Shop the Hotline

For 30 days following the last Placement Day (Thursday, June 26, 2008), the District has to notify the RTA of all openings. In turn, the RTA posts these vacancies on its hotline: 546-2768. This hotline operates 24/7. The position stays on the hotline for five days with the specific dates of availability stated on the message. The person who applies for the opening who has properly notified the District and possesses the most seniority will be awarded the job.

For your convenience, the form letter is available below. The RTA strongly recommends that you hand deliver the completed form along with a copy and have both date stamped by the HR Receptionist. Forms:

Form in Word Document format

Form in pdf format

Professional Development Schedule for 2008-09

*April 28th was incorrectly listed on the official district memo regarding PD to principals.

Click here to read the District's memo regarding professional development for 2008-09

Teacher Voice

The RTA wants to hear from you! Each month a question will be posed to teachers in The Rochester Teacher and online. Please take some time to share your thoughts with other RTA members. The editors will select several responses to appear in the paper and others will be shared on the RTA website.

May's Question: "After Superintendent Brizard's first 150 days in Rochester, what are your impressions of his leadership and what grade does he deserve? "

You may read the opinions of teachers by clicking here.

Teachers cannot teach if students refuse to learn

Latoya Manon
Guest essayist

Seemingly, many people who are not teachers think they could do a better job than most teachers.

Everyone has gone to school and has had teachers, so how hard could it be to teach? Well, I would like to give you an opportunity to walk in our shoes by posing some questions that we teachers often deal with:

• What would you do if all you have ever wanted to do is teach, but you find yourself doing mostly test prep?
• What would you do if you had to dip into your personal budget to buy school supplies for students who refused to come to class with those supplies? Never mind that their brand-new shoes probably cost more than your entire outfit.
• What would you do if you had planned a wonderful lesson, but more than half of your class failed to show up for no particular reason at all? Do you teach that lesson to those in class and then teach it over and over so the other kids get caught up? (Remember, you don't want to leave anyone behind.)
• What would do if you held after-school and/or Saturday extra-help sessions and no one showed up even after you called homes, sent letters and offered extra credit for those attending? Remember, you have to get as many students as you can to pass the Regents exams or New York state will say you're an ineffective teacher.
• What would you do if you had a student on the verge of dropping out or refusing to do any work because he felt that his teacher didn't care about him, and refused to see that his lack of effort and his disrespect for people and rules were actually the issue? "My teacher doesn't like me" was an unacceptable excuse for failure in my home.
• What would you do if sports became more important to your students than reading, writing or thinking?
• What would you do if you called parents to notify them of their child's belligerent behavior and they responded, "Well, you must have done something to him because Sam doesn't just cuss people out for no reason"?
• What would you do if parents told you not to call them anymore about their children, or even hung up on you?
• How do you teach pupils who want to learn while making sure that you don't leave behind those who don't want to learn?
• How do you teach students to be respectful and responsible adults and positive contributors to society when bureaucracy has made it acceptable to be less than that? You can't hold students accountable for lost books, missed assignments or bad behavior because, as some would say, "They are poor; they don't know any better."
• What would you do if a student often slept in your class because she had to watch siblings or her own children all night, or maybe just hung out and went to bed very late? Remember, detention is not an option because students may play a sport after school or they might have more important things to do than stay for detention.
• What would you do if you knew students were graduating without being ready for college or having any alternative plan?
• What would you do if a student threatened you with bodily harm but suspension was no longer an option because the district was trying to keep a lid on suspension numbers?
• What would you do if you wanted to spend time with your family but you had to plan lessons, grade papers, assist in school events, etc.? Your day doesn't end when the bell rings.

Many of you may have the answers to these questions — and I challenge the community, corporations and parents to take a more active role in the schools and in the lives of children and young adult students. Everyone has something to offer that may change the life of a child or young adult.

I am a graduate of the City School District where I now teach, and I am also a parent of a ninth-grader in the CSD — and it is obvious that something has gone terribly wrong. Our kids are learning how to shortchange themselves from a flawed system that refuses to make them accountable and promotes mediocrity. How can we expect young people to become productive contributors to society if we refuse to give them the basic tools they need?

Parenting doesn't stop once your child goes to school. However, the sad part is that even if the community, schools and parents work together, if the student refuses to see that he or she has to take an active role in learning, then change will be difficult. Whether they believe it or not, students have to be vested in their own education. They have to want to learn and to better themselves.

Manon is a teacher in the City School District.

This article is also available on the Democrat & Chronicle's Speaking Out page.

Fellow RTA Member needs our support

A teacher and her family were burned out of the home recently. Monetary donations may be made out to the "Rochester Teachers Association." Please indicate "#22 Colleague" on the memo line. All money collected for the family will be distributed directly to them. Clothing donations may be dropped off at the RTA office at 30 North Union St. or at School #22. The following is a list of the sizes for the family members:

• 5 year old girl (wears size 6)
• 8 year old girl (wears size 8)
• 15 year old boy (wears 32w/34l) who needs baseball equipment
• the teacher (size 6).

Thank you for you support of our member in need

Below is the Powerpoint version of Sup't Brizard's reform proposals. He presented it to the Board of Education and then to the public and the media.

There's much in it to like: emphasis on school safety, reducing the Central Office bureaucracy, more Guidance Counselors, lower class size at certain critical junctures, more learning time for struggling students. But there are few details yet and no indication as to how much money would be allocated for these improvements.

There are also several aspects of this plan that concern us: more authority to school principals, more standardization for struggling schools, no evidence of any alternative settings for disruptive students, no evidence of additional services for students with problems.

The plan is not yet a done deal. Some of this, depending on details that are yet to be revealed, may have to be negotiated with us. All of it, we hope, will be open to input from teachers through the RTA. Therefore, I welcome your reactions. Comments may be e-mailed directly to teachervoice@rochesterteachers.com.

Fraternally,

Adam Urbanski

Powerpoint Version available here

PDF Version available here

The PDF file is large, so please be patient while downloading.

ALERT - NYSUT NEEDS YOUR HELP

A debate over tenure is heating up and we need you to immediately contact your elected state officials. Click the links below send an on line fax to strongly urge legislators to support the Assembly's proposed tenure clarification amendments. We must protect teachers' rights to a fair tenure process.

Also, please call toll free 1-877-255-9417 to be connected to your Assembly and Senate representative's office.

Contrary to an erroneous letter issued by the New York State School Boards Association, these amendments will not restrict local control or make it more difficult to deny tenure. Tenure recommendations and decisions will continue to be made at the district level by administrators, superintendents and school boards.

These amendments simply clarify accountability provisions put into place last year by the Legislature and the governor to establish statewide standards for granting tenure.

For more information about this issue go to www.nysut.org .

CLICK HERE TO SEND A FREE FAX IMMEDIATELY:
http://secure.nysut.org/OR/Fax.asp?m=f&aID=?@CBEF&cID=47

CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW THE LETTER:
http://secure.nysut.org/OR/Fax.asp?m=v&aID=?@CBEF&cID=47

Click the link below to opt-out of these e-mail communications.
http://secure.nysut.org/OR/OptOut.asp?cID=47&aID=?@CBEF

Deadlines & Announcements