She  finally did it! The principal rated me ineffective in her part of the evaluation. I am beside myself and wonder what this will do to my final evaluation.

Last year, not really being familiar with the numbers, she rated me developing. At the end it turned into effective and highly effective.

This year, in her own words, she understood the way the numbers weighed and their impact. So, she had to rate me down to make sure I don't receive effective again. I'm not stupid. I read right through her statement.

I have spoken to the union, and continue research on my options (if any). I am gathering all of my papers and creating a timeline to file harassment.  I have 4 years worth of papers to go through! Thank God it's summer!!!

I am still awaiting the determination of EEOC. Although 3 teachers claimed they would also file discrimination charges against her, I am only certain of one who did the same and he too is awaiting the result.

I hate waiting! Not a good trait to possess!

Anyway, she again "excessed" me from the school. This I don't get, because she tried this 2 years ago and when she did this, it was overturned by the superintendent. I have 27 years going on 28. Which superintendent will okay this excess? I have the most experience but she had left her options open by never appointing me in the High School certificate!!! 

She is cunning! That I have to give her. But, she is transparent! Too transparent. Maybe she wants me to know that she does what she does. That's a special kind of evil, one I had never experienced until I came to this school. And, finally, I don't care.

I work at XXX Academy! Tune in later...

The Lies People Tell

On May, 18, parents, teachers and  education advocates attended a “Fight for Their Future” forum. Also in attendance was city School's Chancellor Carmen Fariña. She heard many complaints, and real life issues the DOE faces. Many of the attendees came prepared with important questions.

Fariña addressed many concerns and responded with her "big-picture plans" and added that these reforms would "take at least two years from when she was appointed to see meaningful improvements from her changes."

She admitted that the system needs revamping and answered all the questions posed. When some parents said their special needs children were not receiving the services mandated by their IEP, Fariña told the parents they should email her with their concerns. She made the statement several times yet, she did not give out her email.

You see, the email for the chancellor is right on the DOE website. It is not hidden, nor do you need a special code to get it. I should know. I have been writing to the Chancellor's office for four years now.

Yet, I have yet to receive a response. I haven't even received an automated response acknowledging receipt. I have no idea how to get in touch with the Chancellor. 

Yeah, I can't reach my boss.

Errol Louis, the moderator prompted her to give her email address, but Fariña avoided the question.

For the full article Fariña.

The DOE

I have been downtown three times the past four weeks: step two grievance, EEOC, and to answer allegations. Yup, it's been quite a ride. I'm resilient. I fall and get up no matter what.

I am up.

I have several APPRs waiting to be reviewed. The last one hasn't been acknowledged by the principal yet. And, it was given to her two weeks ago. That's OK.

Like I said, I am up.

I thought that simply following her misguided teaching "recommendations" would keep her off my back, but that has not been the case. They still say I am not doing it correctly. The other day, the ELA coach gave me feedback on how to write my assessment so they would get it. Well, I did.

Their response was comical. "This is not an assessment. You must follow the LT (learning target) and CFS (criteria for success) and connect it to the task. Then, mumbo, jumbo, hippity hop..."

So, I told the coach and he shook his head.

Two network coaches came in to do PD. They questioned why we wrote our LTs the way we did.
"This is how she wants them."
Coach: "These are not LTs." HAH...

But, God don't like ugly. The superintendent came in to rate her on Thursday. She was quite the arrogant bitch. (No wonder she has never responded to my letters. I can write an entire post just on that visit.)

She questioned everything in every classroom she visited. Then said, "I saw nothing today that is more than developing." HAH...

Well, everything she saw follows what the principal wants to see in every classroom. We are following her format to a T.

"DEVELOPING."

It's been a rough year, but it's almost over. I'm desensitized and don't seem to care any more. But, I am up.

It's Been a Long Road

It's been four years since I have been struggling under my present administration. I have been subjected to bullying, intimidation, retaliation, scrutiny, micromanagement, and the every day reminder that I am not a good teacher. All of this began after 24 years of excellent service and plenty of kudos for a job well done.

Not that I have needed praise, but it  was always given and it is no wonder that I continued to excel even in difficult situations with an even  more difficult population. I have been a mentor to other teachers. I have been an advocate for my students. I have been entrusted with the coordination of programs and deemed qualified to teach students negotiation and mediation practices as their coach. Right out of college, I was entrusted with supervising the English department at the high school in which I started my career. Heck, even at my present appointment, the principal always gives me the most challenging classes. She thinks I see it as punishment, when in fact, it is more proof that I am the one capable of dealing with them. And, I'm the AP Psychology teacher...

This is why it has been so difficult these past four years. None of this experience mattered. In fact, I was constantly asked to go and look at lesson plans from brand new teachers. The only difference between our plans was simple: I graduated form a graduate education program and learned to write efficient plans. The new teachers did exactly what the administration told them to do and followed their format. Again, my time in the system and knowledge of the contract was and is a threat and I was deemed personae non grata.

Enough of this. I can sit here and keep talking about the mismanagement and intimidation practices to which I have been subjected. That is not today's topic.

After writing to everyone under the New York Education sun, someone finally heeded my plea. I have been contacted by someone in the system who wants to speak to me regarding my allegations. It must have been my threat to go public. And, I don't mean through this blog. I have been careful not to divulge the names of those who on an everyday basis make it a living hell to teach. I finally put it out there: If you do not at least respond to my letters, I will take it to the news media and  will file a complaint with EEOC.

I guess that must have hit a nerve.

I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied. I will not be rated ineffective by a system whose problem is not its teacher force. Yes, absolutely, there are some bad apples in the city. A very small number. I am not one of them. Even with the negative environment I work in, I still wake up in the morning and teach my difficult students. I still put up with the micromanagement. I still put up with being called a bitch by students because I expect them to excel and don't give out passing grades just because they are there. I still revise lesson plans who began as great and as they give me feedback, lose their rigor in the name of rigor. Yeah, that's what I meant. Every other word out of the administration is rigor, yet, they want us to water down our lessons in such a manner that rigor goes out the window.

I just feel like maybe now someone will investigate my school. Someone will actually come in and see the malpractices that go on every day, every minute. Someone will see how there are teachers doing their very best and yet administration is driving them out, not only from the school, but out of the system, as in my case. I'm 50. They want me out and there is no other way to do it. So, they figure, "Let's show how ineffective she is." And, now thanks to Cuomo, they have more ammunition to get rid of us. Two for one is how they see it and they can tell them what to do because these kids out of college or those who change careers have no clue what their rights are nor what real education is. Because that is not what is being taught in colleges today. Just like the new Leadership programs don't teach administration. They teach gotcha strategies and call legal, as my principal always says whenever she is painted into a corner.

Education is not teaching to the test. That is the case nowadays.
It is not about learning. It is about numbers.
It is not about creativity. It is about conformance.
It is not about our future. It is about money.

Trying to Catch Up

It has been very hectic at work which translates to "I haven't had a minute to update my blog." Even as I write this, I am putting off writing next weeks' plans. But, too much has happened not to write.

The end of the second trimester came and went. None of the ideas the principal used to convince us to switch from semesters to trimesters has yet to happen. Her main idea that students would be able to accumulate more credits in less time and graduate early, turned out to be a joke.

I looked at many of the students' programs and instead of meaningful classes that will help them graduate, they were filled with made up electives, "Teaching assistant" credits, and gym classes they did not need. Not one class that could help them get ahead.

As for me, I finished teaching English 3 and 4 and was assigned to teach a class she made up called "Writing in the Humanities." That would be great except that it is really a Global History Regents prep class, one that I had to spend an entire weekend learning about.

Then, on the day before the trimester began, she walked into my classroom with a change: a repeaters class for English 4. I am now teaching four classes which I had always heard was against our contract. I spent the entire day trying to come up with lessons for the next day. I was losing my mind!

Now, this is all tame and I guess something expected in every school (I suppose) but, to this I must add that in between all this she continues her vendetta against me. I have, once again been summoned to her office for a variety of things as well as receiving letters informing me of some kind of misbehavior.

Every time I receive one, they happen to follow a grievance I have put into the union. None of them ever result in things getting better. In fact, if I was someone else, I would have stopped fighting for myself because they make things worse for me.

My latest grievance brought about several ineffective and two developing ratings in my last observation.  I then filed APPRs, a union  Resolution Assistance Request. 

Of course, these were also found to have no merit. That was that.

So, I grieved my four preparations as well as the fact that my latest observation was not based on classroom observation, but on my lesson plan, which, according to anyone that has seen my plans will tell you, they go beyond what is expected. Both were found by her to have no merit.

She then countered my grievances by filing verbal abuse charges.

I have no recourse. I have written to every person I can think of and no one has even bothered to acknowledge my letters. I do not know where else to turn. I never expected this, 25+ years into my career.

Danielson

One of the many reasons I started this blog was to let everyone know about the inequities that are occurring in NYC public schools on a daily basis. But, one of the major reasons was to share my experience in the system.

Those of you who have been following my blog know that I have been teaching for 27 years and that it wasn't till I came to work at my present school, four years ago, that I had ever been given an unsatisfactory rating on a classroom observation.

That all changed. Since my tenure in this school, I have been harassed, yelled at, called incompetent, and literally made to feel like a failure on a daily basis. All this while the principal smiled at me. I have grieved. I have written the chancellor several times and have had no response. I have written several superintendents, all to no avail.

When Danielson was all but a rumor, this principal began rating our lessons using the rubric and telling us how to write our lesson plans, which components she wanted included and if any were missing, it was an unsatisfactory lesson.

One day, just to prove a point, she walked in  and I performed a lesson that the AP had observed and rated satisfactory. It was on elements of fiction so I switched the element for that lesson. She rated it unsatisfactory. When I showed her the satisfactory lesson she responded, "Well, I don't know what he saw that would make this a satisfactory lesson." By the way, the AP was sitting right next to her.

Last year when Danielson was finally instituted, I received many ineffective and developing ratings according to her interpretation of the rubric. She went as far as to tell me that I did not know my students. And, even better than that, "You have knowledge of your content area."
I was humiliated!


On a daily basis, I work with English language learners who are new to the country, as well as learning and emotionally disabled students. Sometimes several students fall into all these categories at the same time. I worked without the support of an experienced special educator or at least a paraprofessional who could help when I had to differentiate instruction. When I asked her why this was the case she said that the special education teachers needed to be in the classrooms that ended on a state test. I didn't need one because the English regents doesn't happen till junior year. I was appalled.

At the end of the year, after all the tallying and the Danielson equation was computed, I received a rating of developing. I cried all the way home that day.

From Developing to Effective
Teachers work with the least amount of resources and yet are expected to work miracles. Well, I guess I did because after all was said and done, my final rating was effective. Part of the evaluation equation is student success on their tests. I was connected to what is called a MOSL, measure of student learning. All of my students exceeded expectations. Part of my connection was also the state English regents and the majority of the students passed. I had been their teacher two years prior so I had a hand in their success.

This evaluation system makes no sense and what Cuomo wants is even more nonsensical. I think Diane Ravitch said it best when she said, "...excellent teachers will be rated ineffective because they teach slow learners, and mediocre teachers may get high ratings because they teach in wealthy districts. Many teachers who are rated ineffective one year may be rated effective the next."

I know I am a Highly Effective teacher. If not, I would not have the relationships I have established with students who have graduated or with the parents who thank me for their child's progress. I know I am Highly Effective despite Danielson saying otherwise. My principal chooses who she deems effective and also discriminates against those of us who have experience (ARE OLD) and who she cannot manipulate.

Just One More for Today

It made me smile!!!!

Alarming!!! How did Cuomo get reelected?

Andrew Cuomo to New York State: Your Teachers Stink. I Will Fire Them. I will Break Their Union.

How dare he! The comments of this man are offensive and detrimental to the low morale that already exists in the school system of the city of New York.

Like Bloomberg before him, I invite you, Mr, Cuomo to take a week, if you can last that long teaching in one of our public schools. Choose anywhere: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens... I want to see how long you will last trying to reach every single student regardless of reading level, new to the city with no English and some having received no formal education from the country they come.

I would love to see you constantly going to new professional developments where the only thing we are learning is to follow an impossible Danielson rubric and are being ripped apart because of it.

No development to help with those needy students that require special attention and cannot receive it because there is one teacher to 30, all of whom have learning styles that differ from one another.

Our measly paychecks go into professional courses that actually help in finding new solutions to reach every student, The DOE nor the state Department do not facilitate this for us. It comes from our pockets. And, guess what, I have two children a mortgage and a car note. I also have to feed and clothe them. 

Yet, I still take online courses devoted to the Common Core, differentiation, and Danielson. Whoever found her to be the end all be all is insane and not an educated person.

Let me continue with the fact that I sponsor underprivileged students who cannot even afford a notebook or a pen. This year, I am sponsoring a graduating student who not only hasn't got the means but who lives in a shelter. I had never spent so much money since my own two girls graduated.

Don't get me started on Teacher's choice. Every year it dwindles. Last year was a joke; this year we received $77. This is meant to supplement the hundreds we already spend on our students.

My favorite line form the article was: 

"Governor Cuomo’s teacher evaluation plan is set to punish teachers for not graduating vastly more students ready to succeed in college, as measured by one test score, than currently attend college."

Not all students want to go to college. Do you want to do the right thing: bring back specialized schools that allow students to earn certificates and upon graduation enter the work force. I had a great student several years ago with a 3.50 GPA. Guess what was her dream? She wanted to be a mechanic!

My next point of contention shows how little you know about the inner city:

"Following Governor Cuomo’s logic it is not that these schools and their teachers struggle with the long established deprivations of poverty upon their student population and would benefit from aggressive plans of economic renewal and integration; it is that their teachers are ineffective and need to be fired.

Have you ever heard of gaps? Gaps that need to be closed so that Black and Latinos can catch up to their suburban counterparts. Even in the suburbs you will find these disparities!

You are so out of touch, Mr. Cuomo, You really need a reality check! I am personally inviting you to my high school; if you dare. Come in as a visitor, not as the Governor of the State of New York. Maybe then you will see how hard we work reaching every student and giving the best of ourselves.

For the full article, follow the link: http://danielskatz.net/

What a Great Day!

Last week, I had one of the worst days of my teaching career. I was pushed by a student and my lesson was once again ripped apart. The principal rated my lesson and found everything developing and ineffective. The only effective I got was in classroom management.

I was told I do not have mastery of my subject matter as well as pedagogy. I also, according to her, do not know my students.

All this at the beginning of my day.

Period three, the students were completely out of control. They all came in as if they were out for recess. Then, a student who had never shown to my class decided to grace me with his presence. He first went off on my co teacher and then, saw two of his "besties" and they all came together like magnets. They began to high five each other, throw gang signs, and make some very weird noises.

This began a series of events that completely created chaos in the room. Mind you, there were three adults in the room and we could not get a handle on the situation.

I approached one student and tried to speak to him and he decided to tell me to "get the fuck out of my face." As if I was made out of steel, i continued to try and settle him down and he, once again told me to get the fuck out of his face.

I asked him to step outside so I could deal with him in private. He got up and walked out of the room and then just kept on walking.

I turned back into the room to continue to manage the room. I approached another student with whom I have never had an issue with. He, seeing that everyone was pretty much getting away with their disruptive behavior, decided to follow along and he too told me to get the fuck out of his face.

The next thing I know, the student stood up and came about two inches away from me. the student also towers over me so he was looking down at me.

His next directive was, "get the fuck out of my way."

I stood still; didn't move. I felt my face turning red as well as a warmth flushing my cheeks.

Once again, he said, "get the fuck out of my way."

When I didn't move he pushed through me, elbowing me in the process.

He turned around and walked out of the room.

All of this, and a lot more that I won't get into, happened last Tuesday. The student was in school the next day, and the next day, and the next. He was told to not go to my class. Friday, the parent came in, and without my presence had a meeting with the principal and AP. I was informed of this during my prep on Friday. At this time< I was also informed that Monday morning, the student, guidance counselor, AP, and myself would be meeting at 8 o'clock.

I have no idea what was discussed at the parent meeting nor do I have the slightest idea what we will discuss tomorrow. What I do know is that there were no consequences for the student or any of the students I wrote up that Tuesday.

Just another day at a Bronx High School.

The Beginning

Rather than go through everything from the beginning, I decided to post some of the letters that I have sent regarding the issues that I was experiencing. Once I reach the present, I will keep a daily log.

I have deleted the names of the persons involved, for the moment, since I am still trying to make things work. By the way, none of these letters have in any way helped. In fact, none have received a response, but I keep trying.

The UFT has been of no help; everything that I have managed to get resolved has been because I refuse to let this principal continue to create her own laws and continue her power trip. She is drunk with it and anyone who dares to question her practices just gets in her way. And, they pay. 

I am still paying.

                                                                                                                       2012

(Superintendent's name)

Superintendent District 12

Dear Superintendent,

     I am writing to you because I don’t know where else to turn. I am presently at (xxxx) High School under the supervision of (Principal's name). I have reached out to her and she has told me that she cannot help me.

     In July of 2011, I performed a demo lesson for Mr. (xxx), AP and Mr. (xxx), English Teacher. That afternoon, I was offered the job of 9^th grade English teacher at the school. I was very excited because I had tried teaching at the middle school level the year before, and realized that I preferred teaching the older students.

     I began in September teaching two English 1 classes, two English skills classes and one Honor’s English class. I was very happy to be in this school. The principal and AP seemed to be supportive and when it came to discipline problems, they seemed to be on top of things. I was able to walk into the Principal’s office and share my experiences and student work. Everything was going well, until…

     In October, the Principal and AP did a walk-through. That afternoon, the Principal and AP sat with me for a post observation and completely tore down my lesson. Not once did they say anything positive about my lesson! As I tried to explain myself and how English lessons are taught, they would hear nothing of it. I followed a lesson plan format that I have always used and the same one they hired me with. When I brought this to her attention she said, "No, here at (School name) we do things differently. You must follow the format we use and create a learning target and a criteria for success for every lesson." 

     I continued to express my thoughts and she said at one point,  “You frustrate me!” All through the post ob, I was intimidated and made to feel as if I didn't know what I was doing. (Principal) spoke to me loudly and coarsely and then threatened me with a U as a final rating for the year. She said that she would not recommend me for Tenure.

     At this, I quizzically looked at her and said, “I have tenure. What do you mean?” She became more upset and began saying how she was not going to go through this again. “I just went through this with a teacher who said she had tenure and she really didn't.” 

After this meeting, I was told to come back during my administrative period. I was so intimidated with our first meeting that Mr. (English teacher) offered to go in with me for support. 

     When we got to the door, she saw him and told him he couldn't stay. I expressed that I just wanted him there for support. She said, “Absolutely not!!” 

     For the next 40 minutes, I was intimidated, belittled, and treated as if I had no knowledge of English and teaching. She said she was holding me responsible for the kids who do not come to class and fail. I asked her for ideas on how I could possibly do this and she told me to be creative and figure it out. But, that she wanted to see those kids pass. 

     She sent me an email the next day. It was the Preliminary Recommendation page in the Tenure Notification System. She didn't appoint me under my High School license. This is where I am tenured. I explained this to her and she refused to acknowledge that a mistake was made.

     Since she was not willing to help me in this matter, I went to the union. This is when things really went bad between (Principal) and me. The union looked through the information and saw that a mistake was done. They said that not only was I teaching out of license, but that the school is out of compliance. They said (Principal) had two options: she could fix the mistake or she could excess me. This is when everything really deteriorated. I passed this information along to (Principal), who did not believe what I was saying and continued to tell me that there was nothing she could do. These conversations happened before the Christmas break.

     I tried to go on with my week and tried to speak with the (Principal) regarding the license issue. I tried several times until I caught her leaving her office and she told me that she had spoken to HR and they had said that there was nothing they could do about it. So, I asked her to excess me. She wrote me an email where she said that she understood if I wanted to go to another place. 

     I have not found any openings.

Sincerely,

(Me)

Second letter:

New superintendent. (I have no idea what happened to the first!)

(Superintendent's name)                                                                               2013

Superintendent D. 12

Dear Mr. (Superintendent),

     I am (Me). You extended my probation recently. I am writing to you to make some matters clear about me.

     I am a High School Tenured English teacher. I have been working for the DOE for 25 years. The bulk of my HS experience was in (xx) HS under (Principal) and then, (Principal).

     In the summer of 2009, I went to Arizona for a year. When I came back, I was hired at (MS-HS in Bronx). I was offered the 9^th grade ELA position but in September I was told that I would be teaching 6^th grade. When I expressed that this would affect my licensing (Principal) said she would have me on paper as the HS teacher since the 9^th grade teacher was a MS license. I figured it would be okay.

     In October, I found out that she had not done this and suddenly I found myself on probation for MS English. I reached out to several people including the union but to no avail. However, I was told that once I got a job at the HS level things would be fine.

     So, although I enjoyed working with the kids and parents (one actually wrote a letter of commendation to the Superintendent (xxx) and the Chancellor about me, I went on to the Open Market and was hired by (present school). I explicitly told the AP, (xxx) my situation and he said that there would be no issue and that I would be appointed under the HS license. Of course, this makes sense because I was hired by a HS.

     On my first informal walk-through in September, it explicitly said on my report “Tenured”. So, I didn't give it another thought. However, during a walk-through that they deemed “Unsatisfactory” I was threatened with a “U” rating because I was on probation. I explained how that could not be possible and that it must be a mistake. (Principal) said it wasn't. I asked her several times to please change my appointment to the proper license and she, on repeated occasions, told me she couldn't.

     This began a series of unannounced visits and several reprimands for a variety of things. I wrote to the Superintendent at the time and she never responded. I involved the union but to no avail.

     I was running a Drama Club after school and everything was fine. When I asserted myself regarding my situation, I was told on several occasions to cut the session short and leave the building. It happened so often that I finally cancelled the club. I was taken out of a Computer lab where the kids worked on Achieve 3000 because there were "claims" that my students were ruining the computers. And so on.

     Anyway, when I saw that all my lessons were being ripped apart and that I was being singled out, I told the Principal if she would release me or excess me. She said that she would not stand in my way but that she would not excess me. I used all of the information from NCLB and it didn't matter.

     I continued to be made to feel unwelcome at the school. When I was told that I would be getting another “U”, I grieved it. During this grievance meeting, I broke down and told (Principal and AP) how I felt. During this conversation, she made it clear that she could have changed my appointment but that she didn't want to. She wasn't sure if she wanted me in the school. However, I was reassured that I would not be discontinued, but that a “U” was in my future. So I asked again that I receive Pre and Post Observations, and I finally did. I received an S. Then came a walk-through and again I received an S. (Principal) softened somewhat and actually started speaking to me and saying good morning. I thought it was over.

     Then came time for the Tenure process and she said you advised her that my probation should be extended. So, she told me she needed to observe me again. She walked in on April 26. She saw the same elements for which I had been previously rated “S”. She rated the Walk-through “U”.

     I am being scrutinized and singled out. I come to work wondering what they will point out next. Although they claim to merely suggest elements they want in a lesson, they really expect them. I have incorporated everything they have asked of me and it doesn't matter.          I learned an entirely new way of presenting the lesson using the Learning Target and Criteria for Learning. Instead of seeing the progress, they focus on something else. They expect to see a group activity for every single lesson. So, even though every lesson does not lend itself to this practice, I reworked my lessons and do group and pair work. So now they find faults in that. I introduced Accountable Talk; she criticized my last lesson for too much accountable talk. They question the students and if one says they are working independently, they use it against me. Some kids prefer to work independently even when asked to pair up. That’s differentiation! Why am I being rated unsatisfactorily?  

     I am so frustrated. I get nervous every time they walk into my room. I feel harassed. I feel they are setting me up to receive a “U” rating at the end of this year. I really feel this is personal and I wish I didn't. I will go to another school, but who will hire me with a “U”? And, I do not want to ruin my 25 years of satisfactory service unfairly. What does this say of my former administrators who have, year in and year out, rated me “S” and placed me in positions of leadership? I have created curricula for electives, been a mentor, created programs and ran them successfully. I have been a Peer Mediator for an entire school campus. It doesn't seem possible that I am in this situation!

     I would like to meet with you regarding my situation.

Sincerely,

(Me)

It is the year 2014 and I am still awaiting a response to both these letters.

In my next post, I will share the letters I sent to the Chancellor. I actually just sent one to the new chancellor, two weeks ago. I haven't received ay correspondence.