Mayor Bloomberg today on MSNBC, as part of NBC’s “Education Nation” program, outlined a new education plan that included “ending tenure as we know it, so that tenure is awarded for performance, not taken for granted.”
There’s less in the mayor’s proposals than meets the eye. The “automatic” tenure process that he complains about is automatic only if the administration allows it to be. The law is clear that tenure is supposed to be granted based upon a teacher’s work. Most teachers would welcome an objective tenure-granting process based upon their work.
The mayor also remarked, “It’s time for us to end the last-in, first-out layoff policy,” claiming that it puts “children at risk.”
The seniority layoff process is part of state law and a critical guarantee against discrimination. As the city’s principals union has said: “Once seniority protections are removed, we are concerned that issues such as cronyism, nepotism, religion, race and age would once again become problems in our city schools.”
If the mayor wants to change seniority, he will need to talk to the state Legislature. Given that body’s lack of enthusiasm for many of the mayor’s plans – like congestion pricing – we expect an appropriate amount of skepticism.
The mayor touted his administration’s education record on the show.
While the mayor has some progress to cite during his tenure in charge of the Department of Education, any claims of closing the racial achievement gap need to be carefully reviewed. Since the state recalibrated test scores this summer, for instance, the math achievement gap between white and black students grew to 34 points – basically the same as it was in 2003.
Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew
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