Newer teachers- Please sign now!

An Open Letter from Newer Teachers of New York State

Currently, New York State’s seniority rule protects experienced teachers from layoffs, a policy sometimes known as “last in, first out.” In recent budget negotiations, Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Black have pressured Governor Cuomo to overturn this rule. We, the undersigned teachers who have been teaching in New York State for five years or less, stand in solidarity with our more experienced colleagues and strongly support maintaining the seniority rule.

As newer teachers, we rely on our more senior colleagues for guidance and support.  Senior teachers offer us their advice, their formal mentorship, and their connections with communities.  Without more senior teachers, we would lose our bridge to lessons learned through years of dedicated work in the school system.

In addition, the rates of black and Latino new teacher hires in New York City have steadily declined since 2002, while the vast majority of New York City public school students are black and Latino. Opening up more senior teachers to layoffs would risk further decreasing the already sparse ranks of teachers of color.  These teachers provide guidance for younger teachers of all backgrounds, and play an important role in the lives of our students.

We also believe that Bloomberg and Black’s so-called “merit-based” system for retaining teachers will foster competitive, fearful school cultures that are detrimental both to teachers’ professional development and to student learning. In addition, Bloomberg and Black seek to measure teacher performance by student test scores, an imperfect measure at best, and one that encourages narrowly test-focused curricula.

Finally, Bloomberg and Black’s arguments against the seniority rule are based on the fact that newer teachers work for lower salaries than our more experienced peers; allowing experienced teachers to be laid off would therefore reduce the total number of necessary layoffs.  This argument, however, fails to account for the true cost of professional development and adequate support for newer teachers.  It also ignores the fact that teacher experience is one of the most reliable predictors of student learning.  If student achievement is the priority, then experienced teachers are more than worth their cost.

Ultimately, the debate over who to lay off is a distraction from the root causes of inequity that continue to affect our profession and the lives of our students; budget cuts should not include any teacher layoffs.  Education is an investment in our future, and cuts to education are ultimately short-sighted.  We reject political tactics that raise the specter of massive teacher layoffs in efforts to divide the workforce and pit parents against teachers.  In the interest of our students, we stand with senior teachers in supporting the seniority rule.

Sincerely,

Newer Teachers of New York State

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Ensure Fair Testing Opportunities For All New York State Students

Nobody enjoys taking tests, but on the morning of January 27, 2011, over 40,000 students were very disappointed and frustrated to be told that they will not be able to take the exam they have been preparing to take for over six months.  We hope that the state and the city will schedule a make-up date as soon as possible for all New York students to actualize their right to take the Regents exams that were canceled because of the storm.  New tests could easily be made by cutting and pasting from all the exams given in the past.  January 31st would be an ideal date because the students already have off and the teachers could reschedule their professional development.  Another ideal date would be February 1st  because the students could take the exam and it would not disrupt the start of the new semester, it would be merely postpone it one day.

By eliminating the same opportunity to take these exams as all other students in New York State, we are jeopardizing thousands of New York City students’ chances of graduating on time. Please sign the petition “Ensure Fair Testing Opportunities For All New York State Students” and pass it on as fiercely and quickly as possible.

http://www.change.org/petitions/ensure-fair-testing-opportunities-for-all-new-york-state-students

Registration Now Open: 2011 Conference

Join educators, parents, students, activists, and community members from across the city and beyond for a one-day conference focused on exploring the connections between education and social justice.  This conference is an opportunity to network, inspire one another, and build a movement. Join us to share your thoughts, lesson plans, questions, or to facilitate a workshop.

Check out the conference page for more information: www.nycore.org/conference/

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