatriz Vergara and her co-plaintiffs.” But, let’s face it -- this is about the privatization of our school system, and it is much easier to lay blame than to actually address the concerns identified by Ms. Ravitch and the alarmingly high rate of children in this country living below the poverty line.

This decision, while stayed pending appeals, has implications for other states across the country, including our own. Some groups have already expressed interest in filing a similar suit in New York State, challenging tenure and seniority protections. As a point of information, tenure is simply due process, not a “job for life,” as so many of the “deformers” refer to it. We are always the target of the anti-teacher and anti-union rhetoric, and this lawsuit only strengthens their resolve to attack us. We cannot forget, and must be more vigilant now than ever before.

MS/IS 5K Family Run Raises 13G

Thanks to you we raised more than  $13,000 to benefit the UFT Disaster Relief Fund at our 1st annual MS 5K Family Run, held last month at MCU Park in Coney Island with approximately 200 runners and walkers. Congratulations to our winners:

Erica Lora (left) of PS 368 in Brooklyn, who won the race, stands with second-place finisher Dionis Rodriguez of PS 41 in Queens and third-place finisher Nicole Stuart of IS 237 in Queens. (Photo by Kristy Leibowitz. Courtesy of uft.org.)

“I started training for a 5K to try to be more energetic, and I’ve had a lot of supportive friends at work. This was a way to build morale and camaraderie among the staff.” - J. Lo, PS 94, Brooklyn

To see more pictures from the race, view the photo gallery on the UFT website »

MS/IS Survey

What were your top three MS/IS events this year?

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Did You Know?

Seventy-seven percent of the more than 90,000 UFT members who voted on the contract approved ratification, a passing margin of more than 3 to 1.

Stay Up-To-Date

Get the latest news and info at: www.uft.org.

Mark Your Calendar

Check out our upcoming events for the 2014-15 academic year.

Visit the UFT online calendar now »

Have a peaceful and relaxing summer!