Monday, October 22, 2012

My Apology to ATRs Everywhere

Now that the agreement between the city and the UFT to fill vacancies with ATRs is kicking in, many schools are seeing an influx of ATRs. My school got at least three today that I know of. My school, like many others, had basically refused to use ATRs to this point, preferring to fill vacancies with newbies, so I really haven't had much opportunity to talk to any real live ATRs. Until today.

I went out of my way to talk to the ATR on my floor. I don't know what I was expecting, but I suppose some of the propaganda from the Klein era had seeped into my brain. This person would be sharing some of the kids I teach, and I half feared I would encounter someone who no one else would hire--someone, in short, who might be unsuited to the job.

I could not have been more wrong. The ATR I encountered was a perfectly charming woman who had lost her position due to excessing. She was intelligent, professionally attired (far more than I ever am), and eager to work. In the course of a ten minute conversation I had with her, I decided that if I were an admin at my school, I'd certainly want someone like her on my staff.

She has been in the ATR pool for THREE YEARS. No one will take her on permanently because she has eleven years in the system with her masters plus 30, so she makes significantly more than a newbie. Even if she is not a perfect fit for my school (and I'm not saying she isn't--but a ten minute conversation might not be enough to tell), she would surely be a great fit somewhere. It's absolutely disgraceful that someone who wants to teach can't find a job anywhere. Unfortunately, it appears that her stint at my school may only last for five days before she is again shuffled elsewhere. I thought the renewed agreement meant that ATRs got to stay, but apparently that's not the case.

So I want to apologize to all the ATRs out there for allowing Klein-speak to get into my head. I have had precisely one encounter with an ATR no one will hire, and she seemed to me to be an excellent candidate for any position. And I want everyone to know that there are some awesome teachers out there just waiting to be hired. It's time to get these talented teachers back to work.

Joel Klein and his successors did their best to stigmatize ATRs, and it worked to a large extent. This blog post is an attempt to wipe some of that away. I'm betting there are a lot of gems in the ATR pool, and principal wouldn't have to dive in very far to find them.

7 comments:

Lara Au said...

Thank you for your post on ATRs. We teachers need to stick together and not allow the "propaganda" divide us. Please be reminded that it could be YOU who is assigned ATR status tomorrow. No one is safe. I will share this on my blog!

Anon said...

Every ATR is different like every staff member is different.  Some ATRs refuse to do anything, and make it bad for other ATRs.  But the truth is, principals may want to hire them but can't afford it.   However, they can be hired to fill a temporary vacancy.   Please tell your ATR about the MORE meeting for ATRs which can be found on Ednotes Online.

Berg55 said...

Temporary vacancy just means they will excess you at the end of the year and you will become an ATR again.

Tmforbes said...

How can an ATR teacher refuse to do anything without possibly getting a letter to file or end up in the rubber room for insubordiation?  If it is not a teaching coverage or a professional assignment within the school, is an ATR supposed to be aviailbe to unlock student bathrooms or maybe even clean them if necessary?  So you discounted most of what Klein stands/stood for except concerning ATR's?  Interesting.

Sue2005 said...

Thank you!

bob schwartz said...

News flash:  ATRs are people.  I know, I know, hard to believe.  Also, brace yourself, we are also good teachers.  Shocked?  Here is some more knowledge that I shall drop on you:  WE make too much money and when principals are on a budget, they cannot hire us b/c we make too much money. It is not that they dis-like us, it is just that it does not make fiscal sense for a principal to put an ATR in his school.  

bob schwartz said...

 2 years ago, I went on an interview and was told that the position was mine, but I would be excessed at year's end. Yeah, tempting to take, right?  I turned it down