Thursday, January 18, 2007
The Teacher Tenure Issue
Of all the things in the mayor's speech that I'm eager to hear more about, it is all the stuff about toughening the process for teacher tenure. The ball is in the mayor's court to explain what the heck he is talking about, especially now that UFT President Randi Weingarten is out with her comments on the matter:
Teachers don’t get automatic tenure. Never did. Never will. About 35 to 40% of teachers leave of their own volition in their first three years, even if Tweed’s 99% figure is correct. That means approximately 60% of new teachers get tenure. The truth is that probationary teachers are supposed to be observed and evaluated six times a year during their first three years. That means a principal has 18 opportunities to determine if a new teacher should be tenured. Those who get tenure have the confidence of a principal and a district superintendent. Sadly, the chancellor is now going after the very same people he recruited to the school system and substituting his judgment for that of the principals and superintendents who now make final tenure recommendations. The chancellor doesn’t like that principals give good marks to so many teachers who have gone through their entire probationary review, so he is trying to strip away their discretion.
Stay tuned. Hopefully we'll be hearing more about a more rigorous (if not frequent) evaluation process, one that raises the bar so that great teachers can get more than a mere "satisfactory" rating.
Teachers don’t get automatic tenure. Never did. Never will. About 35 to 40% of teachers leave of their own volition in their first three years, even if Tweed’s 99% figure is correct. That means approximately 60% of new teachers get tenure. The truth is that probationary teachers are supposed to be observed and evaluated six times a year during their first three years. That means a principal has 18 opportunities to determine if a new teacher should be tenured. Those who get tenure have the confidence of a principal and a district superintendent. Sadly, the chancellor is now going after the very same people he recruited to the school system and substituting his judgment for that of the principals and superintendents who now make final tenure recommendations. The chancellor doesn’t like that principals give good marks to so many teachers who have gone through their entire probationary review, so he is trying to strip away their discretion.
Stay tuned. Hopefully we'll be hearing more about a more rigorous (if not frequent) evaluation process, one that raises the bar so that great teachers can get more than a mere "satisfactory" rating.
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