Ed Notes has written about the D: Ed Notes Online: On the Dreaded D's and U's: Discontinued and ...
Ask any of them after about 6 months of obfuscation by the UFT how they feel about their union and you will have to contain the explosion.
Will the UFT be at this rally crying crocodile tears?
From Jonathan Halabi to NYC Ed Listserve:
Probationary teachers in New York City are discontinued every week, and they rarely generate news stories. Some of the discontinuances are justified, some are unjustified, but the ex-teachers usually just go away quietly. Not Alice McIntosh.
McIntosh, a 50-year-old Black woman with masters in public health from Columbia and another in education from Pace, is not going away quietly. Her story was featured in the Daily News. And now that her appeal has been denied (by the same superintendent who signed off on the U rating!), her family and friends from New Day Church are rallying in her support.
The fact that McIntosh had favorable evaluations, but questioned the use of out-dated, non-relevant curriculum, should make people of good conscience highly suspicious.Sunday, May 6, 1:30 – 2:30. P10X@PS15 (2195 Andrews Avenue near W 183rd, the Bronx)Click for press release: McIntosh 5.6 Media Advisory.
 | Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition
103 East 196th Street
Bronx, NY 10468
Tel: 718-584-0515 cell: 646-646-6313 fax: 718-733-6922
Contact:
|
MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
Alice McIntosh, 718 679-5824, aymcintosh@gmail.com
Allison Manuel, 917-213-6028 or Allison@northwestbronx.org
Fired Bronx Teacher Takes DOE To School!
Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition calls for reinstatement of teacher Alice McIntosh, administrative accountability for State-required mentoring and the creation of an unbiased appeal process for teachers
Bronx, NY— On Sunday, May 6 at 1:30 PM, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition; New Day Church; and former students, colleagues and supporters of 2009 Teaching Fellow Alice McIntosh will gather in front her P10X @ PS 15, in support of her being reinstatement. According to Ms. McIntosh, former P10X literacy teacher and current Director of New Day Church Sunday school, she intends to “take the DOE to school.”
“My case makes crystal clear that the DOE is in need of serious schooling on how to support new teacher success and an unbiased, independent appeals process,” said Ms. McIntosh. “We have sent over 200 letters, elevated the stories of other teachers like me in the press, and have made a clearly substantiated case in the NYCDOE Office of Appeals. All have fallen on deaf ears. This Sunday, we’re taking them back to school.”
Ms. McIntosh was fired from the DOE without being mentored, as outlined by State requirements. Currently as well as during her appeal hearing the Administration of P10X has not provided any documentation that she was ever mentored. In spite of not being supported by her administration, Ms. McIntosh received glowing recommendations from parents and her colleagues and all satisfactory observations from the same Vice Principal who supported her U-rating.
Ms. McIntosh and her supporters say they intend to visit the office of Superintendent Gary Hecht, who authorized McIntosh’s firing and decided the outcome of her appeal. They will demand that the he answer questions about the inconsistencies surrounding her unsatisfactory performance rating and ultimate firing, the appalling lack of evidence to support the allegations made against her, as well as why she worked for two years without being mentored or supported.
“I am completely disgusted by the fact that Superintendent Gary Hecht, had the power to approve my unsatisfactory rating and firing and ultimately made the final decision on my appeal,” said Ms. McIntosh. “Is there any court of law where the same judge can sentence and decide the appeal?”
Ms. McIntosh’s case is not an isolated incident, and so she and the NWBCCC have launched a campaign to hold the NYC Department of Education accountable for the impacts of lack of mentoring and relevant, consistent support for new teachers and an appeal process that at its core is corrupt and biased. In 2004, the State of New York Board of Regents modified the teacher certification regulations, requiring all teachers with less than one year of teaching experience to receive a “quality mentoring experience” prior to receiving full certification. New York City implemented this requirement with a $36 million teacher mentoring program that was intended to "increase teacher retention, enhance classroom instruction, and improve student achievement. (Goertz, Loeb, Wyckoff, 2011) In spite of that, The UFT reports that 40 percent of teachers leave before the end of their three-year probation period, largely because they don't get enough support and professional development. Additionally, 51% of NYC Teaching Fellows do not stay within the teaching profession for more than 5 years. This translates into a dramatic loss of talent and potential from Teaching Fellows themselves and a costly loss of the City’s time and money spent on educating and employing them. Fellows cite lack of mentoring and inconsistent support as a top reason for leaving within the first five years. The Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers have both published studies on the alarmingly high attrition rates of new teachers. Yet nothing has been done to remedy this.
Who: The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, New Day Church, former students and colleagues of Alice McIntosh
What: Demonstration to demand the reinstatement of Alice McIntosh, administrative accountability for State required mentoring and the creation of an unbiased, independent appeal process for teachers
When: Sunday, May 6, 2012, 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Where: P10X@PS15 (2195 Andrews Avenue between W 183rd and Hall of Fame Terrace, Bronx, NY 10453)
Visuals: Giant Blackboard with the ABCs of supporting new teachers; 100 supporters of Alice McIntosh brandishing signs, singing, and praying over testimonies
“My case makes crystal clear that the DOE is in need of serious schooling on how to support new teacher success and an unbiased, independent appeals process,” said Ms. McIntosh. “We have sent over 200 letters, elevated the stories of other teachers like me in the press, and have made a clearly substantiated case in the NYCDOE Office of Appeals. All have fallen on deaf ears. This Sunday, we’re taking them back to school.”
Ms. McIntosh was fired from the DOE without being mentored, as outlined by State requirements. Currently as well as during her appeal hearing the Administration of P10X has not provided any documentation that she was ever mentored. In spite of not being supported by her administration, Ms. McIntosh received glowing recommendations from parents and her colleagues and all satisfactory observations from the same Vice Principal who supported her U-rating.
Ms. McIntosh and her supporters say they intend to visit the office of Superintendent Gary Hecht, who authorized McIntosh’s firing and decided the outcome of her appeal. They will demand that the he answer questions about the inconsistencies surrounding her unsatisfactory performance rating and ultimate firing, the appalling lack of evidence to support the allegations made against her, as well as why she worked for two years without being mentored or supported.
“I am completely disgusted by the fact that Superintendent Gary Hecht, had the power to approve my unsatisfactory rating and firing and ultimately made the final decision on my appeal,” said Ms. McIntosh. “Is there any court of law where the same judge can sentence and decide the appeal?”
Ms. McIntosh’s case is not an isolated incident, and so she and the NWBCCC have launched a campaign to hold the NYC Department of Education accountable for the impacts of lack of mentoring and relevant, consistent support for new teachers and an appeal process that at its core is corrupt and biased. In 2004, the State of New York Board of Regents modified the teacher certification regulations, requiring all teachers with less than one year of teaching experience to receive a “quality mentoring experience” prior to receiving full certification. New York City implemented this requirement with a $36 million teacher mentoring program that was intended to "increase teacher retention, enhance classroom instruction, and improve student achievement. (Goertz, Loeb, Wyckoff, 2011) In spite of that, The UFT reports that 40 percent of teachers leave before the end of their three-year probation period, largely because they don't get enough support and professional development. Additionally, 51% of NYC Teaching Fellows do not stay within the teaching profession for more than 5 years. This translates into a dramatic loss of talent and potential from Teaching Fellows themselves and a costly loss of the City’s time and money spent on educating and employing them. Fellows cite lack of mentoring and inconsistent support as a top reason for leaving within the first five years. The Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers have both published studies on the alarmingly high attrition rates of new teachers. Yet nothing has been done to remedy this.
Who: The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, New Day Church, former students and colleagues of Alice McIntosh
What: Demonstration to demand the reinstatement of Alice McIntosh, administrative accountability for State required mentoring and the creation of an unbiased, independent appeal process for teachers
When: Sunday, May 6, 2012, 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Where: P10X@PS15 (2195 Andrews Avenue between W 183rd and Hall of Fame Terrace, Bronx, NY 10453)
Visuals: Giant Blackboard with the ABCs of supporting new teachers; 100 supporters of Alice McIntosh brandishing signs, singing, and praying over testimonies
