...for ATRs. I sure hope I am wrong, but I don't think I am.A recent announcement from the DOE Office of Teacher Recruitment informed principals in the Bronx that they are no longer subject to the hiring freeze. As most of you no doubt recall, the freeze was put into place as a way to help drain the ATR pool by forcing principals to hire ATRs rather than the newbies they'd prefer to hire.
A report on Gotham Schools outlines one principal who obviously skirted the rules in order to avoid hiring ATRs. Ramon Gonzalez of MS 223 interviewed 40 ATRs, he claims, and found not one of them suitable to his "exacting standards". So the minute Klein unleashed him, he hired four newbies, two of whom had already worked at the schools--one as a sub and one as an intern.
If you think this is an isolated incident, think again. Principals all over the city are squirreling away candidates they want and putting subs in vacancies while hoping for an end to the hiring freeze. Special ed teachers, who are not subject to the freeze, have been hired and put in regular ed positions as "place holders" for when the freeze is lifted.
Now that the Bronx is no longer subject to the freeze, watch for other boroughs to follow. They will also claim that they have been unable to find candidates to meet their exacting standards and ask that the freeze be lifted. And Klein will oblige.
At that point, Klein can claim that the remaining ATRs have had a year and a half to find positions during the freeze but failed to do so. He will, of course, neglect to mention how many principals hid positions in order to avoid hiring ATRs. Klein will then demand that ATRs be fired, and he'll use the local papers to pressure the union into agreeing to jettison ATRs in return for a 2% pittance in the next contract (assuming that Mulgrew can even get that much in exchange for screwing his members).
That's the difference between our past and current union leaders. Randi was more like a prostitute while Mulgrew is more like a slut. Randi wouldn't give our rights away unless she got money, while Mulgrew is putting out all over for free.
