Larissa Patel dreamed of teaching English at a Brooklyn public school this fall, motivated by a desire to help low-income children. But instead, on Friday, Ms. Patel spent the day filling out applications for 30 private school jobs.
Ms. Patel’s abrupt change in plans was precipitated by a new citywide ban on hiring teachers from outside the school system.
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A newsworthy report, but not in-depth and doesn't include points of view from key stakeholders. Many questions are unanswered: how many teachers from the reserve pool received "unsatisfactory ratings"? How can these teachers be allowed back in the classroom? What do principals, students and parents think? What are the long-term effects of a hiring year like this?
But this year, the department anticipates fewer openings and will not hire externally except in certain high-needs areas like speech therapy and bilingual special education. Instead, principals can fill spots only with internal candidates, including teachers from a reserve pool made up of those whose jobs have been eliminated and many who have earned unsatisfactory ratings.
No one benefits from having some teachers, “many who have earned unsatisfactory ratings,” return to the classroom. This sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.