E D U C AT O R S 4 E X C E L L E N C E N E W Y O R K T E A C H E R P O L I C Y T E A M I S S U E B R I E F

The Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) is a pool composed of excessed teachers (those displaced from
their positions because of falling school enrollment, budget declines, programmatic changes, or school closures).1 Historically, excessed teachers were placed into open positions at schools, regardless of their desire to be there or principals desire to hire them, through a practice known as forced placement. In 2005, a compromise between the NYC Department of Education (DOE) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) ended forced placement, and moved to a system of mutual consent hiring a process in which teaching positions are lled at schools based upon the agreement by both the teacher and the principal. This compromise also created the ATR pool to ensure that when teachers are displaced from their positions, through no fault of their own, they have security while nding a replacement position through an open hiring process. However, there was no limit placed on the amount of time a teacher could remain in the ATR and, while many excessed teachers have quickly found permanent teaching positions,2 others have struggled to find permanent placement, remaining in the ATR pool for many years without being re-hired.3 There are currently 1,200 ATR teachers who receive full salary and benefits while, in most cases, serving as substitutes rotating from school to school. The ATR costs the City an estimated $100 million each year.4 There has been much discussion about reforming the system in order to ensure that the Citys limited educational funding is being well spent and teachers skills are being put to good use. The Educators 4 Excellence-New York (E4E-NY) Teacher Policy Team on Teachers Contracts tackled this issue with four goals: (1) ensuring a quality education for all students, (2) creating a system that is fair to educators, (3) maintaining autonomy for teachers and principals, and (4) guaranteeing financial sustainability to the district and taxpayers.

RATIONALE
We believe that allowing two hiring seasons to find permanent placements continues to treat teachers fairly, while also ensuring a more financially feasible system.5 The time period we propose will give teachers significant opportunities to hone their skills, participate in hiring fairs, apply for a variety of positions, and conduct interviews. It is particularly reasonable when compared to comparable districts that offer even shorter periods for excessed teachers to stay on the payroll.6 The financial burden of the ATR is pushing some to suggest that we return to the policy of forced placement, which would eliminate the ATR by requiring principals to hire excessed teachers, regardless of whether they are good fits for specific schools. This proposal is financially attractive but pedagogically and professionally disastrous. Most disturbingly, a seniority-based transfer system that results in forced placement is incredibly regressive; it would result in a higher share of inexperienced (and thus less effective on average7) teachers in the most disadvantaged schools. Research suggests that this is particularly true in large, rules-driven districts like New York City.8 Returning to the era of forced placement would also strike at the heart of teacher professionalism and school autonomy. We are not aware of any profession that operates under the assumption that its members are interchangeable widgets who can be shuffled around from workplace to workplace without any consideration of fit, culture, or effectiveness. The current system of mutual consent helps build a positive school culture, which in turn supports greater student achievement.

Key Recommendations Teachers should have two full Department of Education dened

hiring seasons (April to August) to nd a job, starting from when they are notied that they will be excessed.

If, after two hiring seasons, ATR teachers are unable to nd a permanent position, they should then be placed on unpaid leave. During the two hiring seasons, teachers in the ATR should continue to receive full compensation and benets. The process of mutual consent hiring should be maintained.

New York

Additional Concerns and Recommended Solutions:

Legitimate concerns have been raised9 about whether more senior ATR teachers are disadvantaged by the current hiring process. There should be no perverse incentive for principals to hire less experienced ATR teachers simply because they have lower salaries and are, thus, less expensive.10 To address this problem, we propose that the DOE subsidize the salaries of more experienced ATR teachers for a period of eight years after any such teacher is hired for a permanent teaching position. Under this system, if a principal hires a teacher from the ATR whose salary is above the district median, the school will receive a subsidy on that teachers salary to put it on the level of the median teacher salary in the district. Another concern about the ATR is that some teachers have received tenure while in the ATR,11 despite not having a permanent placement or receiving meaningful performance evaluations. Tenure should serve as a significant professional milestone, granted to a teacher in a permanent position, who has been extensively evaluated by his supervisor, and who is deemed to be deserving of this important designation. ATR teachers by serving in multiple positions, in multiple schools, under multiple supervisors simply are not able to participate in this process and should not receive tenure during their time in the ATR. However, we recommend that any years accrued towards tenure prior to time in the ATR should be credited to teachers who are subsequently hired for a permanent role. Finally, teachers currently in the ATR may not feel equipped to go about the application and interviewing process. Others may be interested in pursuing education-related careers outside the classroom. We propose that the DOE offer additional training (such as resume workshops and interviewing practice) and new career pathways to members of the ATR to ensure that teachers are sufficiently able to compete for an appropriate position.

THE E4E-NY TEACHER POLICY TEAM ON TEACHERS CONTRAC TS

The E4ENY Teacher Policy Team on Teachers Contracts is composed of a diverse group of 15 New York City public school teachers from a variety of grades, boroughs, subjects, and backgrounds. The Policy Team met regularly over the course of two months to learn about the existing teachers contract, study relevant research and hear from experts in the field, and, ultimately, make recommendations for a reimagined New York City teachers contract. This is the first of several forthcoming issue briefs on different contractual issues. The Policy Teams work will culminate in a final report that lays out a full vision for a contract that will elevate the profession and drive positive outcomes for students. For far too long, education policy has been created without a critical voice at the table the voice of classroom teachers. Educators 4 Excellence (E4E), a teacher-led organization, is changing this dynamic by placing the voices of teachers at the forefront of the conversations that shape our classrooms and careers. E4E has a quickly growing national network of educators united by our Declaration of Teachers Principles and beliefs. E4E members can learn about education policy and research, network with like-minded peers and policymakers and take action by advocating for teacher-created policies that lift student achievement and the teaching profession.

Educ at o r s4 E x c e l l e n c e. o rg
1 TNTP (2008). Mutual Benefits, p. 5. 2 TNTP, p. 19 3 TNTP, p. 38 4 Lestch, C. (2014) Most of 1,200 teachers considered undesirable by principals might be sent back into classrooms, New York Daily News. Retrieved from: http://www.nydailynews.com/ new-york/1-200-fired-teachers-back-classrooms-article-1.1603920 5 For teachers currently in the ATR, we would suggest that they receive two hiring seasons from when the contract is ratified to find a permanent position. 6 In Chicago, for example, tenured teachers are given ten months to find a position, while nontenured teachers are given just one month (http://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTPAnalysisChicago.pdf); Washington DC allows for a year (http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2009/09/17/awashington-harbinger-for-new-york-atrs/). 7 Di Carlo, M. (2010). The Teaching Experience, Shanker Blog. Retrieved from: http:// shankerblog.org/?p=1319 8 Anzia, S, and Moe, T. (2014) Collective Bargaining, Transfer Rights, and Disadvantaged Schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 9 UFT. (2008). Case Study in Partisanship, pp. 56 10 Under the current funding system, principals have control over their schools budgets, and thus face a financial burden for hiring more senior teachers. 11 TNTP, p. 32