According to the NY Post (and people wonder why I read that thing!) 825 teachers in New York got the pink slip this year for failing to obtain their master's degree within two years. According to the DOE they had recieved fair warning and didn't comply, so they were let go. Great! That' another 825 spaces to fill. Add that to the approximately 7,000 new hires for next year.
About that warning shot, I was in a similiar position a few years ago. I was licensed in 1999, so I had five years, but between working overtime, paying student loans, wondering if teaching in New York was worth it, and a complete lack of answer to the question, "How am I supposed to pay for this master's degree?" that was answered with a deafening silence from the DOE, Union Rep, Union Hotline, City University system, etc, I was ended up taking a phenomenally underwhelming class at CCNY, which I had to pay for completely out of pocket, unreimbursed, and applied for an extension. I was grandaftehred into the old contract rules, which would give me an additonal five years to teach, and at the time there were few teachers applying for extensions. For a couple of tense months I was teaching without a license, wondering if at any moment some DOE employee would walk into my room and ask to talk to me in the hallway, see my documents. But nothing of the sort happened. The only communication I recieved from the DOE was a form letter stating that my license was about to expire and that I should take action. As if I could enter a super-accelerated two week Master's Degree program. There was no helpful person to call, there was no help at all, in fact. Calls to the union got the verbal equivalent of a shrug.
New York should be ashamed that they are letting these teachers go. They didn't do anything wrong. I am sure there are some good teachers among them. They even made it through two years! And wanted to come back for a third (or they wouldn't have to be fired, I presume) And for that they are rewarded with a pink slip. Since they have teaching experience, the teaching fellows and Teach For America won't consider them. If the DOE was smart, they'd hire all 825 for a summer project- How can we convince you to stay? But rather the object of this lesson is: How can we get rid of you?
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