With Religious Charters, Privatizers Have Their Cake and Eat It Too

There's a lot of talk about whether charters are public or private schools. Most people I respect suggest they are the latter, in that they take public money but don't really have to follow public rules. 

For example, Eva Moskowitz can allow students to do test prep until they pee their pants, and there's no chancellor's regulation suggesting then need to do otherwise. Were I to make students pee their pants, at the very least, I'd be looking at a letter to file. Were I to do it repeatedly, I'd be looking at 3020a charges, and quite possibly the loss of my job. 

In public schools, school leaders can't hire their own children, college kids with no certification, as teachers, but Eva did it and that was just fine. When Bill de Blasio had requirements for a pre-K program, Eva canceled hers rather than comply. 

And when de Blasio came into office wanting to cut down on charters, the suitcases full of cash her BFFs directed to Andrew Cuomo somehow resulted in NYC having to pay rent for charters if it failed to provide space. This has cost the city hundreds of millions, so those campaign contributions have paid off spectacularly.

Now, there's a new thing with charters. Perhaps they can be religious, if Judge Biff and his BFFs on SCOTUS say so. Can this be done?

Garnett, the Notre Dame law professor, has one potential answer.

It’s well established that the government cannot run a religious school, but a private entity can, she said in a recent report for the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. Despite being defined as “public” in state laws, Garnett continues, charter schools are not run by the government; they are run by private, unelected boards, typically organized as nonprofits. 

So charters, if you believe this professor, are NOT public schools. Therefore it's okay that they be religious. This has, however, ruffled the feathers of some who have been maintaining that charters are public. 

Charter school groups have argued that the schools are indeed public for legal purposes and that the recent Supreme Court cases don’t apply to charter schools.

“All charter schools are public schools,” said Rees of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Charter schools have never been able to, and cannot now, endorse a specific religion.” 

For the record, I'm not a charter supporter.  Like Diane Ravitch, I believe we should devote our resources toward improving public schools. I'm a union supporter. I believe working people should have union, and I'm certain one reason charters exist is to avoid it. I don't apologize for any benefits, protections or privileges provided or negotiated by my union. I don't want to deprive others of such benefits either. I think we need to be a model, not a clique. 

The Chalkbeat writer makes a strong point here:

Religious charter schools would also open up other legal issues. Could such schools admit students based on religious affiliation? Could they bar students or teachers based on sexual orientation and gender identity?

I don't want my tax dollars devoted toward discrimination against students for any of the above. In an environment where discriminatory laws are all the rage, where book banning is the new black, and in which teachers may have to walk on eggshells rather than freely teach our nation's history, that would be even more outrageous than charters are already.

Public schools ought to be for everyone. Charter schools already fail to suit that definition, and again let's look at Moskowitz and her "got to go" lists. There are plenty of charters that manage to select their students one way or another. Just require a whole lot of parental hours, or set rules that make it impossible for undesirable students to stay. My friend Gary Rubinstein has a whole lot of stories about charters that shed the majority of students before claiming to be successful in sending impossibly high percentages to college.

Meanwhile, people like you and I teach the ones Eva can't be bothered with. If they don't do well, we're maligned in the papers for not doing our jobs. Education ought not to be privatized. It's a public good. I don't believe charters are public schools now, and it's the height of hypocrisy to agree with me simply to use public money to support parochial schools. 

This is a terrible idea, which makes it likely SCOTUS will adore it.

Don't Unmask Just Yet

If we've learned anything about COVID at all, it's that we cannot predict what it will do next. That's why the mask mandate in places other than schools has come, gone, and come again. We're looking at several blue states dropping mandates in schools, including New Jersey and Delaware. Very likely, New York will follow, though Kathy Hochul has not made a public decision just yet.

Hochul made a good decision, sending test kits home with students and staff going on break. With a little luck, that will avoid us a revisit of the disaster that was January 2022. In fact, even though there was a mask mandate, I see students walking around each and every day with masks hanging under their noses or around their necks. They know there are no consequences for this, so why not? Who cares if over 17% of students in our school tested positive for COVID when returning from Christmas break?

Now here's the thing--as predicted, Omicron came, peaked, and then dissipated just as it had in Israel, or wherever it was we saw this model. We're all happy to see it go. That said, last summer I was pretty freely going to restaurants and traveling to see friends and do odd jobs around the state. I wasn't nervous at all going into places I knew well without a mask. I don't know about you, but Omicron changed that for me. 

I'd be more than happy to be there again, but there is, in fact, another variant coming, and it could very well do just what Omicron did. Perhaps it won't, and I'm just as hopeful as anyone that it doesn't. Of course, even if it fizzles out into nothing, that doesn't mean there won't be another variant that brings us to a standstill. 

How can we prevent that? Let me think. Well, we know that if I'm wearing a surgical mask, you're unlikely to be infected by me. We know that if I'm wearing an N95 or something close to it, I'm further unlikely to be infected by you. Doesn't if follow, then, that if we all wear masks of that sort, no one is likely to be infected by anyone? 

Personally, I don't understand why it's even a discussion. I understand political arguments about taxes. We shouldn't pay so much in taxes. Or we should pay for this rather than that. Or we should get a better return for what we pay. I understand arguments about politicians. I like this one, not that one. This one did that, and ought to have done this.

I am beyond baffled that we're arguing over health. Health ought not to be a left or right issue. We ought to all be in favor of health, and we ought to do all we can to protect the health of our communities. I'd say the heart of our communities is our children. What would we not do to protect our children? 

These days, there are an awful lot of Americans who won't wear a frigging mask to protect our children. Perish forbid, of course, that they should get vaccinated. It doesn't matter that every week one of my students gets called down to the medical office to learn if she doesn't get vaccinated, she can't return. Why, exactly, in matters of health, should we have any more rights than children? Because we are bigger humans than they are? I'm not seeing it. Perhaps many share the beliefs of whoever painted that car above. 

Nonetheless, I'm a role model. I will continue to wear a mask until I'm sure our school environment is safe enough not to. With the possibility of new variants hanging over our heads, it seems a very bad idea to abandon them. Lawmakers could not predict Omicron, and they cannot predict what will happen with BA2, let alone whatever variants follow.

There is absolutely nothing more important than the health of our children, not the Pythagorean Theorem, not the novels we teach, be they banned or not, and not even teaching newcomers English. It behooves us to do all we can to protect their health, and our own as well. I'm not confident NY State will go the right way. 

We, as individuals, as teachers, ought to set a better example than politicians.

Racism--American as Apple Pie

It's Black History Month, and even the talking heads on Fox are quoting MLK, albeit in a very limited fashion. Were he not assassinated (while standing up for organized labor), were he around today, he'd have plenty to say about these talking heads.

It's an odd time to be American. Fox is a propaganda network that's hypnotized a good portion of the country into not moving forward. It's normalized racism to the point where we can't accomplish anything for all of us. Were we to do that, it would benefit all those other people we revel in stereotyping.

The current source of outrage is all those people out there who want to teach our children Critical Race Theory. The fact that it's a college level course that we'd never heard of before all this brouhaha is neither here nor there. John Oliver just discussed it on Last Week Tonight, and played a clip of Tucker Carlson first saying despite talking about CRT for a year, he didn't know what it was. Tucker followed that admission, of course, by bitterly criticizing it.

Now we have a movement, in the red states for now, to restrict what we can teach. You can't teach anything that might make students feel bad. You can't discuss white privilege, for example, even though much of our country was literally built by people of color enslaved by wealthy white people. Our White House was largely built by slaves. Now A Tennessee law is looking to ban books, and of course it's being replicated elsewhere. 

Bigotry is the coin of the realm in these United States, and of course there are people fighting to keep it that way. A whole lot of them, like Tucker, are featured prominently on Fox, and they have millions of viewers parroting their talking points. I hear them from UFT members more than I'd like to admit We like to think we're smarter than everybody else, but we're just as susceptible to propaganda as anyone. 

Of course, as long as you think that people of color, or immigrants, or people of this or that religion, or gender, or sexual orientation are out to steal your way of life, you'll fight tooth and nail against it. They're here for your jobs. For goodness sake, it's us against them. Of course we have to act.

So when arguments come up about, oh, canceling crippling student debt, you say no, they'd better not do that. If you allow them to cancel that crippling student debt they'll be able to quit one of their three minimum wage jobs and work toward something better. Then you'll lose your job, to them, and you'll have to settle for a lower quality of life somehow. 

And when they talk about universal health care you need to say oh no, I don't want all those other people to have free health care. It will be expensive. How will we pay for all that book banning we need to do? Who's gonna pay Tucker Carlson's salary?

And when they talk about voting rights, sorely curtailed by the Supreme court, repeatedly, you say oh no, let those people wait on long lines in the heat if they want to vote, and arrest anyone who gives them water as they stand there. Screw them. People fought and died for this right, and it's the least you can do to stand out in line for hours with no water. 

Parental leave? Forget it. That's just sheer laziness. Why should we support people having babies? It's their choice to have all those babies and we don't want to pay for that. Why, stuff like that is socialism, and socialism is bad. I know because I learned it in school, and every goshdarn commentator on Fox says so. 

The problem Fox fails to point out, of course, is that a whole lot of white people, their viewers, also end up ruined by student debt, debt they wouldn't have if they lived almost anywhere but here. A whole lot of white people don't have health insurance. Some die because they're afraid to visit an emergency room and incur thousands of dollars of debt. I know, or knew, someone that happened to. And it's hard for white people to vote when they live in those targeted districts. And guess what? When people of color don't get parental leave, white people don't get it either.

We live in a country that has normalized huge socialist-style benefits for people who least need it, while spitting in the face of most Americans in dire need. We have a huge network based around telling people this system is somehow good for them. We accept racism because we buy into this insane and counter-productive mythology. 

In the end, we're hurting ourselves, and all Americans who aren't gazillionaires. We're making laws so that we, the teachers, participate in keeping our brothers and sisters uninformed and compliant. Racism and bigotry are as American as apple pie. But when we deny rights and benefits to some, we deny them to all.

We're not nearly as smart as we think we are. I once again recommend The Sum of Us, by Heather McGhee, which examines this in great detail.

UFT Delegate Assembly February 16, 2021--Much Ado

UFT President Michael Mulgrew-- Welcomes us, asks for moment of silence for Lowell Wayne, Michael Levine, and Edwin Hines, father of Janella.

Federal--Midterm elections prime interest. Looking at smaller version of Build Back Better. Want to pass Climate Change measures.

State--All district lines finished, will be court challenges, but legislature will move quickly. Need to move up lobbying efforts. Expect on time budget with most issues resolved by end of March. We will have a Lobby Week beginning March 7th. This was traditionally Lobby Day. They need to see us, but capital closed to all but staff and elected officials. We will  meet with officials beginning the 7th. Want UFT presence in capital entire week, albeit virtually. Foundation aid fully funded. Mayoral control is up. We don't want current version. One of mayor's appointments is head of SUNY charter panel. Needs to be checks and balances. 

Every mayor has used mayoral control for politicial, not educational purposes. Made bad errors with testing, COVID. They say if we change it, it isn't mayoral control, but no other cities use this version. All others have checks and balances. We will have UFT presence Monday to Friday. 

Also, endorsement season coming, state and federal level. People asking why NYSUT endorsed Hochul. There was a process and recommendation at state level. Any local president can put forth a resolution for endorsement. Once AG said she wasn't running, NYSUT Executive Board endorsed.

(Disconnected for several minutes)

NYC has record reserve of over 6 billion, exceeded revenue projection by over two billion. Wall St. had great year and no millionaires left. 

But budget raises are scheduled as zero for two years. Says all raises based on efficiencies and work productivity. Every mayor says that. At least they are not saying city is broke. Now it starts. 

Negotiating committee will meet at mid March, in person only. Hopefully when we are negotiating we'll be post-COVID. Key in NYC is the pattern. Arbitrator will work with that. We have a union in arbitration now that hasn't received last contract. We have to know whether pattern is set before we negotiate. Unions place pressure on one another. Important we start process. 

Individual chapters need to come up with own demands. Mulgrew shows 1962 contract, says it's very small. Top salary for teachers after 15 years was $10,400. People have used larger contract as a negative. But there's a story about every item in this contract, work rules, voice, support, mentoring. Once they got it done the first time, we built off of it. World is changing, and every chapter needs own demands. 

We are finalizing committee now, between 4-500. 

Vacation Days--Had to go back to arbitrator. 4000 had negative CAR balance. Award did not speak to it, but DOE decided it didn't have to turn four CAR days into vacation days. We know arbitrator will agree with us. Award says clearly it's to make sure all who work receive full value of what they put in. CAR day not equivalent to vacation day. Many folks with negative balance either decided to have a family. Some had medical crises. That's the majority. We want all made whole, and will share decision when we get it.

Many people got notices of termination. We fight for what's in contract. Doesn't matter what you believe in vaccinations. Some say we're giving up rights and others say we're giving up union time. None to both. Cannot say a teacher can be terminated for refusing vaccination. Untenured have article 78 protections. We can't let people be terminated at any time with no due process. We can't give them a foot hold there. We will do our work to make sure our rights are protected. We're all adults and make our own decisions.

We have a group of members who have provided evidence of first shot and not second. As soon as city sets deadline we will be doing outreach to all those members. We want them to remain employed. We need to know if there are errors, and give people way to provide evidence.

We want support, and smaller class sizes from city. We also want to know what city wants. Mayor focused in dyslexia. Mayor and chancellor talking about career tracks. We would support these things. They say they want system to serve schools.

When it comes to negotiations, a few weeks ago we resolved one for Visiting Nurses. We're in an ugly negotiation at NYU. Hospitals ran commercials about their brave hero nurses, and now treats them poorly. They are short staffed all the time. Lost 330 nurses. Hired only 200. Want fewer nurses on floor. They don't bill us less. Not for profit hospital industry is really for profit. Not even discussing money yet. Filed 2,000 grievances at NYU for lack of support. They thought we'd take unenforceable work rules and some money. We won't. Will keep you updated.

In two days, you get vacation. We come back on the 28th. No days off in March. And then we head into standardized tests, calendar, preference sheets. We have a chapter leader hub. Have a focus group. We want to give CLs all paperwork, preference sheets, SBOs, grievances and everything organized there. Over 2,000 SBOs a year. Some schools reinterpret them in September. We need a clear record.  We want it ready April 1st, and hope you utilize tool. Trainings, handbooks, searchable contracts available. 

Pandemic--At lowest number .43, staff at .05. Some optimism we could be near end, but must be vigilant. NJ made announcement. We have not changed our policy. We all want to take masks off, but in a prudent manner. Members all over the place on this, but no one wants to be sick or die. Maybe we can remove them for outdoor activities, but place them back on before entering. We will see and keep everyone informed. 

Everyone will get test kit Friday. Every teacher and student should go home with a test kit, and test before you come back. That info will drive policy. Breaks cause rise in rate.

Attendance--Students can be marked present with a code when learning asynchronously ONLY for COVID. 

Salary Dept. at DOE--Problems with sub teacher work and per session work. Asking they be moved immediately to arbitration. Many issues with new situations. DOE claims they didn't know there was a problem. There are also attendance issues with COVID.

March will be CL training. Moving toward going away overnight. We have a number of different hotels but will limit people who can come. If you request and we cannot fulfill you for first weekend, we will accommodate you on the second. We will do same thing with Spring Conference. We will have to limit it to about a thousand people. In 1962, MLK received Dewey Award. We want to celebrate 60th anniversary of this. 

Effective March 1, increasing optical benefit from 125 to 175. Hearing benefit from 1,000 to 1,500. Retiree optional rider from 780 to 840. This is using negotiating power at Welfare Fund.

LeRoy Barr--Tomorrow, conclusion of Black History film series, on Marcus Garvey. Discussion afterward has been great too. Women's History Month--March 3rd Criminalization of Girls in Public Schools, March 4 Herstory, virtual, March 17 domestic violence film. HS town hall March, cte awards, elementary coference, counselor conf..March 17, election petitions due Friday.

Mulgrew--Christine Tewksbury kept school together for two year harassment case and kicked principal's butt.  It was straight up, unequivocal union animus. We will see what happens, but keeping staff together through that is great work. 

Questions--

Point of order--Camille Eterno--Robert's Rules says officers make no reports. 

Mulgrew--Out of order. This is an agenda approved by this body. 

Eterno--appeals ruling. 

Point of info--(I don't really understand it.)

Mulgrew--UFT has made this our agenda. Chair does not have authority to change what UFT declares to be its agenda. Roberts Rules adapted by different organizations.

Barr--Wants to speak against. This body based on tradition. We've been doing it this way since beginning of school year. This happens to coincide with other union activities History of union not based only on this year. Goes back 20, 30 years or longer. Can change it if body decides. To say, in 2022, that President cannot make a report is against what we do. You have an obligation to vote against this appeal. 

Mulgrew--We want to make this as orderly as possible. We are here to get information. We will bring appeal to a vote. 

Eterno--Page 19 of Robert's Rules, union 80% women, man saying I can't be heard.

Mulgrew rules her out of order.  Chants of "let her speak."

Mulgrew says there are people on line. If you want to make speeches, do it outside. This body is to do the work. If you don't wish to do it, there are others who will. There are over 2K online.

Cross shouting between Eterno, who refuses to surrender mike, and Mulgrew, again calling her out of order. Mike is turned off, I think,

Michael Sill--not just tradition, but voted on. If someone just showed up today, not surprised they don't care about tradition. 

?--Exec. Board--Member of union, 30th year. Active unionist for last 25. Embarrased by this forum. We are here to do work. Purpose of DA is to work and vote democratically. everything here out of order.

Someone else from EB, saying we have job to do, we are all adults, move agenda forward. Lots of cross talk from other mikes. 

Mulgrew--Debate on challenge to chair, question called. 

(I am disconnected again. I don't get to vote.)

Mulgrew explaining clickers to hall. 

 total 786 yes 279 no

Sorry if anyone had question. Send them to me. We are way past time. 

Vote on challenge to chair. 

total 887-184 Chair upheld.

Motions--

Point of information--How are agendas set?  10 minutes for motion not enough.

Mulgrew--You can extend it by...(Conversations are inudible)

Resolution--To commemorate Women's History Month--contributions immeasurable, UFT, majority of women honors creativity, impact of women...for this month.

 total 937 yes 218 no

Question--What are rules for making sure people heard both for and against? Only one side heard...

Mulgrew--You are out of order. 

Motion to move quorum from number 6 to 3. 

total 63%--does not move.

Motion to suspend rules---

Mulgrew--Out of order. Majority says they want to get work done,

Resolution 1--Tom Brown, supports Deborah Penny to retirement board. Respected and trusted, advocate for pensions. Currently chair of TRS, oversees investment and board meetings, has presented on panels. Impressed by knowledge, diligence and compassion. Pensions stronger and safer with her as trustee. Asks DA to pass resolution nominating her for re-election. 

David Kazansky--Supports resolution and Deborah Penny. When many members were ill at onset of covid she contacted every member, worked for state covid benefits they would not otherwise have received. 

Peter Lamphere--Motion to suspend rules.

Mulgrew--Out of order. I know you think you understand what you're doing. You do not. I went back and checked. Yelling out to suspend the rules can be out of order so chair can continue business. Recognized you because I thought you would continue debate. You chose not to speak for or against. 

Lamphere--Appeals ruling of chair.

Anthony Harmon--Everything here should be on resolution at hand. All else out of order.

?--calls question.

894 yes 71 no. 

Resolution--

922 yes, 40 no

Janella Hines-- Rises to motivate resolution on healthy relationship education, eradicate domestic violence. 2019 we resolved against domestic violence. Heard many stories of abuse. We are tired of this. We still accept family primary school for love--but that often eludes us. We can create space to talk about healthy positive relationships in schools. 

?--Survivor of domestic violence rises to support. Victims often feel silenced, are not believed. Imperative that we support this. Time for us to break silence and give every survivor a voice. Tell abusers we will take no more.

Marie Baker--Rises in support. 49% of males report using violence, gives other stats. Need to reach out to youth coalitions. 

Question called.

Mulgrew--Says please be safe during time off, and find time to relax. Thanks us.

860 yes, 38 no

Resolution--

895 yes  18 no

We are adjourned. Wishes us safe and peaceful week off. 

Why I'm NOT Voting for UFC

I was pretty stoked about being in opposition for a pretty long time. A few things turned me around. The big one was when MORE, with which I was affiliated, and to which I'd contributed, started acting very strangely and doing odd power plays. 

At the last MORE meeting I attended, I was criticized for putting forth a resolution without running it by "steering." Steering is a committee I'd had no contact with before. I wasn't even sure what it was.

It was odd because I'd already put forth a number of resolutions without contacting "steering." I couldn't attend the next MORE meeting. I was at a UFT event for ELLs. Evidently they voted, without me there, that we needed to run things by them before introducing them at Executive Board. This directly contradicted an agreement I'd made before running--that we'd be able to make our own decisions. 

Then there was some other resolution I don't remember, about how awful we were or something, that kind of surprised me. Soon thereafter, the steering committee was term-limited and replaced. Somehow, MORE managed to dump all or most of the new members. Rules were important when they were making them up as they went along, but didn't matter much when a small clique was no longer in control. I then saw an email by a MORE leader labeling me, the deposed committee, and other people I know as "right-wingers."

The people behind these moves were part of some socialist faction or other that's since disbanded. I don't know what the agenda was of these particular socialists, but whatever it was, my priorities were not theirs. I'm not sure exactly what made me a "right-winger." My first choice for President of the United States was Bernie Sanders. If that makes me a right-winger, so be it. 

Whatever it was they were doing, it entailed trying to sell me socialist newspapers for a dollar, and going to meetings at a diner where one faction of socialists would argue vehemently with another. Some were not UFT teachers anymore, and I had no idea why they were even there, let alone why we needed to listen to them. I sat through these long discussions, didn't favor one side or another, and, for the most part, didn't even understand what they were arguing about. 

There was some sort of agenda in all these resolutions. The leaders of MORE, evidently, shared this agenda. I have no idea what it was. It certainly did not entail winning more union elections. After all, we'd really tried to push them in that direction. We had a newsletter that they took over and promptly ran into the ground. Then, of course, they made it a priority to boot out the only people who ever won elections for them. They ran again, and were pretty well-trounced, on all levels.Now, perhaps, they want to be relevant again. Why? I haven't got a clue.

Alas, I don't trust them at all, I don't support them, and I won't be voting for them. There are some people in opposition I have great respect for. There are, however, a good number of them who I wouldn't count on to spit on me if I were on fire. Some of them, who I'd naively considered friends, sorely disappointed me.

I've been going twice a month to Executive Board meetings for years. I've also been taking notes and sharing them publicly, which no one from opposition ever bothered to do before.

At first, several people from MORE assured me they'd be there supporting us. Their presence, in fact, turned out to be a very rare and fleeting thing. That wasn't so bad, particularly after they made it clear they didn't really support us anyway. What was important, for some of them at least, was control. For the life of me, I have no idea why they wanted it. We did bring their suggestions to meetings. That, though, wasn't enough.

My primary union involvement, for 12 years, was as chapter leader of Francis Lewis High School. It's a huge school, with 4500 students and 300 UFT members. The job was immense. The most I ever got support or assistance from MORE was never. I didn't know anyone there who was particularly expert in the Contract, or in resolving the frequent conflicts that occur in a building this large. Given the frenetic and tense nature of the meetings I attended, I didn't think conflict resolution was their strong suit.

I tried to help one of the opposition leaders get a job in my building. I got a teacher from the department in question to advise this person how to ace the interview. The person was set to get the job. Concurrently, my principal had just appointed a person dean who'd just been dean. This was a violation of rotation rules. There were several candidates ahead of this person, and they planned to grieve this appointment. 

When I brought this to the principal's attention, he withdrew the posting, deposited the would-be dean back into the department, and there was no opening for the opposition member. This person was strident and abusive to me. Evidently I should have said to hell with the rotation, screwed the members I represented, and made sure this person got the job. I see this person as unfit to lead.   

MORE is the big dog in UFC. I love dogs, but this one is not getting my vote, ever. When I needed support, for twelve years, I got it almost exclusively from Unity members. When people contact me asking for help, I refer them to Unity members. When I want things done, I ask Unity members to help me. And they do, always.

I will have chapter and verse on that in a future blog.

Weathering the Apocalypse--There Is a Bright Side Somewhere

Everything sucks, kind of. Last summer, I was comfortable getting together with friends, unmasked. I went to a weekly gathering upstate with friends and didn't worry at all. It seemed like COVID was subsiding. Of course, when Omicron hit, I thought again. I became much more careful at work and elsewhere. I've got enough KF94 masks to get me through the year, or almost. 

Now there's a new one, Son of Omicron or something, and we could easily have another surge. I hope we don't, but COVID has proven to be nothing if not unpredictable. I'm prepared for whatever. There are some bright points to consider, though. 

First, consider that we now have a vaccine, and don't have to have nervous breakdowns every time we go to the supermarket. While none of us want to get COVID, the fact is our risk of death or prolonged hospitalization is very much diminished. We also know that surgical masks tend to protect others from us, and are a courtesy, while N95 masks and their near-clones go a step beyond and offer us some protection as well. 

Of course those who say schools are the safest places are delusional  Still, they're not precisely death traps either, not even with those crap humidifiers de Blasio went out and bought. (If Adams really had swagger, he'd buy HEPA machines for all of us and trash the other ones.) Most of my colleagues who were infected have theories as to why, and most of them involve outside contacts. Of course, that's far from a scientific survey, but I'm happy to say all those I know of are back and doing very well

Another thing that's important to note is that we, NYC teachers, did not do all that badly through this crisis. Sure, every moment of it has been stressful. Sure, every twist and turn is excruciating. But no one I know of is the Oracle of Delphi with some simple answer for how things are, or how things will be. 

And the fact is, while we were at highest risk, we were able to get accommodations that kept us out of buildings. That was a mixed bag for me. While I was happy not to be out risking my life, I absolutely hated teaching online. Looking at 7 kids and 24 cat pictures, knowing that a good portion of those kids were asleep, playing video games, or committing unnatural acts somewhere made me nuts. I am all over my classroom. I like to know what's going on. This made me a teacher tied to a desk with no idea whatsoever what my kids were doing. 

It bummed me out to no end. We were looking at an incentive, and I thought, the hell with it, I'll retire. Then they pulled the incentive, and I thought. "I'll stay and show those assholes. I'll make them pay." However, I'd already stepped down as chapter leader. I made sure there was someone to take my place, and she's doing a great job so far. 

I have a lot of friends who are musicians. When the apocalypse hit, they had no work at all. They had nothing to fall back on. (This is distinctly different from countries in Europe, or Canada, where governments decided, you know, people should not starve.  If you want to understand why we in the US can't have nice things like that, read The Sum of Us, just out in paperback.) Unlike many Americans, we continued to receive full pay throughout this crisis. With all my complaining about everything that goes on, I deem us relatively very lucky. 

I'll tell you another thing that surprised me. I've been teaching five classes for months and I've been very happy doing it. With many of my colleagues fleeing, I've decided not to retire. I've been lucky to find a job that I love, a job that I'm good at, and I've been lucky to have such great kids through the years. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I'm hanging in. I hope you can find something, some way to find this too. 

Remember, when admin tells you it's serious but not impossible, think, "It's impossible but not serious."

UFT Executive Board February 7, 2022--We Resolve to Stop Distributive Scoring, Move Regents Back to Home Schools

UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr--introduces minutes

Minutes--passed 

UFT President Michael Mulgrew--Asks for moment of silence for Lowell Wayne, Michael Levine, and Edward Hines, all of whom did work for union. 

State budget--Multiple meetings about mask mandates. NYC has a mandate issued by DOH, not governor. Court case that issued stay had to do with governor's mandate, not NYC mandate. Things are moving toward options on masks. Governor says it's premature to speak of dropping mandates on schools. Positivity is going down. There is a movement, though, among people who see Omicron nearing its end in our area. We still have concerns about vax percentage for 5-11 year olds, and all students. 

For us, the conversation has to be with NYC DOH. We are talking to doctors. People are pushing for masks optional. Members have diverse views. We will work with doctors.

Legislators want to move quickly so as to focus on primaries and elections. We fought for CFE and advocated for federal money.   Legislative reception in Albany tonight--endorsed Kathy Hochul. We have a lot of people running for Congress and this will go through NYSUT and AFT. This is early, but we are moving forward.

Hoping we can move forward with understanding DOE priorities. Educational agenda has focused on early childhood. Need to preserve that. People who put this system together were not really part of DOE. They knew bureaucracy would hamper them. We need to keep it in place and keep quality up. Next focus will be graduation levels in other branches. Schools are working a lot on their own, without DOE support. Frustrating that people are so used to having to work on their own. This will be big challenge with this administration. 

Questions--

NYSUT governor endorsement--Is there a reason we didn't make it more participatory for UFT?

Is NYSUT endorsement. We follow their lead. Over 700 NYSUT local presidents. They have their process. We haven't endorsed governor in long time, but respect their process. Many felt strongly about it.

Can you speak to retirees about mayor's support for new health plan?

I will bring it up. When his admin dug in and saw the plan, it made sense. I don't know of anyone else who designed their own program, put it out for bid, and is now making sure it works. 

Reports from Districts--

Rashad Brown--Black History film series. Finishing up second film this week. Had good turnout and feedback. Next one Thursday.  

Wendy Walker Wilson--Thanks everyone that supported awards ceremony and scholarship fundraiser.

Anthony Harmon--Saturday CL training part 2.. Working on part 3 March 5 and 6.

Karen Alford--March 19 elementary early childhood conference, in person or virtually. March 22 elementary town hall.

Shelby--Fireside chat with Mulgrew for paras upcoming.

Rashad Brown--Injectable HIV treatment now. Working on details for how it relates to members. 

Resolution for President of US to pardon Marcus Garvey--Rashad Brown--Asks for pressure on President Biden to exonerate Marcus Garvey, accused of mail fraud, was political. J. Edgar Hoover targeted him. Crime came down to an enpty envelope. Our students don't know who he is. He did a lot for us, as a people, as a nation. created pan-African movement, is seen as prophet. Waiting 82 years for pardon. 

Barr--If you learn about this stuff, about Hoover's counter-intelligence, it began with Marcus Garvey. Take opportunity to study it. 

Passes unanimously.

Acknowledgement of contribution of Haitian Revolution--DeShana Barker--Important we honor and acknowledge contributions of Haitian Revolution. Often our students are not acknowledged, nor are their ancestors. Haiti expanded limits of freedom and US reaped benefits, influenced Louisiana Purchase, end of slavery, modeled strength and perseverance. This supports our students. Asks for support. 

Passes unanimously. 

Move to eliminate distributive scoring.

Mike Schirtzer--We expect Regents will happen in June. Teachers have been sent out to scoring sites. Seems more cumbersome than usual this year. Should be in home schools. Private and charter schools do it. We think we can work out issues to make this adhere to state regs. Will be more cost efficient. Asks for support. 

Passes unanimously. 

Janella Hinds--Very happy about this. Thank you all for your support. You should know HS scoring is different from elementary and middle school scoring. Thank all of you for your support. March 4 will be our Herstory event, virtually, to celebrate contributions of women to UFT. 4:30.

6:33  We are adjourned.

Bean Salad

That's what Mayor Adams was serving today at Francis Lewis High School. I took a peek at it. It was iceberg lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and beans. It came with French dressing, which I recall as sickly sweet orange stuff. However, one of the kids I spoke with told me the dressing made the meal okay. I don't know what it's like in other buildings but ours is grab and go.

There were two other choices--peanut butter and jelly, and cheese sandwiches. I'd have opted for none of the above, and if I were a kid with money in my pocket I'd have likely walked out to the grease truck and eaten something totally unhealthy. What I actually did was go to my car and eat a container of tuna salad I'd brought from home.

Why do our kids have such limited options? Mayor Adams, who not only has swagger, but is also a self-styled nutritional expert has declared that vegan diets are the best. This diet evidently helped him personally with a health condition. So he waves his mayoral magic wand, and it's vegan Friday in NYC.

Eric Adams is a vegan, so therefore everyone should be. Alas, damping the magic of vegan Friday, some lunatic from the federal government enforced some stupid rule that milk had to be served. Adams must be beside himself with grief, knowing in his heart of hearts that children all over the city are just clamoring for carrot juice (not that he'd lay out a dime for it). 

Now here's the thing--in his infinite wisdom, Mayor de Blasio declared that Mondays and Fridays would be vegetarian. That didn't have sufficient swagger for Eric Adams, so he made Fridays vegan. Evidently, if every child grew up to be like Eric Adams, the world would be a better place (for Eric Adams at least). Of course, since the schools have to serve milk products, vegan Friday has no meaning whatsoever. 

I regularly see cafeteria staff putting sandwiches and grab and go stuff on tables. They tell me there is more waste this year than when they served regular lunches, particularly on vegetarian days. Kids open up the bags, take the chocolate milk and chips, and dump the rest of the vegetarian delights in the trash, or right back on the serving table. These meals arejust not making the kids feel the love somehow.

I'm not vegan, or vegetarian, but I'm really fond of Beyond Burgers. If you cook them right and dress them up, they pretty much pass for the real thing. There's also a Thai place near where I live that makes a spicy mixed vegetables and tofu dish that's really good. I'm open to all-vegetable meals. The kids in our school, though, are eating a soggy container of iceberg lettuce with some beans sprinkled on top, and a salad dressing that's probably full of sugar. In fact, the sugar is probably the only reason the kid I spoke to liked it.

I am not averse to encouraging a love for vegetables in our children. It's a good idea. We have a terrible diet, and we consume way too much sugar. I'm not sure whether or not anyone has told Eric Adams that chocolate milk is full of sugar, but I'd say finding substitutes for that might be a good move. I cut it out and lost a whole lot of weight over the last four years. 

If we want to encourage our kids to eat vegetables, we need to offer them in a form that isn't slapdash crap. It's not the fault of our cafeteria workers, who do what they can with what they're given. If Eric Adams wants our kids to eat healthy food, he should skip a photo-op or two, invest a few dollars, buy better quality food, and find someone who can create tasty, quality vegetarian dishes that can be easily replicated in school cafeterias.

This is not climbing Mount Olympus. This is common sense if you genuinely want to make this something attractive to kids. Otherwise it's just an empty mandate, a waste of food that someone could use better, and more sound and swagger signifying nothing.

Having a Voice

Teaching beginners English is really frustrating sometimes. Most of my colleagues don't want to do it. I'm generally assigned to teach them because no one else even asks for that level. It has its rewards, the prime being rapid observable progress (and no, not on those stupid tests they make us give).

But there are those frustrations. Most teachers never see them.

While I see colleagues complain of unruly students who do or say this or that, I have wholly different issues. The biggest one, for me at least, is the preponderance of students who will not speak in a voice loud enough for anyone to actually hear what they are saying. 

So what do you do about this? You can scream at the kids, or threaten them of course. The problem is that this only makes them even more frightened. You really don't want to send these kids out into the world mumbling incoherently about who knows what. At least I don't. 

Sometimes I just ask them, "When you studied English in your country, did the teacher tell you to face the floor and speak in a whisper so no one could possibly understand you? Did the teacher say that way no one would hear your mistakes? If any teacher told you that, it was incorrect. Language is useless if it doesn't reach other people."

I've had mixed success with this. By "mixed "I mean very, very little. Now a few times I've heard these kids speaking in their native languages, so I know they have real, viable voices. But pulling English out of their throats is quite a trick. By confronting them with the fact I know they have voices, I've sometimes been able to get them to use said voices to speak English. Still, that seems not to last forever. I find myself not precisely begging, but seriously imploring to get these kids to use their real voices.

When we talk about having a voice, it's got a lot of implications. Can your voice be distinguished from others in a way that makes it uniquely effective? Is your voice standing for one important cause or other? Does your voice inspire people to stand up and join you? (Teacher voice, for me at least, is another thing altogether. I'd argue that really good teachers, despite the nonsensical ratings to which we're subject, have their own voices that can't really be emulated or taught. I'd compare great teachers to great writers, but not in the sense that they remotely get credit.) 

I'm on the very basic end of that spectrum. I just want the students to, you know, talk so they can be understood by me and others. It's a constant battle. 

I have one student this year with a big loud mouth, and I'm very fond of him. Others of my colleagues have issues with him. Truth be told, he's failing two of my classes. His attendance is not so great. Sometimes he comes in the morning and not the afternoon. Sometimes he comes in the afternoon but not the morning. Today he didn't come at all. 

Still, he's got a lot of joy, albeit not always at appropriate times. He often interrupts my class, but he smiles, which I now see only in his eyes, and I can't stay mad at him. Of course, I'm not always the best with him. For example, the third time I caught him charging his phone in an outlet, after having warned him twice, I had a dean confiscate his phone. I'm not getting my first letter in file because he forgot to charge his phone. (For my first letter in file, I want to commit a real atrocity. Otherwise, it's hardly worth it.)

In my student's defense, he has great class participation. He always volunteers to write on the board, even if it's examples from homework he didn't actually do. If only I could find a way to make him harness that energy to, you know, pass the frigging class. 

But that's part of my eternal struggle, right along with making chronically silent ELLs speak English.

The Principal

This is a short story, actually a very short story. Let me know what you think.

The lockers were beautiful. They were brand new. Every one of them shined. It took him years of careful negotiations to procure them. Other principals said it was a waste, it was an old idea, it would never work. What did they know?

This was his signature achievement, one he’d be remembered for. They made his halls look so sharp. No city high school had lockers like these. Each with its own number, its own identity. Each with equal space inside, and anything could go in them.

But what if, now that you mention it, students put the wrong things in them? That could happen. But I mean, most kids would place their books inside. Maybe they’d store their winter coats instead of wearing them in the building all day. That would be excellent. Even the deaf, dumb and blind superintendent would have to notice him, for once in his overprivileged life.

Once that superintendent saw that his students were walking the halls without winter coats, he’d have it made in the shade. I mean, every other school had kids wearing Canadian Goose Parkas day in and day out, even as the custodians pumped the heat so high you’d think they were trying to simulate summer.  

It would be perfect. The superintendent would come for the quality review and see a different kind of school. His school wouldn’t be like anyplace else. Why, it was downright unhealthy, those kids walking around in hot buildings with those heavy winter coats. The would, you know, sweat. It can’t be good for them to sweat all day. How can they learn geometry like that? How can they conjugate verbs like that? How can they do anything?

With the new lockers, grades would skyrocket. SAT scores would be through the roof. And those Regents exams, the ones that kept kids from graduating, well, his kids would just breeze through them. Who knows? Maybe he could enroll all his newly comfortable students in AP courses, and the sky’s the limit. He could be in one of those best schools in America list in US News. Was US for us, as in we, or USA? It didn’t matter. Maybe he would be the next superintendent.  No more quality reviews for him.

He’d be giving the quality reviews. Those principals without lockers would be at his mercy. Why didn’t you put lockers in the halls? Look at all those sweaty teenagers. They can’t focus, that’s the problem. If only they weren’t walking around in those frigging parkas they’d be able to concentrate. This is your fault. You’re ineffective is what you are.

And his wife, she’d look at him differently once he was superintendent. His kids too, No more staying out who knows where, who knows when. No one does that to a superintendent. Sure, he’d have to start out as assistant superintendent, but that would be temporary. Surely he’d get another flash of inspiration. Surely he’d get an idea even better than mere lockers. It was a simple matter of time.

Maybe a year or two of sucking up to the supe, but how was that any different from what he was doing now? And it would be other people he’d be apologizing for. No more yes, sir, I’ve started remedial classes to make sure they pass the next English Regents. No more no, sir, we haven’t found out what happened to those brand new American Stratocasters in the boxes, but we’re working on it. We’ll surely get to the bottom of this. And no, of course we won’t be wasting any more precious funding on musical instruments.

On the other hand, what if the students didn’t leave their coats there? What if they put other stuff there? Damn. He could have a whole school full of kids hopped up on who knows what. They could get all excited. No one could control them like that. Not the teachers, that’s for sure. They couldn’t even control the kids now. How many times did he have to walk into classrooms and take the hats away from kids, four, five at a time sometimes. Imagine, wearing hats. In his building.

What if the superintendent came in and saw all those hats? What kind of quality review would that be?

And it wouldn’t stop there. There are worse things. Knives. Switchblades. Chef’s knives. Those chopper thingies. He could have kids chopping pieces of one another off, right there in those halls. In his halls. How was that going to make him look?

And it would get worse. They could place guns in those boxes. Handguns of all kinds. Jeez you could fit a sawed-off shotgun in there and have some kid bouncing all over the place like Omar from The Wire.

Maybe a bunch of kids could disassemble some kind of assault weapon and he’d have one of those school shootings that always happen in those other states. The president would send thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers.

And worst of all, he’d never make superintendent. Just one incident like that, and your career was stalled. It would take years to make up for something like that. At that rate, he could be fifty before he made superintendent. But the time he was up for chancellor, he’d be in some damn wheelchair. Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable.

That was it. No student would be allowed to use those damn lockers. Not while he was in charge.

Private Schools Charge Families $50,000 or More a Year, Get State Aid to Pay Teachers

So what if you're sitting on a gazillion dollar endowment? The state is giving away free money, and it doesn't matter how rich you are. You can always use a little more. After all, the bootless and unhorsed would just fritter than money away on rent or food or something equally frivolous. You, on the other hand, will take that money you don't need at all and invest it. It makes perfect sense. 

Yet the papers are whining, oh, that Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School has over 40 million dollars in the bank, and still wants more money. Well of course they do. The fact is there are some things you just can't have too much of. 

For example, you hear people complain they have too many problems. They have too much work. They have too many expenses. You never hear people complaining they have too much money because there simply is no such thing. Now sure, there are naysayers and whiners. 

“For the State of New York to subsidize these private schools charging $50,000 to $60,000 to go to school, I say no to that,” said state Sen. Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan), a longtime education advocate who’s fought to increase state funding to public schools. “That money could be used better at schools in our city and state where kids need it the most.” 

This notwithstanding, the fact is Donald Trump could send his kid anywhere, and he sent Barron to Columbia Grammar and Prep. Seriously, does anyone think he sent them there thinking they need less money? How on earth are places like that going to keep charging top dollar if they don't keep the place spruced up? You can't just keep the same old chandeliers forever. You have to change up the candelabras on the grand piano every now and then. 

Sure, you could fritter that money away on those public schools, where people go when they haven't got enough green to make it to Columbia prep. But would they appreciate it? When, for example, have you heard a public school kid appreciate that the food was catered by a five-star restaurant? When do they take field trips to Europe, or accompany Jeff Bezos on a lunar trip?

And once you start with giving public schools things like adequate ventilation, or actual deep cleaning, politicians like Jackson will start whining about how they want their schools to always be safe, or clean, or whatever, and then you're on a slippery slope. Next they'll be demanding they have the same things private schools have, or worse, demanding to unionize private school teachers. Once that happens, you'll actually have to reach into the endowment to pay their frigging salaries, and if that isn't an unnecessary expense, what is?

It's good to know that Kathy Hochul is prioritizing things like granting aid to schools that least need it and extending mayoral control for a guy who's held office less than a month. Who knows what else she's capable of? Stay tuned and we'll soon find out. 

HT/ Leo Genn

UFT Executive Board January 24, 2021--Queens UFT Chapter Scores Victory Against Abusive Principal

UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr--Welcomes us. 

Minutes--approved.

Reports from Districts--Rashad Brown--Every Thursday coming up is Black History film series. Slavery and Suffering this Thursday at 4 PM on Zoom. HS students may attend.

Mike Schirtzer--PS 186 UFT members won arbitration, cease and desist against principal for targeting union, very appreciative of Queens office and Amy Arundell. 

Wendy W. Wilson--African Heritage Committee Awards Dinner Dance February 4th. Tickets available.

 UFT President Michael Mulgrew--Thanks Karen Alford, Alison Gendar and others for vax clinic in Corona last Saturday. 

Covid continuing downward, will see where it goes. Monday always low. Tuesday and Wed. goes up a little bit. So far appears half of early January.

Remote learning--having conversations with DOE. Attendance going up as wave goes down. If people want to volunteer to do this work as an activity, we may have something done on that basis. Would be posting, not mandated. We want our students in school. Members doing phenomenal work, targeting deficiencies. First and second graders, writing, literacy, math deficiencies, but members are facing challenge.

Albany--We can't go in person, though they insist on school being in person. We have many meetings set up, coordinating with NYSUT. Some things we don't like, and some opportunities to move things. Will move quickly, and primary still scheduled for June. Will not have last month of legislative session, so lots of things in budget. Case in Queens was phenomenal work. 

Had first consultation with new chancellor today. Queens case came up. We understand what cease and desist means, and DOE seems to take it seriously. Was decent consultation, but lots of work to be done.

Negotiating committee--Will be open for some time, but we will shut it down soon. Lots of things on table.

Wishes us good evening and rest of week. 6:14

Barr--You heard about all the people who testified in Queens. 

David Campbell--Was some case. Went back long way. 9 hearings, and many testified. Very rare to have big union animus class like this. In past was about one person, but in this case was about entire chapter. Not much evidence of direct retaliation as of Step Two, everything after was not allowed to be brought up. Were not many LIF, or people claiming evaluations affected. Principal actions and directions to staff tried to discourage union involvement.

Queens office showed reactions from principal directly after people went to union. Showed her disdain, and it made people question union. She said union info was wrong. One incident was when there was union meeting. Someone from central came and said one sign of going after union was when principal collected lesson plans. Principal did so directly after that, which was a direct action that persuaded arbitrator. Don't have a whole lot of union animus decision. Great job by Michael Heron. 

NYC Teacher Retirement re-election--Tom Brown--Supports resolution to nominate Deborah Penny to retirement board. Respected trustee, fiduciary, advocate for our pensions. Chair of TRS Board, serves on multiple committees, presented on panels. Liason to RTC. Impressed by dedication and compassion. Pensions stronger and safer with her. Ask you to pass resolution and nominate her. 

Resolution passes. We are adjourned 6:21

UFT Delegate Assembly January 19, 2021--Spring Break, Contract, Elections and Other Stuff

UFT President Michael Mulgrew-- Welcomes us to first DA of 2022. Asks moment of silence for families who lost members in Bronx fire. Thanks school community for support, disaster relief fund. 

Despite covid wave, many things going on with state. We have new mayor and chancellor. Opening during wave significant challenge. Many bumps in communication.

Federal--Everything is stuck. Glad we got what we did. Not sure other bill will pass. During Christmas week state asked waiver for accountability on tests for NY State. Not sure how last two years determine anything. Happy that it was submitted, sad it was denied. Not sure how they read document and denied it quickly at Christmas time. We don't want schools treated unfairly, by standardized tests during pandemic. Will pursue appeal.  

State--budget proposal from governor--will be negotiated Beginning of process. Moneyblevel good, but there are problems. 7% increase in funding. NYC foundation aid funded. But charters also got increased funding, including our area. Facilities money raised for NYC as we're required to give space to charters. Sounds and is unfair. 

Mayoral control--We have not supported mayoral control since I have been President. We don't want to go back to school boards, but don't believe this has done right by children of NYC. Best example is gifted and talented. Bloomberg thought it was just handed out to make parents happy. They decided to use standardized tests for every student in kindergarten, which violated research, but suited their policy. We now have most segregated system in country. Thousands with tutoring got in, tens of thousands had no chance. 

De Blasio wanted to get rid of it. I think many students deserve this program, yet close to 16 years later, and this has been political football for two mayors. That's enough to reject mayoral control. We see policies changed for political needs and children suffering as a result. It's in budget now, and we will deal with it in lobbying. Albany now wants all lobbying remotely. 

Teacher centers, for first time since George Pataki, being funded by a governor. Money for covid recovery there too. Thousands of pages long tied to programs and initiatives. Working with NYSUT to set priorities. Our goal is to make sure we get best policy for our and parent voices, and to send money to classroom.

NYC--Covid--Some first two weeks. Had to be two roughest weeks to be CL or delegate, very proud of what you do, you are all heroes. Rates very high when we got back. Closed schools, closed one this week. Mayor wants to keep them open, we agree if lack of staff school must be closed. Dr. predicted it would go up rapidly, plateau, and quickly come down. We believe and hope that's where we are, with 57% drop from last week to this week. 

Schools may be safer than other places but numbers made it tough to believe. And then there was the snow. I said we should go remote to mayor. Mayor said they had it under control. I was concerned much staff couldn't get in. Mayor wanted to target high need schools, but there are NOT 24,000 substitutes. Attendance on Friday was high for teachers but low for students. We can't have snow days because no room in calendar and we don't want to work breaks. Didn't get remote day, but we are seeing drops in positivity. 

Let us know about safety issues and they will be fixed. We knew more than the principals. We knew all should get test kits and masks. Took two days to clarify. PreK and 3K sites now have rapid tests. 

Does anyone know official attendance policy? At one time it was if you see child you can mark present. Right now, admin trying to iron out communication process where they put out misinformation and lies. They told people there was an MOA, but we never signed it. Have had some conversations trying to fix it. They put out contradictory info, left it all up, and admin would pick documents they liked. We ask that when new guidance goes up, old guidance goes down. 

If a child tested positive, or are put into isolation for covid, that child is subject to pivot to remote agreement. Asynchronous work and office hours. Child fails health screening--We treat them as if they're absent. We know some schools treat them the same, but there is no agreed upon posting. We need one if children don't qualify. You can't just have a wink with principal, because central can deny per session. You can make agreement with principal, or we can have citywide agreement.

If a child is absent, and goes into digital classroom, just does asynchronous, child should not be marked present. As per MOA, but there is none. We hope to clarify. If principal orders absent students marked present, is violation of state attendance law.

Remote education--Very surprised chancellor said he always wanted it and UFT was holding it up. Parents called us. They meet with us and have heard us for months saying we need option. We don't want 60% of kids staying home. With all issues, we want children in front of us. Mayor walked back chancellor's comments. They'd said they didn't want it. We are having conversations. 

Before December 1 we had high attendance in elem. and middle schools, low in high schools. They're approaching adulthood and want to do things their way. We don't need a complete disruption now, complete reprogramming. We do and have always supported real remote option. Want to do high schools first, as we're missing so many. February 1 they start new classes. We will then look at other grades. 

DOE having communication issues. Seems like on Friday each department sends out whatever. Will be a parent survey on remote. Will not guarantee current teachers. Will not offer all HS courses. We don't believe in just dropping in a camera. That's bad instruction. 

I will say we need kids back in school, and enrollment up. If we get through covid with low attendance, we have even more challenges. 

Very upset with Skedula. Could it have gone down at a worse time? Fascinating to see evolution. First started by three teachers who rejected DOE system and designed better one. Many schools now rely on it. On spring break, was a lot of pressure,

David Campbell--City ordered us to work. There were religious observances. We were given 4 CAR days for that, but we retained right to grieve for full compensation. We filed very first day grievance was available. Went to arbitration in December. DOE said we gave four CAR days, should be enough, said it wasn't real work.

We argued for cash, and had two precedents. Arbitrator made clear he would not order city to write big check, knowing four other unions were coming. We know CAR day not equal to value of day of work, only if you're sick or personal, and cashed out at only half pay. We said if they took away a vacation, equal value would be they give us one. We worked out this plan, and arbitrator bought it. DOE offered CAR days, but we needed equal value. You get one vacation day for each day you work. Four CAR days converted, plus three.

Vacation days can be used for whatever you want. Have to request at least ten days early, should ask earlier. Can be denied if too many ask for same day, but only in first 48 hours. Effectively first come, first served, and then by seniority if necessary. If they deny, we can take it to expedited arbitration, likely well before vacation day. 

You have them for your whole career. If you still have them when you leave, you cash them out one for one at your current salary. Will be in bank in February. Go to vacation, opening day, or just hold onto them and take the money. 

Retirees will get it, hopefully right away. No other public school teachers ever got this.

Mulgrew thanks arbitration team. Sent out queries for anyone interested in negotiation committee. Want 400 or more, largest ever, by grade level, geography, etc. Want full representation on functional side. If attendance is still issue, will have to work out solution. Contract up in September. Do they have a big program they want to do? Are there other unions in negotiation now? Yes, for last round, but doesn't mean a union might not settle and push it farther. Financial pattern could already be set. Inflation very high now. 

Will require time allotment. Don't want other side to know what we're doing. If you want to be part of this, it's chapters helping other chapters. When was initial contract signed, and how did you build on it? We're about to rep new people in DOE seeking first contract. Will likely be more complicated than just money.

Secretary LeRoy Barr--Election petitions out today, with guidelines and statements, also on UFT.org, borough offices, CL updates. Due back February 18. Shanker scholarship applications extended, please make available in HS. Join citywide HS meeting Thursday Feb 3. African heritage scholarship dinner dance Feb 1 Anton's. Sterling Roberson receiving award. Black History film series--Join us for films and conversations. CL training Feb. 12. Early childhood conf. March 9. Para chapter luncheon March 5.

Peter Lamphere--Asks for rules of non-credentialed staff in room. Some people couldn't get in.

Mulgrew--People here are working. Hopefully we can have more people after wave. Cap based on what we're being told. People here because they're working, or if they need to be here to answer questions. Some people have not registered. Last thing we want is for people not to be able to get in. We have this process for same reason we wear masks. If you want to come in person, please register, and we will send confirmation. There is abundant communication. 

Questions--

Q--Something about health screening--believes most parents are honest, but hearing of situations where they are not doing test. How do we manage this, keep selves and students safe in this case?

A--That covers us too. Can this happen? Absolutely. Statement is legal attestation. Can be used to discipline us, and are legalities for parents. We are letting people know we are in this together, and need to do best we can. Hope we aren't in position where people are challenged for lying. 

Q--Attendance policy--We were told if student absent but engaging that we could mark them excused.

A--Something like that went out Friday, but is now accurate. We have no waivers from NYSED. Against state ed. law. This info went out to superintendents and principals. SED says you can't do this. You can talk to principal tomorrow, and hopefully DOE clears it up. Communication has been frustrating. 

Q--Will we have live streaming?

A--Not something we want to do. I would say no. Some members are okay with it, but educational research should matter. Teaching online one thing, when you're teaching to camera. We got criticized for remote learning. We knew it wouldn't be great. Imagine I'm teaching to 22 children, with 6 online. Imagine I teach to room, which I would. That is not remote instruction, not quality. Our position is no, but we want to protect our profession.

Q--Thanks Mulgrew for work he's done. Our school is tired, afraid, confused. We voted on ideas and sent them in. Biggest one is people wonder about rapid test. Some done in school immediately, Why can't we?

A--Never enough. we want test before every time we come in for all. DOH doesn't believe schools should give tests. Argued other systems did it. If this wave goes where we think, great. But is it last one? I agree. DOH is not with us on this. 

Q-- Per session. With pivot to remote, 2 hours, this is great. Principals not happy, as though money coming out of their pockets. Is there a limit or cap on this?

A--Tell admin it's not their money, we're performing additional work, and the majority of this, if DOE does job and calls it covid related, it will come from federal dollars. We need to make sure schools get the money they need. Common issue with special education services. There can be no more mandating. It has to be voluntary. There was no way around pivot to remote. Next thing should be per session or pro rata. Budgets very rich for principals. If they say they don't have money, I'd be curious to see how they spent it. Used to be cap on admin per session. Now wiped out. I look at that when principals say they have no money. 

Mulgrew explains use of clicker to in person delegates. 

Motions--

?--This month. Moves resolution number 5 to position one because it's timely. On member engagement on contract negotiation.

769 yes 128 online no  passes 

John Shevalati--Motivates for February--Resolved--We regardless of caucus, commit to respectful open debate without attacking individuals, to maintain solidarity. Seen a lot, deals with anger, extremely disturbing this past year. Never seen things so contentious. Would like to rededicate to working together. Building and taking road at same time. 

Melissa Williams--against--Quotes tweets--Kindness matters, but doesn't equal justice. Civility counts, but is not justice. (not all recorded).

716 yes 148 no  can't hear internal again, passes.

Motion to extend motion period by ten minutes, meeting by 30. 

312 yes 556 online no does not pass

Resolutions: 

Greg Monte--Wants to expand member engagement for contract negotiation. Will be many questions about combating pandemic. Must put process that dedicates us to hearing all voices. 

Suzanne Becile--Feels committees really helpful. Excellent opportunity to express demands and give feedback. Supports.

?--Amendment--Adds resolved--that results of surveys sent to members will be released to members of each bargaining unit. Last time survey was comprehensive, but members never saw results of how successful we were. 

Elizabeth Perez--Opposes--Thinks putting out survey results in advance risks public negotiation. We're strongest union in country if not world, didn't get there negotiating in public. 

?--Rises in favor, as new to DA and UFT. Amazed at how DOE not transparent. We should increase transparency and fairness. Like hearing about how things work and what members are for or against. 

Mike Sill--Who could argue we don't want democratic conversations? Not what this is about. We will not have this conversation with like minded individuals, but rather with our enemies. We will shift balance of power. We already commit to representative committee that will have results. 

Edward Calamia--Supports. Amendment doesn't have timeline. Maybe we could hear afterward.

Mulgrew--He did say before. 

Motion--Question called on all matters.

Vote to close debate:

673 yes 152 online no debate closed.

Amendment:

314 yes 529 no online  amendment fails

Resolution: 

 534 yes 199 no online passes

Support of NYS Senate Bill 728

?--Resolution to allow pharmacists to dispense pre exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV. Must be proactive to prevent transmission. Needs to be taken within 72 hours of exposure.  Difficult for people to get this care. Asks us to urge passage. Will make available without prescription. 

Motion to suspend rules--Ryan Brookenthal--to do remainder of resolutions jointly. 

349 yes 369 no  online does not pass

?--No one wants to debate. Calls question. 

Calls for vote on resolution.

614 yes 85 no online 

Passes overwhelmingly.

Mulgrew--Remember, work is getting us through wave, appreciates participation, be safe, and God bless you all. 

Another Message from the Chancellor

Dear Colleagues,

I am excited to announce additional members of the DOE senior leadership team who will advance the critical work of educating and supporting our students. Please join me in welcoming many of my cronies, creditors, relatives, ex and current paramours, all of whom will be richly compensated, and accountable to no one, as am I. (Just kidding, Eric!)

I am confident that under their leadership, we will continue to give the impression we are actually doing something about this pandemic, leading to bright starts and bold futures for all our students. (Of course, we will continue to offer smoke and mirrors, and blame you, the UFT, for failing to cooperate.)

With decades of experience in education, these leaders will enact our robust priorities and vision for New York City schools, whatever the hell they may turn out to be. We hope to have them up and preaching about how important it is to allow students to stay home and yet somehow appear to be attending school, or even learning.

We hope this will mollify the parents and teachers who continually carp about learning and working under plague-laden conditions, with woefully insufficient COVID testing, ventilation, and what have you. Each Deputy Chancellor will be reaching out to set up time to meet with teams directly (over Zoom of course, as these are perilous times).

As I have said previously, our system and its leadership should reflect the diversity of our great city and its public school students. We sincerely hope you will reflect on our diversity (as opposed to our effectiveness or utter lack thereof).

In addition to these key appointments, we have updated the DOE Organizational Chart to provide clarity on how we are organizing our system to serve students, families, and staff. We hope that, as you see fewer people doing little or nothing, as we hide the majority in offices and cubicles, and under big tables at Tweed, you will conclude that we are lean and mean, as opposed to a bunch of people sitting around Tweed drinking coffee and eating donuts. As the year progresses, we will continue to adjust and revise our approach to best appear to be actually doing something.

Soaring high,

David

Blogger's Day Off...

...but you can see me on Fox 5 News discussing the so-called remote option.

Banks "Remote" Plan--Do Nothing, Blame Individual Schools and UFT Teachers

I was wondering what DOE Chancellor David Banks would do about offering remote, since he found negotiating with us, his actual job, to be so inconvenient. Last night, Susan Edelman wrote up the chancellor's plan. 

Here's what it is--you know how you get a few office hours to help out the kids who are home recuperating from COVID? If your principal chooses, and if you choose, you will now be able to meet with not only those students, but also the ones who are home for whatever reason. So it won't be just ten days. Evidently, this will last as long as the students, or their families, feel like it. 

Not only that, but if students look at your Google Classroom, and perhaps meet with you on your ever-more-crowded "office hour," they will be marked present, just like those students who actually show up. So what is the motivation for a kid to show up? Banks hasn't considered that, or more likely chooses not to as he scrambles for ways to prop up the miserable attendance stats facing him, as a result of the de Blasio intransigence and Banks' utter failure to do anything about it.

What I will say about remote learning is that it is better than nothing, Beyond that, I can't really endorse it. If the choice is be safe or not, unlike Banks, I'd opt to be safe. However, in my school, I'm not at all sure that's a thing these days:

 

Truly remarkably, 17.5% of kids in the school (775) & 15% of staff (55) have been infected in last two weeks.

This should get you an inquisition, not just an investigation

If only all those school days those kids are missing could have been saved by using our brains

— Dr. Jen Jennings (@eduwonkette_jen) January 14, 2022

I'm told there is an "investigation" going on, as hundreds of people in our building continue to get sick. I picture a bunch of Tweedies siting around a desk drinking coffee, and talking about how their mothers scored them these great gigs sitting around with coffee. In six months, maybe, we'll get a report. Meanwhile, last I heard, there are no actual closures in Fun City.

I gotta say, I'm not feeling the love from our esteemed chancellor. It's nice that he offers an option for students to stay home, but we don't have one. Is the chancellor saying that "Children First, Always, means their safety is important, but ours is not? Is he saying that school, which Mayor Eric Adams repeatedly claims to be the safest place to be, is not the safest place to be after all? Clearly a good number of families have arrived at that conclusion, and given that 775 kids in our building brought home COVID, it's hard to dispute that. 

This notwithstanding, there are other issues inherent in this move that are really disturbing. It's one thing to help out kids who must be absent for a week or two with a makeshift solution. It's quite another to take a makeshift solution and make it virtually permanent. In our school, for example, administration has asked us to put a moratorium on testing for now. This is reasonable, given the huge volume of students stuck home by COVID. It's inconvenient, though. And making it permanent would be even more inconvenient. Or should we just test the students in our classrooms and let the ones who choose to stay home slide?

That's just one more thing the chancellor hasn't bothered to consider. However, this plan is deliberate. For example, if my school chooses to enact this "plan" and yours does not, you'd better believe your principal will be besieged with calls from angry parents asking why the hell their kids can't stay home all year, have their smart girlfriends do their homework for them, and get full credit for attendance.

That's not even the worst aspect. The worst is that Banks is pitting teacher against teacher. If this is optional, I am absolutely not going to offer makeshift nonsense for some students and full instruction for others. My colleague may see things differently. Therefore, I must be terrible teacher who hates children. A parent with kids at home could call my principal and ask why I am so mean and awful.

A parent could call your principal with the same complaint. Should your principal be one of those many who lack character or judgment, you could be subject to pressure or harassment. Make no mistake, that is precisely what David Banks wants.  The buck does not stop at the desk of this chancellor. David Banks will sit in his office with HEPA filters, eat lunch at his desk while you eat it in your car, if at all, and continue to tell parents to bother UFT chapter leaders if they don't like the way things are going. 

Banks is not a leader. He's a finger-pointer in the proud tradition of ex-President Donald J. Trump. Alas, these days, it's fast becoming the American Way.