More Chaos in DOE - 300 Early Childhood Coordinators and Social Workers Excessed by Adams/Banks in Last Minute Hit Job - Friday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend

They had all summer to do this but why not open schools with chaos?
Everyone received their excess letters on Tuesday after Labor Day. Their schools were in chaos the next few days and now the DOE is telling some of them to report to the jobs they were excessed from. They technically do not have their jobs to do the work. They would need to be reinstated first! Here is the letter from resistance organizers.

 

Restore UFT Early Childhood Coordinators and Social Workers

Dear Community Stakeholders: 

 

With less than a week to go before the first day of the 2022-23 school year, the DOE sent a press release announcing the restructuring of a program that supports early childhood classrooms across the city, including all Pre-K and 3-K for All programs. Our team of over 300 Instructional Coordinators (ICs) and Social Workers (SWs) works in public schools and nonpublic settings, such as private daycare centers, religious and private schools contracted by the DOE, pre-schools, and Head Start centers. We support teachers and hard working leaders as they strive to help children and families overcome 2+ years of pandemic strain and stress, the worst of which has hit Black and Brown children and families, and many immigrants whose first language is not English. Our work as ICs and SWs includes:  

 

• Mental health and wellness coaching and social-emotional support for classrooms and families 

• In-classroom instructional coaching 

• Caregiver workshops and presentations geared to community needs around early childhood topics 

• Helping set up classroom environments  

• Curriculum guidance  

• Support with the implementation of classroom routines and expectations 

• Helping programs align with DECE initiatives and state standards  

• Providing tailored professional learning experiences according to the needs of the program and community

• Providing social and emotional developmental resources to programs and families  

• Challenging behavior guidance for teachers and families 

 

This essential assistance helps level our city’s inequitable playing field, providing quality assistance and resources  to children and families in all NYC neighborhoods. ICs and SWs have been collaborating for many years to provide valuable support that helps make our littlest learners’ first school experiences joyful and rewarding.

 

We learned from a press release followed by media coverage on the Friday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend that we were losing our positions, that our hard-earned professional roles, work duties, locations and schedules will be thrown into chaos, negatively impacting our own children and families. A few days after the press release, we were all excessed, our positions dissolved. We are a dedicated and skilled team of educators and mental health professionals who believe deeply in the promise of equitable, best-quality early childhood programming for all, and we all deserve better.  

 

The press release, sent on behalf of Chancellor Banks at 2:01 PM on Friday, September 2nd, states: “It is this Administration’s ongoing priority to meet schools where they are with the resources they need; the reassignment of central and borough staff members brings resources closer to where they are needed in schools.” However, many programs are currently reaching out to their ICs with questions and requests for start-of-year visits, which we are not permitted to provide.   

We, the Early Childhood Coordinators and Social Workers, have requested a meeting with our UFT representatives and call for a postponement of this restructuring.

Please stay tuned for an upcoming virtual town hall. We will hear from teachers and leaders who are impacted by this change, and ICs and SWs who are trying to navigate the current situation in order to return to the important work of supporting programs.