April 8, 2014

END OF YEAR UFT EVALUATION GUIDE                                                                                                                                                    End-of-year guides to the new teacher evaluation and development system have been shipped to schools. This is the first — and we hope the last — guide to ending a school year under this particular evaluation system. As you know, the UFT is in talks with the city. The guide, called Summing it up: An end-of-year guide to the new teacher evaluation & development system ,includes a timeline and information on summative conferences, artifacts, professional records, ratings and how student assessment results will figure into evaluations. You will also be able to access the guide plus additional information on the evaluation system on the UFT website   

ARTIFACTS                                                                                                         Teachers who are covered by the new evaluation and development system must know that Friday, April 11 is the last day to submit artifacts. If they are missing evidence on any Danielson component for domains 1 and 4, they may consider what kind of artifact they could submit to demonstrate their effectiveness in that area. When submitting an artifact, they might also consider making it clear to their evaluator in writing or verbally that they are submitting an artifact. Members may, in addition, consider sending the evaluator a follow-up email after submission asking for feedback. If a principal or other evaluator is missing evidence on any components for a teacher, the evaluator must ask the teacher for additional artifacts (for domains 1 and 4) or for additional observations (for domains 2 and 3). You can view a partial list of some possible artifacts on the UFT website. Teachers may choose to submit their lesson plans as an artifact for evaluation, but a principal cannot mandate it.


OBSERVATONS                                                                                                                              Once you sign your official observation report, the form must be put into your official file. In addition, you have a right to attach a written response to the official observation report. It is very important to review and proofread your written responses before attaching them to the reports. If you email your responses to the evaluator, use your DOE email. Whether email or letter, use a professional, responsible tone and bring up any issues or concerns that you have about the observation, including whether there were distractions such as from photos being taken or from multiple evaluators being in the room, or if evidence of your practice was missed or not taken into account. In other words, a teacher’s written response to an observation report is an opportunity for the teacher to make any concerns part of the official record.

You are able to file an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) complaint form online at uft,org if you feel your rights under the new system are being violated. The complaint form is part of a formal enforcement process in the evaluation system. Members have up to five school days after becoming aware of an issue to complete the complaint form online and give copies to their principal and chapter leader. A copy of the completed form will automatically be sent to the district representative, which will trigger a resolution review.

 

 

SECURITY                                                                                                                                        When you are finished dismissing students and are the last one at your exit, please make sure that the door is completely shut. Please make sure that you use the main entrance when you exit the building. If you have an appointment with a parent, please let the school safety agent know.  This will help prevent intruders from entering the building.  

                                                                                                                              

 

 INVESTIGATIONS                                                                                                                                  If an investigator comes to the school to question you,  either as a subject or as a witness, don’t answer their questions. Ask for his/her business card. Then contact me immediately so that I can call the UFT to arrange for legal representation. If you are arrested in school, I will call the UFT to get you legal representation. If you are arrested on your own time, contact Mrs. Greene immediately in writing. Then contact  the Office of Personnel Investigations at 65 Court Street, Room 409, Brooklyn, New York 11201

 

SBOs                                                                                                                                                                        After the April break, we will discuss the SBOs for the 2014-2015 school year.  We will have a chapter meeting on April 29 with Kathy Sharko in attendance.

SPRING CLEANING                                                                                                                      Letters to the file that have not been used in a disciplinary proceeding must be removed “three years from the date the original material is placed in the file,” per Article 21A of the Contract. Teachers have the right to examine their file and should do so periodically to know what's in it and to have old material removed. In addition, they have the right to reproduce any material in their file. You should start the next school year with your file up-to-date.                                                                                                  

MATERNITY AND CHILDCARE WORKSHOPS                                                                                                                                            April 24, 4:15 PM - 5:45 PM                                                                                                                     UFT Brooklyn Borough Office                                                                                                                    335 Adams Street, 25th Floor                                                                                                                    -Look under “Calendar” on uft.org and click on the link to register.   

UFT Queens Borough Office                                                                                                                         May 15, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM                                                                                                                          97-77 Queens Blvd., 5th Floor                                                                                                                        Rego Park

RSVP to Karla at Kjordan@uft.org with your name, due date,                                                                file number, cell phone number and personal email address (no DOE emails).