From inside the Staten Island Rubber Room

David Harris, who fought to keep Canarsie open and was defended by the community for his good efforts as principal of Canarsie High School, is now the official "principal of the rubber room." We were told by the HR chief, Angela Santoro that he would be her "eyes and ears" and would watch for infractions that I guess I would have to infer the security guads weren't catching. Is this unreal? One, that they excessed this guy against community support and then they made him the policeman of the damned? - email from a SIRR resident.


Are RR denizens turning out to be the promised nightmare for both Tweed and 52 Broadway?

Ed Note: With so many schools in dire shape, the RR needs a principal? And one who had a good rep with teachers, parents, and students? Oh, I get it. Maybe not the usual attack dog Tweed is looking for as their ideal. So dump him into the RR as a supervisor? We wrote about David Harris and how he was screwed at Canarsie HS back in June (search this blog for his name for the article.) Hopefully, that experience will give him a sympathetic outlook. Our correspondents will be tracking his behavior, if indeed this comes to pass, as the potential embarrassment to Tweed might lead to this being rescinded.

When Fox News Came A-Callin'

On Tues. I got a call from Ben Evansky, a producer at Fox News (national). He came across articles on the rubber rooms posted on this blog. Ben sounded like a nice guy. Very sympathetic to teachers in that situation. The British accent helped. But I was suspicious. IT IS FOX NEWS. Rupert Murdoch - anti-union and the whole ball of wax. Ben said they were not looking to slam teachers, etc. But can they be trusted? I told him stories of people railroaded but warned him that they would be very reluctant to talk, especially to Fox. However, I figure people are adults and can make their own decisions, so I gave him a bunch of names.

Now it looks like there may be a substantial report. Randi is getting involved and that is a good thing - unless they John Stoessel her. (Remember how he manipulated and embarrassed her.)

Anyway, Fox wants to talk to teachers and I know a lot of RR people check out this blog.

They've posted a link that says: Should Bad Teachers be Banned to Rubber Rooms. They are asking for people to comment. Take your best shot.

Not a good sign, this title, since it has been explained that all too many people in the RR are not bad teachers, but political prisoners. Fox also seems more concerned with the conditions in the RR than the railroading. Maybe the heading on their site should be "Should teachers who whistle blow or have educational disagreements with their principal or stand up for basic union rules, be banned to rubber rooms?"

I never thought I'd say this, but let's give Fox the benefit of the doubt. And then again, there's always the comedy routine about RR's coming soon to John Stewart's Daily Show (see post below this) to cheer people up.

Off topic: A reminder to our Unity hacks to visit the Unity hack blog to leave their analytical and probing commentary.

John Stewart's "Daily Show" and the Rubber Room

A producer actually called today looking to do a rubber room story with a comedic twist for Stewart's show. I told her that somehow people in the RR don't find a lot of humor there but gave her some tips on where she might look. Could end up being a tv series. "Tales of the Rubber Room."

I wonder if any press will show up outside 52 Broadway next Tuesday when Randi meets with the RR occupants from all over the city? Fox News (national) also came a callin' but more on that later.

Enough With the Committees

From the Ed Notes mail bag

In the new reality, which brings fewer protections for my rights, the salary I earn is more important than my teaching abilities.

Lets form committees to investigate.

Through no fault of my own, I become a permanent substitute.
I occupy the nadir of esteem - by the union, tweed, principals, and yes, even students.

You tell me that I wont lose my job, but my self respect as an educator has been torn from me. My degrees and experience are irrelevant.

One shouldn't need to form a committee to know how repugnant this is.

The union says they will fight against involuntary transfers. It is a red line not to be crossed.

Yet the union itself suggests that maybe the ATR's should be used in hard to staff schools.
To me that sounds an awful lot like involuntary transfers.

I sit in a rubber room, and all you can do is form committees.

What is needed is action.
What is needed is courage.
What is needed is willpower from the leadership to restore our dignity.

Enough with the committees.
__________________

signed:
someone new, someone old, a mid-career person, a union activist, a union athiest, a teacher

What Randi will Suggest at the Oct 30th "Rubber Room" Meeting

TAGNYC is becoming an effective internal lobbying group in the UFT on rubber room, ATR, and U-rated issues. Their demo at the DA on Weds. made a point and may become a regular event at DA's if they feel the UFT does not respond adequately. Read their report of the demo here.

The next day they get a visit from SWAT team member Jim Calahan bearing a list of things Randi will suggest at the RR meeting called for Oct. 30. Most times people bow down and say "Thank you Randi for receiving us. We'll be quiet while you try to work your magic," not realizing she forgot all about them about 10 seconds after the meeting. What I love about the gang in TAGNYC is that they don't take the bull and came up with their own demands. Read them at their blog.

There is no question TAGNYC makes the UFT hierarchy extremely uncomfortable. But they must remain vigilant at any attempts to deflect their militancy with words not backed up by actions. From my experience, that is all they will get: words.

I want to point out at this point that people like Jeff Kaufman, James Eterno and myself (yes, I'll pat myself on the back) kept hammering the UFT leadership on rubber room issues for the past 3 years at Executive Board meetings (giving lie to the New Action rubber stamps who mutter that ICE did nothing on the Executive Board) and asking people from rubber rooms to join us at the meetings to make their voices known. Now they are a regular presence.

TAGNYC is taking things to the next step. The UFT leadership is scared to death at the potential of this group. Yes, the demo was small. But that was intentional as they wanted to make a point. Does anyone doubt that if TAGNYC put out a call far and wide for ATR's, RR's and unfairly U-rated to come to a demo at a UFT Delegate Assembly, they could stop traffic on Broadway. As I've said before, there is often more palpable anger at the UFT than at the DOE, who just act naturally - like swine.

Reports of all too many arrogant, nasty UFT reps who look at people like they are guilty, come in all the time. Maybe it's time to out these people. Randi sees the threat. Thus the SWAT team of Calahan, Combier and Isaac. I may have differences with some of these people, but one thing they can do is talk to people the right way. So for what it's worth, consider them a plus.

ICE's Woodlass (also a member of TAGNYC) spent the entire summer bombarding Weingarten and other UFT officials on the ATR issue, exposing many of their inactions on this blog, and now on her own blog (http://underassault.blogspot.com/). Her relentless pursuit seems to have woken them up. Woodlass demanded they take some action and that are - or making it look like they are.

Randi apologizes at the DA for not giving the RR and ATR issues attention earlier. No one ever said she isn't extremely good at doing this kind of thing. But is it good enough? Now she will hold a meeting of RR people, the first time all of them will be together in the same room.

The UFT modus operendi is to keep people apart so they can't organize, so this meeting is somewhat of an act of desperation and signs of the effectiveness of the activities of people in TAGNYC and other advocates. UFT thinking: Better to get them in your room before they hold their own meeting without you and grow even stronger. I just hope TAGNYC won't be deflected and will continue to organize and grow as this issue will not go away and the UFT will forget about them the minute the pressure is off.

Here is part of TAGNYC's reports on their blog:

TAGNYC mounted a very successful demonstration in front of the UFT headquarters. Posters bearing slogans like "UFT, WHERE ARE YOU", "SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN', "ATRS- DUMPING GROUND FOR TENURED TEACHERS" were on prominent display. Approximately 600 flyers (our position paper) were distributed.

Our message UFT Defend Our Rights was made loudly and clearly. The reason for yesterday's rally can be found on our blog. The statement of reason ends with the sentence:

This is why TAG is marchig knowing full well that Bloomberg-Klein is our enemy but wondering who and where are our friends.

You can read what Randi will "demand" of the DOE at the TAGNYC blog. Maybe she'll get something, not as much due to her demands, but the increasingly sympathetic exposure on the issue in the mainstream press, an embarrassment to Tweed. The question I urge people to raise at the meeting: What is the UFT willing to do to back up it's demands? Demonstrations? Law suits? Press conferences?

Just saying you demand means nothing as people never know the shell game behind the scenes. Just look at the merit pay October surprise sprung on the delegates on Weds. We do know that the UFT will never make a real stand - they might get some concessions, pass on the rest and trumpet it as a great victory.

The UFT "SWAT" Team and the Rubber Room

So we are alive!!!! – message from teacher in the Bronx Rubber Room (full message at the bottom of this post.

Pictures sent to Ed Notes by cell phone from Queens Rubber Room

"One thing was clear after talking to people in the RR: the overwhelming majority were as angry at the UFT as they were at the DOE, feeling the UFT had abandoned them."

This was what I told Elizabeth Green who reports in today's NY Sun article about how Randi Weingarten is going to take action on the rubber rooms. [I posted the article at Norms Notes.] The article highlights the new SWAT team Weingarten has put together. The team, is reportedly headed by recently hired "Betsy Combier and two unnamed NY Teacher reporters."

They are long-time NY Teacher reporter Jim Callahan and retired teacher Ron Isaac. I am very familiar with all three members, having known all of them for a number of years. I'll have more to say about these particulars at another time.

I am quoted in the article in this paragraph:

Ms. Weingarten's promise to ramp up pressure on the issue of rubber rooms comes as she is facing more pressure to act from inside her union and beyond. Factions have formed within the union to fight on behalf of teachers in rubber rooms, making suggestions ranging from hiring more staff to defend teachers to issuing subpoenas of state agencies on their behalf. One group, the Teacher Advocacy Group, plans to picket the union's Lower Manhattan headquarters Wednesday following a delegate assembly meeting, a retired teacher who is advising the group, Norman Scott, said. The group will carry signs charging that the union has "dropped the ball" on protecting teachers.

Green got some of the gist of what I told her, though I did not identify myself as an advisor to TAG, who have proven themselves perfectly capable of acting on their own. My point has been that the UFT, instead of automatically doing what a union should do – exert a rigorous defense of its members' rights without being concerned over their guilt or innocence – is more concerned about being slammed by the press over defending people who may be guilty than in protecting the rights of the innocent. In the past, the innocent have been treated like collateral damage.

Years ago, Jeff Kaufman and I began raising the situation of the rubber rooms at UFT executive Board meetings. After Jeff's tenure in the rubber room, he began to invite people he met to come to the meetings and use the 10 minutes of free speaking time to raise the issues. After a while, not a meeting passed without some people from rubber rooms present to remind the UFT leadership of their plight, often to deaf ears. At some point, Betsy Combier began attending meetings (even though not a UFT member) with some people she was working with. Callahan and Isaac were also present but never said anything.

When Jeff Kaufman raised a motion in June 2006 calling on the UFT to hire paralegals to conduct an investigation on the part of the teacher being charged instead of leaving this important step in the hands of a biased unit of the DOE, Randi Weingarten categorically rejected it, something I pointed out to Green.

After hearing of people spending months in the RR for minor charges and often being exonerated (allegations of an inappropriate comment or throwing a kid out of the room -- things every teacher does at some point) -- I raised the issue about why people had to sit for so long without having their case expedited and called for the UFT to offer those teachers who wanted their cases heard quickly an opportunity to do so. Randi Weingarten responded that surveys showed that most people did not want to rush through the process and even though the contract had time limits, their violation caused no great sense of "let's file a grievance."

She might have been right on this as some friends who had spent time in the RR gave me a sense of the total devastation this caused them and even those exonerated would never teach the same way. There were harges that conditions are purposely set up to break them psychologically and many are gunshy about returning to work, with some comparing the RR to gulags. Recent press reports confirm these conditions. Many began developing a rubber room mentality -- feelings of unity and support of each other surfaced as they told their stories.

As I said in the opening: One thing was clear after talking to people in the RR: the overwhelming majority were as angry at the UFT as they were at the DOE, feeling the UFT had abandoned them.

I raised this issue to Elizabeth Green and pointed to the increasing organizing efforts of RR people, as evidenced by TAGNYC, a group that goes beyond just RR people but included UFT'ers under attack by administrators and ATR's. Because of past inaction by the UFT, the very thing that created outside advocates like Betsy Combier, internal lobby groups are springing up, as people understand the UFT has a narrow range of interests, one of which is to undercut any move to militant organizing. Thus, the UFT tries to deal with individual cases, not groups.

Whereas many RR people were happy to see Betsy, now that she is on the UFT payroll, some refer to her as a "spy for Randi." It will take a long time to overcome the mistrust created by the UFT officials' attitude towards people.

I told Green that I viewed the SWAT team in this light – as a response. And maybe some good will come of it. But I also view it as an attempt to deflect militant organizing – damage control. The members of the SWAT team have assured me they will not allow this to happen. We'll see. Talk in the article about a law suit, even internal UFT legal sources say it is not a reality. See the lawsuit as a threat to the DOE (you can guffaw at that) or as a way to deflect. "See us file a lawsuit, now go away. See lawsuit sit in a drawer, joining the supposed senior teacher discrimination law suit."

What does Jeff Kaufman think of the actions of the UFT? Green says:

Some in the union ridiculed Ms. Weingarten's push for compromise, saying it will not resolve what they described as the UFT's failure to provide teachers in rubber rooms with strong legal representation. "They need people that have some kind of understanding and background in employment investigations. They have nothing," a teacher who was placed in a rubber room and who is also a lawyer, Jeffrey Kaufman, said.

Report from the Bronx rubber room (Sept 29)
Norm... the Rubber room in the Bronx has been very active
We were told that Randi wanted to meet with us - the meeting will be arranged in the near future- expect good numbers

First day of "back to school" we were introduced to Marlene Siegal (remember her?) as the Coordinator of 501 Courtlandt-
She entered each room with the (male) gang of five - distributing a leaflet containing the rules of governance. These "new" and "old" rules included no computers, no beach chairs, no roaming in the hallways, no refrig..., no microwave- issuance of time cards and time clocks- issuance of a "bathroom" passes and an escort(if exiting the 4th floor) and on and on

We called our "Bronx is Burning" UFT office and requested an immediate response to the 2007 Police State at 501
We wanted to know why Jose Vargas approved this? aka Ms. Siegals' testimony
The meeting did not include Jose Vargas- instead he sent his apologies and Rodney Grubiak and a few others (6).
At the meeting Rodney handed out the 1990s memo from the Chancellor indicating the elimination of timeclocks.
And the chanc. regs on the definition of "school staff"
We are considered "other" based on our offsite location-according to the Bronx UFT personnel.

The question was asked regarding "Age Discrimination", "Retaliation" (I am Harassed) and ATRs.

Rodney told Rep. X to "WRITE THAT DOWN" -simply stating "If you want" to speak to us about your individual cases we will be more than happy to assist you-
We replied- We are "one"- a collective unit of experienced teachers who are being harassed ... look at the quality and quantity.

Next UFT meeting included Jim Callahan and no Jose. Callagan and the other gentleman (sorry -forgot the name) were so effective. - They spoke to us-not at us - We really needed a good dose of reassurance and optimism.
[Ed. Note: Nice work by the UFT reps here and a legit function of the SWAT team.]

This time Rodney was less abrasive.
He acknowledged "our" importance- mentioned Randi 5X (why is loyalty so selective...when he thinks it is in his best interest)- reminding us that the fight against injustice would "remain" vigilant wanting to remain "a positive focal point" -he continued talking... stating that he would always be responsive -and Rodney better have a "damn good" reason for not calling you- as he enthusiastically handed out the "b-cards."

Immediately a teacher raised her hand and said "Mr. Grubiak" I have been calling you since last year- left you "a lot" of messages- (I have it all recorded) and I keep calling you and you have never responded- What is your reason? He said ...let me give you my card- she said " do not bother I have you "on speed dial"- Then...another shouted what is the "damn good reason" for losing my papers-jeopardizing my career- for failure to respond to the charges (to the State).

We were and continue to be vocal and active in "our" phone call blitz efforts to the Bronx.
The numbers as of Friday were 127 and growing ( because of age discrimination and retaliation).

We are currently under the direct supervision of a "supervisor"- who has an office on the 4th floor.

A reporter from the Post tried to interview several teachers- we put the word out -nobody talked to the Post. We were concerned about the "spin"-at the POST.

The Daily News is currently interviewing a few of our members-

So we are alive!!!!
The NEA, the elections, Randi's comments/declarations at the Executive Board-followed by the article in the NY Teacher, the DOE and its monitoring closely agenda, the Councilwoman who will take a stand (Rubber room)and the involvements of Parents- we are active- of course watching closely.

Weingarten Says: It's All Hunky Dory in UFT/Tweedland

When only around 500 chapter leaders out of a potential 1500 showed up at the citywide Chapter Leader meeting on Tuesday, Randi Weingarten stated it must be because things are going well in the schools.

"This was one of the smoothest openings of schools ever," she said.

Boy, that wacky gang at Tweed must be doing something right.

Only 4000 over class size grievances and not the usual 6000. See, they're listening.

Last year almost twice as many CLs attended the Sept. meeting (held at the the magnificent auditorium at UFT HQ at 52 Broadway) and squeezing almost a thousand people into a room holding only 850 served to remind them of their overcrowded classes and how years of the UFT's "reduce class size" campaign has netted them nothing. And a lot of people never got a banana.

So this year I was all excited when they moved the meeting to the Brooklyn Marriott, where if I got there early, I was sure to score a macadamia nut cookie. And a banana.

But so many happy chapter leaders were busy celebrating the glorious opening of school with their colleagues, the meeting had to be moved to a much smaller room, which they had plenty of time to arrange since Weingarten showed up so late. But chapter leaders have plenty of extra time on their hands, so they didn't mind.

And I had time to eat and drink myself silly.

I was there with my leaflet announcing that after 10 years, the final print edition of Ed. Notes would be distributed at the OCT. 17 Delegate Assembly (you can read it here.)

There was shock and awe in Unity Caucus at this news and I had to console them. UFT District 22 rep Fred Gross came up with tears streaming down his face after reading the news and pleaded with me for another copy. I had to turn him down and he went off sobbing.

Well, here's some more good news. (Read James Eterno's right-0n report on the meeting at the ICE blog.)

The UFT will join the fight on NCLB, not to eliminate the horrendous law, but to stop the provision calling for individual merit pay for teachers. (Remember Randi's suggestion years ago that summer school teachers who get good scores should get free airline tickets.) But as a compromise the UFT/AFT seem willing to accept merit pay for entire schools that raise scores. Just plugging into the "test will decide all" mentality that I always charge them with no matter what their task force on reading says.

With reports of open revolts about to take place in the Queens and Staten Island rubber rooms, where the inhabitants blame the UFT as much as the DOE for their situation and the formation of groups like TAGNYC (who did such a good job standing up to Klein at the PEP meeting on Monday) to defend themselves in the absence of the UFT, Weingarten announced that the UFT will focus on ATR's and the rubber room and will be holding meetings with both groups. More deflection by the "masters of deflection." [Make sure to check this post out as it develops my theory on how the UFT operates.]

The work Woodlass has been doing on this blog on the ATRs and excessed has clearly had an impact and gotten the UFT's attention. (It is amazing how much they worry about anyone out there organizing.)

In a post the other day I wrote "the screams of the people are beginning to be heard and with the potential national impact of blogs calling Randi a sellout, she is trying to make it look like they will do something-- she has assigned Ron (back-stabbing worm) Isaac, Betsy Combier and reporter Jim Callahan to visit the rubber rooms and come up with suggestions. So she is trying to let the air out of the balloon."

It will be the usual "We hear you, we feel your pain." People will feel good like the union is paying attention and will stop organizing. A year later when nothing much has changed they will get the message: Talk loudly, carry a tiny stick.

3 Stooges
Jeff Kaufman (who brought rubber room conditions to everyone's attention in 2005) in a post called "Rubber Room Redux" wrote on the ICE blog about what he termed the "3 stooges" Randi has appointed to investigate the rubber rooms. I know all of them and only consider Ron (the back-stabbing worm) Isaac a true stooge. Jim Calahan is a reporter for the NY Teacher who has written a number of exposes on abusive principals and probably has good intentions, but will not have much impact.

Betsy Combier, not a teacher but a parent advocate who I have worked with on a number of cases, was recently hired by the UFT, ostensibly to assist in rubber room cases. But since the real reason she was hired was to keep her from revealing sensitive information about some high UFT officials she gained from a FOIL request, I have to be suspect about how effective she will be. But if someone wants to pay you 50 grand to keep your mouth shut, who can blame them? And since I and others know the sensitive info, it will do them no good anyway.

NOTE: Want a job with the UFT? FOIL all the work records of every former and current district rep to see if they actually teach the one period a day. Word is that a reporter for a local daily has already done so, which is causing all the DR's to make sure to do their daily period of teaching - poor dears.

Weingarten hired Ron Isaac last year for 60 grand a year as a reward for his work during the 2005 contract negotiations in stabbing the opposition in the back. (Ron had run with ICE in the 2004 elections and parlayed that into his job.) I also used to publish Isaac's articles in Ed Notes when the UFT did not want anything to do with him (years of applications to get into Unity were rejected.)

And by the way, one of Isaac's main jobs is to monitor this blog all day. From our conversation the other day it is clear he knows more about what I write than I do.

So, this is the rubber room crew that Weingarten has put together. If I were in the RR I wouldn't make plans to be back at my job real soon. Better to join up with TAGNYC.

Apparently there's some upset at Kaufman's calling them "3 Stooges." The UFT wouldn't know how to spell rubber room if not for Kaufman.

On a closing note, it was nice to get responses from people about the impact Ed Notes has had. (check the comments here). One chapter leader who I did not know came up and said he really enjoyed reading it all these years and even some positive words filtered out from some Unity people the non-suit non-goon wing.

It is also nice to see ICE beginning to stir again after a bit of hiatus. One Unity slug commented: "ICE melts slowly." Or not at all.

Q&A From a Chapter Leader on Rubber Room

CL: Due process/speedy trial and all that it entails are rights that we as citizens have. Those same rights cannot, as a matter of course, become abrogated by a contract. Our own contract states that even if any part is deemed illegal, the rest of the contract stands.

So, why is it that teachers can be pulled out of the classroom without even knowing why?

Shouldn't that be totally illegal????

EdNotes: Of course. The argument by the DOE and the UFT is that they are getting paid. A proactive union would never allow this and would raise so much hell about it. But the UFT/Randi is worried about image and a potential article in the NY Post that they are protecting a child molester. So, they would rather let 50 innocent people be railroaded than risk the 1 bad apple. There is a % of guilty people but the union should be saying publicly that it is their job to provide a rigorous defense to everyone but they don’t do that. Instead they make public pronouncements about how they want to "help" the DOE get rid of people. Thus Randi gets points nationally from the anti-union forces for being a "progressive" union leader, meaning she is perfectly willing to make "adjustments" to contractual rights.

On the other hand, the screams of the people are beginning to be heard and with the potential national impact of blogs calling Randi a sellout, she is trying to make it look like they will do something-- she has assigned Ron (back-stabbing worm) Isaac, Betsy Combier and reporter Jim Callahan to visit the rubber rooms and come up with suggestions - I hear Staten Island RR people are organizing with tee shirts and something might explode at some point as much against the UFT as against the DOE. So she is trying to let the air out of the balloon.

CL: The argument that one is getting paid is irrelevant. People in jail still are able to earn income from their investments, yet they are in jail.

They have been removed, and I am curious if they (union and board) are liable for any health problems that are exacerbated by these tribulations - ala if one robs someone, and that person has a fatal heart attack, the perpetrator is guilty of homicide.

There is no need to go to rubber rooms for suggestions. Any constitutional lawyer can tell you that the process, as it stands now, is flawed. The union should send some of their retainered lawyers to work on this.

The union should be defending the people, realizing that there is always the bad apple, just as there are bad cops, bad doctors, etc. does not permit the warehousing of teachers. The damage done cannot be undone by licking one's paws.

EdNotes: One day soon we must explore how Ron and Betsy got jobs at the UFT.

Joel Klein Bounced to Rubber Room by Aris

Another gem from Gary Babad:

GBN News has learned that in an ironic twist, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has been suspended from his duties and placed in a Department of Education “Reassignment Center”...

Now playing at the NYC Public School Parents Blog

Class Dismissed

Village Voice article on the rubber room at:
http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0717,altman,76433,15.html/2

Rubber Room, The Movie

Greetings all,

The last few months for us here at Five Boroughs Productions have been hectic but very productive. The production of our documentary has progressed well and, in addition, we have just finished updating our web-site.

http://www.rubberroommovie.com/

We hope that you find the new web-site more informative, dynamic, and comprehensive. Please feel free to contact us with any comments and check back periodically for updates and a sneak preview of our upcoming documentary "The Rubber Room".

Jeremy Garrett
Executive Producer
Five Boroughs Productions
www.rubberroommovie.com

Filmmaker Arrested in Brooklyn Rubber Room

April 19, 2007

A filmmaker doing a documentary on the rubber room was arrested yesterday while trying to take footage in the Brooklyn rubber room on Chapel Street. He wasn't released until 1 am this morning. More details as they come in.

Principal Parrots Leadership Academy Lingo...

... but seems to be having a hard time getting it straight.

See Rafaela Espinal, principal of PS 147, say a few words of wisdom when she is not inciting parents to call the police on teachers. One of the things not included in the interview with Kathy Blythe in The Chief was the fact that when the parent came up to the AP's room to confront Kathy and had to be blocked by the security guard (who was herself bumped by the parent, who is not tiny), Espinal was right behind her outside the room and was seen grinning ear to ear.

Thanks to Dave B. for tracking this down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9wbBay5aYo

Tales From the Rubber Room: The Kathy Blythe Story

This week's Chief has an article on Kathy Blythe, the teacher who was arrested (by 5-7 cops) and then released a few hours later after an investigation. I know Kathy for 20 years and taught across the hall from her for many years and have heard her riveting story as she told it to the reporter. She is a 22 year vet with no incidents on her record.
It is no small matter that the principal, Rafaela Espinal, is a Leadership Acad Grad and has had a great number of veteran teachers leave the school in the short time she has been there, with others looking to join them. Kathy has been outspoken in the school about Espinal's policies and ran for chapter leader last June, losing by 1 or 2 votes. Retaliation for union activism?

I was present for the entire riveting interview and videotaped part of it which will be made available at a future time.

I'll have more to say in about why this can happen in future posts.
Norm

Tales From the Rubber Room: Charge Has Teacher Dangling

By MEREDITH KOLODNER


'THEY ASSUME YOU'RE GUILTY': P.S. 147 Teacher Kathy Blythe says she has been falsely accused of roughing up a student, and as a result has been sitting in the Brooklyn 'rubber room' for the past two months.
When veteran Teacher Kathy Blythe escorted a 9-year-old girl to her seat after she tried to run out of her classroom at P.S. 147 in Brooklyn for the third time that day, she had no idea that just a few hours later police officers would be escorting her to a cell in the 90th Precinct.

Ms. Blythe has not yet been charged by the Department of Education, but she is accused of physically harming the child while preventing her from leaving the class Feb. 15.

The police investigated the accusations and released her without charges that same day. She has nonetheless spent most of her days in the DOE's Brooklyn temporary re-assignment center ever since.

'I Didn't Hurt Her'

"I did not harm that child," Ms. Blythe said on a warm March day after she and a union representative had been to a Manhattan office to answer questions as part of the DOE's investigation.

Principal Rafaela Espinal, who had recommended that Ms. Blythe be placed in the reassignment center, did not return phone calls requesting comment. Other school staff members said they had been instructed not to speak about the issue, although several of them said that they didn't believe the charges.

Ms. Blythe said that she was told that three other children in the class claimed that she was rough with the child when she restrained her from walking out of the room.

The little girl was not supposed to be in Ms. Blythe's class that day, since the school's support staff usually took her out for behavioral counseling. So when she began to act up in class, as the girl often did, Ms. Blythe called her parents to come to the school.

'Kept Me From Teaching'

STUCK IN THE 'RUBBER ROOM': Brooklyn's temporary re-assignment center holds more than 100 Teachers and administrators accused of violating Department of Education regulations or committing serious crimes. Some have been there for months and are still awaiting formal charges.

"I couldn't teach the rest of the class with her constantly getting out of her seat," said Ms. Blythe, who had never before been accused of harming a student.

The girl's father arrived and talked to her alone in the hallway twice during that Thursday morning class after Ms. Blythe had blocked her from leaving the class, according to the Teacher. It wasn't until the 22-year veteran Teacher was called out of her final period class, and saw several police officers standing in the hallway, that she was aware that there was a bigger problem.

Ms. Blythe had gone to the Assistant Principal's office earlier that day to talk about how to deal with the little girl's habit of running out of class, and she said the girl's mother had become enraged with her, to the point that a School Safety Agent was called to help Ms. Blythe get away from the parent and out of the office.

But just an hour or so later, it was she was walked into a police van, where she was handcuffed. It wasn't until she was being questioned at the precinct, with one cuff attached to a pole, that she learned that the little girl had alleged that Ms. Blythe had ripped the buttons on her shirt and scratched her while preventing her from running out the classroom door.

"I was taken out of my school by police officers with everyone watching," said Ms. Blythe. "It was horrible."

Job At Stake

The Office of Special Investigations will eventually determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to charge Ms. Blythe with corporal punishment. If they do not, she will be allowed to return to her school. If they bring charges and find her guilty, she could lose her job and her teaching license.

The legal process when Teachers are accused of hurting students is often a long and arduous one.

Most educators accused of corporal punishment are not placed in re-assignment centers, or "rubber rooms" as they are commonly called, and most are found innocent.

The school Principal or administrator must believe that a school employee could put a child in danger for the employee to be re-assigned while awaiting charges, unless that person has serious criminal charges pending, such as a drug-related arrest.

Teachers like Ms. Blythe who are accused of violating a DOE regulation must have charges brought against them within six months. Others who have criminal charges pending can sit in the rubber room longer, sometimes for years. Teachers in the re-assignment centers are technically considered innocent until proven guilty, and therefore receive full pay and benefits while their cases play out.

A Grim Tableau

There is a rubber room in every borough, and on a late-March morning, the one in downtown Brooklyn was filled with more than 100 Teachers and administrators of every age and race. The window shades were pulled down in the long hallway of a room; fluorescent bulbs overhead brightened it. The backless benches that lined the tables held Teachers who were napping, working on personal laptops, and debating the latest developments in the Sean Bell police shooting case.

An Assistant Principal with 28 years in the system sat at one table. A few tables over, six Teachers from Automotive High School tried to occupy their time. Some said they missed the company of a Teacher who had been recently released with no charges after spending 26 months at the center.

"It's just depressing in here," said Ms. Blythe. "The good ones, we just want to get back to our schools."

A security guard sat at a desk near the front door where inhabitants punch their time cards, staying from 8:00 a.m. until 2:50 p.m. or 8:30 a.m. until 3:20 p.m. A DOE employee supervises the room, which is open the same days that school is in session.

Banished to Limbo

Most of the instructors say the experience is demoralizing and humiliating. "We are expendable," said a woman who has been a Social Worker for 27 years and has been in the Brooklyn center for about two months. "Once you go in, they forget about you."

Some educators said they felt as though the union had forgotten about them as well. Last month long-time Teacher Hipolito Colon asked the United Federation of Teachers to recognize the centers as separate chapters of the union in an effort to get more assistance.

The UFT's long-held position is that Teachers should be processed as quickly as possible.

One Teacher, who has been in the center since the fall of 2004 and began teaching special education in 1985, said he was going to retire in June. "It sucks," he said. "A lawyer told me I'm going to be fired, so I'm giving up." It is his third time in the rubber room, and he has spent 7-1/2 years out of the past decade there. In the late 1990s, he was sent to a re-assignment center on an accusation of corporal punishment.

Targeted by Principal?

Angry at what he sees as an endless series of injustices, he said his last tenure in the classroom came after a senior transfer to P.S. 131 in Brooklyn. He amassed 26 letters in his file in 14 months. He believes the Principal was out to get him from the time he arrived at the school.

A special education Teacher in the Brooklyn facility was there for the first time after 20 years of teaching. He was accused of a security breach for losing track of a student after classes with about 100 students were dismissed and the school's first-floor hallway became chaotic.

He said he didn't see one student run through a gate that had been left open. As a result, the child was left unsupervised in the playground. "We get punished for things that are not our fault," he said, "If I'm having difficulty, I need support, and it's a management issue as much as anything else." He said in his case, a new Principal sided with an Assistant Principal who had been looking to fire him.

A woman standing next to him wore a head band with bunny ears that stood up. When asked about her unusual choice of headwear, she said, "Why not? It's all a farce, everything that happens in here."

Ms. Blythe said she hoped her case would be cleared quickly, but she was worried that the process would get bogged down. "Sometimes it seems like people assume that because you're in here, you must be guilty," she said. "But I'm going to keep fighting it. They're not going to get rid of me like this."