Partnership for Educational Justice

6 NYC Education Realities from “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

In Netflix’s new original series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, Kimmy comes across a tenured teacher who has no interest in teaching students, but instead is focused on getting into the “rubber room” (Absent Teacher Reserve – ATR).

1. “FIRED? I can’t get fired, I’ve got tenure!”

kimmy-fired

 

 

 

 

New York law requires school administrators to decide whether or not a teacher will be granted tenure after just three years on the job — and 97% of teachers get it.

This basically means they have a job for life, regardless of how well their students are learning. Thanks to complicated disciplinary procedures in New York, it’s virtually impossible to fire an ineffective, tenured teacher.

 

2. “If you’re too incompetent to teach, they send you here…the union calls it the ‘rubber room’.”

kimmy-rubber room

 

 

 

 

While the common name has become the “rubber room”, it’s actually called the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR). And while there are several different reasons a teacher may be sent there, an underperforming teacher will be kept there — with pay — while his or her individual case is being reviewed.

Currently NYC is spending $144 million a year on the ATR, paying for teacher who aren’t in a classroom.

(Read a story about NYC’s ATR in WorldMag and NY Post)

 

3. “You get paid to sit around all day until they figure out what to do with you. It takes YEARS!”

kimmy-years

 

 

 

 

A teacher who is involved in a teacher dismissal hearing may be laced in the ATR. These teacher dismissal hearings can take as long as 830 days and cost as much as $313,000.

 

4. “They’re not gonna replace you. The school’s broke. They’ve been renting out the lockers as hotel rooms for Japanese businessmen.”

kimmy-konichiwa

 

 

 

 

Though we haven’t heard of any Japanese businessmen sleeping in school lockers, it’s definitely true that when budget deficits result in job cuts, teacher layoffs are based on seniority, not job performance — by law.

New York’s ‘Last In-First Out’ (LIFO) statue allows senior, tenured teachers — regardless of their ability to teach students — to remain on the job while junior, even high-performing teachers must be laid off.

 

5. “You complain, I win. You fail, I win.”

kimmy-complain

 

 

 

 

Kimmy’s teacher knows that no matter what happens, he won’t be fired and will continue to earn his salary. A win for him, but a loss for Kimmy and every other student.

Three in five teachers in New York’s ATR didn’t even submit a single job application to the city’s online hiring system in 2013 that would have put them back on the job. Maybe they don’t want to go back to a regular teaching job?

(Read more in the NY Post)

 

6. “Well, I’m not giving up!”

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…and neither are we. We’re right there with you, Kimmy, fighting for our children’s education!

Union Loses, Kids Win

The Editors
Observer Opinion

“The state’s public school children were well served last week when a state Supreme Court justice on Staten Island, Philip G. Minardo, allowed a lawsuit against tenure rules to proceed. Unions representing state and city teachers hoped to strangle this potential game changer before it could be fully argued in a court of law. They lost.”

Read More

Capital NY: Campbell Brown calls for Albany to follow plaintiffs’ lead

By Eliza Shapiro

Campbell Brown said Friday that any legislative changes that would make it easier to remove ineffective teachers would be welcome in Albany this year, but would not interfere with her well-publicized lawsuit challenging New York’s teacher tenure laws.

“We would be thrilled to see these changes take place at the legislative level,” said Brown, the former CNN anchor turned education activist, following a City Hall press conference celebrating a Staten Island judge’s rejection of a motion to dismiss the anti-tenure suit. “Nothing would make me happier than to see Albany finally move forward and make changes that we’ve needed for years.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed reforming the 3020-a legal process for teachers accused of misconduct or ineffectiveness in order to more quickly remove unfit teachers; the teacher tenure suit challenges the constitutionality of the 3020-a process, which can often be lengthy and expensive. Teachers’ unions have said the issue of teacher protection reform is a legislative issue, not a legal matter.

The suit was first brought by parent advocate Mona Davids and followed shorty after by a higher-profile case brought by Brown’s education reform group, the Partnership for Educational Justice. The two cases have since been, somewhat dramatically, consolidated.

State Supreme Court judge Philip Minardo rejected a motion to dismiss the case brought by teachers’ unions and the city and state on Thursday, significantly increasing the likelihood that the case will go to trial.

Both New York State United Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers said on Thursday that they would appeal Minardo’s ruling. Danielle Sassoon, a lawyer for Kirkland & Ellis, the prestigious law firm working on the tenure case pro bono, said the firm would defend Minardo’s ruling in an appellate court if the unions do appeal the decision.

Although Brown did not speak during Friday’s press conference, she told reporters after that she believes legislative reforms to the teacher protections she is challenging, if passed, would only help her case.

“That’s the whole reason we’re doing this, because they wouldn’t do anything,” Brown said. “I hope this is a hammer that finally forces them to take some action and at the very least wakes people up to the problem.”

Asked about her expectations from the budget process now that former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has resigned, Brown said, “I think certainly it makes us all more optimistic that someone who fought school reform for so long is now gone.”

The parent plaintiffs on the tenure suit were jubilant at Friday’s press conference. Keoni Wright, one of the plaintiffs who claimed that his twin daughters received unbalanced educations based on varying teacher effectiveness.

The press conference was attended by dozens of parents, many of whom are familiar faces at rallies held by StudentsFirstNY, a reform group that has recently been leading the push in favor of Cuomo’s education reform agenda, another example of the routine collaboration between reform groups.

Tenicka Boyd, StudentsFirstNY’s director of organizing, took a selfie with parents before the rally and joked that it was for “my teachers’ union friends on Twitter.”

But Wright and other parents did not seem fully in agreement with Cuomo’s agenda.

When a reporter asked whether teacher evaluations should be 50 percent based on students’ test scores, a centerpiece of Cuomo’s proposals, Wright and another parent answered, “No.”

Still, Wright used language from some of Brown’s allies in the education reform and charter advocacy sectors in describing the broader situation.

“Schools are failing, and we need something done,” he said, echoing StudentsFirstNY and Families for Excellent Schools.

One parent wore a “Don’t Steal Possible” shirt to the rally; the shirts were distributed by F.E.S. during a large pro-charter rally in Albany last week.

Read full article here: http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2015/03/8564031/campbell-brown-calls-albany-follow-plaintiffs-lead

PRESS RELEASE: New York Parents Cheer the Court’s Decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 13, 2015

Contact: Chapin Fay, 212-681-1380

New York Parents Cheer the Court’s Decision on the Motion to Dismiss and Look Forward to Having Their Day in Court

Parents declare, “Our voices deserve to be heard, and now they will be. We have not

been dismissed!”

NEW YORK – Parents and students who brought suit in New York to challenge teacher tenure and dismissal policies stood together today on the steps of New York City Hall to cheer the court’s decision to allow their lawsuit Wright v. New York to move forward. Last summer, eight families filed a lawsuit to ensure quality education for New York students. They are challenging teacher tenure, teacher dismissal, and layoff policies because they believe these laws violate our children’s constitutional rights. The court’s decision yesterday to deny the motion to dismiss allows these families to have the opportunity to have their case heard in court and gain access to data that exposes achievement gaps and the degree to which quality teaching impacts a student’s ability to succeed.

Keoni Wright, the father of two daughters, Kaylah and Kyler, who are plaintiffs in Wright v. New York, spoke on behalf of his children, saying “Yesterday, in a monumental step forward for New York parents and families, Judge Minardo denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss our case, stating “’his court … will not close the courthouse door to parents and children with viable constitutional rights.’ Teachers matter. That’s why these laws, which protect ineffective teachers and harm our children’s education, need to be changed. Our voices deserve to be heard, and now they will be.”

Nina Doster, a mother from Queens, said “Both my children, Patience and King, have been let down by their teachers. Even though I have always been very accessible as a parent, I learned about their challenges when it was too late. Both my children are now reading below grade level. Laws like the ones we are fighting against allow ineffective teachers to stay in classrooms throughout New York State. I am standing up with my fellow plaintiffs and these families whose children are suffering at the hands of ineffective teachers. Our children’s constitutional rights are being violated when teachers who aren’t doing their job are protected. We have to fix that. We have to fight for educational justice, and now we are getting that chance. Yesterday, Judge Minardo denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss. We will not be kept out of the courts.”

Each parent declared, on behalf of all the plaintiffs, “Our voices deserve to be heard, and now they will be. We have not been dismissed!”

Find the full ruling here.

 

 

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE

 

Partnership for Educational Justice helps students, families and communities advocate for the great public schools they deserve through coalition building and legal action. All children, no matter their background or circumstance, deserve access to a sound education. The inequalities that exist in our educational system are the civil rights issue of our time. Motivated by a pervasive lack of meaningful progress in ensuring a supportive learning environment for all students, Partnership for Educational Justice challenges antiquated education laws that prevent public schools from providing all students with an excellent education. Targeted litigation will be supported by an aggressive communications campaign at the local, state and national level. Through its work, Partnership for Educational Justice will mobilize families, community stakeholders and organizations to form effective coalitions that increase pressure on legislators and other decision makers to reform our educational system. Founded by Campbell Brown, an award-winning journalist and writer, Partnership for Educational Justice is a recognized 501(c)(3) organization.

 

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PEJ Statement on Motion to Dismiss Decision

NEW YORK – Partnership for Educational Justice founder Campbell Brown released the following statement on today’s dismissal of the Motion to Dismiss in the New York case challenging teacher tenure and dismissal policies:

“This ruling is a major victory for New Yorkers, especially for parents and students. New Yorkers are one step closer to having access to the data that shows the degree to which quality teaching impacts a student’s ability to succeed and expose achievement gaps in the system. The courageous plaintiffs who have come forward to fight for high quality public education will have the chance to make their case in court. We know that quality teaching is the most important factor influencing student achievement, and this case will seek to prove that New York’s antiquated education policies have robbed students across the state of the opportunity to succeed in the classroom.”

Find the full ruling here.

Media Contact: Chapin Fay, 212-681-1380

PEJ_v2_closed_doors

PRESS RELEASE: PEJ Statement on Motion To Dismiss Denial

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 12, 2015

Contact: Chapin Fay, 212-681-1380

PEJ Statement on Motion To Dismiss Denial

NEW YORK – Partnership for Educational Justice founder Campbell Brown released the following statement on today’s dismissal of the Motion to Dismiss in the New York case challenging teacher tenure and dismissal policies:

“This ruling is a major victory for New Yorkers, especially for parents and students. New Yorkers are one step closer to having access to the data that shows the degree to which quality teaching impacts a student’s ability to succeed and expose achievement gaps in the system. The courageous plaintiffs who have come forward to fight for high quality public education will have the chance to make their case in court. We know that quality teaching is the most important factor influencing student achievement, and this case will seek to prove that New York’s antiquated education policies have robbed students across the state of the opportunity to succeed in the classroom.”

Find the full ruling here:
http://www.edjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Motion-to-Dismiss-Decision.pdf

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE

Partnership for Educational Justice helps students, families and communities advocate for the great public schools they deserve through coalition building and legal action. All children, no matter their background or circumstance, deserve access to a sound education. The inequalities that exist in our educational system are the civil rights issue of our time. Motivated by a pervasive lack of meaningful progress in ensuring a supportive learning environment for all students, Partnership for Educational Justice challenges antiquated education laws that prevent public schools from providing all students with an excellent education. Targeted litigation will be supported by an aggressive communications campaign at the local, state and national level. Through its work, Partnership for Educational Justice will mobilize families, community stakeholders and organizations to form effective coalitions that increase pressure on legislators and other decision makers to reform our educational system. Founded by Campbell Brown, an award-winning journalist and writer, Partnership for Educational Justice is a recognized 501(c)(3) organization.

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The Farina Method of Purging Bad Teachers

By Eliza Shapiro
Capital NY

“Carmen Fariña has been talking a lot about bad teachers recently.

The schools chancellor, who defined her first year on the job as a mission to restore “joy” and “respect” to the classroom, has, of late, been encouraging hundreds of city principals to identify and get rid of their weakest teachers.”

Read More

The Teacher Who Believes Math Equals Love

By Cory Turner
nprED

“Sarah Hagan has a passion for math, and the pi-shaped pendant to prove it.

The 25-year-old teaches at Drumright High School in Drumright, Okla. The faded oil town is easy to miss. Fewer than 3,000 people live there, and the highway humps right around it.

There are no stoplights, no movie theater and no bowling alley anymore. Just a clutch of small houses and hearty businesses: a funeral home, Family Dollar and a Dollar General.”

Read More

Civil Rights Fight Looms on Charter Schools Cap

By Michael Levenson
The Boston Globe

“The highly charged charter school debate, waged for years in the Legislature, could soon become a constitutional court fight, launched by three prominent lawyers who believe students in Boston and other urban districts are being denied their right to a quality education.

Paul F. Ware Jr., Michael B. Keating, and William F. Lee, who are partners at three top law firms, say the lawsuit they will file to overturn the state cap on the number of charter schools will break ground on two fronts.”

Read More

Copyright

© 2014 Partnership for Educational Justice

Disclaimer

Partnership for Educational Justice is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.