UFT Contract Review
We’re taking a look at the new UFT contract. It was much-heralded, when it was passed. How is it going, now? Chalkbeat’s blog did a series on this, that we’re putting together here. It follows three of the main points from the UFT Contract:
- Raises for Leadership Roles
- 80 Minutes of PD each Week
- Parent Engagement
Chalkbeat follows a Principal, Eileen Reiter, in Harlem. Her school, P.S. 112, is eligible to give up to $7,500 raises to teachers under the new program. To her, it’s not enough to compensate all of the good teachers. If you have a school that can allow 3 of these leadership roles, for instance, what do you do if you have 10 great teachers?
We all know (I hope) teachers who go above and beyond. These roles were designed to recognize the work they do, with raises from $7,500 to $20,000. Unlike other states, where “performance pay” is linked to testing data, these are by application. The pay is for extra work, as well.
- Model Teachers will be required to work two summer days, and two extra hours a month, in addition to using their classroom to demonstrate lessons.
- Ambassador Teachers leave their school for a year, to work in another school.
- Master Teachers (not available yet) – this is the $20,000 position. They coordinate teacher training.
Principals, what do you think of this program? How does it work in your school? Let us know! Email, Facebook, or Twitter.
If your school is still figuring out how to best use this time, you’re not alone. Schools have been left, for better or worse, to plan these themselves. This is by design. Chancellor Fariña and UFT President Michael Mulgrew support the autonomy of letting schools decide what they need. This is another example of how this administration is distancing itself from the previous one. Instead of a top-down approach, the new Chancellor is trusting schools to come up with workshops that would be valuable to their particular school.
Some schools are sticking with a traditional model of workshops based on teaching skills like classroom management, reading strategies, etc. But some are using the time to visit other schools, develop study groups, hear from experts in dealing with special needs, or how to use technology in the classroom.
How is your school using this time? Let us know! Email, Facebook, or Twitter.
The Chancellor has said that her ideal use of this time would be scheduled sit-downs with parents and students. Some schools are using it as community outreach, getting parents in to the building by offering classes for them, or classes where parents and students could work together. The program has faced criticism over taking away time from the previous contract that was to be used for tutoring.
How is your school using this time? Let us know! Email, Facebook, or Twitter.
PS: We highly recommend reading Chalkbeat’s blog regularly. However, do yourself a favor, and skip the comments…
CITE is the Center for Integrated Training and Education . For over 25 years, CITE has and continues to train TEACHERS (Early Childhood, Literacy, Special Ed, Grad Courses, DASA); COUNSELORS (School, Mental Health Masters, Advanced Certificate); and ADMINISTRATORS (SBL, SDL, Public Admin, Online PhD) in all five boroughs of NYC, Yonkers, and Long Island.
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