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Saturday, December 17, 2011

First Visit from a Field Supervisor

An ATR teacher named CB sent us this report about her first visit from  a Field Supervisor.  For those who haven't been consistent in their reading of NYCATR, Field Supervisors are a new-fangled breed of DOE administrators who will be evaluating the work of ATR teachers in selected areas of Brooklyn.  

An NFL field supervisor
I had the first (unannounced) visit on December 8th from my new Field Supervisor (I'm in District 13 at the elementary school level). I asked her whether she was a teacher. She said she had been a teacher, coach, and principal, and held one or two other job titles within DOE. She had left a principal's post to take a position at Tweed. When that position was eliminated, there were no principal positions open, due to school closings. The DOE offered her this Field Supervisor thing, so she took it. She mentioned, I think, three districts that she is assigned to. Lots of traveling around.


So, as you can see, these folks are in a similar boat to ours, though they are more highly paid. By the view, this was not an evaluation, just an observation. 

Interestingly, both in person and in an e-mail, the supervisor told me that her purpose is to support me and help me find a permanent placement (and of course to do the same for the others to whom she is assigned).

While the field supervisor was in the classroom, a broken closet door, which I'd reported to a custodian, fell and hit a child in the head. Also in that room was a broken SmartBoard (and no working one), a broken drawer in the teacher's desk, and windows that would not open (except for one). Teachers and students have such wonderful working environments. Aren't we glad we're following former Chancellor Klein's suggestion that the schools be run like a business?

Photo credit: http://www.mysanantonio.com/mediaManager/?controllerName=image&action=get&id=1156289&width=628&height=471

4 comments:

  1. how does any of this help you in any way - seems like a HUGE waste of money that the public should know about

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    Replies
    1. The public including the UFT us well aware if the waste, but their silence and blind eye speaks volumes

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  2. I'm pretty sure Klein's current office doesn't much resemble your classroom. Also, in his business, when you retire you get million-dollar parachutes from Rupert Murdoch. Sounds more like giving us the business than running schools like one.

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  3. My recommendation is that when the field supervisor is in there, walk around the room, ask students their names, ask some to quiet down because at some point, a wise guy kid will say 'are you a real teacher or a sub?', or you will get cursed out. Let the supervisor see how we are of little or no value to the kids and the school. Show how your program has been changed a half dozen times that day, how you don't have a key to any room and if you get lucky like me, point out that the class you are covering has never had a real teacher and it's a vacancy

    ReplyDelete