Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
you need to ask the dept of education for a FULL accurate account ..........that is CRAZY to lay off teachers when there are more and more kids going to school population wise etc...just insane. mean time they have teachers in rubber rooms and paying them to do NOTHING and some have been in there for YRS one teacher has been there for 12 yrs. there was an additonal story in the nYPOST the other day...sick and then lay off these teachers why not lay off the ones in the rubber rooms http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...1fa_fact_brill
It all depends.
While 4 years will mean "safe" in most situations it can also depend on the size of her school,how many other music teachers are in that particular school and their seniority or lack of seniority and the school's commitment to a music program. It can be a little more complicated than just seniority.
Usually the projected layoff numbers include the number of teachers who will retire or leave the system in any given year( which is usually around 5,000). So in the end a "layoff" of 8,500 might actually mean 5,000 leaving the system and not being replaced and 3,500 being actually laid off. Hopefully,in the end ,the number of position eliminations will be no higher than the number leaving voluntarily and very few( or no) teachers who want to stay will actually be involuntarily laid off.
Even if the worst case would happen to your wife and she does get "laid off" from her particular school she can then go into any other school in the system where there is a music teacher with less seniority and " bump" them... ie,take their job away from them.People who come into a school by "bumping" someone else(especially someone who people like) are not always welcome with open arms but that is how it works.
Thanks Blue. We're in the process of buying a house soon, so I'm a bit nervous. My wife isn't nervous because she has a good relationship with her principal and is very "pro-music". However, times are tough and teaching jobs are tough to come by. One last question, what does tenure mean in this situation? Are tenured teachers guaranteed a position if layoffs occur? Thanks again.
Tenure adds another layer of protections but not necessarily in a specific job in a specific school.
If a tenured teacher is laid off at a particular school for some budgetary reason ,they will first be eligible to "bump" other teachers with the same certification and less seniority(even tenured with less seniority) at another school.If unable to find such a position, a tenured teacher would then go to the "rubber room" and get paid until they find a position.A non tenured teacher wouldn't get to the "rubber room".They would just be let go completely to collect unemployment.
I honestly think that if your wife is on really good terms with her principal and if the principal wants the music program he/she will find a way of keeping her.Bloomberg and Klein have done everything possible to give the principals more discretion in these matters and despite popular beliefs it is pretty easy to get rid of teachers if they really want to.They have to document everything,do a ton of paper work and do battle with the union but if there is cause for getting rid of a teacher they can.I see it happen every year.
Your wife's 1st best job security comes from the union but the 2nd best comes from a good relationship with her principal.
I think if there are any actual involuntary layoffs this year,you will see principals trying to take advantage of their new power by getting rid of "underperforming" teachers sometimes even when they have seniority before getting rid of anyone else.
I just read that 8,500 teacher equals 15% of the teachers in the system. If an average of 5000 retire, or leave each year, and she is tenured, I would assume she is safe. Thanks again Blue.
you need to ask the dept of education for a FULL accurate account ..........that is CRAZY to lay off teachers when there are more and more kids going to school population wise etc...just insane. ....
This is so true. Many NYC schools are operating at 125 or 150% of capacity already and 30 or more students in a classroom is quite common even though there is not supposed to be more than 24. The projections are that layoffs could result in 40 kids in many classrooms ! It will be beyond crazy.Nothing will get done.
Anyone out there want to be in a classroom with 40 8th graders in East NY or the South Bronx ?
This is so true. Many NYC schools are operating at 125 or 150% of capacity already and 30 or more students in a classroom is quite common even though there is not supposed to be more than 24. The projections are that layoffs could result in 40 kids in many classrooms ! It will be beyond crazy.Nothing will get done.
Anyone out there want to be in a classroom with 40 8th graders in East NY or the South Bronx ?
HMM, that's what Teach for America and the Fellows are for
Seriously, one reason they get away with that I think is they assume that a small but significant minority of those 40 just don't come to class anyway......doesn't make it right but worth noting.
This might be helpful, though it does not lay out the way teachers will actually be excessed- Joel Klein has his ideas but they go contrary to our current contract. If Klein gets his way and principals can let go of whoever they want, your wife may be ok. If not, four years is still not a lot of time to be in the system. It won't matter if she is tenured- it's all based on seniority. That article I linked also has a projection based on district- for example, my district will lose 17% of its teachers but areas that have less turnover (for example, NE Queens) will only lose about 7%. The lower-performing districts tend to have higher turnover and therefore more newer teachers. Hope this helps. Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
