November 4, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UFT President Cites Need for Qualified Teachers, Lower Class Sizes to Help Kids Meet New Learning Standards
Randi Weingarten Recalls Own Beginning As Uncertified Teacher,
Echoes Deputy Chancellor Harry Spence's Concerns Of Teacher Training
On the stand in Manhattan Supreme Court, Ms. Weingarten said that the question of whether city educators are prepared to teach the new learning standards is the "biggest challenge in this school system today," because "some are and some are not" sufficiently trained to teach them.
Ms. Weingarten said that the teaching of the new Regents Learning Standards represents the most dramatic system-wide shift in basic teaching methods in two generations or more. Even "the most experienced teachers need more professional development" to help students meet the new standards, she said.
She recalled her beginnings as an uncertified teacher, noting that she did not feel prepared to teach at first, but later obtained her certification. Coursework, Ms. Weingarten said, improved her classroom management skills, as well as other necessary teaching abilities.
Ms. Weingarten's concerns of teacher preparedness echo those of Deputy Schools Chancellor Harry Spence, who last week testified that the number of uncertified teachers in public schools grew to a five-year high of nearly 13 per cent last year.
Mr. Spence also warned that many seasoned professionals in city schools are nearing retirement, but because teachers salaries in the city are up to 28 per cent lower than the surrounding suburbs, and because of the poor physical condition of school buildings and bulging classrooms, "We are having a very hard time recruiting first-rate teachers."
Ms. Weingarten said it is imperative that New York City make teacher salaries more competitive with surrounding suburbs because the city's school system has become "the system of last resort" for new, highly trained teachers. This salary disparity "gives the world the impression that teaching in New York City is not to be valued," she said.
Michael Rebell, CFE's Executive Director, quipped, "in New York City, a person entrusted with the development of a child's mind is given fewer wages than someone entrusted with the repair of plumbing."
In testimony, Randi Weingarten also addressed the perennial issue of class size, noting that city teachers have five to 10 more students in their classrooms than in suburban schools. "Class size is critical," she said, "because smaller classes can engage kids for a longer period of time."
In addition, Ms. Weingarten testified that, in recent years, the Governor has vetoed all funds for mentoring newly certified teachers, even though state statutes require this critical professional development activity.
As president of the United Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten represents more than 130,000 active and retired non-supervisory educators in the New York City public school system.
Ms. Weingarten's testimony opened the fourth week of arguments in Campaign For Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, the landmark suit arguing that state education funding to New York City and other districts with large number of students with special needs prevents students from those areas from receiving the opportunity for a "sound basic education" guaranteed by Article XI, Section I of the State Constitution, and from meeting the new Regents learning standards.
The State English Regents exam is now a graduation requirement for the Class of 2000. Last month, it was reported that just half of city high school students passed. Statewide, 78 per cent of high school students passed the test.
Students who fail this exam cannot receive a high school diploma. Next year, high school seniors will have to pass Regents exams in English and mathematics. By 2003, students will have to pass five Regents exams to earn a high school diploma.
Ms. Weingarten noted that the use of Regents exams as a state-wide standard of educational attainment also places more pressure on teachers, because although in the past a range of student performance was deemed acceptable, teachers now must ensure that every child learns at a consistently high level.
In the court system since 1993, Campaign For Fiscal Equity v. State of New York charges that thousands of students in New York City and other high-need districts are being denied the opportunity to a sound, basic education because they attend overcrowded schools with inadequate supplies and a lack of experienced, certified teachers.