Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools? That's the concern expressed by a teacher at one FS school (there are 11) who says that there is an agreement which the union and CPS worked out to evaluate teachers that does not follow the employee handbook (online at CPS) nor does it follow the existing contract or the one which will be implemented if the Union ever prints it. It was not presented to the delegates; it was not presented to the membership to vote on. It sounds like the same one that was used last year to evaluate PAT teachers, now applied to Fresh Start teachers this year. The PAT process didn't eliminate lots of teachers, last year at least, but if it's now being used on tenured teachers that's a whole 'nother thing, right? "There is no one to represent the teacher. The mentor is from a union list and the mentor decides if the teacher will be retained. Since a rating is strictly the principal's opinion and this opinion does not have to have a factual basis, it becomes very easy to fire someone." For more information provided by this teacher, read on.[#jump#] These are the links: http://www.nclb.cps.k12.il.us/tchr_accountability.shtml http://www.ctunet.com/contract_information/ http://www.isbe.net/schoolcode/ http://www.isbe.net/ Notice that the agreement does not appear in either place. For the agreement to be in force, it must be pass the IL legislature. It has not.
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Mon Dec 10, 2007 at 8:06 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
Thank you for bringing this issue into the spotlight. There is no such thing as tenure at Fresh Start schools anymore since the principal has too much power and can recommend you for the mentoring program after two classroom visits in the beginning of the school year. The principal at my school is hunting down tenured teachers by visiting their classrooms right after a viscious fight takes place in the school or at the last period of the day right before a long vacation.
Ratings used in the past do not count anymore. Even if you were a superior teacher for the past twenty years, the principal can come in and rate you as unsatisfactory in the beginning of the school year and start the process to get rid of you. You must sign to go through the old process in which the principal evaluates you or go through the mentoring process and sign away all your rights. We were not allowed to vote for this, but rather it was amended two years prior to receiving a paper copy on the first day of this school year. The Union messed up on this one-all teachers should be alarmed because the Fresh Start mentoring program can branch out to other schools at any given notice!
Ratings used in the past do not count anymore. Even if you were a superior teacher for the past twenty years, the principal can come in and rate you as unsatisfactory in the beginning of the school year and start the process to get rid of you. You must sign to go through the old process in which the principal evaluates you or go through the mentoring process and sign away all your rights. We were not allowed to vote for this, but rather it was amended two years prior to receiving a paper copy on the first day of this school year. The Union messed up on this one-all teachers should be alarmed because the Fresh Start mentoring program can branch out to other schools at any given notice!
Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 6:05 AM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
"The principal at my school is hunting down tenured teachers by visiting their classrooms right after a viscious fight takes place in the school or at the last period of the day right before a long vacation..." (Very upset).
Most of these principals are cowards, who don't want anything said about them anywhere. Let me know if we can help, and I'll begin with at least a Subscript.
Most of these principals are cowards, who don't want anything said about them anywhere. Let me know if we can help, and I'll begin with at least a Subscript.
Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 8:53 AM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
This deserves to be on the front page of the tribune or some other daily. If unions take over schools that is excellent, to demonstrate they can get the work done, without the radical alterations of ren10 or turnarounds or whatever. But if they then change the contract terms, particularly so they can remove underperforming teachers more easily than in other schools, then that deserves to be aired openly. Why not support it in all schools? Why when they are actually taking responsibility for a school do they need to change the rules? The people aren't bad here. But the rules may well be.
Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 1:33 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
What's an "underperforming" teacher? Is it similar to an "underperforming school" (which it turns out is an urban school that has mostly children from families who are very very poor)?
If you think in the boss's terms, and speak in the boss's language, you wind up doing the boss's bidding. Don't be a slave to Duncantalk and Daleyspeak.
If you think in the boss's terms, and speak in the boss's language, you wind up doing the boss's bidding. Don't be a slave to Duncantalk and Daleyspeak.
Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 3:26 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
What is an underperforming teacher? Are you for real? An underperforming teacher is a teacher who can't teach. If you pin underperformance on children who are poor I got two things to say. First, you are overlooking the facts. There are thousands of classrooms across this city and across this country that get great results for poor children. Those classrooms are taught by incredibly committed, capable teachers. Second, your views are pathological. Specifically, they represent the pathology of low expectations. Throw stones sir. Just don't come to my school. And don't call me a slave because I believe some teachers shouldn't teach. Don't call me a slave at all.
Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 6:22 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
Slavery
There are a lot of different kinds of slavery, let us examine a few :
Traditional slavery where one person owns another person.
Wage slavery where debt owns you.
Ideological slavery where a religion owns you.
Romantic slavery where your passion owns you.
Anyone who thinks they are free from slavery in the CPS.Try this:
Refuse to swipe in and out every day.
Tell the principal that lesson plans only put ideas on paper not in kids heads
And refuse to write them.
Buy a reasonably priced house in the suburbs.
Ask at a Board Meeting why we always get the week before Easter as spring
Vacation .Then tell them it should start on Good Friday and go the week after
Easter.
In schools outside the CPS teachers think we are nuts for putting up with
The things we all have to endure. One sure sign of slavery is compl
There are a lot of different kinds of slavery, let us examine a few :
Traditional slavery where one person owns another person.
Wage slavery where debt owns you.
Ideological slavery where a religion owns you.
Romantic slavery where your passion owns you.
Anyone who thinks they are free from slavery in the CPS.Try this:
Refuse to swipe in and out every day.
Tell the principal that lesson plans only put ideas on paper not in kids heads
And refuse to write them.
Buy a reasonably priced house in the suburbs.
Ask at a Board Meeting why we always get the week before Easter as spring
Vacation .Then tell them it should start on Good Friday and go the week after
Easter.
In schools outside the CPS teachers think we are nuts for putting up with
The things we all have to endure. One sure sign of slavery is compl
Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 6:24 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
It cut off the last word Complacency
Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 11:10 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
I think that the real winners are the mentors. They receive an extra 5,000 stipend, traveling expenses, and 1 hour extra pay a day. They also have a job to go back to after this mentoring stint is over. They only need to have five years experience in the classroom. A mentor can mentor a high school teacher even if he/she has experience teaching third grade. The mentor and the principal meet together to evaluate the teacher so the mentor's rating of a teacher is not unbiased. Once again the principal has too much power. This Fresh Start program allows for dictatorship since noone is comfortable to speak up for fear of retaliation. The union did not fight for the rights of a tenured teacher-it should be a cover story for an area newspaper. What tenured teacher will want to work at a Fresh Start School? If you are thinking about looking for a new job, investigate to find out if your school is a Fresh Start school first.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 12:24 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
Corrections/Comments:
• This is a pilot program
• The entire Teacher Evaluation System is being revamped for CPS
• Tenured teachers do NOT lose their rights; tenure rights were not eliminated
• PATs are given opportunities that they would not normally be afforded by having a mentor
• Peer Evaluation Governing (PEG) Board makes ultimate decisions as to whether a PAT is retained or released from a Fresh Start School
• PEG Board makes ultimate decisions as to whether a Tenured Teacher is retained or released only if the Tenured Teacher opts to participate in the Fresh Start Peer Mentoring and Evaluation Program (no principal involvement). Otherwise, they can elect to go through the regular contract E3 process (which involves the principal; our Fresh Start Mentors act as the Consulting Teacher)
• Mentors are well qualified, have been teachers for at least five years, have a Master’s Degree and more...
they work an 8.75 day and do receive a $5K stipend upon successfully completing their work and assignments
• Union fought to protect teachers (both PATs and Tenured Teachers) so they would not get bullied by principals
• There is NO dictatorship
• Fresh Start Schools operate under a separate MOU and schools vote to be a part of this, but they are still a part of the CTU and the schools must adhere to the contract
• Legislation was changed in Springfield to allow the Fresh Start Mentors to evaluate
• This is a pilot program
• The entire Teacher Evaluation System is being revamped for CPS
• Tenured teachers do NOT lose their rights; tenure rights were not eliminated
• PATs are given opportunities that they would not normally be afforded by having a mentor
• Peer Evaluation Governing (PEG) Board makes ultimate decisions as to whether a PAT is retained or released from a Fresh Start School
• PEG Board makes ultimate decisions as to whether a Tenured Teacher is retained or released only if the Tenured Teacher opts to participate in the Fresh Start Peer Mentoring and Evaluation Program (no principal involvement). Otherwise, they can elect to go through the regular contract E3 process (which involves the principal; our Fresh Start Mentors act as the Consulting Teacher)
• Mentors are well qualified, have been teachers for at least five years, have a Master’s Degree and more...
they work an 8.75 day and do receive a $5K stipend upon successfully completing their work and assignments
• Union fought to protect teachers (both PATs and Tenured Teachers) so they would not get bullied by principals
• There is NO dictatorship
• Fresh Start Schools operate under a separate MOU and schools vote to be a part of this, but they are still a part of the CTU and the schools must adhere to the contract
• Legislation was changed in Springfield to allow the Fresh Start Mentors to evaluate
Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 10:22 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
When was the legislation changed?
Thu Dec 13, 2007 at 12:29 AM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
Who entered those intelligent comments using my name? I'm impressed with how much I know.
Thu Dec 13, 2007 at 10:41 AM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
who are you, judith gidden?
Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 12:10 AM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
A principal staffs classes to the computer lab, so general students can't use the computer for research or work. The library has a computer lab, but the librarian has a varied schedule and varied duties. Plus, she has no paper for the printer. The recycled paper she brings in often jams in the printer.
One teacher has one or two preps, the same program each year, with a huge bank of resources.
Another teacher has three preps, with no resources for one; texts only for the other and textbooks for classroom use only for the third. Teaching schedule changed every year.
A newbie, five months teaching experience, is picked to chair a Department. The newbie has unlimited resources (after all newbie spends the department's budget); newbie chooses who teaches what and all students in the newbie's class have their "own" copies of the text.
Guess who has the superior Rating?
Schools are political and the ones on probation are especially political.
Here at Wells, since we have had a new principal, $9,000 in cash student fees were stolen; 14 cases of xerox paper went missing; teachers have 250 xeroxes a month, once they sign for their ream of paper to load in the machine; printers are not networked to computers; there is one computer in the teacher lounge and one phone; almost daily there are students fighting, fist-fighting and fist-fighting with security. [
u]Until December, teachers were not allowed to write up students for class 1, 2, and 3 of the discipline code. Disruptive students in a class (late, cut, shout outs, phones and ipods instead of work or fighting ) are the teacher's classroom management problem--a failure to motivate. Students fighting in the lunch line and defying security are not a failure to motivate, but a violation of the discipline code. Students programs are changed daily and they only got permanent programs October 12.
Who is evaluating the principal--who last year was on a first year contract and even though the LSC did not have a quorum, got a permanent 4 year contract. The mentor for the principal and the AIO is the same person--and many of the people who worked for her at the Area Office now work at Wells.
4 tenured teachers have been given an E-3 notice. One of those teachers has been given classes on two different floors in two different academies, so that the classroom texts have to be loaded up and transferred each period and moved on the elevator in a 4 min. passing period.
This in a school with vacant classrooms, when the normal population is 1100 and is now in the 800's.
In every school and every program, students are "cherry picked"; here at Wells the best students go into Law and Terra Sys and some into AP; students left in the general population of class are off level and many are repeating the class. When school started, I had two classes of honors students...and they were very easy to teach. They did the work; they were ready for class; they approached the assignments with thought and did a good job. However, Oct. 12 came and those students went back to Law and Terra Sys and I got students who needed to fill up their program,who were assigned the class. A huge, huge difference in the class. Ipods, phones out, texting, chat, doing other classes' worksheets. I have students staffed to a writing class with a 3rd/4th grade reading level In our
academy," teachers with juniors and seniors have 28 in class; in the freshmen academy teacher have 12-14 in a class. A huge, huge difference.
For the first 5wk grade, given Oct. 22--as mere 10 days after we got the students in class, we had to grade our division students.
It doesn't matter, you say. It matters to the students. Every comment you make to them or about them registers and you have to careful and thoughtful about it.
Now we are doing drop everything and read during the weekly extended division and we have to give them a grade. Of course, only some people have division and only some people will have this additional work. It is the student's choice to take that grade and decide what class the grade will be integrated in. This little duty was brought to us by our union delegate, who of course, as a teacher leader, doesn't have a diviison.
What is happening in your Fresh Start School?
One teacher has one or two preps, the same program each year, with a huge bank of resources.
Another teacher has three preps, with no resources for one; texts only for the other and textbooks for classroom use only for the third. Teaching schedule changed every year.
A newbie, five months teaching experience, is picked to chair a Department. The newbie has unlimited resources (after all newbie spends the department's budget); newbie chooses who teaches what and all students in the newbie's class have their "own" copies of the text.
Guess who has the superior Rating?
Schools are political and the ones on probation are especially political.
Here at Wells, since we have had a new principal, $9,000 in cash student fees were stolen; 14 cases of xerox paper went missing; teachers have 250 xeroxes a month, once they sign for their ream of paper to load in the machine; printers are not networked to computers; there is one computer in the teacher lounge and one phone; almost daily there are students fighting, fist-fighting and fist-fighting with security. [
u]Until December, teachers were not allowed to write up students for class 1, 2, and 3 of the discipline code. Disruptive students in a class (late, cut, shout outs, phones and ipods instead of work or fighting ) are the teacher's classroom management problem--a failure to motivate. Students fighting in the lunch line and defying security are not a failure to motivate, but a violation of the discipline code. Students programs are changed daily and they only got permanent programs October 12.
Who is evaluating the principal--who last year was on a first year contract and even though the LSC did not have a quorum, got a permanent 4 year contract. The mentor for the principal and the AIO is the same person--and many of the people who worked for her at the Area Office now work at Wells.
4 tenured teachers have been given an E-3 notice. One of those teachers has been given classes on two different floors in two different academies, so that the classroom texts have to be loaded up and transferred each period and moved on the elevator in a 4 min. passing period.
This in a school with vacant classrooms, when the normal population is 1100 and is now in the 800's.
In every school and every program, students are "cherry picked"; here at Wells the best students go into Law and Terra Sys and some into AP; students left in the general population of class are off level and many are repeating the class. When school started, I had two classes of honors students...and they were very easy to teach. They did the work; they were ready for class; they approached the assignments with thought and did a good job. However, Oct. 12 came and those students went back to Law and Terra Sys and I got students who needed to fill up their program,who were assigned the class. A huge, huge difference in the class. Ipods, phones out, texting, chat, doing other classes' worksheets. I have students staffed to a writing class with a 3rd/4th grade reading level In our
academy," teachers with juniors and seniors have 28 in class; in the freshmen academy teacher have 12-14 in a class. A huge, huge difference.
For the first 5wk grade, given Oct. 22--as mere 10 days after we got the students in class, we had to grade our division students.
It doesn't matter, you say. It matters to the students. Every comment you make to them or about them registers and you have to careful and thoughtful about it.
Now we are doing drop everything and read during the weekly extended division and we have to give them a grade. Of course, only some people have division and only some people will have this additional work. It is the student's choice to take that grade and decide what class the grade will be integrated in. This little duty was brought to us by our union delegate, who of course, as a teacher leader, doesn't have a diviison.
What is happening in your Fresh Start School?
Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 6:48 PM
Does New Contract Eliminate Tenure At Fresh Start Schools?
Judith Gidden, Whichever one the real one is: you were my teacher in elementary school. You made a tremendous impact on me. I wish all teachers were as powerful an influence to kids now as you were to me.
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