Monday, March 9, 2015
Dear Families,
The PTA at Spruce is active and engaged (as you know by the number of emails you receive ;)). And yet, through the realities of day-to-day life, sometimes the ’T' perspective of the PTA doesn't get adequately represented in our discussions or communications. It is in this spirit of inclusiveness that we, the PTA Executive Board (PTA EB), would like to report on an issue that was discussed at our PTA EB meeting on Friday, March 6, 2015 regarding the recent New York State (NYS) Budget proposal that, if passed, would directly affect teachers and by extension, our Spruce community.
The NYS Budget is called the '2015 Opportunity Agenda' and is scheduled to be voted on April 1, 2015. The actual budget is over 500 pages long and can be accessed here. It covers funding for many areas of NYS Government. Some are needed and perfectly agreeable to most New Yorkers, including teachers. However, there are a few sections in the proposed budget that the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Spruce's teachers' union, is concerned about. The issue of most concern relates to teacher performance evaluations (sections 112 and 113).
In an effort to implement "dramatic reform" and change in the area of Pre-K to 12th Grade education, the Governor is proposing to change the teacher evaluation system. Under the current system, including at Spruce, teachers are evaluated by 3 criteria:
Based on sect. 112 and 113, the Governor's proposal would change Spruce's teacher evaluation criteria to this:
The proposed NYS budget is an up or down vote. If it passes, all of the sections within it become law. The UFT is seeking to stop the budget from being passed.
While no one knows for sure what the consequences would be if this change were passed, there is concern by some parents and teachers that by placing such a high percentage focus (50%) on test results, it could potentially incentivize teachers to put their self-interests (high performance ratings) ahead of the learning needs of the students that need good teachers the most.
This week you will most likely see teachers on the plaza at drop-off and pick-up. They will be asking for support for a down vote on the budget. There is no obligation for parents (or teachers for that matter) to actively support a down vote on the budget. However, if you would like to learn more and/or support the UFTs position, they have suggested the channels below:
Dear Families,
The PTA at Spruce is active and engaged (as you know by the number of emails you receive ;)). And yet, through the realities of day-to-day life, sometimes the ’T' perspective of the PTA doesn't get adequately represented in our discussions or communications. It is in this spirit of inclusiveness that we, the PTA Executive Board (PTA EB), would like to report on an issue that was discussed at our PTA EB meeting on Friday, March 6, 2015 regarding the recent New York State (NYS) Budget proposal that, if passed, would directly affect teachers and by extension, our Spruce community.
The NYS Budget is called the '2015 Opportunity Agenda' and is scheduled to be voted on April 1, 2015. The actual budget is over 500 pages long and can be accessed here. It covers funding for many areas of NYS Government. Some are needed and perfectly agreeable to most New Yorkers, including teachers. However, there are a few sections in the proposed budget that the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Spruce's teachers' union, is concerned about. The issue of most concern relates to teacher performance evaluations (sections 112 and 113).
In an effort to implement "dramatic reform" and change in the area of Pre-K to 12th Grade education, the Governor is proposing to change the teacher evaluation system. Under the current system, including at Spruce, teachers are evaluated by 3 criteria:
- Administration assessment (Nancy/Hillary) - 60%
- Local assessments of student's skills (how are children meeting learning benchmarks agreed to by the School District) - 20%
- State tests - 20%
Based on sect. 112 and 113, the Governor's proposal would change Spruce's teacher evaluation criteria to this:
- Administration assessment (Nancy/Hillary) - 15%
- Independent teacher evaluations (from outside of the school) - 35%
- State tests - 50%
The proposed NYS budget is an up or down vote. If it passes, all of the sections within it become law. The UFT is seeking to stop the budget from being passed.
While no one knows for sure what the consequences would be if this change were passed, there is concern by some parents and teachers that by placing such a high percentage focus (50%) on test results, it could potentially incentivize teachers to put their self-interests (high performance ratings) ahead of the learning needs of the students that need good teachers the most.
This week you will most likely see teachers on the plaza at drop-off and pick-up. They will be asking for support for a down vote on the budget. There is no obligation for parents (or teachers for that matter) to actively support a down vote on the budget. However, if you would like to learn more and/or support the UFTs position, they have suggested the channels below:
Dear Families,
As you know, The PTA at Spruce is active and engaged (judging by the amount of emails that show up in our inboxes...too active and too engaged! ;)). And yet, through the realities of day-to-day life, sometimes the ’T' perspective of the PTA doesn't always get fully represented in our discussions or communications. It is in this spirit of inclusiveness that we, the PTA Executive Board (PTA EB), would like to report on an issue that was discussed at our PTA EB meeting on Friday, March 6, 2015 regarding some sections of the recent New York State (NYS) Budget proposal that, if passed, would directly affect teachers and by extension, our Spruce community.
As you know, The PTA at Spruce is active and engaged (judging by the amount of emails that show up in our inboxes...too active and too engaged! ;)). And yet, through the realities of day-to-day life, sometimes the ’T' perspective of the PTA doesn't always get fully represented in our discussions or communications. It is in this spirit of inclusiveness that we, the PTA Executive Board (PTA EB), would like to report on an issue that was discussed at our PTA EB meeting on Friday, March 6, 2015 regarding some sections of the recent New York State (NYS) Budget proposal that, if passed, would directly affect teachers and by extension, our Spruce community.
The NYS Budget is called the '2015 Opportunity Agenda' and is scheduled to be voted on April 1, 2015. The actual budget is over 500 pages long and can be accessed here. It covers funding for many areas of NYS Government. Some are needed and perfectly agreeable to most New Yorkers, including teachers. However, there are a few sections in the budget that the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Spruce's teachers' union, is concerned about. The issue of most concern relates to teacher performance evaluations (sections 112 and 113).
In a push to implement "dramatic" change and reform in the area of Pre-K to 12th Grade education, the Governor is proposing to change the teacher evaluation system. Under the current system, including at Spruce, teachers are evaluated by 3 criteria:
In a push to implement "dramatic" change and reform in the area of Pre-K to 12th Grade education, the Governor is proposing to change the teacher evaluation system. Under the current system, including at Spruce, teachers are evaluated by 3 criteria:
- Administration assessment (Nancy/Hillary) - 60%
- Local assessments of student's skills (how are children meeting learning benchmarks agreed to by the School District) - 20%
- State tests - 20%
Based on sect. 112 and 113, the Governor's proposal would change Spruce's teacher evaluation criteria to this:
- Administration assessment (Nancy/Hillary) - 15%
- Independent teacher evaluations (from outside of the school) - 35%
- State tests - 50%
The proposed NYS budget is an up or down vote. If it passes, all of the sections within it become law.
While no one knows for sure what the consequences of this change would be, there was concern by some parents and teachers at the meeting that by placing such a high percentage focus (50%) on test results, it could potentially incentivize teachers to put their self-interests (high performance ratings) ahead of the learning needs of the students that need good teachers the most.
The UFT is seeking to stop the budget from being passed. This week you will most likely see teachers on the plaza at drop-off and pick-up. They will be asking for support for a down vote on the budget. There is no obligation for parents (or teachers for that matter) to actively support a down vote on the budget. However, if you would like to learn more and/or support the UFTs position, they have suggested the channels below:
While no one knows for sure what the consequences of this change would be, there was concern by some parents and teachers at the meeting that by placing such a high percentage focus (50%) on test results, it could potentially incentivize teachers to put their self-interests (high performance ratings) ahead of the learning needs of the students that need good teachers the most.
The UFT is seeking to stop the budget from being passed. This week you will most likely see teachers on the plaza at drop-off and pick-up. They will be asking for support for a down vote on the budget. There is no obligation for parents (or teachers for that matter) to actively support a down vote on the budget. However, if you would like to learn more and/or support the UFTs position, they have suggested the channels below:
Learn Morehttp://www.teacherstalktesting.com
Go to the UFT (United Federation of Teachers) http://www.uft.org/fight-cuomo and learn how to take action. Sign the UFT's petition to the governor: HERE |
Contact Governor CuomoNeed a starting point for an email or letter? Click HERE
Email: [email protected] or http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact. Call: 1-518-474-8390 Office hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm Write a letter: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 |
Contact Your Senator and/or Assembly memberDANIEL L. SQUADRON
Email address: [email protected] http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/daniel-l-squadron/contact District Office 250 Broadway, Suite 2011 New York , NY 10007 Phone: 212-298-5565 Fax: 212-431-7836 Albany Office Legislative Office Building 188 State Street, Room 515, Albany, NY 12247 Phone: 518-455-2625 Fax: 518-426-6956 KATHERINE GLICK
email address: [email protected] http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Deborah-J-Glick/contact District Office 853 Broadway Suite 2007 New York, NY 10003 Phone: 212-674-5153 Albany Office LOB 717 Albany, NY 12248 Phone: 518-455-4841 SHELDON SILVER
email address: [email protected] http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Sheldon-Silver/contact/ District Office 250 Broadway Suite 2307 New York, NY 10007 212-312-1420 Albany Office LOB 704 Albany, NY 12248 518-455-3640 Fax: 518-455-7092 |